Hey guys, Lord Hood here, this is a project that I worked on awhile ago and set aside due to being busy. Now I'm picking it back up again as well as posting it. This is mainly due to Tevokkia's contributions to the SK community, i.e. the Contest. I appreciate any comments, good or bad, and any advice to make the story better.
Also, for the sake of understanding my story, it is not completely in line with the current official SK lore, i.e. Crimson Order organizational structure.
Ch. 1
Kalem rolled out of bed. It was an important day for him, he was to go on an expedition that would test his skill and hopefully show that he was ready for a promotion. He was going to be with some skilled veterans, so he had to be sure to look and act his best. He thought about how far he’d come in the spiral order; he started out as a recruit at the age of 10, and, while his parents were seasoned vanguards who had been among the first to arrive in Haven, he received no preferential treatment, nor did he want any. He excelled in his training and quickly gained prestige among the community. After saving the Spiral Warden’s son from an alpha wolver, he had been promoted to squire and given an drake scale armor and helm. He was excited about this important training mission. If he succeeded, he would able to go on missions by himself and even have his own squad. He buckled on his armor, put on his helmet, and picked up his comlink. He had a message from his parents saying that they would be gone all day - as usual- in a meeting with Lieutenant Feron, something about Lichens overrunning wolver dens. He had another message, this one from his commander, Knight Elite Canis. It said to report to lift 5 at 650 hours Skylark time. That was in 15 minutes!
Kalem slung on his Wyrmwood trinket, which was a gift from his girlfriend, around his neck. He pulled his favorite gun, the electric-emitting Pulsar off the wall and put it in a shoulder holster. He grabbed his Swift Flourish, kind of like a fencing blade, and his heavy Troika off their respective racks and attached them to his belt. He picked up his prized Darkfang shield and slung it onto his back, checking the HUD to make sure the force shield was fully charged. He hurried over to a tank and dropped some food into it, which his pet chromalisk, Grinch, happily munched up. On the way out the door, he grabbed some vials and put them on his belt pouch. He went out the door and quickly began walking toward the elevator deck, or arcade, as some called it affectionately. He entered the large double doors, the thick metal blast doors opening before him and closing after him with a mechanical whirring. He reached elevator 5 with minutes to spare. The rest of his squad was there, as well as a lieutenant he didn’t recognize. The lieutenant was talking to Canis and Kalem walked up just in time to hear Canis say,
“They’ll be fine.”
To which the lieutenant replied,
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The lieutenant turned heel and stalked off. Canis spoke up to the entire group,
“Alright everybody! Form up! Our mission, is to survey an uncharted Wolver Den in depths 15-16, there have been multiple sighting of Alpha Wolvers, so stay sharp and use teamwork! Move out!”
“Perfect”, thought Kalem, gripping his Flourish’s hilt, “I’ll make short work of these wolvers”
As he was about to step on the elevator, Kalem heard someone call his name. He turned around just in time to be embraced by his girlfriend and former squadmate, Lex.
“Good luck” She said.
“Thanks, I’ll need it” He replied.
"Ahem", said Canis, "You 'comin Kalem?"
"Yes, sir", said Kalem, and stepped on the Elevator.
Truth (Fanfic)
Bright, artificial light blinded Kalem as he got off of the elevator. He blinked as his eyes adjusted. Yes, this was definitely a wolver den, bushes and trees surrounded the edge of the clearing the elevator landed. Harsh, actinic lighting provided the light that the bushes need.
This was deeper into the Clockworks than he was usually allowed to go. Because of this, he was both exited and slightly nervous.
Canis gathered everyone together. “Alright, lets get this show on the road! You all know what to do. Form a line and go through systematically, clear as much brush as you can and don’t run off at first sight of a wolver, got it?”
This was followed by a chorus of “Yes, sirs!”
“Ok, let’s move out!” Canis shouted.
The expedition started up without a hitch. One or two wolver packs appeared and were quickly dealt with by the knights. Some of the knights began to grow worried.
“Sir?” One apprentice asked, “Is it normally this quiet?”
“No,” Canis replied solemnly, but then tried to sound upbeat “You guys probably scared all the wolvers off.”
Even after this assurance, everyone was still worried. After another few minutes of creeping forward, there was a rustle in some bushes ahead of them. Everyone froze. Dozens of forms appeared around them, but their identity was cloaked by the shadow of the trees overhead. Those who had sheathed their swords now drew them again.
“Ambush!” Someone yelled the obvious.
In the next few seconds the attackers were recognized as jellies, many, many jellies. The knights were caught completely unawares, as they had not prepared for this unlikely happening. Caught off guard, their only chance was to escape. The knights spun around only to realize too late that an equal number of jellies had flanked them.
Canis shouted “We have to be close to the elevator! Let’s push through!”
This was easier said than done, as the knights quickly found to their detriment. Kalem stabbed at a jelly with his flourish as it got near, but just as the sword pierced the jelly’s skin, the slithy beast twisted, ripping the flourish out of Kalem’s hand. Now glad of his other sword, Kalem swung his troika in wide arcs, bashing, and knocking back three and four jellies at a time. He looked to his left and saw his squad’s second in command, a soldier named Brevet, be knocked to the ground and take a spike to the back of his head, his eyes starting to dim. Yelling a battle cry, Kalem rushed to his fallen comrade and spun in a full circle, knocking the monsters away and stunning them. He knelt next to Brevet and tried to revive him, but it was too late. Brevet was dead. As another large jelly rushed him, he raised his troika above his head and swung down on the monster, cleaving it in two. As he tried to pull the sword out of the crater he had created, his sword shattered, leaving him holding a useless handle, which he discarded. He drew his pulsar and fired a few shots to keep the creatures back, then looked over his shoulder. His squad, what remained of them, had almost reached the elevator, and he needed to get there quickly. The only problem was the masses of slimes that had wedged themselves between him and his squad. He drew his side blade, and began to fight his way to the elevator. By now his squad was on the elevator, which was good, they could hold it until he reached them. Canis started to input commands into the elevator, Kalem assumed to prepare to go up.
One of the apprentices yelled “Wait for Kalem!”
Kalem was almost there! But then all of the sudden, another group of jellies intercepted him.
But something was wrong, Kalem saw Canis shake his head and say “We can’t help him now, He’s on his own.”
“What?” though Kalem, “They’re leaving, but I’m almost there!” He shouted pleadingly “Wait!”
But Canis looked away from him and pressed a button, sending the elevator to a rapid ascension. Kalem was alone. His reverie of abandonment suddenly ended as yet another jelly attacked and wrenched away his side blade. He blasted it with his pulsar up close. He then pulled his punch gun from his leg holster and fired it at a concentration of jellies, knocking them back and stunning them. He threw the one shot gun aside and pulled out his pulsar once again, turning around just in time to be knocked to the ground by the smack of a jelly. A spike jelly aimed a barb for his head and he barely rolled aside in time to dodge it. Instead of going through his head, the spike speared clean through his right arm, which he immediately lost all feeling in. He looked to see that he had dropped his gun and a jelly now sat on it. He tried to move his arm put couldn’t. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a jelly spinning into him. As he lost consciousness, he thought he heard a whirring sound.
:D
Some time after:
Kalem became vaguely aware of his surroundings. He felt the sensation of moving, “but then, surely he must be dead” he thought. “No, that’s not right” He could feel his entire right side burning with pain, and he could feel his left arm dragging along the ground. He tried to open his eyes, but saw only darkness. Then came the feeling of moving downward, just like an elevator, he thought, just before falling into unconsciousness once more.
Kalem felt his senses gradually awaken. He eventually woke up completely and realized that he was not in his room. Sitting up, he examined his surroundings. He was on a table in a nondescript, dark metal room. He saw that his arm was heavily bandaged, and could only feel a tingle of energy from it. As he sat up, a large strange-looking figure approached him. It was larger than a knight, but smaller than a stranger. It was heavyset, appeared to be male, and wore a reddish orange tunic and a cape. He had a sharply defined nose… or perhaps it was just the white and red mask that the being wore.
“Who are you?” Kalem called to the figure.
“Do not be afraid, the figure replied, “You are safe here. I am Seerus, Warmaster of the Crimson Order.”
“A gremlin” Kalem replied cautiously.
The gremlin chuckled, “Yes, a gremlin. You are in the Great Colony, Capitol of the gremlin empire. Two of my agents found you being attacked and brought you here. Unfortunately, party of your arm was no longer viable and our doctors were unable to save it. However, we were able to implement an experimental technology that will make your arm be in a state that is…useful. May I…”
He gestured to Kalem’s arm and Kalem nodded his assent. Seerus carefully unwrapped the bandages. Kalem’s eyes widened in surprise. His arm below the elbow was a gleaming, glowing gun! It was large and heavy as he lifted it, but he had no problem holding it steady. Its frame was deep red with slits in the side that Kalem assumed were to keep the energy source from overheating. The energy itself was a dark purple color that glowed from within the heart of the weapon.
“It’s amazing, but why would you, a gremlin, help me, a knight?” Kalem asked.
Instead of answering directly, Seerus responded with another question. “In this war we fight in, who do you consider in the right?”
“You know, I've never really thought about it. I mean, our mission is to get to the core and the monsters are stopping us, so I've always considered our path to be the right way.”
“Hmm” Considered Seerus, “Let me tell you the truth. It all started years ago, when the knights first came to our planet. Their ship was discovered by a heavily damaged freighter in need of assistance. It tried hailing the Skylark, but received no answer. Having no other choice, the gremlin vessel tried to land on the Skylark. It miscalculated and crashed into the Order’s ship. The knights then killed all the gremlins trying to make contact and ask for aid. This is what really started the war. Then, the knights discovered a vast energy source, naturally deciding that it was theirs for the taking, and that they wouldn’t let anyone get in the way. They landed on Cradle, routed all of our surface forces, and set up a camp there. Now they invade our home, pillage and kill, just to get loot and for fun. This is the truth, do you deny it?”
“No” Kalem said, “You’re right, Knights are the real monsters.”
Deceit, or Honesty? ;D
Keep it up! I would like to see more coming soon :D
Knight logic: goes to a mysterious world, kills the inhabitant, claim that the energy is theirs. Seems legit :|
Looks good. There were a few parts where I went, "A different verb might've fit better there." and there were a few grammatical mistakes, but overall it was pretty good.