The Menagerie - Arrival

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May 25, 2013, 9:32am

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The Menagerie :: Adventure Abounds :: Within Wistvale :: Arrival

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Topic: Arrival (Read 82 times)

Arvuk

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Arrival
« Thread Started on Jul 2, 2012, 10:24pm »

Arvuk stumbled through the bushes. His robes, already worn as they were, were looking like they were seeing their last days. There were a few cuts in them below his knees from the series of thorn bushes he had run into. His clothes weren't the only things worn down though. His face looked absolutely exhausted and his body slumped in an unnatural position. His feet dragged, his right leg far more than usual. This made him almost unable to make it through the edge of this wooded area.

However, after finally traversing the maze of bushes, he made it out. He could see the glowing city off in the distance. Wistvale, the city he had been seeking out since shortly after his escape. It was still quite a ways off, and the sun was setting, so he decided to settle down for the night. It was rather cool, but he had nothing but the clothes on his back, so he would have to make do. He cleared out a small area of it's dead leaves and other various junk before lying down for the night to rest.

As his exhausted body drifted into a forceful sleep, he began to dream of the past and how after nearly seven months of travelling- at first with no goal, but now with a definite purpose- he made it here. He was only a short way away. However this hopeful thought was ripped apart by the image of a mage in bright red robes with a face hidden from view by a constantly smiling mask.

He saw the bars of the cage that held four year old him and his small family. The loving arms of his mother were wrapped around him. And even in the dream he was having he could feel his burning rage when the human slaves pulled him away from his parents and the sudden surge of magic that rushed forth from him, hurling the man against the stone wall. The feeling of surprise from the mage was overwhelming.

Then the next part of the dream was a blur. He was given an extravagant suite in the mage's underground complex. He saw himself reading the multitude of ancient tomes which inhabited the mage's libraries. His captor constantly assured him his family had similar living conditions to his own, and that they were just too busy to visit him.

Then the dream shifted again, and the mage seemed to shift along with it. His teaching began, and it was violent. He was forced to master blood magic, using a jar of blood as his dummy. Every time he failed the mage would lash out with a magical strike. Over the time of his apprenticeship he developed a collection of long white scars along his body from these strikes.

Finally the dream moved forth once more, and he was the master of his familiar jar of blood. He was given a fresh robe and hood and the mage gave him a pat on the back before going to open the door. A human slave came through with a chained up orc girl. Her lack of clothing revealed her extreme malnutrition, her ribs showing and the skin on her face sagging despite her young age. The human left and the girl simply stood there, shaking, barely able to hold up her chained arms. He then heard the command of the mage, to lift her up to the ceiling and then down to the ground. Afraid of another scar, he complied and lifted the girl's body up and then down to the ground. However, skin is much thinner than glass, and as he pulled her to the ground, veins began to burst. Before he could do anything, she was gone.

The dream shattered and Arvuk woke suddenly. He was sweating and panting aggressively. He had to struggle to stop his body from shaking. When he finally did he took a deep breath and looked about. It was early morning, the sun just peeking over the horizon. The orc stood up and fought against the strain of exhaustion in his body and began making his way to Wistvale. Come hell or high water, he would make it to the hopeful sanctuary of this booming town.

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Arvuk

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Re: Arrival
« Reply #1 on Jul 3, 2012, 2:17pm »

Arvuk trudged on through the whole day. The beating sun took everything out of him. His stomach moaned at every step and his body was on the verge of collapse. Even his head felt split open and his vision began to blur. But his determination stood above all else. He had to make it to the city.

As the day went on his fatigue grew with the length of the shadows. However, after the full day travelling he finally was at the entrance to the city. His breath was heavy yet labored- partially due to the exhaustion and partially due to the suspense and hope for the town. He made his way up to the two sentinels on duty, trying to hold himself as steady as possible.

Despite his best attempts, he couldn't keep them in focus and only saw the swaying blur of their purple regalia. He let out a small cough first as he struggled to form his words.

"Greetings."

"Hello sir, may I ask your name and business in Wistvale tonight."

"I am... I am Arvuk. I need to... to..."

He had trouble focusing and the guards and his head was screaming in agony. He just wanted to collapse.

"I need a place for... for the night. But I have no money... I've been travelling for... weeks... Please..."

And then the fatigue overtook him and he collapsed. When he awoke he was in the bunks of the area attached to the Sentinel building and it had to have been late afternoon. When he got up to move, he felt a wave of nausea come over him. He took a deep breath before looking about. Standing just a few feet away was a man whom he assumed he had talked to just the previous night.

"Here, take some food, you'll need it."

The man handed Arvuk a small tray with a piece of bread and some cheese. It wasn't much, but it was just what he needed. He took as much as he could, even picking up some of the menial crumbs and taking those in as well. When he had finished he sat for another minute before turning to his savior.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You should probably go speak to our captain now. I hadn't said anything yet, but she may want to hear about you."

Arvuk stood and shook the man's hand. He felt much better after the night of rest and with the food in his stomach and so he made his way over to the main building.

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