[Machuchang]

big teej: That was awesome! Valek's accent is awesome, and I love his personality. Gruff and a little cynical, but a good guy underneath it all. The battle sequences were well done, and I really loved the Warhammer reference in the barbarian's battle cry. I feel bad for Valek though. I'd say that snippet was definitely worth the wait! Nice job!

Worlok: Looking forward to your snippets! I saw your first one, but didn't really get to read it. So I really want to see what sort of things been going on in your games.


Now as for myself, I had a really epic session last weekend, and I've been writing loads of snippets based on it all week, and I've finally managed to complete three of them! The first two are flashbacks Varen had while knocked out, and the last finally picks up from Revelations in the Eye of the Storm.

So without further ado, here they are:

Fifteen Years Ago
(or 6 Year Olds are Adorable)

Spoiler

I made a new friend today!

She was standing outside all alone. She looked very sad, so I talked to her.

“Hi,” I said. “Why are you here?”

“My daddy doesn’t want me…” she said. “So he’s making me stay here. He’s talking to someone about it right now,” She was really, really sad. That made me sad too.

“Oh,” I said. “I’m sorry,”

“He doesn’t like me anymore,” She said. “He said that I’ll never see him again…” She started crying. That made me feel worse.

“Don’t cry!” I said. “I like you,”

“Yeah…?” she said. I thought I saw her smile.

“Yeah!” I said. “You want to be friends?”

“Okay,” she said. She stopped crying, and that made me happy. “I’m Natalia,” she said.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Varen,”

Four Years Ago
(or 17 Year Olds Are Much Less Adorable than 6 Year Olds)

Spoiler

Natalia had been gone for a while. I was starting to get nervous. She had been out with him for far too long. Lance… He was a real piece of work, a manipulative street tough who only cared about himself, but could convince just about everyone around him otherwise. He could get away with anything he wanted, and he did. He was a complete and total scumbag, that was for sure.

I just couldn’t understand what Natalia saw in him.

They had been going out for far too long. He would sneak on to the abbey grounds and throw rocks at her window until she would sneak out and run off with him. They would disappear for hours at a time, at least once a week, until she would come back in the early hours of the morning. Alone. But this time, she had been gone for much longer than usual…

I heard a loud knock upon the door. I opened it, and there was Tali at last, but not as I had expected her. Her face was streaked with tears, and her face was red. She looked like she had been crying for a while.

“H-hey, Varen…” she said between sobs. “C-can I come I-in?”

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is everything alright?” She shook her head as she entered.

“No…” she mumbled, as she closed the door behind her. “Lance said he’s through with me,”

“What? What happened?” I knew no good would come from him…

“We… y-you know…” her voice trailed off. “H-he said it would strengthen our relationship… He g-got what he wanted, a-and that was it… He was done…” She looked as though she was about to start crying again.

“Oh, Tali…” I murmured. “I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do for you, just let me know,”

The next thing I knew, I had my back against the bed, her body pressed firmly against mine. Her arms were wrapped tightly around my body, her head pressed again my chest.

“You’ve always been so good to me…” I heard her sob. “Always willing to listen, always there… I need you, and I’ll do anything to keep you around. Anything…” What had gotten into her? “I just don’t want to be alone,”

Oh gods. I wanted her. I gazed down at her, taking in her beautiful blue eyes, her golden hair, her perfect figure, her sweet scent. She smiled at me, and began to lean in.

No. This wasn’t right! She wasn’t herself, and I would be even worse than Lance if I were to anything to her now.

I stopped her, just as her lips began to touch mine.

“Tali,” I said. “Don’t. You’re not yourself. Please… stop,”

She recoiled instantly, with a look of pure shock on her face that was quickly replaced by one of anguish and rage.

“What, is something wrong with me?!” she screamed. Before I could do anything to stop her, she had gone, slamming the door behind her.

Feeling terrible, I curled up in my bed, hoping that rest could simply wash away the encounter. But sleep never came. My mind kept wandering to other things. Did I do the wrong thing? What if I handled that a different way? I need to hurt Lance. I need to apologize. I need to, I need to. What if, what if?

Morning came way too soon. Forcing myself out of bed, I went down to the eating hall, though I wasn’t hungry. When I entered, I saw Tali. Avoiding my gaze, she stood to leave and brushed past me, not saying a word. I turned to follow her, but found that I just couldn’t. Feeling even worse than before, I took my seat at the table, where I remained until everyone else had finished.

Just wanting to get away from everything, I got up and just started walking. After a long, long, while, I found myself sitting alone at the brook. Closing my eyes, I tried once again to escape, only to be disturbed by the sound of footsteps.


“I’m sorry about last night,” I heard her say from behind me. “And this morning. I just needed some time alone to think,”

“I’m really sorry about what I did too,” I replied. “There’s nothing wrong with you, you know.”

“Yeah,” she said, giving me a slight smile as she sat beside me.

“You feel better?”

She nodded. We sat in silence, just watching the creek, side by side.

“You’re a good friend, Varen,” she said eventually, still watching the river. “And I hope that those… stupid things I did last night won’t change that. You mean a lot to me…” she continued, turning to face me. “As a friend. And I really hope that we’ll be able to continue on like this never happened.”

“Tali, nothing has changed,” I said. “No matter what you do, no matter what happens, I will always be your friend, and as long as I’m around, you’ll never, ever, be alone,”


“That’s all I need,” I heard her whisper. “That’s all I need,”

In Search of Truth
(or Three Years for THIS?!)

Spoiler

It was still raining when I finally came to, and I was soaked through to the bone. How long had I been unconscious? The sky was still dark; I couldn’t even tell if it was the same day, much less morning or night. Slowly, my thoughts began to return to me.

It was Natalia I had fought. Or was it? No, it had to be… But why? Why had she taken the mantle of the Deathwind? Why did she fight me? Did she really want me to join her? Where was she now? Why was I still alive? I had far too many questions, and much too little time. I needed to catch up to the Fear Legion as quickly as I could. Only then would I finally have answers.

But first I would have to get off this cliff. Cautiously, I started my descent, my mind still spinning from fatigue. Unfortunately, my foot hit a slick stone, and before I knew it, I was at the base of the hill, covered in even more bruises and blood than I had before. I picked myself up and started walking. Lightning illuminated the sky, revealing an open patch in the grass. I could have sworn I saw a flash of gold.

When I arrived there, I found her. Natalia was lying there, in nothing but rags, covered in blood. When I got closer, I realized with horror that her eyes had been gouged out.

But she had a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. She was alive! She was definitely alive! Cradling her with one arm, I searched frantically through my pack until I found what I was looking for. A small vial, filled with glowing red liquid. She needed this a lot more than I did now. Carefully, I emptied it into her mouth, forcing her to swallow it.

Coughing and spluttering, she entered the world of the living. Feeling my grip, she jolted, and screamed.

“Tali! Tali, it’s me!” I tried to calm her down.

“Varen…?” she mumbled, turning her head in my direction. “You should have just let me die…”

“Tali, please,” I begged. “Tell me what happened. Why were you imitating the Deathwind? Were you leading them? What is going on?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” she coughed. “Besides, it doesn’t make a difference anymore…”

“Tali,” I pleaded. “I need to know. For three years, I have been searching for you, only to find this. Please…”

“Three years?” she laughed weakly. “Three years? You’re an idiot. You should have just given up on me…”

“I could never give up on you,”

“We’ll see,” her tone became bitter. “You really want to know what happened? I led them. I killed the Deathwind and took his place. I’ve been behind it all. I was your enemy. So just kill me...” I noticed that tears were running down her face. “Just end it,”

So it was true. She had become a powerful force of evil in the world, only to finally be thrown down at the pinnacle of her reign. She had been the one who had orchestrated countless crimes against the King and all of Geridia. She had become everything that I sought to oppose, to destroy.


But gods forgive me, I loved her. I always did.



“No,” I said. “If what you say is true, then there are crimes that you must answer for. But I will not be the one to condemn you. There are ways that you can right the wrongs you have committed, and I refuse to believe that there is no good left in you,”

“You really think you can redeem me?” she chuckled. “You’re an idiot,”

I helped her to her feet, and held her close as she used me for support.

“Alright,” she sighed. “Where do we start?”


Perhaps it was some vain hope, a belief that she still had some goodness in her, that colored my final decision. Perhaps it was a need for answers, or a desire to absolve her from her crimes. Or perhaps it was all of those thoughts and far, far more. But she came along, and I still don't know why. All I knew for sure was that I couldn’t let her go.


Not now. Not ever.