STRONGFOK

Pete "Shadowalk" Heslop wrote:

Well, lets see, nothing to tell except that this here mentioned CoA
will complete (or should I say replace my Guillaume's) the UT (Hopeful)
Pally I have. Thanks the Lord (Goober that is) I have the "mandatory"
Grief, Drac's, Duress, HoZ, Etc. Maybe I can still do a solo UT run
this ladder. I thought about writing a short story with all the
suspense a Stephen King novel has, and a sad ending like those
Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan movies had; but I just wanted
to say how it will be used. All being said, a dreamer can dream; and I
dream of exiles, verdungo's, and CoA's.

Juan
aka Strongfok

PS: After a long, arduous battle through the ruined towns and outposts
in this God-forsaken land those barbarians call The Land of the Three,
the noble Paladin sits in the dark, foul smelling corner of the river
of flame. There, next to him, is his worn helmet, bearing the scars of
countless battles with unthinkable creatures right out of your darkest,
scariest nightmares. Those creatures know no fear, only the hunger for
blood. They wait patiently behind every dark corner, foaming and
drooling at the mouth for a chance to have some part in the ritualistic
slashing of your flesh, pleading to The Three to make them stronger so
they can find more warriors to bring them in sacrifice. Or noble
warrior cannot muster the strength he needs to continue in his quest to
defeat evil, all of the sudden he hears some subtle whisper behind him,
his every being rigid with fear and at the same time relief, for it,
the fight, will be over soon. He feels a presence, something bigger
than life itself; when it suddenly happens, our hero is bathed in a
light so bright, yet not hurting or dimming his vision at all, he sees
clearly as battles past unfold in front of his eyes. There is this one
warrior, wielding his sword, glimming green under the moon light,
attacking specters from the past, ghosts that are there, yet not there
at the same time. He feels weak, the weight of his armor heavy on his
bruised body. What is happening to him? He sees the bright, red blood
fly though the air as his sword slashes ghostly flesh and his shield
bashes the disfigured faces of those who were human in a long gone
past, but now are the Generals in the Army of The Three. Why is his
vision failing during his battles, this frightens him, yet he is
relieved as he cannot see the faces that will haunt him for years to
come, if they come. The whisper becomes louder and he turns to see
this figure with light emanating from within. Is he the light or maybe
his mind playing trick on him, no, there is the voice again. It calls
him by name, Strongfok it says. Our hero kneels before the light being
and feels the warmth of his hand as it reaches for him and touches him
gently on the shoulder and says, stand, noble hero, stand among giants
and fight, your final battle awaits. At this, our hero recalls the
visions he was just shown, right here, in Hell itself. This hero, here
seeing, yet not seeing the battles he fought. He tells his Angel about
his doubts, that he is afraid that during the times he cannot see the
evil ghosts he will perish. The Angel looks at him and as his gaze
washes away the blood and dirt from all his armor and weapons, tells
him the following words... Let the spirit of Guillaume rest, for his
battles were long and the weight of his conscience was heavy. The
weight of his spirit was the reason your vision was dimmed, the
face-plate closing and opening as if he recounted his sorrows and the
face-plate mimicked his eyelids as he closed and opened them while his
memories died with him, in the end. It is time for you to be Crowned
for Ages to come noble hero. Your legend will live long after you
battles are fought. Rise, rise one last time to become immortal with
the Gods. You will be in every childs dream and nursery song, the
warriors that will be inspired by you will recount your battles under
the same moon you once fought and defeated The Three.