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feeling: full
listening to: nothing
Raelin grunted a bit as she adjusted the cross-straps of her backpack. Within moments all that she had worked and trained for since she was a child would culminate into reality, and before her loomed the ancient, weathered sandstone pyramid within which her fate was waiting. Here, she would be accepted into the Guild of Thieves - the first step toward her goal of becoming Rune-Midgard's most successful assassin in history.
The road to Morroc had not been an easy one, but the events that led to her decision to travel there had been far more grueling. Her hometown... her family... even her precious little pet Coco - they hadn't deserved to die. They hadn't deserved to be looted and razed to the ground and wiped from the face of history forever. Only Raelin had survived, and every moment of the carnage was still fresh in her mind. When the image of those disgusting Orcs crossed her mind, and that disgusting excuse for a human who had led them in battle, Raelin's blood ran cold. They would not get away with this. She would train herself in the art of death, and she would avenge her mother, her father, her elder sister, and her village. Even her Coco.
"But before I do that, I should probably hang out here and rest," Raelin muttered to herself, taking a seat some paces away from a large pack of merchants that had set up shop outside the pyramid entrance, showing off their carts full of potions and fruits vegetables and other rejuvenating wares. I wonder how many of the sweet potatoes in those carts were grown in my own village, she thought to herself, remembering the seemingly endless, wonderfully scented fertile fields and gardens of her former hometown with fondness, sadness, and rage all at once. Momentarily she pushed her emotions aside, noting that a few more experienced male wanderers - training in the art of swordsmanship, from the looks of their armor - were watching her very carefully. When she caught the eye of the one who appeared to be the ringleader, he smirked at her, winking and balancing a half-wilted flower between his middle and index fingers. Glaring daggers at him, she stood to search for another place to sit, but decided instead that her energy had replenished itself from her previous battles. Nothing was holding her back now. It was time to enter the pyramid.
Steeling herself, gazing with contempt at the dark halls just beyond the entrance, Raelin walked forward. The air in the pyramid was heavy with dampness and the mingling odors of human blood, beasts' blood, and something far more foul that she didn't want to think about. She wrinkled her nose as she peered into the first hall, where a young boy who looked no more mature than herself was wildly swinging his dagger at an enormous batlike beast, which was clearly getting the better of him. His body was soaked with sweat, blood trickled down his face and neck, and gradually the bat was pushing him back into a slimy wall. She watched with horror as the boy eventually ceased his attacks and fell against the wall, slumping down further and further as the bat assaulted him with furious aerial attacks and speed. Finally, the boy lie motionless on the ground. The bat, satisfied, fluttered in another direction in search of its next victim.
Raelin shivered. Something told her bats weren't the only creatures in this pyramid, that something far more deadly lurked in the shadows. But she couldn't go back now. She had to find the Guild of Thieves. She had come this far, had narrowly survived countless battles in the desert of Morroc, and nothing would stop her from reaching her goal now. Her family and friends were waiting, somewhere, for her to avenge them. Ignoring the stench of battle and death that hung all around her, Raelin breathed as deeply as she dared and stepped into the first dark corridor.
Her first obstacle was the boy. It was difficult, but Raelin avoided looking at him, knowing that if she stalled now she would be the next victim of those disgusting bats. She just had to find that guild. That was the problem - finding it. Its members were thieves by trade, after all, and they couldn't very well set up their home base out in the open. She would just have to work her way through this terrible maze and find it as quickly as possible.
Left, right, left, left... every corner turned was another step closer to destiny. After some time Raelin caught sight of a bright light around the next corner. Torches. She was close - she had to be. One more deep breath, and she made her way around this last corner.
And found herself face to face with a gigantic bat.
Raelin gulped as the beast caught wind of her and began its attack. Its huge, blood-encrusted fangs raked her flesh again and again, draining her energy, and all she could do was swing her dagger blindly. She could feel a few hits land, but she knew the battle would end soon, and not in her favor. Slowly she was losing her footing, feeling the hall around her grow ever so slightly darker by the second. Soon she would meet the same fate as that boy in the first corridor.
"I won't... forgive you..." Raelin snarled to her assailant, as well as to the Orcs and their leader, wherever they were. She would find them in the next life, and she would make them pay.
That second, she heard a gruesome bashing sound, followed by a blood-curdling shriek. Then silence.
Weakly, Raelin lifted her head, peering through the unnatural darkness to see the bat lying motionless on the cold ground, its head thoroughly crushed. Wincing both at the sight and at the pain shooting through her wounded and poisoned limbs, she lifted her gaze further, searching for her savior. Sure enough, her bleary eyes fell upon a girl donning an ivory robe and carrying a vicious looking mace.
"Are you all right?" the girl, obviously a seasoned acolyte, inquired.
Raelin glanced down, observing her unsteady legs and shaky, bloody hands. "Looks like... everything's here," she croaked.
The acolyte smiled. "You're strong," she observed. "But obviously still a novice. You shouldn't be in this dungeon - Death itself lives here."
"Thanks for the concern," Raelin muttered. She didn't like being lectured to, but she couldn't deny that this girl had saved her life. Being civil was probably the wisest choice. "I'm looking for the Guild of Thieves," she told the acolyte.
"Oh, of course," she said, her expression gentle. "I should have known. Fortunately, you're very close to your goal."
Raelin staggered, straightening her body as best she could. "Yeah, well, thanks for the help and all," she said forcefully, turning to limp toward the guild's entrance. "I'd best be..." She hadn't taken but a step when she felt a warm breeze envelop her body, rejuvenating her muscles and soothing her bloody wounds. A heal spell, she realized, standing fully upright and examining the clean, unmarred flesh on her arms where jagged lacerations and bites had just been. She jerked her head around, searching for the acolyte, but was dismayed to find that her savior had vanished into the darkness.
"Thanks, Acolyte," Raelin said quietly, pausing for a moment before turning again and continuing toward the torch-lit room she's been heading toward before her battle. In the small room's center, she saw a stairway leading downward, further into the darkness.
This is it, she told herself, peering down the staircase. The Guild of Thieves is down there. My journey starts here.
Squaring her shoulders, Raelin slipped her right foot down onto the first step. Her destiny lay just ahead.
I will be Rune-Midgard's most renowned Assassin.
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...My Ragnarok Online thief needed a background story. ^^; Threw this little quickie together in half an hour or so, no proofreading, nothin'. Seems like a pretty decent story for my Raelin-chan... and yeah, the pyramid/acolyte/bat thing really happened, except without all the dialog. Figured I'd stick this thing here now, kinda to commemorate the official end of RO's Open Beta period. Yes, RO is back to Closed Beta as of half an hour ago, meaning only those willing to fork over a couple weeks' worth of wages will be able to play from now on. Or, in my case, those who have a birthday coming up and parents with a Paypal account. X)
So Dumplin', I guess you'll just have to come over this summer if you want to do some ROing on my new paid account... what a cryin' shame, eh? XD
comment! (0)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 6/01/2003 08:46:00 PM
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