Dannydehz
Chieftain
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2007
- Messages
- 94
WHEN FATE INTERVENES
Chapter 1
Nabu had traveled a long way since that fateful day when Prokyri slavers burned his village and took him away in the dead of night. That was many, many moons ago and Nabu’s memory failed him when he tried to remember what his parents looked like, what his sisters looked like, what he used to do during the days. All Nabu remembers, is the harsh life of being a slave, first traveling with his master from city to city in the long, winding trade caravans, then ending up in the Great City of Gold, working as a loader for a small-time warehouse owner along the docks. Day in and day out, his waking hours were spent carrying heavy sacks of grain for his old master, who enjoyed whipping his slaves as much as he enjoyed hoarding every single shekel he earned and spending nothing on his personal comfort, let alone the comfort of his slaves.
Nabu had always told himself that one day, he would kill his master and run far, far away. He prayed to his Gods to give them the opportunity to fulfill this dream of his. But Nabu found that the Gods had other plans for him, as he woke up one day to find his master arrested on the account of fraud and Nabu was dragged to the local slave market, where he was thrown in a filthy, overpopulated cage for three days before he was finally “processed” and sold to a man called Era. Era looked in no way like someone who possessed sufficient wealth to buy a slave, let alone five, as Nabu was not the only one locked up in the dark, closed carriage as the driver guided the horses through the narrow, winding streets of the bustling city. No, Era looked more like a servant himself, sent to buy the slaves from the market for his master.
The wide-eyed forest-dweller sitting across from Nabu looked like he would lose his sanity at any moment, praying to his Gods and repeating over and over again: “We shall perish, we shall all perish!”. Nabu watched the forest-dweller in silence as his concern grew that Era might stop the carriage and whip them all. Thankfully, Nabu’s broad-shouldered neighbor managed to shut the forest-dweller up with the threat of removing the forest-dweller's tongue with his bare hands.
Suddenly, the carriage came to an abrupt halt and the five slaves slammed against each other as all manner of curses escaped from their lips. No sooner had they recovered, or the door flung open to reveal Era, shouting orders at the slaves to get out and line up, which they duly did, being the humbled men they were. What Nabu saw before him was nothing he could’ve ever guessed he would see. They were lined up right in front of a large, wooden gate, adorned with the ferocious images of Dragons and guarded by two soldiers fully armored and armed with the most magnificently crafted equipment he had ever seen. The wall which protected what the gate gave entrance to, was five men tall and made out of solid rock. Before Nabu had time to collect himself and realize what was going to become of him, Era yelled at them, telling them to march through the gate, towards their fate.
Chapter 2
Nabu and his five companions stood silent for a few moments, too confused to think or speak. They had walked through the gates and through several long corridors before arriving in this room. It was dark and long, with several dozen of beds lined up on either side of the room. Wooden constructions with a layer of hay on top of them, something none of the men dreamed would ever again be theirs. While simple and not nearly as comfortable as the beds of your average craftsmen, it was certainly more then a slave could ever hope for.
Before any of the five slaves had time to collect himself and speak out his astonishment, they were startled by the booming voice erupting like a volcano from outside the room. In walked a giant man, well muscled and scarred to the bone. Half his teeth were missing and his left eye was destroyed by a wicked scar running vertically across it, the eyeball glazed in a misty white color. His beard was thick, black and reached his chest, though it was neatly kept and the pipe-curls in his beard betrayed a real sense of discipline and patience, as the man did not look like he had the wealth to pay servants to groom his beard for him.
“Welcome to the Royal Training Grounds of Ritt, slaves!” Echoed his voice through the room. “As of today, you all belong to none other then the King of Ritti, most High Monarch of the isles and seas! You shall serve him and you shall worship him! You shall fight for him and you shall bring honor to his Most Hallowed Name! You shall do everything he desires from you, even die for him! And through the King of the isles and seas, Hammu-Rati of Ritti, you shall follow MY orders from this day onwards. And IF I find you fit enough to be accepted into the Royal Guard of the Dragons of Mardaka, then your true training shall begin which will transform you slaves into Godly fighting machines worthy of carrying his name and his standard in battle against the barbarian hordes!”
“NOW! Repeat after me! Amongst the Lords, there is but one General and his name is Hammu-Rati of Ritti!”
Reacting with the speed of slaves who have learned what it means to be a slave, the five men repeated the towering giant’s words.
“I shall serve my commander like I serve my King! I shall serve the King as I am his slave. My life shall be in the service of the Royal Order, as he controls it. I shall not disgrace his name, nor his sacred standard and I shall strive to uphold his honor, both on the battlefield and off it!”
“This is your oath! You shall repeat it every morning, every afternoon and every evening. Remember it well, for it is your reason to live from this day onwards! Maggots! I am your drill master, I shall make worthy Dragons out of you, if it is the last thing you do! Remember my name well: Gamel, as you will be mine for many moons to come! Now: march out into the corridor and turn left! MOVE MOVE MOVE!”
Chapter 3
Nabu didn’t sleep last night, he was still trying to process what just happened to him. Being drafted into the Ritti army was certainly not something he was expecting to happen and right now, he wondered if he didn’t prefer hard slave labor over being sent into battle. He and his five companions stood in a small courtyard, the morning sun had not yet climbed to the height where she could cast her rays on their bodies. In front of them stood Gamel, in his hand a large brush and to each side stood a bucket filled with dye, one red, the other yellow, as well as a pile of wooden sticks.
Dipping the brush in the bucket with red dye, Gamel menacingly approached the wide-eyed forest-dweller, who struggled not to whimper and take a step back. With a stab of his brush, Gamel painted a red dot on the forest dweller’s chest, another dot on his stomach and finally a stripe on his neck. “These areas,” Gamel shouted as he turned around and walked towards the buckets, “Are the vital areas of a man. Pierce him with spear, sword or arrow in those areas and he will die within a few heartbeats.”
Dipping the brush in the yellow dye, Gamel returned to the forest dweller and with a large swipe of his brush, painted a stripe surrounding the red dot on the dessert dweller’s chest, another circle around the red dot on his stomach, two swipes on his sides and two more on each of his arms. “Pierce your enemy here, and he will suffer, but if his heart is filled with courage and strength, he will be able to fight on. In the coming months, I will drill you each and every day. I will test you for strength, stamina, reflexes and skill. Those of you who fail to live up to my standards, will be taken away and sold to the highest bidder. Live up to my standards, or exceed them, and you will be rewarded richly.”
Walking back to the buckets, Gamel picked up two wooden swords and tossed one to the forest dweller, who fumbled and dropped it. “I myself was trained exactly as you are going to be trained. I excelled during training and as a reward, was promoted to drill sergeant and am promised five acres of land and two slaves when I retire four years from now. If you strive to excel, you too will be rewarded with titles, land and slaves.”
Nabu gasped, as did the others. The prospect of owning wealth, let alone slaves, was something they had erased from their expectations. Their hearts raced as they each determined that they wanted to possess land for themselves. Setting his eyes on the forest dweller, Gamel ordered: “Strike at me.” To which the forest dweller hesitated for five heartbeats before carefully approaching the muscular giant and lunging at him.
With what seemed like the greatest ease, Gamel sidestepped the lunge and struck down with his stick on the desert dweller’s outstretched arm, snapping both bone and wood and sending the forest dweller and the other slaves reeling back. It took the forest dweller two heartbeats to realize what just happened, before he started squealing like a pig, fractured bone sticking out from his bloodied arm. With a nod from Gamel’s head, two nearby guards quickly approached the forest dweller and dragged him away.
“If the forest dweller heals properly, he will be sold on the market.” Gamel told the remaining four as he grabbed four more wooden swords and tossed them at every one in turn. This time, no swords were dropped.
A new life had unveiled herself to Nabu this past week. One filled with three decent meals a day, clean clothes, decent living conditions and religious worship. While Nabu was used to the strict discipline, hard work and overlords barking orders all day long, he did not expect being treated as well as he and his comrades were. The barracks, while certainly lacking any form of luxury, were much better then he was used to in his years working as a slave loader, as were the clothes and the meals.
Chapter 4
The heat was unbearable, worse then anything he had ever had to endure. All day long he had done nothing but inspect the defenses and make sure the construction of the fortress went according to schedule. In fact, for the past eight moons, every single day was spent like the previous: without excitement, without glory, without honor. “By the horns of Mardaka, I can only bare this life for so much longer.” he exclaimed.
“Nabu?”
His companion, the broad-shouldered Gara. Ever since the first day they met, on that fateful morning on the slave market, he and Gara had been inseparable. They were trained together by Gamel, they were praised together, they learned together, fought together and even now, Gara would never leave his sight.
“Nabu, sir?”
“What is it?” He replied with a sigh. Gara was much less concerned about rotting his days here, up north, near the border with the Prokyr. Gara was contend to quietly let the eight years pass by until he could retire from the Dragons and quietly settle on a fertile plot of land. If it were up to Gara, he would spend the next few years staring across the border, waiting patiently for the assault that would never come.
“Nabu, great Captain, there is a messenger requesting your presence. From the capital.”
Ah, now there is a change. A visitor from the City of Gold. Rising from his chair, Nabu walked towards Gara's voice. Brushing past the desk and pushing open the simple wooden door, he entered the waiting room and spotted a young boy standing there nervously, his hat held firmly in his hands. When their eyes met, the boy snapped to attention and spoke:
“Captain Nabu of the Dragons of Mardaka, sir?”
A broad smile whipped across his face: “Well well well. Is our Majesty at it again then? For honor and glory and all that?”
Blushing uncomfortably, the boy replied: “Yes sir... the Navy is set to sail out a...”
Dismissing the boy's comments with a wave of his hand, Nabu replied: “No need to say more. I thought after the Battle of Luko, the King would have no further need for me. I'm glad my services are still needed. Gara, pack our belongings, the Dragons of Mardaka leave tonight!”
A Dragon of Mardaka. Armored with a chain vest, waist protectors, plate greaves and a sturdy, round shield. The Dragons are sufficiently armored to withstand punishment, but are light enough to be able to move swiftly across the battlefield. Armed with javelins and a short sword, the professional soldiers of the Ritti excell in the assault and are trained to ruthlessly exploit breaches in the enemy defenses. A deadly volley of javelins, followed by a determined charge has carried the day in many a battle. Led by the feared and respected Captain Nabu, these warriors truly are the cream of the Ritti military.
Chapter 1
Nabu had traveled a long way since that fateful day when Prokyri slavers burned his village and took him away in the dead of night. That was many, many moons ago and Nabu’s memory failed him when he tried to remember what his parents looked like, what his sisters looked like, what he used to do during the days. All Nabu remembers, is the harsh life of being a slave, first traveling with his master from city to city in the long, winding trade caravans, then ending up in the Great City of Gold, working as a loader for a small-time warehouse owner along the docks. Day in and day out, his waking hours were spent carrying heavy sacks of grain for his old master, who enjoyed whipping his slaves as much as he enjoyed hoarding every single shekel he earned and spending nothing on his personal comfort, let alone the comfort of his slaves.
Nabu had always told himself that one day, he would kill his master and run far, far away. He prayed to his Gods to give them the opportunity to fulfill this dream of his. But Nabu found that the Gods had other plans for him, as he woke up one day to find his master arrested on the account of fraud and Nabu was dragged to the local slave market, where he was thrown in a filthy, overpopulated cage for three days before he was finally “processed” and sold to a man called Era. Era looked in no way like someone who possessed sufficient wealth to buy a slave, let alone five, as Nabu was not the only one locked up in the dark, closed carriage as the driver guided the horses through the narrow, winding streets of the bustling city. No, Era looked more like a servant himself, sent to buy the slaves from the market for his master.
The wide-eyed forest-dweller sitting across from Nabu looked like he would lose his sanity at any moment, praying to his Gods and repeating over and over again: “We shall perish, we shall all perish!”. Nabu watched the forest-dweller in silence as his concern grew that Era might stop the carriage and whip them all. Thankfully, Nabu’s broad-shouldered neighbor managed to shut the forest-dweller up with the threat of removing the forest-dweller's tongue with his bare hands.
Suddenly, the carriage came to an abrupt halt and the five slaves slammed against each other as all manner of curses escaped from their lips. No sooner had they recovered, or the door flung open to reveal Era, shouting orders at the slaves to get out and line up, which they duly did, being the humbled men they were. What Nabu saw before him was nothing he could’ve ever guessed he would see. They were lined up right in front of a large, wooden gate, adorned with the ferocious images of Dragons and guarded by two soldiers fully armored and armed with the most magnificently crafted equipment he had ever seen. The wall which protected what the gate gave entrance to, was five men tall and made out of solid rock. Before Nabu had time to collect himself and realize what was going to become of him, Era yelled at them, telling them to march through the gate, towards their fate.
Chapter 2
Nabu and his five companions stood silent for a few moments, too confused to think or speak. They had walked through the gates and through several long corridors before arriving in this room. It was dark and long, with several dozen of beds lined up on either side of the room. Wooden constructions with a layer of hay on top of them, something none of the men dreamed would ever again be theirs. While simple and not nearly as comfortable as the beds of your average craftsmen, it was certainly more then a slave could ever hope for.
Before any of the five slaves had time to collect himself and speak out his astonishment, they were startled by the booming voice erupting like a volcano from outside the room. In walked a giant man, well muscled and scarred to the bone. Half his teeth were missing and his left eye was destroyed by a wicked scar running vertically across it, the eyeball glazed in a misty white color. His beard was thick, black and reached his chest, though it was neatly kept and the pipe-curls in his beard betrayed a real sense of discipline and patience, as the man did not look like he had the wealth to pay servants to groom his beard for him.
“Welcome to the Royal Training Grounds of Ritt, slaves!” Echoed his voice through the room. “As of today, you all belong to none other then the King of Ritti, most High Monarch of the isles and seas! You shall serve him and you shall worship him! You shall fight for him and you shall bring honor to his Most Hallowed Name! You shall do everything he desires from you, even die for him! And through the King of the isles and seas, Hammu-Rati of Ritti, you shall follow MY orders from this day onwards. And IF I find you fit enough to be accepted into the Royal Guard of the Dragons of Mardaka, then your true training shall begin which will transform you slaves into Godly fighting machines worthy of carrying his name and his standard in battle against the barbarian hordes!”
“NOW! Repeat after me! Amongst the Lords, there is but one General and his name is Hammu-Rati of Ritti!”
Reacting with the speed of slaves who have learned what it means to be a slave, the five men repeated the towering giant’s words.
“I shall serve my commander like I serve my King! I shall serve the King as I am his slave. My life shall be in the service of the Royal Order, as he controls it. I shall not disgrace his name, nor his sacred standard and I shall strive to uphold his honor, both on the battlefield and off it!”
“This is your oath! You shall repeat it every morning, every afternoon and every evening. Remember it well, for it is your reason to live from this day onwards! Maggots! I am your drill master, I shall make worthy Dragons out of you, if it is the last thing you do! Remember my name well: Gamel, as you will be mine for many moons to come! Now: march out into the corridor and turn left! MOVE MOVE MOVE!”
Chapter 3
Nabu didn’t sleep last night, he was still trying to process what just happened to him. Being drafted into the Ritti army was certainly not something he was expecting to happen and right now, he wondered if he didn’t prefer hard slave labor over being sent into battle. He and his five companions stood in a small courtyard, the morning sun had not yet climbed to the height where she could cast her rays on their bodies. In front of them stood Gamel, in his hand a large brush and to each side stood a bucket filled with dye, one red, the other yellow, as well as a pile of wooden sticks.
Dipping the brush in the bucket with red dye, Gamel menacingly approached the wide-eyed forest-dweller, who struggled not to whimper and take a step back. With a stab of his brush, Gamel painted a red dot on the forest dweller’s chest, another dot on his stomach and finally a stripe on his neck. “These areas,” Gamel shouted as he turned around and walked towards the buckets, “Are the vital areas of a man. Pierce him with spear, sword or arrow in those areas and he will die within a few heartbeats.”
Dipping the brush in the yellow dye, Gamel returned to the forest dweller and with a large swipe of his brush, painted a stripe surrounding the red dot on the dessert dweller’s chest, another circle around the red dot on his stomach, two swipes on his sides and two more on each of his arms. “Pierce your enemy here, and he will suffer, but if his heart is filled with courage and strength, he will be able to fight on. In the coming months, I will drill you each and every day. I will test you for strength, stamina, reflexes and skill. Those of you who fail to live up to my standards, will be taken away and sold to the highest bidder. Live up to my standards, or exceed them, and you will be rewarded richly.”
Walking back to the buckets, Gamel picked up two wooden swords and tossed one to the forest dweller, who fumbled and dropped it. “I myself was trained exactly as you are going to be trained. I excelled during training and as a reward, was promoted to drill sergeant and am promised five acres of land and two slaves when I retire four years from now. If you strive to excel, you too will be rewarded with titles, land and slaves.”
Nabu gasped, as did the others. The prospect of owning wealth, let alone slaves, was something they had erased from their expectations. Their hearts raced as they each determined that they wanted to possess land for themselves. Setting his eyes on the forest dweller, Gamel ordered: “Strike at me.” To which the forest dweller hesitated for five heartbeats before carefully approaching the muscular giant and lunging at him.
With what seemed like the greatest ease, Gamel sidestepped the lunge and struck down with his stick on the desert dweller’s outstretched arm, snapping both bone and wood and sending the forest dweller and the other slaves reeling back. It took the forest dweller two heartbeats to realize what just happened, before he started squealing like a pig, fractured bone sticking out from his bloodied arm. With a nod from Gamel’s head, two nearby guards quickly approached the forest dweller and dragged him away.
“If the forest dweller heals properly, he will be sold on the market.” Gamel told the remaining four as he grabbed four more wooden swords and tossed them at every one in turn. This time, no swords were dropped.
A new life had unveiled herself to Nabu this past week. One filled with three decent meals a day, clean clothes, decent living conditions and religious worship. While Nabu was used to the strict discipline, hard work and overlords barking orders all day long, he did not expect being treated as well as he and his comrades were. The barracks, while certainly lacking any form of luxury, were much better then he was used to in his years working as a slave loader, as were the clothes and the meals.
Chapter 4
The heat was unbearable, worse then anything he had ever had to endure. All day long he had done nothing but inspect the defenses and make sure the construction of the fortress went according to schedule. In fact, for the past eight moons, every single day was spent like the previous: without excitement, without glory, without honor. “By the horns of Mardaka, I can only bare this life for so much longer.” he exclaimed.
“Nabu?”
His companion, the broad-shouldered Gara. Ever since the first day they met, on that fateful morning on the slave market, he and Gara had been inseparable. They were trained together by Gamel, they were praised together, they learned together, fought together and even now, Gara would never leave his sight.
“Nabu, sir?”
“What is it?” He replied with a sigh. Gara was much less concerned about rotting his days here, up north, near the border with the Prokyr. Gara was contend to quietly let the eight years pass by until he could retire from the Dragons and quietly settle on a fertile plot of land. If it were up to Gara, he would spend the next few years staring across the border, waiting patiently for the assault that would never come.
“Nabu, great Captain, there is a messenger requesting your presence. From the capital.”
Ah, now there is a change. A visitor from the City of Gold. Rising from his chair, Nabu walked towards Gara's voice. Brushing past the desk and pushing open the simple wooden door, he entered the waiting room and spotted a young boy standing there nervously, his hat held firmly in his hands. When their eyes met, the boy snapped to attention and spoke:
“Captain Nabu of the Dragons of Mardaka, sir?”
A broad smile whipped across his face: “Well well well. Is our Majesty at it again then? For honor and glory and all that?”
Blushing uncomfortably, the boy replied: “Yes sir... the Navy is set to sail out a...”
Dismissing the boy's comments with a wave of his hand, Nabu replied: “No need to say more. I thought after the Battle of Luko, the King would have no further need for me. I'm glad my services are still needed. Gara, pack our belongings, the Dragons of Mardaka leave tonight!”
A Dragon of Mardaka. Armored with a chain vest, waist protectors, plate greaves and a sturdy, round shield. The Dragons are sufficiently armored to withstand punishment, but are light enough to be able to move swiftly across the battlefield. Armed with javelins and a short sword, the professional soldiers of the Ritti excell in the assault and are trained to ruthlessly exploit breaches in the enemy defenses. A deadly volley of javelins, followed by a determined charge has carried the day in many a battle. Led by the feared and respected Captain Nabu, these warriors truly are the cream of the Ritti military.
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