Stillron

Congrats to all the writers!

Grazie! I'm glad you liked the story, good luck to you too!

Nice story! It's impressive how you used archaic English in it, and it fits the story perfectly!

Finally this wonderful item is being honoured the way it should be! I loved the poem!

Thank you, that's very nice of you! Maybe I'll write a part 2 to tell about when the scroll was found... Danke schön!

When I was a little girl, my mother told me a story. She told me that your life doesn’t have to end when you draw your last breath or when your heart stops beating, and that there is a magical object, more ancient and powerful than any other thing in the world, that can keep you alive forever. The story of the legendary life scroll was always my favourite as a child, and every night, before going to sleep, I would ask my mother questions about it. Who created the scroll? How does it work? Where is it now? She had all the answers: the scroll was a gift bestowed by the God Harad upon a warrior who had proven herself to be pure of heart. She was a simple soldier who had saved the life of a priest, risking her own. As the priest had nothing to give her in return, he prayed to Harad to keep the warrior safe. The God listened to the good priest’s prayer and gave him the power to create a magical scroll that he could give to his saviour to protect her from Death. The scroll allowed the warrior to live a very long life and it was then handed down from generation to generation. As for the current location of the scroll, my mother revealed that to me when I turned 18, after I enlisted to go fight in the war. She told me that we were the descendants of the pure-hearted warrior and, as the youngest heir, I received the scroll before leaving for the front. She warned me to always keep it close to me and, when Death came to claim my life, to recite the words contained in the scroll. I wasn’t a child anymore and I wasn’t sure that I believed my mother’s story, but I did as she told me and always kept the scroll in my bag. At the time I was young and naive and I dreamt of becoming a strong fearless warrior. However, once I arrived on the battlefield, I realised that I was just one soldier among thousands whose life would soon be lost to an age-old war. As I watched countless soldiers perish everyday, one thing was clear in my mind: I didn’t want to die! But Death doesn’t heed our pleas and so one day it came for me, too. It all happened very quickly: an arrow in my heart, so much noise around me and then just the blue sky filling my big frightened eyes as I drew my last breath and heard my last heartbeat. I have no memory of what happened next, but when I opened my eyes again I was staring at the same blue sky, lying on the ground and holding the scroll tightly in my hands. Since then, I have died and come back to life more times than I can remember. I have become a great warrior, feared by many: I have fought too many battles and taken too many lives. I have used my endless time to harm others, turning the gift of the scroll into a curse. I have sold my soul so that I could keep breathing and now I know that my mother was right: it’s not the air in your lungs or the beating of your heart that keeps you alive. It is the deep strange beautiful feeling you get when you walk in the woods, when you watch the rain fall or when you touch the first snow of the season. It is the inexplicable desire to earn the trust of a stray cat, to make the acquaintance of someone new or to read the next page of a book. This is what the scroll took from me every time I used it. This is the bargain I made with Death. This is why I am hiding the scroll somewhere in Arinar, in the hope that it will never be found, because I know that if it is ever replicated, it will doom everyone to a miserable life filled with endless war.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Great story, it's clear that you put a lot of work into it. I like the fact that the protagonist is more of a grey character, he's not the traditional good-hearted hero and he's so obsessed with killing Snorlar that he ends up becoming a monster-like creature himself (literally but maybe metaphorically too?) but at the same time he still seems to care about other people. Also, I really liked the final battle, the way you described it is really cool and the Animagi transfiguration stuff makes it more interesting, I really enjoyed reading it!

Character's name: Stillron Server: EU-Emerald We noticed the first signs on the last days of spring: that’s when we realised that something had changed. That time of the year the weather was usually mild to allow our crops to grow, instead we were hit by the strongest snowstorm in decades. Borea had always been a cold and harsh place but this was nothing like we had ever seen before and we knew that our world would soon become uninhabitable. As time went by the situation got worse: the snow fell without respite on our barren land, the animals we usually hunted were starving and so were we. We were suffering from a terrible famine and our people were dying. My mother was sick and she and my little sister needed food: that’s why I decided to join the army, so that I could share with them the rations of food that soldiers received. Even our fearless leader, Kronus, who was usually so impassive, seemed perturbed. The people were getting restless and he knew that he had to act quickly or else all would be lost. One day he finally left his palace to talk to us, his powerful army. I was still a young girl back then and I had never seen him up close. It was a terrifying sight: I couldn’t help but tremble as I saw this enormous scarlet dragon approaching. He walked towards us slowly, causing the ground to shake at his every step and exhaling hot smoke that melted the snow he walked upon. He finally spoke and his deep voice resonated like the sound of thunder: “As you know our world is facing unprecedented trouble. The weather is cruel, the crops are scarce and this land can no longer feed our people. But fear not, I have found a solution to our problems. We must leave this land and conquer a new world: Arinar. Its inhabitants are weak and primitive creatures and our great army will defeat them easily. We will enslave them and dominate their world.” Kronus was sure that the people of Arinar wouldn’t pose a real threat to us: he underestimated them and that was the beginning of our downfall. We all knew that the reason our world was dying was the dark magic that Kronus used to prolong his life and stay in power, but we couldn’t question his orders and so we prepared to leave our homes and fight in a foreign land. Of course we were all scared and we didn’t know how we would get there, but Kronus had already found a way: he used his ancient magic to create a labyrinth, a secret passage between Borea and Arinar. He believed that we would cross it unnoticed and take our enemies by surprise, but things didn’t go as planned. He was still recovering from the incredible amount of energy he had used to create the labyrinth and our army was weak from hunger and marched slowly. We spent days in that hellish labyrinth, struggling to keep ourselves awake as our leader screamed at us to keep walking. In the meantime the people of Arinar were alerted to our presence and they got ready to fight. We didn’t even have the chance to see the blue skies of Arinar or breathe the warm summer air that we had long been dreaming about. Their army was waiting for us at the end of the labyrinth and it was the biggest one we had ever seen. Kronus had assured us that the different tribes of Arinar were at war with each other but apparently the threat that we represented was enough for them to come together: the highlanders and the elves fought together side by side, united by a common enemy. It was a ferocious battle and so much blood was shed on both sides. Kronus opened his powerful wings and breathed fire upon our enemies but we were trapped inside the labyrinth and even he couldn’t fly far. We soon realised that we were doomed: in front of us stood an army of skilled warriors and behind us was an intricate maze that led to a dying world. As the warriors fought and held us back, their warlocks cast an ancient spell created by the first dragon hunters and placed a terrible curse on us all. Suddenly Kronus’s mighty wings closed as he let out a terrible shriek and fell on the ground. He was in chains, trapped and doomed to let the astral parasites feed on his insides for all eternity, as we, his minions, stand by his side. The curse created a connection between Kronus and the astral labyrinth: if he dies the labyrinth will disintegrate and so will the two worlds that it connects. From that moment on our entire existence has been devoted to protecting the monster that is responsible for our ruin in order to preserve the balance of the worlds and avoid the destruction of Borea and Arinar. To this day brave warriors from Arinar venture into the labyrinth and fight us: they think that we are mindless minions but, even though we are trapped, we are aware of everything that’s happening and we are still able to think and feel. Sometimes I dream of my home in Borea and I imagine that it’s a beautiful place now that Kronus can’t corrupt it anymore. I dream that the crops grew back and that my family is alive and well. I think of my mother’s warm smile as she watches my little sister play in the fields. I dream of the rain and the sun and the sweet smell of honey that fills the air of the summer days. That is how I find the strength to accept this terrible punishment, to stand here and watch over Kronus, the heartless tyrant who led me towards this horrible fate. I know that I am giving my life for my family and for countless others who will never know my name or my sacrifice.

Yes, it's Devilistaa. Thanks!

Congratulations to everyone!

That part is definitely a bit eerie 😁

Thanks, good luck to you too!

Thanks! And yes, it is pretty dark 😄 Thank you!

Character's name: Stillron Server: EU-Emerald Lorn held Ben's hand tight. A cold wind was blowing. A wind of death. As a skilled shaman, she could recognise the signs: a terrible war was coming, as bloody and violent as the legendary War of the Spear. During the seven years of war there had been many battles, but this one was going to be different. This time they wouldn’t fight for glory, they would fight for the life of every person in the clan. If they lost this battle then they also lost their territories, the lands that fed their people, their homes. Ben smiled at her reassuringly. “You haven’t completed your training yet, it’s too dangerous”, she told him. “I have to fight, I can't stand by as the Sentinels take our lands. Besides, if I do get hurt, I know you'll save me. You're the best healer I've ever met”. A knight walked past them. A shiver ran down their spines. His armour was black and his face emotionless. “He's one of them, isn't he?”, asked Ben. “Yes, he's a death knight”. “That's the most heartless thing anyone could ever do. Taking a soul away from its resting place. I would rather die a million times than live for a second as that creature. I can't believe our faction is allowing this”. “It's those necromancers, they're poisoning everyone's mind”. “Have you seen their magic? It's not like yours, it's corrupted. No good can come of it”. A horn was blown. The enemies were coming. Death was coming. Lorn was looking for something to say to talk Ben out of it, but as soon as their eyes met she knew that no words could change his mind. All she could do was watch over him. The commanders were screaming instructions. “DEFEND. STAND YOUR GROUND”, they screamed at the top of their lungs. The soldiers, mostly barbarians, marched to meet the enemies at the border. Where were their new allies, the Forsaken? As much as it pained her to admit it, they needed their help. In all the chaos Lorn lost sight of Ben. Arrows started falling from the sky and in front of them was the biggest army they had ever seen. Screams of pain, courage and fear filled the wintery air. Lorn was casting powerful spells to hit enemies and heal allies, but at the same time her eyes were constantly looking for Ben. Suddenly she saw three arrows coming towards her. She raised her staff but she was exhausted: the bolt of lightning she summoned only stopped one and she couldn't cast fast enough to stop the other two. Her past life and the future she had imagined with Ben flashed in front of her eyes: she knew death was coming. Suddenly a shield appeared in front of her and stopped the arrow from hitting her. Someone had saved her, it was Ben! She opened her eyes but her relief soon turned into despair as she saw that the third arrow had hit her lover's heart. She started casting a healing spell at once, using all of her remaining energy in a vain attempt to save him, but there was no more life in his eyes. She didn't even have the strength to scream: exhausted, she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She woke up hours later. She looked around the battlefield: the snow that covered it was red as the blood that was shed that day. Her hands looked for Ben's body but it wasn't there, someone had taken him from her, again. She got up and started running towards the camp. There she saw Ben's body, a necromancer was standing over it whispering something. “Stop!”, she screamed, horrified, but it was too late. Ben's body stood up and faced her. His blue eyes had turned black and his warm smile was replaced by a cold stare. She looked around and saw that they were doing the same thing to every soldier, they were resurrecting them, using their bodies as hosts of darkness. She finally understood: that's why the Forsaken disappeared right before the battle and didn't fight alongside the Mountain Clans, they wanted as many of them as possible to die so that they could turn them into death knights. “We had to do this”, said a stony-faced necromancer. “We were never going to win, the forces of the Sentinels and the Mountain Clans are equal. We had to eliminate your weaknesses, to replace love with hatred, in order to turn the scale in our favor. With this new undead army we can finally take over Irselnort and end the War”. Lorn's heart was beating fast, a million thoughts were going through her mind, among them Ben's last words. She couldn't let his body be used like that, she had to lay it to rest, that's what he would have wanted. She felt so sad and desperate, but above all she felt rage. The ground started shaking and the snow turned into rain. A deafening bolt of lightning hit Ben's body, which fell to the ground at once. The earthquake stopped and Lorn kneeled down to caress Ben's face. His eyes were blue again but his skin was cold and his heart completely still. She looked at the necromancer wrathfully and spoke: “Now that you have discovered how to cheat death, the War will never end. You have doomed the inhabitants of this island to an eternity of pain and fighting. You are responsible for the blood that was shed today as well as the blood that will be shed in countless future battles for territory. One day all of Arinar will know what you did today. As they march to meet their fate, waving bloody banners, scared of losing their lives and even more of losing their souls, they shall stop to curse you for robbing them of their future as you have robbed me of mine”. Then she picked Ben's body up, holding it tight in her arms as she turned around and walked away to lay it to rest far away from that cursed land. No one tried to stop her, no one could. It is told that she returned to the snowy mountains of Godgorrath, patiently waiting for the day when she'll make good on her promise.