Curse

hawk3y3 · Jan 14, 2009, 09:47 PM // 21:47

Greetings all. Most of you may not know me, but I used to post on these forums a while back (couple years now at least). Lately, I was inspired to write a few tales about my character (Eric Kasus). So, I shall post them here, whenever the inspiration hits me. Hopefully, I will not forget.

So without further delay, here is the beginning of my tales.

DISCLAIMER: I am not to keen on much of the lore behind Guild Wars, but will do as I feel, as it should be unless corrected by members of GuildWarsGuru community. My skills on creative writing may have also diminished. At any rate, thank you and enjoy the read.

Claims to Eric Kasus’ Birth

Many stories have been told about Eric Kasus and where he has come from. Everyone except himself, know not of his legacy (its even arguable that he doesn’t know himself). Respectable individuals stating that he is either of the Norn or of Tyrian humans have made two claims. The Norn theory is perhaps the most likely of these and will be addressed first.

Norn Theory [Excerpt From the Records of Outstanding Individuals]

“…Mr. Kasus can be traced loosely to the inhabitants of the Far Shiverpeaks (also known as the Norn). To save the trouble of a long story, the reasons shall be short and well explained (to my best possible ability). Eric Kasus is linked by his ability to survive the harsh cold, as well as his friendship to the Norns.

“We [being the Council of Records] know not of his parents, date of birth, or age, but can be stated that he was born some ten plus years before the destruction of Ascalon. At this time, the Norn and Humans had none to little communication to the Norn (we know not for sure). However, to briefly explain his upbringing, it’s this: he was born to a Norn family and kicked out due to his small stature. The Norns value strength and the hunt, while Eric Kasus was seen as small and unfit for the survival of the harsh weather. We do know that Mr. Kasus was raised within the lands of Ascalon as well as taking up the practice of becoming a Monk, which are few and far between in Norn societies (to my knowledge). To support the claim of survival of harsh weather, Mr. Kasus is known to stay prolonged periods of time in the harsh and biting cold. But perhaps there is a darker and sinister truth we do not know of…

“Eric Kasus is also to known to be well-renowned with the Norns during his stays. Whether by his grand and outspoken charisma or some relations from long ago, Mr. Kasus has made tight connections with the Norn and is a respected member. Perhaps his daft and suicidal nature inspired the Norn when he rushed headlong into a Charr base when infused with the power of the Bear Spirit. However, for the sake of this theory, we managed to talk to a local Norn and asked about the relations with Eric Kasus. He stated, ‘…Eric Kasus is an individual that our society would appreciate. He survived the toughest of foes and against all odds slaughtered more beasts than Bear Spirit could hope to defeat. It was and would be foolish to exclude him.” No one except this one Norn has given us any information of on the theory of him being born to Norns. It would be safe to assume that his parents are dead, or no one remembers him in his youth.” (Taken from The Records of Outstanding Individuals, Volume VII.)

Born From Tyrian Humans [Excerpt from Heroes From Ascalon and Tyria]

“…His [Eric Kasus’] birth is a mystery to many. Some say he was born of Norns. Yet, the fact remains that he looks like a person from Ascalon and acts like one. The Norn do not have mohawks as a hairstyle, for they are naturally in cold weather, so an abundance of hair would help greatly…though anyone would cut their beards or hair when they travel to the warmer climates. His actions though, do come from a sensible person from Ascalon and fights valiantly for his Majesty [King Abeldern]. He defeated a plague on civilization [The dastardly Lich] that only upstanding Ascalon citizens would do and fight to the very last breath…” (Taken from Heroes of Ascalon and Tyria, Vol. III)

The claims of these do somewhat contradict each other (the Norn theory states his daftness, while the Tyrian theory shows his sensibility). The theories are still thrown up in the air and no one knows anything for certain. Anything can be said by and the world will watch and wait to see what Mr. Kasus does or says.

Prelude: An Individual With A Purpose

Useful and Useless Info: One of the characters, Jakob, is intended to be sounded like Ya-cub. Tis German way of saying it, if I remember correctly. Also, the prelude takes place a few weeks before the Eye of The North expansion is released (if that makes any sense to you. As well as “Tyrian Time”. One more thing… Their will be cutting off of words, such as offerin’ instead of offering because I want it that way. Yay for dialect!)

On the reaches of the Shiverpeak Mountains, one could barely see two figures moving in the distance, should they be close enough. By the way Eric Kasus was moving, the average person would have thought it was a mouse or small animal. Steadily, he trudged down the mountain and became all too keen with his surroundings. The sun showed the scarred land of Ascalon for what it was, desolate and dead. He could only shake his head in sadness. Following in behind, his friend, Jakob was the opposite with making as much noise as he traveled down the mountainside. The two were never said a word that day and only focused on going down to Ascalon where they could sell their (rather Jakob’s) ill-gotten gains. Eric was a more experienced adventurer and knew the paths into different dungeons fairly well. Jakob, however, was brash and inept. He had just stolen a nearby offering of gold coins and frankincense dedicated to Dwayna. Jakob grimaced and snickered at his goods, while Eric could only shake his head in disgust. For the rest of the day, they traveled in silence.

When night fell, Eric set up camp toward the ruined Ascalon. They were one day away from reaching the bottom of the mountain and running into Nolani Academy. After making a small campfire, Eric pulled out a flask of Dwarven Ale and drank in silence. Jakob broke it, “Still upset about that offerin’ I took?” Eric replied in a calm, yet solemn way, “Yup.” Jakob chuckled and turned the other way, facing the mountain and admiring its beauty.

Later, Jakob broke the silence again, “You do realize it was out in the open.” A slightly tipsy Eric ignored the question and gazed down the mountain. A confrontation was the last thing Eric wanted. Still, Jakob pushed it, “Besides, it’s finders keepers. You always say that about the dungeons we go into.” Eric remained silent and continued to give Jakob the cold shoulder. By this time, Jakob was getting agitated and began to mock Eric, “Still too upset to talk to me? Aww…I hurt your feelings. Boohoo. Get over why don’t ya? Eric chuckled slightly at Jakob’s childish mockery, but realized the danger he would be in if he provoked him too much. “Your luck is bound to end Jakob,” Eric said in his calm tone, “You’re bound to slip up and when you do, I won’t be there to rescue ya.” The night went on without any further confrontation.

Eric awoke in the middle of the night. The cold mountain wind blew like an ill omen, silent and would chill the courageous of warriors to the bone. His attention was brought elsewhere by someone or something skittering around the ruins of the campfire. After a minute, there were no more sounds to be heard, safe for the frigid mountain breeze whistling passed Eric’s ear. Sleep soon took him again.

When the sun rose, no peace was on the mountains. When Jakob awoke to see his treasure disappear, he hastily grabbed his nearby dagger and confronted the still half-asleep Eric. Holding the dagger near to Eric’s throat, Jakob bellowed, “Where is my treasure, you backstabbin’ hypocrite? Where!?” Eric wasn’t entirely dumbfounded. He had figured the skittering creature of the night was there to take the treasure. Jakob bellowed again, “Maybe I didn’t make it clear!” and acted as if he was going to slit Eric’s throat. Despite the death threat, Jakob had other intentions though. In front of him and behind Eric was cliff in which a fall would kill a normal man. Both had the same idea going through their heads.

“What will you accomplish by killing me? What if I did steal the treasure? You’d never find it,” spoke Eric in his calm tone. His idea was to quell Jakob’s anger; however, it had the opposite effects. “So be it,” replied Jakob. No sooner had he finished his sentence had Jakob pulled out another dagger and stabbed Eric in the gut. After he made the successful stab, he violently shoved Eric in an attempt to throw him off the cliff. Despite all odds though, he regained his balance and advanced toward Jakob. He dodged a flurry of attacks and finally managed to get a spell off which stunned Jakob for a moment. Eric used this moment to his advantage. Using a similar idea Jakob was going to do, Eric proceeded to shove Jakob off the cliff. In a poor attempt to catch himself, Jakob rolled slightly off the cliff and held on to the edge of it. As Eric walked toward the rocky edge, the part where Jakob was holding onto gave way and Jakob began to plummet to the bottom.

With dead eyes, Eric spoke softly as he helplessly watched his friend plunge, “Your anger always did get the better of you. You were always too rash.” Slightly limping, Eric went back to the camp, and began to heal his wounds.

(Complaints, comments, suggestions, praise, or queries?)

hawk3y3 · Jan 16, 2009, 07:23 PM // 19:23

"Mr. Cotton! Answer man!"
-Captain Jack Sparrow

Any suggestions are appreciated. >_>. Heck, a nice reply would be nice.

Edit: I figured a visual of Eric is in order. More visuals to come later.

..Maybe

Konig Des Todes · Jan 16, 2009, 09:52 PM // 21:52

Yeah, sorry I haven't had time to read this just yet. It is on my to-do-soon list though! Maybe today. >.<

hawk3y3 · Jan 17, 2009, 01:12 AM // 01:12

It's ok. Sometimes I do think that my writings tend to have people thinking or saying tl;dr.

Edit: Just a heads up guys, I'm gonna have to reformat my computer tomorrow

so I won't be on much if any tomorrow to check the site. I should be back on by Monday.

hawk3y3 · Jan 20, 2009, 04:49 PM // 16:49

Alright, the long awaited (by few I'm sure) Chapter 1.

Chapter 1: Handwriting on the Wall
-Ruins of Ascalon City. Near the "History" sector of town.-
-Two weeks after the event on the mountain. Day 276 of Scion season, year 1076 AE-

"He will see you now, Mr. Kasus," spoke the nearby woman and with a slight nod, Eric forward to meet with an old accomplice of his. Gradually, Eric approached a normal-sized man with brown to grayish hair. From the looks of the man, one could tell that he had great knowledge and knew much of the world. As Eric grew closer, the man spoke abruptly, "I have no time for meetings." Eric replied, "Even for old --" The man interrupted, "Yes. Even for old friends." The man looked rushed and fatigued.

After a moment of thinking, Eric broke the silence, "Heard you were finding some ancient artifacts. Mind if I take a look?" The old man looked at Eric as if he had forgotten and then replied, "I am a history scholar, not an archeologist; however, I will show you what we have learned." Grabbing a few pieces of parchment, the old man guided Eric down through a narrow
corridor; the location of a secret history society lied beyond.

"Though I may not be an archaeologist, I have uncovered some unsettling truths about the future that concern you," said the elderly man with a cryptic tone. Eric thought to himself, "Let's hope your old adage proves true."

Finally, the two reached the end and there before them were many scholars and archeaologist alike were working to uncover and uncode many of the strange symbols and glyphs on the walls. Ignoring the commotion, the old man attempted to lead Eric into a side hallway; however, Eric looked with wonder and amazement on the beautiful stone walls. "And to think this was all under Ascalon City. I had no idea," whispered Eric. Lethargically, Eric moved toward the side hallway, to continue to follow the aged man.

After passing through a few more chambers, they reached one that had no writing on it whatsoever. "This room," began to aged man, "is what we like to call, The Chamber of Prophetic Truths. It is said that strange symbols will appear before the downfall of a certain individual that is important to our society." The old man grew closer to the wall and beckoned Eric over. As they both knelt down, the wise, old man pointed out some unknown characters.

"We've been able to translate these characters into everyday words. Each symbol translates to a word. Here is what it says,
'Misfortune...comes...man...great...misfortune.' Obviously,
it should be stated as such, 'Misfortune comes to the man of great misfortune.' We believe that that man is you, Mr. Kasus."

"I guess she is still upset about our last date," Eric chuckled, "Always did like taking Misfortune out on dates. I always came back the winner though." After a few seconds of silence, the aged man pointed out another set of strange symbols.

"We've only been able to only translate this set of symbols only a few hours ago. 'Death Inevitable. Assassin...Vengeance.' or 'Death is inevitable. An assassin named Vengeance.' Someone may have or is going to put a price on your head."

Eric could only think of one person, Jakob. How he survived such a long fall is something Eric couldn't fathom. "Very..interesting," whispered Eric. Perhaps the tide was turning against him, his luck running out. After a moment of thinking and placing in his mind that Jakob wanting him dead, Eric looked at the symbols below the one previously pointed out.

"What's this one? The last symbol is the roughly the same as in the second one you showed me." After a moment of studying, the man pointed out the second symbol in the chain and replied, "This...symbol has been seen numerous times in this chamber. Our closest interpretation is that is means 'Verboten'. You remember the legend of Verboten?" After a moment of pondering, Eric spoke with full confidence, "Every ten years in the Underworld of Grenth, he holds a competition. The winner can place a price on anyone alive in the mortal world. That person is said to be found dead within a few days. Looks like I'm going to the underworld then." Eric stood up and began to walk to the exit. Before he left, he forgot to say his thanks, "Thanks again Dr. Mac Adams. You saved my hind end more than once." After a quick goodbye, Eric went out of the chamber.

With a slight smile, Eric Kasus spoke softly, saying, "To Hell. And hopefully back."

hawk3y3 · Jan 26, 2009, 01:44 AM // 01:44

Couple of things I should mention:

1) I'm planning on working on the next chapter sometime this week. Should be up by the end of this week.

2) Yes I know my last chapter was a bit lackluster. I left out a few tidbits of info that I will/probably/maybe/etc. add in the next chapter. Perhaps it will be a filler?

3) As an added note, I plan to make the next chapter a half and half perspective thing. You'll see what I mean later.

4) Have a good beginning of the week everyone!

hawk3y3 · Feb 02, 2009, 09:56 PM // 21:56

*Sigh* It's official. I can't think of anything to type as of now. I got too much real life stuff on my mind (lacrosse season is starting in about a week for me).

If I get the time and inspiration to write, I'll write. I'll try to be on these forums as much as I can as well. Don't expect much though xD.

hawk3y3 · Jul 14, 2009, 05:52 PM // 17:52

Wow been over five months and I haven't thought of a thing. I hope to at least give this another shot. Maybe this time I'll get it right, now that I don't have to panic rush through everything and make lackluster chapters.

As I said in the above post, I'm gonna need some inspiration or perhaps I'll scrap the whole idea together and make a collection of heroic short stories and such. Only time'll tell.