Everlasting Knight

Subject: Everlasting Knight Sat Nov 13, 2010 1:57 pm

Prologue:

The day was just ending when the stars began to pop out of the fast-approaching darkness. It was at this time of the day that the weather turned harsh and bitter in the northern part of Lore. The air started to turn frigid. On many nights, the sky would cloud over and it would snow, with occasional blizzards sweeping through the forest. This night, however, was one that would not have such weather, so the inhabitants of a small village decided to go out hunting. It was on this night that a man took his small son out into the forest and taught him how to hunt with the bow and daggers. This night would be remembered by the small boy for the rest of his life.

The village was an extremely small, home to only twenty-nine people. These people lived in harmony with nature, only taking the minimum to survive. On that night, the father and his eight-year-old son went off to hunt. The other villagers were not able to go out on this night because of the approaching festival that needed preparations completed. All of the villagers worked on a multitude of tasks. They cleaned the streets and set up booths, tidied up their homes and straightened the store shelves.
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The father and his son traveled to a small clearing in the forest. At this spot, many animals gathered to graze and drink water. The father instructed the boy on proper ways to handle and shoot a bow. They practiced for a few hours before the small boy finally had a chance to try shooting a small rabbit. The boy used all of the techniques that his father had just shown him. Despite all of his practice, when he let loose the arrow, he missed the rabbit by about a foot. His father, joyous at his son's remarkable progress, started to laugh with delight! The boy, however, was depressed by his miss and looked confusingly to his laughing father. "Why are you laughing, dad?" the boy asked. The father happily replied, "Because you were so close to the target after having learned how to shoot a mere two and a half hours ago!" The boy, suddenly grasping his father's words, started beaming with delight and joined in his father's laughing. The man to his son, "If you continue practicing everyday, you shall become the most amazing archer in all of Lore!" It was at this moment, however, that the boy's life started to change forever.

Terrifying screams could be heard coming from their village by the pair. The man's head flew up when he heard them. He rushed to his son and packed up all of their equipment. Afterwards, the man rushed in the direction of the village, trying to find a valid reason for the panic in the village. As they neared their home, the man slowed momentarily and had the boy find a hiding place. "Don't worry, I'll come back and find you once the village has calmed down," the father said. The boy nodded his understanding and hid in the hollow opening beneath a large tree just off the main path to the village. The child watched as his father ran into the village and out of his life forever.
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The man ran into the village with the bow that his father had made and given him. Its been said that the bow had been blessed by the light of the Twilight Goddess herself. As he entered the village, the sight was hideous. Bodies of dead villagers littered the ground, houses were in shambles, and creatures he had only heard about roamed the village, biting and killing the few villagers that remained. The man crept closer to the town square, where most of the creatures were staying. Many of the creatures had armor on and carried weapons of all kinds, but none were matching and most carried swords. One was standing on a larger box and speaking, but the man was too far away to make the words out clearly. It was clear to the man that that creature was the leader of the group, for its armor and sword was of a higher caliber than that of the others. As the man crept closer, he began to make out what the leader was saying. "We vampires have lived in the shadows for a long time, but that time is over!" shouted the leader. "We will take back Lore with our vampire armies that we have been assembling. The world as humans know it shall end in ten years!" At this, the vampire group started shouting their agreement. This was the last the man heard, though, for one vampire had seen him hiding in the shadows and walked up behind him without making a sound and wrapped his arms around his head and swiftly pulled, snapping the mans neck and ending his life, not noticing as the bow slowly faded away into nothing.
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The boy awoke towards the end of night. He looked up silently and suppressed a scream of terror. Walking down the dark road out of the village was a small army carrying weapons and loot from the town. Some of the people in the army were carrying off villagers he had known his whole life. Among the villagers being carried were his mother and father, who had seemed to have dropped his bow while inside the village, but noticed that the bow was sitting just to the right of him. The boy wanted to cry out to them but suppressed the urge when he heard a squirrel dart up a tree. The leader had been at the point in the road right in front of the boy, and he turned and hissed like a snake into the darkness, exposing his sharp fangs. The boy made a silent gasp and realized that the army was made up of vampires! The boy huddled under the tree until the sun had risen into the white winter sky. He then rushed out from under the tree and raced back to the village, desperate to find out what had become of his village. He entered the village and nearly collapsed in sadness at the sight of his village. He walked to the town square and cried at the sight of his ruined home. The boy's sadness slowly turned into anger as the realization of what happened sunk in deeper. He gathered up what belongings he still had, along with some food and supplies that would help him survive in the wilderness, and headed out of the ruins that were his village. As he left his village, he silently vowed that he would get his revenge on all of the vampires that had done this.

Subject: Chapter 1: Sat Nov 13, 2010 1:58 pm

Frozen Fighter awoke from his dream in cold sweat. He had had recurring nightmares about the night his home was attacked almost ten years ago. He kept thinking of what those monsters had said as they had passed him on the trail, "In ten years, this world will be ours." He thought to himself, "The ten years are almost up... I can't let that happen." Frozen got out of bed and dressed in his usual Ranger's garb; his camoflauge colored leather armor, a dark green and brown and grey cloak with a deep cowl, his brown leather boots, and his assorted weapons and items. Frozen Fighter was quite tall, but had a slim, yet muscular build. His hair was a dark brown and somewhat shaggy, but short enough so that it was easily manageable. His eyes were a deep brown, a somewhat similar shade to his hair. Frozen had many scars littering his torso and arms.

Frozen Fighter walked up to the innkeeper and payed her for the night. "Thank you, come back if you pass through this way again." she had told him as he walked out. He walked out to the archery range that the town had on the outskirts of town. The town guard was training the new recruits there. Frozen walked over to a target a couple down from the guards and started preparing for his morning practice. He took off all of his weapons that he was carrying; his long bow Yumi and his quiver, his slim long sword, his hidden throwing knives from his boots and belt, and his twin daggers. The recruits stared in awe as they watched Frozen Fighter take all of his weapons off. Frozen then strung his bow and prepared his arrows for practice. He lined up his first shot with the target, which was roughly seventy-five yards away, and released the arrow. In the blink of an eye, he had fired another arrow and had a third knocked to the bow string. The guards stared in shock as they watched him go through all twenty-four of his arrows that he had in his quiver in only five minutes. One of the recruits boldly walked over to Frozen Fighter and tried starting a conversation. "H-h-h-ow were you able to shoot like that?" the young man, barely twenty-years-old, managed to stutter out. "Nervous are we? Ha! Don't worry about it so much. If you want to know my secret, I'll tell ya. I've practiced with this bow everyday for the past ten years." Frozen Fighter casually explained. "Th-th-th-th-thanks..." the man managed to say as he walked back to the other group.

Frozen watched cheerfully as the men of the guards huddled together and whispered to the man who had just spoken to Frozen Fighter. He chuckled to himself as he started packing up his weapons so that he could prepare for his journeys for the day. Once he was ready, he headed off to the road that would lead him to Battleon, where he should be able to find some information on these vampires and their conspiracies. Frozen walked out of the town he had spent the night in and found the path that led to Battleon. This path was renowned for its bandit attacks. Recently, a large group of bandits had made their base in the forest surrounding this path. Frozen Fighter decided it would be best if he avoided the main path and used his stealth to avoid any bandits.

Just as he had melded with his background thanks to his skills and the patterns of his cloak, a small group of merchants had begun traveling on the path as well. Frozen decided that he would trail them to see if they would lure the bandits out. Just as he had thought that, the merchants were stopped by an armored thug. Suddenly, other bandits in leather armor started jumping out from behind the nearby trees, encircling the group. Frozen Fighter decided he would have to show himself eventually if he wanted to fully help the travelers. "Hmm..." he thought, "I should at least take out a few of the bandits before fully revealing myself." Frozen stood atop a branch that had a clear view of the scene and readied Yumi. There were six bandits and the leader, making a total of seven. "Alright," he thought to himself, "I'll use three arrows. Then I'll confront them directly. Hopefully, no one gets too hurt."

"Hand over all of your valuable and we won't have to harm you!" the leading bandit shouted to the merchants. "And if we refuse?" one of the merchants replied. "Hmm hmm hmm... You don't want your friends to get hurt, do you?" the leader chuckled. "Errrrr..." the merchant mumbled. "Fine!" one of the other merchants shouted. "We'll hand over our items, just don't harm us." "I'm afraid that can't happen..." the bandit leader said. "We can't leave any witnesses." "You... You monster!" the first merchant shouted.
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When Frozen Fighter heard the merchant shout, he knew his time had come. The bandits started closing in on the group. Frozen aimed for the bandit on the opposite side of the leader. He lined up his shot and took it, right when that bandit decided to leap at the nearest merchant. "Ahhh..." the bandit sputtered as an arrow lodged itself in his right shoulder. Shortly after that happened, the same fate befell the bandits closest to him. "What's happening!?" the leader screamed at his men. None dared answer, for they hadn't a clue either.

Frozen leapt out of the tree and swiftly landed in-between the remaining four bandits and the group of travelers. "Ahhh!" the bandits cried in terror. "Where did you come from?" the bandit in charge asked. "I've been following these travelers in hopes that I would be able to run into you thugs," Frozen responded. The bandits watched their boss to find out what they should do. They then saw his signal to attack, so they took their chances by using the element of surprise. The two bandits farthest from the boss leapt at Frozen Fighter. He noticed them just in time and managed to roll away from the attack and towards the travelers. "You may want to run..." Frozen told them. The group members nodded to each other running back from the fighting, but not far enough so that they couldn't see what was happening. The bandits started to encircle Frozen so that they could attack. Frozen glanced to see that the group was out of harm's way and grabbed two of his hidden throwing knives. He targeted the bandits closest to the travelers, for they may decide that the group may be easier prey. Frozen Fighter aimed at both of them at the same time, whipping around and unleashing his knives at his targets. The attack took the bandits by surprise and one knife managed to find its mark, embedding itself in the bandit's left calf. He went down and became incapacitated by his brief shot of pain. The bandits to the left and right of the boss decided that this was their chance to attack. Frozen noticed them make their move and unsheathed his long sword. He swung around and managed to block the attacks from the bandits' swords. He then used his vast amount of dexterity to seemingly disappear. He reappeared right behind the bandits and slammed the end of his sword's hilt into the back of each of the bandit's heads. Now only three bandits remained.

Frozen Fighter decided to return to the offensive by rushing one of the bandits. He brought is sword down on the opponent so fast that the bandit missed his chance to counter and got slashed across the chest. He then turned and swiftly threw his sword at the last bandit. The bandit took the sword in the right foot, making him collapse. The leader saw this as his chance and rushed the now sword less Frozen Fighter. Frozen took the attack across his right arm, leaving a gash. He winced in pain, and then managed to draw his dagger to defend against the boss’s onslaught. Frozen Fighter started trading blows with the remaining thug, although his attacks were becoming ragged by his blood loss. “Heh, you think you’ll be able to defeat me at this rate?” the bandit ranted. Frozen just ignored him and used his dexterity to once again vanish. Frozen Fighter reappeared above the remaining bandit and landed on him, making him collapse to the ground under his weight. Frozen finished him off with a punch across the face, knocking the bandit leader unconscious. He tied up the bandits and managed to make his way back to the group of travelers before he succumbed to his blood loss and sank into the darkness of unconsciousness.

Subject: Chapter 2: Sat Nov 13, 2010 1:59 pm

Frozen Fighter awoke with a start in a bed inside a building of some sort. "You've awoken!" shrieked a small girl sitting near his bedside. "Ugh... Yeah, I'm awake." Frozen managed to say. The small girl hustled out of the room to get someone, but who, Frozen Fighter knew not. A few moments later, the small girl returned with one of the merchants he had saved. "Ahhh... You're finally awake, good sire," the merchant said. "Please, just call me Frozen Fighter," he responded. "If you say so, my friend, but I insist you stay here until you have fully healed." The merchant said. "If I must, but is there someone here that could help the healing proccess along some?" Frozen Fighter inquired. "Yes, in fact. There was a boy that appeared to be the same age as you downstairs that said he was quite adept at healing. I shall go and see if he would help you out." With that, the merchant left the room, leaving Frozen Fighter alone with his thoughts.
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A few moments later, the merchant returned with the boy who would be able to help him. "Mornin' friend! My name is Arata, and if you'd like, I'd be able to heal ya right up," the boy said. "Ehh... Thanks a lot Arata. I'd really appreciate you taking a look at my arm." Frozen held his arm up so that Arata could examine it. "Oooh, that's pretty bad!" Arata exclaimed. "Yea... Now if ya wouldn't mind..." Frozen Fighter gestured to his arm again. "Oh, right!" Arata said. He took the water that they had supplied him. He then placed his hand on top of the water and pulled his hand away, taking the water with it. He placed his hand on Frozen's arm near the elbow, where the gash was worst, and the water spread out along the cut until it completely covered it. The water then glowed a deep, clear blue and evaporated. Once all of the water had evaporated, Frozen Fighter looked at his arm to discover the gash had healed, leaving only another scar on his body. "Wow! Thanks Arata!" Frozen exclaimed. "By the way, people call me Frozen Fighter." "Nice ta meetcha. Mind if I call ya FF?" Arata said. "Sure, why not?" FF responded.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Arata asked Frozen. "I've been searching for some vampires that destroyed my village ten years ago." FF replied. "Oh, sounds dangerous... Mind if I tag along?" Arata said. "Sure, why not? But don't you have something that you have to do?" Frozen Fighter asked in reply. "Not really. I was washed away from my homeland with my brother Alastor during a massive storm. We washed up on the beach and were found by a girl named Leyla and her grandfather Cor. We then traveled to a village named Sayle and were attacked. During the fighting, I was seperated from Leyla and Alastor. I had been searching for them when I stopped here, but I can continue while I'm traveling with you." Arata explained. "I see... Well then, I guess it'll be easier to find both of our targets if we work together." FF said.
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Frozen Fighter then continued on his way to Battleon with Arata tagging along. They hoped to find information on the whereabouts of Leyla and Alastor, as well as the vampires that destroyed Frozen's village. Along the way, Frozen Fighter and Arata traded stories of the past, getting to know each other quite well. They met no bandits on their journey to Battleon, slightly to Arata's disappointment. "Dang, I was hopin' to find out how tough those bandits that attacked you were..." he complained. "They weren't the greatest." FF replied. "Oh really? Then why did you get so badly hurt?" was Arata's retort. "... Caught me off guard ..." was the only answer Frozen supplied. "Ha! Hahahahahaha..." Arata's laughing trailed off as they got sight of Battleon. "Dang..." they both said in unison.

They arrived on the outskirts of Battleon during the middle of a massive battle. The two of them were in shock, neither knowing how to respond. The heroes that were in Battleon at the time of the attack were keeping the intruders at bay for the time being, but it wasn't looking good. The invading force was fully armored and seemed to have a supernatural aura around them. The heroes of Battleon were slowly being pushed in towards the center of the town. Frozen and Arata were finally to snap out of their shock and headed towards the town square, each pulling out their weapon of choice. Frozen Fighter took out Yumi and started firing his light arrows at the invaders. Arata wielded Hokkyoku and slashed at his nearest adversary, cleaving him clean in two. As FF's arrows struck true to the targets, the pair gasped in shock as they exploded into a cloud of ash and blood. "They're vampires!" Frozen Fighter shouted to Arata. "I could tell! That warning would have been better five minutes ago!" Arata shot back.

Arata and FF were slowly running out of energy, but the vampires just came coming. "It's no good! We gotta fall back!" Frozen shouted to Arata as he ran towards a wall and jumped off of it onto the roof of the building across the alleyway. Arata followed suit and ran down the same alleyway. Frozen Fighter ran on top of the buildings, shooting arrows at the pursuing vampires. Arata ran parallel to FF, occasionally turning around suddenly and hacking a vampire that had caught up to him. "It's no use. There are just too many!" Arata shouted. Just as he said that, the vampires suddenly stopped and disappeared into the shadows. "Why did they... " FF didn't finish his question. He knew why the vampires had fled. Arata was in the alley, so he hadn't figured it out yet, but Frozen could feel the heat of the rising sun on his neck. "What is it?" Arata questioned him. "It's morning." was Frozen's response.

Arata and Frozen Fighter made their way to the guardian tower, where the heroes and townsfolk had barracaded themselves from the onslaught of the vampire army. As they approached, the heroes and guardians had started to remove the barracades. FF and Arata walked up to one of the heroes who was helping. "How did all of you fair during the invasion?" Arata asked. "Not too well, we were greatly outnumbered." The hero replied. "If it weren't for the quick thinking of one of the other heroes, we wouldn't have survived." "Who was this hero? I'd like to meet him." Frozen said. "He's over there." The hero said, pointing towards a man that appeared to be no taller than 5' 9" in white and brown chainmail. He had bright orange, fiery looking hair with matching goatee. As they neared him, they noticed his deep purple eyes. "Hello there!" The hero greeted as the pair approached. "Hiya, my name is Arata." Arata said. "Hey," FF called. "People call me Frozen Fighter, FF for short." "Nice to meet the two of you. My name is William, but I prefer to be called Bill."

Subject: Chapter 3 Sun Jan 23, 2011 4:02 pm

Vanya paced the grand hall inside of her hidden castle in Darkovia. She had been using this castle as a base of operations for her legion of rogue vampires. The section of her army that she had sent to the Battleon regions had just returned with some disgraceful news. "What shall I do with you, Gangshax?" Vanya asked rhetorically. "I'm sorry, Mistress Vanya." The vampire known as Gangshax replied. Gangshax was Vanya's second-in-command of their rebel group known as Eternal Night. "Tell me exactly how the elite force of vampires you sent into Battleon wasn't able to successfully overtake the entire city..." Vanya asked him, looking scornfully towards him.

"I'm not exactly sure myself, Mistress. I was watching from atop a hill overlooking Battleon when it happened. The soldiers had chased the remains of the humans into the guardian tower, where some man that seemed to be part Drow had organized them into a defensive barricade. Suddenly, two others, barely men themselves, came charging into town with enchanted weapons. I recognized one immediately, but thought it couldn't have been possible. He wore a tattered camouflage cloak and wielded the holy bow, Yumi. He resembled Frozen Fighter, the demon of a man who slaughtered so many vampires all those years ago, although it couldn't possibly be him, for humans live significantly shorter than vampires. I assume it is just some imposter trying to rally the humans against the vampires. The other looked to be from Arcterra. His looks alone would have easily given that away, but he also wielded the enchanted katana Hokkyoku, said to have been forged by Arcterra himself. These two slaughtered the force I sent into the town, killing three-fifths of the soldiers. I had the others retreat to the surrounding villages that we had captured." Gangshax thoroughly explained to his commander.

Vanya seemed in shock for a moment, but it subsided almost as fast as it had come on, turning into a fit of laughter. "Gangshax, my dear, do you honestly expect me to believe that the fearsome Frozen Fighter, bane of the vampire race, attacked your forces in Battleon?" Vanya's laughter quickly ceased, her attitude shifting from humored to serious. "If you weren't so entertaining and my best subordinate, I would have you killed on the spot for your failure. But since you also brought back such an interesting morsel of information, I will spare you this one time. Fail me again and you won't be so lucky. Now leave my presence before I change my mind." "Yes, Mistress." Gangshax said as he backed away and then left the hall.

Vanya now sat on her throne now, pondering what Gangshax had told her. 'This is the second time Gangshax has encountered a Frozen Fighter look-alike.' Vanya thought uneasily. 'The first he killed in the village that became Eternal Night's first victim. That imposter was not at all impressive, succumbing almost immediately to Gangshax breaking his neck from behind.' Vanya stopped her uneasy thinking when she called for Gangshax to come back in to the hall. "Gangshax, how does this imposter compare to the other Frozen Fighters?" She asked when he was present again. "Well, Mistress, as you know, I have had the unfortunate time of crossing paths of three Frozen Fighters." Gangshax replied. He was one of the only vampires to survive a meeting with the original, and the only vampire to see the second. "This one is different. He has Frozen Fighter's cloak, said to have been passed down to his descendants when he died. I recall the second also had this cloak, but it disappeared along with Yumi when I killed him. Although he has the cloak and bow, he has a deadly accuracy that almost seems to pass that of the original. His technique is also a mirror image of the original as well. There was one significant difference from the previous two. The third used dual-wielded short swords as well. He had no problem rushing in and cutting down vampire after vampire, using his wits and speed to easily dodge the attacks of the soldiers. His friend was no different. He used that enchanted katana of his along with his ice magic to make quick work of his share of your minions."

Vanya was disturbed by this new tidbit of information. "I will have to keep an eye on these two... Thank you for the additional information Gangshax. Although you failed at your main objective, your watchful eye has many times over earned my respect. That is why I have you as my second-in-command. You are dismissed, my dear." Vanya said and, with a slight wave of her hand, sent Gangshax on his way. "I am glad that I have been able to provide you with this in spite of my failure in Battleon, my liege." Gangshax said as he left.

Once Gangshax had gone, Vanya got up and left the grand hall. She walked at her usual, leisurely pace through her castle towards the intelligence division. She met few others on her way there, but every time she did, they stopped what they were doing and bowed deeply, for all of her subordinates were extremely loyal to her alone. She waved and acknowledged everyone she met on the way, for they had been so loyal to her that she had become a kind and generous leader, but one that wouldn't tolerate any failure. Once in the Intel division, she walked into the Intel division's commanding officer's office. "Ah! Mistress Vanya! What a pleasant surprise!" the officer sputtered out. "Hello there Zerlosh. I have an assignment I want taken care of." She replied to him. The officer called Zerlosh replied, "I'll have one of my agents take care of it immediately!" "No, Zerlosh, I want you to take care of it personally. You, after all, are my best spy." Vanya said. "Of course, M’lady Vanya! I will start preparing at once!" He said eagerly. "I want you to learn as much as you can about someone romping around saying they are Frozen Fighter and any companions he may have."

Subject: Re: Everlasting Knight Sun Jan 23, 2011 4:12 pm

Oh, intrigue! FF better watch out for that spy!

Subject: Re: Everlasting Knight Sun Jan 23, 2011 7:58 pm

Great chapter frozen. =D

Subject: Re: Everlasting Knight Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:03 pm

I spy a spy! Good chapter FF :P What could Vanya be up to?

Subject: Chapter 4 Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:22 pm

A lone, tattered soldier ran towards Battleon's Guardian tower. Bill, since he had been in Battleon's area for some time now, recognized him as one of the watchmen from a nearby village. Bill ran to greet him, with Arata and Frozen Fighter close behind. "What's wrong good watchman?" Bill asked the guard. "Sir, our village was destroyed by a division of vampires. I've been to a few other villages in the area, and they are saying that the same thing has happened there as well. There are very few survivors, and they are all scattered through this area of Greenguard." The soldier sputtered out. "Hmm... Sounds like the same thing has been happening throughout the area." Bill said thoughtfully. "Yea, we better get to the bottom of this soon" Arata piped in. FF said solemnly, "There's only one person I know of that would be able to organize this massive attack on such a large area. Its gotta be the vampire queen Safiria!" Bill and Arata looked uncertainly at each other for a moment. "But why would Queen Safiria attack Battleon? She's supposed to be making a peace treaty with King Alteon!" the watchman shouted. "Don't know, don't care. All I know is that a horde of vampires attacked Battleon, and I'm gonna go 'talk' to the only person I know who could possibly have organized this!" Frozen retorted as he ran out of the Guardian Tower. Arata and Bill shrugged to each other and ran out after him.
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Zerlosh sat, perplexed, watching the threesome that he was assigned to keep an eye on. He didn't know why, but the group suddenly ran out of the Guardian Tower and was headed for Darkovia. "What an interesting turn of events." Zerlosh said to himself. He gathered his few spying items that had been lying about and was off after them, sticking to the shadows and keeping well out of eye- and ear-shot of the group.
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Frozen Fighter slowed a bit so as to allow William and Arata to catch up. Soon, after they had caught up, they had entered the outskirts of the haunted wood, Darkovia. FF signaled to the others to stop. "Sorry, didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. There are vampire and werewolf outposts scattered throughout this dreary place. The werewolves are nothing to worry about; they've seen me here hunting vampires many times, so they don't bother me. However, if any vampires had seen me, we'd be surrounded before we had reached our goal." Frozen whispered almost inaudibly. "Ah, that makes sense, even though I don't know what our goal is." Arata whispered disappointment evident in his voice. "Why don't you explain what we're doing here in the first place?" Bill asked. "We're gonna 'talk' to Safiria about these attacks." FF answered much to the shock of Bill and Arata. "Why would we do that? We don't even know if she is involved." Arata and Bill answered in unison. "Wow that was creepy... Anyways, how could she not be involved? She's the queen." Frozen retorted simply. "Good point," admitted Arata. "But how do you expect to sneak into the Vampire Palace? It’s guarded so thoroughly." "Leave that to me..." was all that Frozen Fighter would say after.

"You’re insane! Crazy! How the heck is this gonna work!?" Arata shouted fiercely at Frozen as the three of them ran at full speed towards the wall. "I've done this loads of times! All you gotta do is grab the arrows right at where they're imbedded in the wall!" Frozen Fighter shouted back as he was shooting a mass of arrows into the wall. FF jumped first, clearing the moat next to the wall and grabbing the bottom-most arrow. He then pulled himself up to the next arrow, and went on like this until he could use his feet as well. Bill and Arata uncertainly followed suit. Frozen was about two yards above the others and was losing them fast. It was clear Bill and Arata were going slower because of their uncertainty, which served them well. FF was almost to the top when he tried to rush and put all his weight on one arrow. The arrow, not as well secured into the wall as the others, came loose and sent Frozen Fighter plummeting towards the moat. He fell three yards before he was able to regain his senses enough to grab back on to the hand and foot holds he had made. Bill watched his plummet, concern and uncertainty showing brightly in his eyes. Arata was more in shock and had his mouth gaping. When all three had reached the top a few moments later, Frozen Fighter said, "Well, I wasn't quite expecting that, but what would be the fun in this if it hadn't happened!" Arata started laughing along with FF, but Bill was more stern on the matter. "You call this fun? What do you do in your free-time, climb walls and then jump off?" Bill said exasperatedly. "Only on special occations, otherwise I'm practicing with my bow and short swords." Frozen replied nonchalantly. "Shall we be off? We have a meeting with the queen after all," and with that Frozen strode away towards the throne room, Arata then Bill quickly following at his heels.

“Well, well, well. If it isn't the famed Frozen Fighter! It has been far too long, my dear." Queen Safiria spat the words hatefully at him. "I don't like your sarcasm Safiria. You clearly remember the last time you saw me, four months ago, wasn't it?" Frozen said coolly. "Wait, you two have met and FF was able to restrain himself from killing you? That’s pretty impressive!" Arata said in mock awe. "Foolish Southerner! You think this buffoon can kill any vampire? I didn't become the Queen of Vampires because of my beauty, although it didn't hurt." The queen sneered. "I may not be able to kill any vampire, but I can easily kill you, Safiria. But that's not why we're here. Why would you break this so-called truce with King Alteon and attack Battleon!?" Frozen demanded fiercely. "You really are a buffoon. I haven't attacked Battleon in many years. What would give you the audacity to claim such a thing?" Queen Safiria said. "Well, maybe he claimed that because Battleon and every village in the area was attacked by a massive army of vampires." Arata added innocently. Safiria was outraged now, "What? You dare claim vampires attacked Battleon? No vampire would dare attack a human settlement as long as they are loyal to me!" Bill saw a loophole in her logic and pointed it out at once, "Why did you say loyal to you? Are there vampires that aren't?" Safiria glared at Bill for a moment before answering, "Well in every kingdom there are those that rebel and go rogue. Certainly one such as you, who looks to be a deserter or maybe a mercenary yourself, knows this." Safiria replied snobbishly. FF was irritated beyond belief now, "So who are these vampire 'rebels' that you imply attacked Battleon?" "They are a group called Eternal Night, led by a vampire I despise more than you, ranger. The foolish girl betrayed my trust too many times. I know that humans hold family dear to them, but none of you know what its like ruling a nation. Sometimes siblings are jealous and try to seize the throne." "Wait! The rebel vampires' leader is your sister!? Hahahaha! You vampires are so pathetic!" Frozen Fighter held his sides because of his laughter.

With this comment, Safiria could not contain herself any longer. She rushed forward with incredible speed, even for a vampire, and punched Frozen square in the ribs. "You are working your way towards my most despised being on Lore, ranger." "Hollow words from the queen who couldn't even control her own sister," FF said through ragged breathes. He was able to draw one short sword just in time to deflect another blow from the rage-filled queen. Bill and Arata tried to stop the fight, but it was too late, an intense flame of passion could now be seen in Frozen Fighter's eyes. He only got this way in the midst of heated vampire hunting. He grabbed both his short swords and rushed the queen with all his strength. Faster than most vampires at this point, Frozen started a complex combination of strikes, followed by Safiria's own strikes. The battle was almost too fast to comprehend what was happening. After the blur of strikes, however, Frozen was lying on his back, panting deeply. He had various cuts and bruises all over his body. Safiria was in a similar condition, on all fours, spitting up blood and coughing hoarsely. "Are you two done now?" Bill asked. "Not... Until she's... put in a grave..." Frozen managed to say. "If you can control your dog, I am quite done fighting here." Safiria replied. Frozen scoffed, "Sure, take the high road. We'll have to finish this eventually." "You are quite right. But I am also adult enough to put these matters aside in light of what you have told me. Because of the truce with King Alteon, I will let you three go. Go find Eternal Night and get your vengeance I care not, but don't take Vanya lightly, she is not your average vampire."

Subject: Re: Everlasting Knight Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:06 am

Ouch. Frozen just had his butt handed to him! XD Nah, just kidding.

Well, FF, Arata, and Bill better watch themselves. Looks like Safiria isn't gonna take that beating too kindly.