Tweet
Skaald Silvermane had been garnering quite a bit of respect around the Exigo camp. Both for the stories he told, and for his vigor in battle. As Silvermane sat at his infamous "Silvermane's spot", casting his line into the water to fish for his dinner he was approached by three adventurers.
One of the men was a Blackwood Grunt named Hans. The other two were a pair of Elven Rangers who had before patrolled the Viridale wood. As the gargantuan reeled in a sizeable Crayfish the leader of their motley crew approached the man.
"Greetings, Grunt."he said with a smile "We intend to travel into the mines to face the Mutants and the Earth Elementals within. Would you care to join us?"
The goliath thought, and mulled it over. The fishing had been extraordinarily good today, and he had many friends within the Blackwood who had come to rely on his catches for the dinner. Barracks food, like any mess hall food, was cooked solely for survival and nutrition. Superfluous things like "Taste" and "texture" were oftentimes completely disregarded. But after a few moments the Northerner finally stood up, his aged bones audibly creaking as he stretched, and fetched his Darksteel Greatsword, the mighty blade known to him as Thunderstriker. Shouldering the massive anchor-sized blade the Jotunbrud smiled.
"I accept, brave travelers. I shall be your guide through the mines. Silvermane is the name" he said with a jovial looks, shaking the hands of each in turn, which with his massive hands was as though shaking hands with an infant. He could see the looks of concerns on their faces, as though fearing that the living mountain could crush their hands with the slightest bit of force.
And so the four headed into the mines, the light from Silvermane's Purple Dragon Ring lighting their path into the encroaching and all-enveloping darkness. The beasts of the mines had no need for sunlight. No need for fresh air. The sundrite fumes they had inhaled over their many months trapped within had warped their flesh, altering their bodies with the magical properties of the mineral.
The adventurers cut through several groups of the mutants, but the other three that had accompanied the Norseman had agreed to all leave, feeling that their skills were not yet capable of defeating the monsters that lurked within the Mirakus depths. Silvermane did not fault them, for it was folly in the eyes of Tempus not to retreat from a battle if one was clearly outmatched. There was no dishonor in acknowledging a superior foe. Silvermane chose however to stay, both out of his own curiosity and his own thirst for glorious battle.
As the Notherner approached the deepest regions of the mine, cleaving his way through mutant after mutant he came across a bright yellow flag, caked in dirt and barely hanging upon the frail post from which it was hung.
"Ha! An easy prize, and glory to the Blackwood!" the behemoth cried with his booming voice, reaching forth to take the Banner. But it would seem that his presence was not wholly unnoticed. For as soon as he reached his hand forward to grasp the silken flag the ground shaked with a rumble that knocked the Giant from his feet. As he gathered his wits and his senses, the man steadied himself.
"Hmm...I did not think that Sundren was known for Earthqua..."
BOOM!! The earth shook with great fury as the very ground itself rose to meet him. A towering Elemental of Earth and Granite sprang forth from the ground as a jumping fish would break the surface of the water. The Elemental had sensed his footsteps with his Tremorsense and had lied in wait for the man, striking at him just as he had approached. As the elemental landed on it's feet it struck forth with a mighty blow, it's powerful earthen fist striking Silvermane upon the chest and sending him flying as if the juggernaut of a Northerner was nothing but a golf ball.
Crashing into the walls of the mine the old Skaald struggled to get to his feet again, struggling to breathe as he devastating blow knocked the wind from his lungs. The enormous amount of dust and sediment within the air certainly did not help him catch his breath.
Silvermane gasped for air, looking up at the giant beast that stood before him. An Elder Sundrite Elemental, driven mad by the sundrite corruption. Indeed, the elemental had absorbed fragments of the magical mineral into it's very body, it's entire body ionized with electrical current from the mystical ore. The Skaald raised his Darksteel Greatsword to meet the beast, and then charged, delivering a mighty blow to the creature's chest!
But then something happened. The Electrical Charge from the Darksteel seemed to react with the conductive Sundrite held within the body of the creature. The electricity from the blade sparked, and began to become channeled through the monster's rock-like skin as if it were a superconductor. The Skaald could almost see the beast sneer as it drew power from the blade, and retaliated in full force with a devastating blow to the side of the man's head, empowered by the freshly siphoned electric charge.The energy contained within the beast seemed to make it move faster, and enhanced it's physical might.
Light-headed and dizzy from the blow, Silvermane did the only thing he knew how to do: He channeled the Fury and the Rage of his ancestors in Tandem, releasing the Beast that rested within the Berserker's heart to grant him the strength of those great warriors who had come before him, the strength of his kinsmen!
At this moment, the Skaald was fury incarnate! He struck the beast rapidly, as fast as lightning, and as powerful as a wave crashing upon the shore. He struck the beasts legs, sending it to it's knees. He dodged a powerful strike that would have been a skull-crushing blow, coming back with a strike of his own to the creature's head that shattered it's stony visage as a jackhammer cracking pavement. But the beast was not yet finished.
As blow after blow from the northerner landed into the Elementals gargantuan form, bits and pieces of stone being chipped away, the beast's health waning from the furious onslaught that could only come from a follower of the Battle Lord, the beast saw fit to retreat. Using it's Earth Glide ability the Elder Elemental sank back into the dirt, swimming through the stone of the mine as a Fish would swim through the water.
But Silvermane, he had already chased one fish into water. He was not afraid to do it again. Striking the very earth itself with a mighty blow from his blade the Berserker struck deep...and struck true...the tip of his enormous blade finding it's way into what would have been the neck of the creature, which was resting just beneath the surface. With a primal scream the Stony creature jumped from the earth, the Elemental Spirit that had inhabited this avatar of Rock and Dirt could no longer hold together it's physical form.
The creature dissolved, and the Northerner had won. His wounds severe, his sword chipped and jagged from it's impact upon the stone. Silvermane reached forth, and he took the yellow silken flag of the Mirakus Mutants, holding it above his head in well-earned victory.
But as he turned to leave the Mines he saw a golden glow. Buried within the stone body of the Elder Elemental he saw something miraculous. A Golden Hilt, attached to a jagged blade. As Silvermane pulled the blade from the monster's stony corpse he saw it for what it was, a golden greatsword, glowing with the essence of magical Fire. As he twirled his new treasure around his head, he would feel the magical enchantment upon the blade. He could feel the warmth of the arcane fire that was imbued within. Hoisting the new blade over his shoulder he turned to Thunderstriker, who had been a dear and close friend. But his old friend, it seemed, would not survive this battle. The blade was damaged, the hilt and the handguard nearly broken.
With a heart filled with mixed emotion, the Northerner exited the mine, taking the great silken banner to the Exigo Barracks, raised high as he claimed the honor due to him. But this victory, it was not without sacrifice. In memento of his dear friend he tied the Banner to the hilt of the Blade, and in a ceremony with prayer to the Battle Lord Tempus he staked the blade into the ground, with banner tied. A memento to the sacrifice the blade had endured to bring him Honor and Glory in the eyes of his God and his Brothers in Arms.
Wounded, but proud, the Northerner headed into the barracks to rest, and bathe. He had achieved Victory yet again. The battle was won. But the war was far from over for this Uthgardt, who would take his well-deserved rest from the chaos of the day.
One of the men was a Blackwood Grunt named Hans. The other two were a pair of Elven Rangers who had before patrolled the Viridale wood. As the gargantuan reeled in a sizeable Crayfish the leader of their motley crew approached the man.
"Greetings, Grunt."he said with a smile "We intend to travel into the mines to face the Mutants and the Earth Elementals within. Would you care to join us?"
The goliath thought, and mulled it over. The fishing had been extraordinarily good today, and he had many friends within the Blackwood who had come to rely on his catches for the dinner. Barracks food, like any mess hall food, was cooked solely for survival and nutrition. Superfluous things like "Taste" and "texture" were oftentimes completely disregarded. But after a few moments the Northerner finally stood up, his aged bones audibly creaking as he stretched, and fetched his Darksteel Greatsword, the mighty blade known to him as Thunderstriker. Shouldering the massive anchor-sized blade the Jotunbrud smiled.
"I accept, brave travelers. I shall be your guide through the mines. Silvermane is the name" he said with a jovial looks, shaking the hands of each in turn, which with his massive hands was as though shaking hands with an infant. He could see the looks of concerns on their faces, as though fearing that the living mountain could crush their hands with the slightest bit of force.
And so the four headed into the mines, the light from Silvermane's Purple Dragon Ring lighting their path into the encroaching and all-enveloping darkness. The beasts of the mines had no need for sunlight. No need for fresh air. The sundrite fumes they had inhaled over their many months trapped within had warped their flesh, altering their bodies with the magical properties of the mineral.
The adventurers cut through several groups of the mutants, but the other three that had accompanied the Norseman had agreed to all leave, feeling that their skills were not yet capable of defeating the monsters that lurked within the Mirakus depths. Silvermane did not fault them, for it was folly in the eyes of Tempus not to retreat from a battle if one was clearly outmatched. There was no dishonor in acknowledging a superior foe. Silvermane chose however to stay, both out of his own curiosity and his own thirst for glorious battle.
As the Notherner approached the deepest regions of the mine, cleaving his way through mutant after mutant he came across a bright yellow flag, caked in dirt and barely hanging upon the frail post from which it was hung.
"Ha! An easy prize, and glory to the Blackwood!" the behemoth cried with his booming voice, reaching forth to take the Banner. But it would seem that his presence was not wholly unnoticed. For as soon as he reached his hand forward to grasp the silken flag the ground shaked with a rumble that knocked the Giant from his feet. As he gathered his wits and his senses, the man steadied himself.
"Hmm...I did not think that Sundren was known for Earthqua..."
BOOM!! The earth shook with great fury as the very ground itself rose to meet him. A towering Elemental of Earth and Granite sprang forth from the ground as a jumping fish would break the surface of the water. The Elemental had sensed his footsteps with his Tremorsense and had lied in wait for the man, striking at him just as he had approached. As the elemental landed on it's feet it struck forth with a mighty blow, it's powerful earthen fist striking Silvermane upon the chest and sending him flying as if the juggernaut of a Northerner was nothing but a golf ball.
Crashing into the walls of the mine the old Skaald struggled to get to his feet again, struggling to breathe as he devastating blow knocked the wind from his lungs. The enormous amount of dust and sediment within the air certainly did not help him catch his breath.
Silvermane gasped for air, looking up at the giant beast that stood before him. An Elder Sundrite Elemental, driven mad by the sundrite corruption. Indeed, the elemental had absorbed fragments of the magical mineral into it's very body, it's entire body ionized with electrical current from the mystical ore. The Skaald raised his Darksteel Greatsword to meet the beast, and then charged, delivering a mighty blow to the creature's chest!
But then something happened. The Electrical Charge from the Darksteel seemed to react with the conductive Sundrite held within the body of the creature. The electricity from the blade sparked, and began to become channeled through the monster's rock-like skin as if it were a superconductor. The Skaald could almost see the beast sneer as it drew power from the blade, and retaliated in full force with a devastating blow to the side of the man's head, empowered by the freshly siphoned electric charge.The energy contained within the beast seemed to make it move faster, and enhanced it's physical might.
Light-headed and dizzy from the blow, Silvermane did the only thing he knew how to do: He channeled the Fury and the Rage of his ancestors in Tandem, releasing the Beast that rested within the Berserker's heart to grant him the strength of those great warriors who had come before him, the strength of his kinsmen!
At this moment, the Skaald was fury incarnate! He struck the beast rapidly, as fast as lightning, and as powerful as a wave crashing upon the shore. He struck the beasts legs, sending it to it's knees. He dodged a powerful strike that would have been a skull-crushing blow, coming back with a strike of his own to the creature's head that shattered it's stony visage as a jackhammer cracking pavement. But the beast was not yet finished.
As blow after blow from the northerner landed into the Elementals gargantuan form, bits and pieces of stone being chipped away, the beast's health waning from the furious onslaught that could only come from a follower of the Battle Lord, the beast saw fit to retreat. Using it's Earth Glide ability the Elder Elemental sank back into the dirt, swimming through the stone of the mine as a Fish would swim through the water.
But Silvermane, he had already chased one fish into water. He was not afraid to do it again. Striking the very earth itself with a mighty blow from his blade the Berserker struck deep...and struck true...the tip of his enormous blade finding it's way into what would have been the neck of the creature, which was resting just beneath the surface. With a primal scream the Stony creature jumped from the earth, the Elemental Spirit that had inhabited this avatar of Rock and Dirt could no longer hold together it's physical form.
The creature dissolved, and the Northerner had won. His wounds severe, his sword chipped and jagged from it's impact upon the stone. Silvermane reached forth, and he took the yellow silken flag of the Mirakus Mutants, holding it above his head in well-earned victory.
But as he turned to leave the Mines he saw a golden glow. Buried within the stone body of the Elder Elemental he saw something miraculous. A Golden Hilt, attached to a jagged blade. As Silvermane pulled the blade from the monster's stony corpse he saw it for what it was, a golden greatsword, glowing with the essence of magical Fire. As he twirled his new treasure around his head, he would feel the magical enchantment upon the blade. He could feel the warmth of the arcane fire that was imbued within. Hoisting the new blade over his shoulder he turned to Thunderstriker, who had been a dear and close friend. But his old friend, it seemed, would not survive this battle. The blade was damaged, the hilt and the handguard nearly broken.
With a heart filled with mixed emotion, the Northerner exited the mine, taking the great silken banner to the Exigo Barracks, raised high as he claimed the honor due to him. But this victory, it was not without sacrifice. In memento of his dear friend he tied the Banner to the hilt of the Blade, and in a ceremony with prayer to the Battle Lord Tempus he staked the blade into the ground, with banner tied. A memento to the sacrifice the blade had endured to bring him Honor and Glory in the eyes of his God and his Brothers in Arms.
Wounded, but proud, the Northerner headed into the barracks to rest, and bathe. He had achieved Victory yet again. The battle was won. But the war was far from over for this Uthgardt, who would take his well-deserved rest from the chaos of the day.