Owen's masterpieces

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//This is a thread to drop all of Owen's stories from the StoryTeller events.  Not necessarily going to be a poem each time

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In another time...another age...another world...

A world where magic ruled the day...
Wizards and sorcerors controlled the fate of the land...

Conflicts were decided on a different battlefield than today.
Swords and soldiers were nonexistant.  Magic was everything.

Climactic battles were fought between wizards of unfathomable power.

Their magics would rain fire and stone down on their enemies.

The earth itself would rise at their command to tear asunder...
and drop those who oppose them to the depths.

But eventually the land itself revolted against these masters of the arcane.
It shook of its own accord and threatened the very people who would rule it.

Mountains rose where there was ocean.  Rolling plains fell into themselves and formed vast canyons.
The great citadels and towers that the mages had built for themselves crumbled and fell.

A mage of immense power and wisdom hatched a plan to save what was left of the world.
His name was Kershalt.  He was known as a devious opponent in battle and a genious among his peers.

He called a great caucus of mages to discuss the situation.  After much deliberation, a decision was made.
A cease fire was called and a tenuous peace ensued.

The mages agreed to stop using magic against each other.  They would use it to defend themselves and for research.
In the wake of the agreement, the land settled back to dormancy.  The mages rebuilt their strongholds and contented themselves
with their research.

It was a prosperous time and Kershalt was given credit for ushering in this new age of peace.
But Kershalt's plan was only half complete.  

In this age of peace there was a sharing of ideas and research amongst the mages.  
With this shared knowledge, Kershalt gained what he needed to complete his plot.

In secret, he took the essences of man, animal, and planar creatures that have no name to us.
Through magical means only he could master, this hybrid creation was brought to life.

It was a simple automaton.  Thoughtless.  Soulless.  Bred to obey Kershalt even unto death.
It was a thrall to the whims of its creator.

For the next few years, Kershalt bred these thrall warriors and trained them in all forms of combat.
He amassed a vast army that no one had a clue existed.

Until they were unleashed...

The land ran red with the blood of the mages who stood before them.  Though the mages cast their magic at them
the thrall were relentless.  They numbered more than even these great mages could destroy with their spells of destruction.

Some of the remaining mages gathered themselves in a tower and began a ritual that would smite Kershalt from halfway across the world.  
Without his direction, the thrall were nothing but empty husks and would threaten them no more.

Kershalt caught word of this gathering though and formed a massive assault on the tower.  Among the groups of thrall was Kershalt's first.  
He had survived each and every battle and conflict thus far.  He was a warrior with no match, even among the other thrall.

They assaulted the tower and many fell.  Up to the top they went though.  Undaunted by their fallen.  Kershalt's first lead the way and
kicked in the door to the ritual room.  

They set about slaying the mages.  Thanks to Kershalt, the mages' magic slid off of the warriors and dissapated.  Unable to defend themselves, the mages fell quickly
until the last mage stood before Kershalt's first.

Seeing that his death was imminent, he turned the ritual upon this thrall that stood before him.  He spoke a curse on Kershalt's first as he was run through.

"I curse you automaton.  I curse you with life!  From this point forward you shall know what it means to be alive!"

That was his dying breath.  He fell to the floor with the sword still sticking through him.  Kershalt's first stood there looking at the mage and then
at his own hands.  The were covered in the blood of the mages he had just killed.  

He looked around the room at the other warriors and then back to the mage.  

"What have I done?"  The other warriors just looked at him curiously.  

He turned and ran from the tower and continued running until he could not run anymore.  His mind was plagued by the horrible
acts that he had commited.

He was a murderer.  He had never cared before this.  His mind was always blank but now it was whirling.  Every murder played through his mind.
He was a murderer.  He understood now that what he did was wrong.  He could not live with himself.  

He climbed to the highest peak he could find and plunged himself from it.  He tumbled down the mountain and cracked what seemed like every bone in his body until he finally
came to a stop.  Beaten and near dead, he lay there and fell into a trancelike state where he dreamed for the first time.

Nightmares racked his mind as his body mended itself.  He remained in this state for several weeks.  When he finally woke he was changed.

He realized that the curse had prevented his dying.  The nightmares made him realize who he was.

He had committed murder as a minion of Kershalt for his quest for power.  He could see every single murder he had committed.  If he was to be a murderer then
he would become Kershalt's worst enemy and any mage that stood in his way would fall to his blade as well.

Revenge was all he had to live for.  He could not die but he could make those responsible pay with their lives.

He returned to Kershalt and his army of slaves.  He joined them again in their conquest of the land.  

After each victory he took a blade and carved designs into his skin.  He then took ink and poured it into the cuts.  All of the warriors looked identical and had no distinguishing marks.  These tatoos marked him apart from the rest.  

Soon each of the warriors were doing the same thing.  They had no names but they identified themselves by their tatoos.  Each night, Kershalt's first would take a group of warriors aside and teach them.  In time these warriors would gather more warriors and teach them.  

Knowledge spread like wildfire through the ranks.  It was time for the slaves to turn on their master.  Kershalt's first, his body covered now in tatoos marking his prowess in battle, lead an assault on the tower of Kershalt.  

Kershalt saw the assaulting army and fled through a magical portal.  Kershalt's first and his army poured through the tower and laid waste.  When they found Kershalt had escaped, they set out toward the nearest town.  

They would destroy each and every mage until they found Kershalt and destroyed him.  The anger and rage was stoked continuously by Kershalt's first.  He wanted revenge....and release.  He hoped that by destroying Kershalt that he could be free of this curse of life.

For years they tore through the land again, this time under their own control.  Countless mages died by their hand until they had cornered Kershalt, the last of the archmages.

Flaming rocks pummeled them as they assaulted his keep.  The sky itself seemed to be crashing down on them.  The heavens opened and lightning scorched them.  

The ground opened and swallowed scores of them before spewing forth torrents of lava that disinigrated them where they stood.  Kershalt's first stormed forward through it all.  He could not be killed thanks to Kershalt and his ambition.  He would end it tonight.

Warriors fell around him but he continued on.  His sword gripped tightly in his hand, he found Kershalt deep in his keep, huddled in a corner.  His magic spent, he was helpless.

"Why?  Why have you done this to me?  You are my creation.  I made you!" he screamed.

"Yes.  You made me.  I am your first.  But I dont go by that name any more.  I am Thrall.  It started with me.  And now I will end it!"

He raised his sword and in one blow cut clean through Kershalt.  In that instant everything stopped.  

The remnants of Kershalt's magic disappeared.  The army stood on the battlefield in a daze.  The defenders of the keep watched in amazement as the assault stopped.  

Thrall stood over the body of Kershalt and dropped his sword to the ground.  "It is done"

With those words spoken he fell to his knees.  He grasped his head in his hands as his entire body began to glow.  A faint but growing hum could be heard in the room.  Thrall rocked back and forth on his knees as the hum grew louder until it was a deafening sound the entire area was covered with.

Thrall raised his head to the sky and let out a guttaral scream that reverberated in the walls of the keep.  The ground picked up the reverberation and shook the earth.  The scream grew until it was the only sound that could be heard.

The glow around Thrall's body grew so intense that it rivaled the sun that shone down from the sky.  Then it exploded from his body.  A wave rippled out from him that destroyed everything that it touched.  The armies were knocked to the ground as the keep fell around them.  The ground erupted again.  Pillars of earth shot up to the sky as magma fountained around them and vaporized those unfortunate enough to get caught.  Chaos reigned as the land seemed to be fighting against itself.

After what seemed an eternity, the destruction ended.  Those who survived stood and looked around at what was left.  The entire assaulting army of tattooed warriors was gone.  Not even one remained.  Kershalt's keep was gone as well.  It had sunk deep into the earth and was covered over by a lake of lava.

As they watched, all life around them seemed to wither and die in a circle emanating from where the keep was.  The remaining men dropped their weapons and ran as fast as they could.

No one knows how many survived that day.  They only know that men emerged from a desert where there was previously lush green fields speaking nonsense.  They were clearly mad from whatever they had witnessed.  Some listened to them though and they pass this story down as I pass it to you.  

Be careful with the powers that you play with.  You may unleash your doom.

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I bring to you a tragic tale
Of greed and despair that will make you wail.
Treachery will not get you far.
And here I will detail

The account of four with no par
But they met a most foul end
Which I will convey in this story that I have penned.


The story begins in the general store.
A time to restock, these adventurers four.
Their supplies now low after a previous quest,
arrows, bolts, and sundries they sought for more.

To put their mettle to the test,
They turned away none.
Whatever the task it would be done.


There was Rajnik, the wizard arcane.
The world of magic was his domain.
Bolts of fire, ice, and molten earth
pummeled his enemies with no refrain

Time and again he had proved his worth
Many had heard them say
Thanks to Rajnik, he won the day


Then we have Kelmar Skullshield.
The angry dwarf with only an ax to wield.
He scoffed at those who would say different
But in any battle he would not yield.

With his alternative he was content
"I use me head.  Aye, it serves me well"
"but after a thump, oy does it swell"


Arriana, so graceful and light.
Stunningly beautiful, she was such a sight.
She could always be found praying to her god.
She stood for all that was good and right.

When the divine was needed she got the nod
She had saved their lives many times
and brought fugitives to justice for their crimes


And finally we come to Ayinae "Dreadfoot"
Who like all good halflings would not stay put
Always up for a dare, she once climbed the inn's roof
Only to fall down the chimney, covered in soot

It was in her nature to be such a goof
But her curiosity was what got her in trouble
The second incident brought the inn down to rubble.


So back to the store we must return.
the heroes now needed some gold to earn.
As if on cue, a man arrived.
He had with him a task of which they would learn.

He had lost something but the location he derived.
In a far off land, in a crypt more than old.
To retrieve the item had the promise of gold.


So as all their stories tend to go,
They leapt at the idea without being in the know.
If they had taken the time they would have known,
the messenger's actions should cause suspicion to grow.

He waged a war in his head where madness was sown.
This item that he sought was the cause of his malaise
and placed his mind behind a haze.


But the troop was only too eager to please.
They would not resort to begging on their knees.
Hunger is a powerful motivator when it takes hold.
So they grabbed the man's map without a thought of his disease.

They trudged through thick and thin in a manner so bold.
They reached the crypt and an impassable gap.
So they set up camp and laid down for a nap.


When morning arrived, Rajnik declared a solution.
For causing so much trouble, Ayinae would pay restitution.
Rajnik would transform himself to a mighty fighter,
one with tremendous strength and constitution.

A rope would be tied to Ayinae and Rajnik would throw her.
Across the canyon she would fly and if she fell?
Rajnik just shrugged his shoulders and said "Oh well!"


Arrianna was aghast but held onto hope.
Kelmar laughed and uncoiled his rope.
Ayinae grabbed the rope and tied it to herself.
She winked and said "If I live through this Kelmar, we're going to elope!"

"No way lass!  I'm gonna marry the elf!"
Arrianna, embarrassed, ran away.
Kelmar exclaimed "You better run off and pray!"


Now Rajnik had called upon his magical power
and over the brave halfling Ayinae he did tower.
He snatched up the rope and began to swing
as Kelmar dodge out the way in a cower.

Ayinae was spinning and spinning until let go like a sling.
She flew through the air across the divide
she mimicked a bird, her arms like wings open wide.


Arrianna returned to see Rajnik let loose
Just as Kelmar grabbed her behind like a goose.
She jumped in the air and by fate or mistake
her foot landed in the makeshift rope noose.

Ayinae landed on the other side safe for goodness sake.
But Arrianna spun on Kelmar and let words fly.
Poor Kelmar laughed so hard he did nearly cry.


This infuriated Arrianna to no end.
She called upon her divine god to send
a smiting blow down on Kelmar's head.
But she served justice and it does not bend.

At the last moment smote the ground instead.
But the edge of the canyon was where she was standing
and the force of the blow cracked the earth on its landing.


It crumbled and weakened under Arrianna's feet
She would tumble and fall and her doom she would meet.
But remember the rope that was now tightly around her.
Rajnik was beaming over his amazing feat

of slinging the halfling all the way over.
He did not see the rope so he could not help.
Arrianna went over the edge with a frightened yelp.


Ayinae had stood up and brushed off the dust
Seeing the other side she did nearly bust
From laughter at the ensuing events
A snappy comment from her was surely a must.

She said something about how the wise have no sense
When she realized that the rope was still tied
It pulled her across the ground on her backside


Over the edge and down she went
Rajnik and Kelmar watched but did not lament.
But all was not lost a tree grew from the cliff
It caught the rope and only bent.

Arrianna and Ayinae then started a tiff.
Rajnik shook his head and mumbled to himself
“I must remember to never tie together a halfling and elf”


He turned to Kelmar and said lets get over
And grew great wings with which he could hover.
Across the chasm he carried the angry one
And left the two women hanging in a lather

“We should find this item and then be done.”
“Aye, we should, but what ‘bout the lasses?”
“Why should we care?  Let them fall on their…heads!”


Laughing heartily they strode into the crypt.
Not seeing any of the traps that they tripped.
Regretting that they had left their healer,
They had no choice but to continue with weapons gripped.

Meanwhile the women, the priest and the stealer
Were still hanging there dangling.
But Arrianna had a plan to do some angling.


She grabbed the tree and held on tight.
Then swung the poor halfling with all her might.
Up the cliff she would let her soar.
When she found the men they would be in for a fight.

Ayinae flew up until the rope could go no more.
She grabbed and pulled at the top of the ledge
And jammed the rope into a wedge.


They climbed to the top.
Once there they crashed with a flop.
So tired from the terrible ordeal
This was not worth anything in that shop!

But the men must pay, their fate they did seal
When they left the poor women hanging
They were easy to find, they followed the clanging


The men were still stumbling through each trap like fools
They attracted all manner of the undead, ghosts, and ghouls.
The women just watched, safely hidden
They watched and used the men like tools.

The bones of the undead piled in a midden
The men cleared the path all the way to the bottom
Before turning around and seeing the twosome


They offered no greeting to them
Instead they turned to condemn.
When they all four saw their quarry.
That which they sought, the great gem.

But all four each wanted the glory
Of returning the gem to the man
And each had hatched a secret plan.


They all reached at the exact same time
When they touched it there was a loud chime.
A flash of light that blinded all
A brilliance that was something sublime

But what was yet to befall?
In an instant the light was gone as well as the four
When they awoke they were far gone from the crypt’s core.


They awoke in the forest near the city
Their clothes and torn and dirty
But something was clearly amiss
With the man, the dwarf, the halfling and lady

Rajnik sat up and said “What’s this?”
But out of his mouth came an unusual sound
He slapped a hand to his mouth and fell back to the ground.


Kelmar stood and looked about
Rajnik sat back up and began to pout
But when Kelmar spoke, it sounded like Rajnik.
It was Rajnik.  Of that there is no doubt.

A change of bodies was the gem’s trick
No one was as they had been
Each shuddered as they got used to their new skin


Rajnik said “I know what to do”
No one was ready for what would ensue.
His hands moved and arcane chanting began
But his hands were now smaller and something was askew

The other three got up and ran
The previous events should have boded
That the spell would fail and so Rajnik exploded.


They walked into town now three
They had to find the man so he could see
What happened when they touched his treasure
When Kelmar decided to find what he could be.

He was Arrianna by all measure
He looked at himself in a mirror
And lost his mind instantly at the horror.


Quite insane now he figured he’d give it a whirl
He pranced about singing “I’m a pretty pretty girl!”
So now we are down to two
Ayinae now as Rajnik gave her knives a twirl

It spun out of her hands and thunked into a guard’s shoe.
She tried to go to the shadows and hide
But the body she was not used to and into the light she did slide.


She tried to plead her case to no avail
He days of freedom had now set sail
Assault on a guard was a serious offence
And her claims of being a halfling tipped the justice scale

Her sentence in jail was then to commence.
She would never again see the light of day
The events of the crypt she never again did say.


So we are left with Arriana the last of the four
She searched for the man, going door to door.
When the people saw the halfling searching about
They gathered a mob and there was an uproar

Arrianna tried to use her body to climb and find a hideout
But the skills of Ayinae could not be found
And she fell all the way to the ground.


The crowd gathered and encircled her form
The sky darkened and began to storm
Arrianna’s body began to glow
It contorted and bent until it was deformed

Until it returned to normal as the rain began to flow
Her body restored its natural state
The rain slowly began to abate.


As she awoke the crowd parted
Kelmar stumbled up and said whole-hearted
“Lass!  I thought we were lost.”
They hugged each other tightly when the gushing started

The crowd gathered themselves ready to accost
They could not bear to see this affectionate display
An elf and dwarf together was cause for dismay


But Arrianna calmed the crowd with an impassioned speech
She told their story and asked that the man they reach
He was the one who was entirely to blame
“Please find him and bring him to justice, I beseech”

Then Arrianna and Kelmar left the way that they came.
With one difference this time around
They were hand in hand of no more will I expound.


The final two were nevermore seen
But their story is told where crowds convene.
Like all my stories, there is a lesson to learn.
When offered a task, try to be keen

Or more than gold will be what you earn.
Know who you are dealing with
And that there people is the pith.


Oh and you may still wonder what happened to the gemstone.
The one that with such brilliance shone.
If you happen to come across this fine thing,
Stay very clear is what I condone.

It might be your story of next I sing.
But if you should stay, I offer this one tidbit.
Whatever you do, don’t touch it!