Curse

Arcos Spiritwing · Jan 06, 2008, 06:47 PM // 18:47

Copyright Stuff: All the writing below is original where everything is concerned save for the GuildWars world of Tyria and their related characters. Please don't distribute this story or make any other copies without my express written permission. Feel free to save it to your computer, once you give due credit please. Please read the terms and regulations of Guru on respecting the posts of others. I still retain all the intellectual property for the writing, as the terms of Guru allow.

hey everyone. this is my first piece that i haven't done for a school assignment,(im 14) so please feel free to give any and all criticism, i probably need it. please excuse the lack of indents, its probably some format issue. enjoy!

---Secrets of the Searing---

-Prologue-

Gwen looked disparagingly at the remains of the once great school, Nolani Academy. She remembered when she was a child before the Searing, how she dreamed of studying in this place, of learning the secrets of magic. Now it was a pile of rubble. A tear began to burn in her eyes.
She walked around the crumbled walls, and touched them, imagining them in their prime. Now it was reduced to black, charred boulders. Something caught her eye, amidst the rubble. It too was black, but looked to have a different texture. She moved some of the rocks to discover a leather box, the lock cracked and rusted. She broke it off and looked inside.
She found several scrolls of parchment, neatly tied and untouched by the vicious Charr. She opened up the first and began to read.

1070, AE

I have decided to write this for whomever it may concern, and so that someone may believe my story, for I fear it may already be too late. But I digress. Let me start from the beginning.
My name is Arcos Spiritwing. I am an Elementalist studying fire magic, and by extension, the Charr. At the age of fifteen I came to this great academy from Ashford Abbey nearly six months previously, and have learned much here. However, most of what I have learned has not been taught.
I remember my first day at the academy. My parents had both been Warriors, so I came with a sword rather than a staff or wand, and knew how to use it. I had always been mystified by magic and its wondrous nature. So, instead of inheriting my family’s legacy, I chose the path of the Elementalist. A bit of a surprise to my parents, but they began to accept my choice.
Anyway, my first day was overwhelming with all of the new sights, smells, and experiences. The building itself was made of white limestone that had made a glare against my slim spectacles, and had the look of magic in its very being, what with its multicolored torches, animated objects like brooms or quills, and random floating orbs that seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever.
My instructors were a little tough, but I suppose they had a right to be, after all, I had nearly no magical training, and was a little behind the class. I remember one classmate, Cynn, wasn’t too polite about my meager training. I was a quick learner though, and eventually began to do very well.
I was particularly adept in fire magic. I loved the way the flames could take many forms, from curtains to currents, and all with a raging intensity that seemed to dance. I began my studies of the Charr because they seemed to worship fire itself, and I have always been interested in their shrouded ways.
Every student in the academy is required to do field work. The work I signed up for was dangerous, but I was intent on learning. Three months after being at the academy I signed up to join a small force of knights who were on a mission into the Charr territory north of the wall to gather intelligence. They were to find out the state of the Charr, who had always been hostile to humans. These missions were occasional as Ascalon was always considering the possibility of an attack.
Our force consisted of three Warriors, a Monk, a Ranger, a Mesmer, and me. I was the only student. We were told to remain hidden, because if a Charr saw us, it would undoubtedly attack without hesitation. I had learned many spells that would prove useful should the worst happen, but the knights had told me that they had done this kind of thing before without a problem.
We traveled by night mostly, and when we slept during the day we made sure it was a hidden location and always had someone to keep watch. During the fourth day of our mission, we came upon a small camp, nestled in a clearing. As we hid in the bushes, we counted ten of them, and I identified for axe fiends, two blade storms, two hunters, a shaman, and a flame wielder. They were saying something, but it was hard to pay attention, as their horrendous stench was making me gag.
“Let us pray to our god for a bountiful harvest of fresh meat,” the shaman was saying around his snarling tusks.
“And for deer!” a hunter shouted, followed by a chorus of raucous laughter. Once it died down, the Charr gathered around a wooden idol I had previously not noticed. I squinted, but I couldn’t see the details of the effigy. The Charr kneeled at its base, and murmured a prayer. I could only imagine their vile and savage wishes.
I noticed that the Charr did not set fire to the idol, as was their custom. All they did was kneel. I couldn’t decide whether this was a bad sign or not.
“Wait,” an Axe fiends said, and held up a paw. “Smell that?”
The Charr sniffed the air, and I prayed to Balthazar that they couldn’t smell us.
“Our prayer has been answered sooner than we thought,” the flame wielder said. That wasn’t a good sign.
The hunter slowly notched an arrow in his bow, and aimed it in our direction. That was enough of a signal for me. I drew my sword.
“Charge!” one of our Warriors shouted, and we jumped from the bushes and fell upon them swift as lightning. The roar sword meeting armor and shouts of friends and foe alike was deafening. While the Charr was distracted, I took the time to get attuned with the flames. I then placed my hand on and swept it across the blade, fired enveloping my sword. An axe fiend ran at me, and I called out to Rodgort, the great dragon, and his mark appeared on the fiend. I ran at him, and slashed at his torso, the crunching sound of steel on steel rang out, molten stripes scarred his armor where my sword tore at it. With every slash, the mark burst into flame.
I saw that our Monk was in danger from a blade fiend, and knowing our healer’s importance, I ignored the axe fiend and summoned all the mental power I had and burned the foe, my mental power far stronger than his, causing even more flames to burst forth. He quickly fell dead at the healers feet.
As the Charr closed in on us, I returned to the axe fiend. Levitating slightly, I began casting a most powerful spell. The axe fiend slashed at me, but as soon as the wounds tore my flesh, they were closed by our Monk. Finishing the spell, I summoned a mighty phoenix. The flames from its birth incinerated several Charr, and its explosion hitting even more. Not giving them time to recover, I created a great inferno which finished off most of the still-standing Charr as it whipped around me.
Only the flame wielder and a hunter remained. Charging toward the flame wielder, I harnessed the power of the heavens and slashed at the caster, first wielding the power of the sun, then the moon. He fell to the ground, his blood soaking my boots.
I looked around at the corpses littering the camp, glad that none were our men. As we took a rest to recover from the intense battle, I moved closer to the Charr idol. I was surprised to see that it was not a god I recognized. Instead of resembling a Charr, it looked more like stone.
“How was that for your first battle, eh Arcos?” his voice jolted me out of my thoughts.
“It was . . . quick. I barely even had time to think.”I replied.
“I know what you mean.”
We made a beeline to Ascalon, returning two days later with our report. We mentioned our battle against the Charr hunting squad, but I did not mention the strange idol. I soon returned to the academy and resumed my studies. I began researching this new god, but even after two months it was no use. I began asking around, and other scouts on missions similar to ours noticed the strange new worship.
I searched some of the most ancient scrolls in the academy’s library. It was there that I found the identity of the god. It was a titan, an ancient being involved in the Flameseeker Prophecies. As intriguing as this was, I still had no idea why the Charr was worshiping it.
One day, I was taking a stroll outside the city walls, admiring the beautiful countryside, trying to clear my thoughts. A little girl named Gwen skipped up to me. I had recovered her flute for her a while back, and I enjoyed her company.
“Hey Arcos, whatcha doing?”
“Oh, just thinking about the Charr.”
“The Charr! My daddy told me about all the battles he did with them. But mommy says that you fought them too.”
“That’s right, I did. But I was thinking about this new god that they’re worshiping.”
“I hope he’s not a god of war, or else the Charr might attack us.”
Suddenly, it all made sense. “Thank you Gwen.” I said quickly and ran back to the city. I immediately went to see Prince Rurik. He could usually be found sitting in a high area of the city, gazing down compassionately all that he would one day rule.
“My prince,” I said, out of breath when I reached him, kneeling as I stopped.
“Rise,” he began. “What is the matter?”
“My liege, I have made a discovery concerning the Charr.”
“The Charr?” he said softly. He checked to make sure no one would eavesdrop on our conversation. “Go on.”
“I’ve noticed that the Charr have begun worshiping a new god.”
“Yes, I’ve heard the same thing, but how is this important?”
“Well, after doing a bit of research, I discovered that the god is a titan. Also, if you will recall the mission I was sent on about two months ago, I heard the Charr pray to this god. The shaman asked for a bountiful harvest of fresh meat.”
“Yes, you said that they were a hunting squad, correct?”
“That is what I thought originally. However, you know that the Charr often refer to us humans as fresh meat. At the moment, I dismissed it as a joke, but given the recent developments, I suspect something far greater.”
“What is it by Dwayna?” the prince’s voice was shaking with excitement.
“I think the Charr will invade soon. I think it will be big. With this new god, they may feel empowered, invincible.”
“What? That’s unbelievable. There is no way the Charr are going to invade. Even with a new god, they wouldn’t dare challenge the might of the Great Northern Wall. It would be suicide!”
“But my prince I -”
“Go,” he interrupted. “Come back if you find something else.”
I refused to believe that the Charr would not attack us. I did a week’s worth of more research, and found out that the Charr homeland was quite populous. I wasn’t sure if they had the manpower to overtake the Great Northern Wall, but it might be enough. I went around the city for the next two weeks, first trying to convince Prince Rurik, then Sir Tydus and other knights, then I tried to convince anyone who would listen. All of it was in vain.
One day I saw my parents in the streets of the city. It was a rare occasion to see them leave the abbey, and I called out to them.
“Arcos!” my mother said, giving me a warm embrace. “How have you been? Have you been studying hard, taking care of yourself?”
“What are you doing in the middle of the street?” my father asked. I told them of my fears, and as soon as I did, I regretted it.
“Please, you must stop saying such things, we don’t want to scare people,” my mother said.
“Or have them think he’s a raving lunatic!” my father shouted.
“Hector, how could you? Our son is just as sane as you or me,” my mother said. They began arguing, at which point I left.
Realizing that not even my own parents would believe me, I began to write this journal. Dear reader, if you are reading this sometime in the future, I pray the invasion hasn’t happened, and if it has, I pray that you escaped, fled to safety. I pray that whoever finds this will understand the truth, for I fear for Ascalon.

-Epilogue-

Gwen returned the scrolls to the box. Tears burned in her eyes once more, not in remorse, but in anger. It had all been preventable. The Searing could have been stopped. Gwen, being so young at the time, did not wander in the streets. She wished she had, so she would have heard the warning.
She also shed a tear for Arcos. She remembered the young Elementalist. He had been so nice. He always answered her naive questions. She prayed to Dwayna, Lyssa, all the gods that wherever he was, he was safe.
She also remembered the years of torture she endured under the Charr. To think, that if one person had listened, it would not have happened. Just one person.

cojhti · Jan 06, 2008, 07:28 PM // 19:28

wow..this is really touching.
very nice story... You're a good writer =D

Pwnswitch Engage · Jan 06, 2008, 08:04 PM // 20:04

yeah man, keep it up. Great story. Just make sure to write like this in English class, too, and you'll do fine

Angelus... · Jan 06, 2008, 08:05 PM // 20:05

Awesome story!

Your build was pretty noob though

sun and moon slash on an ele? :P

j/k dude, well done!

EDIT: i just caught a little diddy. you say that after the battle you researched the new god they were worshipping for two months without any progress then spoke to Rurik. But when you were speaking to Rurik you say that you were sent on the little mission a month before. Should be changed to at least two months before

Arcos Spiritwing · Jan 06, 2008, 11:40 PM // 23:40

thanks for the comments. in my defense, I do use glyph of restoration in that build. :P im probably going to write a sequel, just have to find something to write about.