City of IF

[Crunchyfrog]

*PLEASE READ ALL EXCERPTS IN THIS THREAD BEFORE VOTING.*




Nominations -
Bram Ota in Fraternity of Bastards by Jack D Mented
Angelo in Galleons of the Stars by Kalanna Rai
Aramum from Shatterglass by Kalanna Rai
Lianne from The Asylum Directed by Idea Master

[Crunchyfrog]

Bram Ota from Fraternity of Bastards - by Jack_D.Mented


Excerpt:

Quote: Bram swayed slowly in the saddle, wishing desperately for something to amuse himself, but found entertainment lacking in the still morning air save for the chirping of birds, which now he thought of as more an annoyance after becoming so accustomed to the unending sorrowful groans of the restless undead.

It seemed that to him, at least, that now he had far more in common with them than the living after his time within the catacombs of Veremoud.

His soul was tomb touched, in the truest sense of the phrase.

He felt no urge to sing, nor dance, not to love nor to laugh. He was filled with a bitterness, a hatred for purity and goodness, for the morally upright.

His betrayal and consequent burial had led to a resurrection in that Bram Ota was no longer the same man that entered those forsaken tombs.

He knew now that he could only depend upon, and trust himself.

No one was dying to save him and the only gods that were there were the ones a man made for himself.

There was only one thing left within his past that he had an anchor to at this point.

Other than his revenge and the constant prospect of exacting gruesome punishment upon the traitorous scum who left him to die within that accursed place, there was only one thing that made him pull through that time of troubles.

Bram's inward thoughts were shattered as a child ran to his horse, a filthy little urchin that attempted to cling to his boots.

"Please, sir. But please, a pence for my hunger," It begged.

Looking down to beggar, he saw that the disgusting ankle biter lacked even so much as a shirt and that his or her ribs poked out in grotesque testament to the starvation the youth had surely endured.

So thin was the adolescent that Bram found himself uncertain of the thing's sex, as its hair had been recently shaved, more than likely due to lice. A mouthful of rotten teeth grimaced up at him and one eye socket was merely a hollow cave.

The blackguard growled and kicked the stripling square in its chin, sending it sprawling into a snow bank.

He brought his horse to a halt and waited.

Timidly, the scraggly head peeked out, the lip bloodied, nose broken, and the jaw hanging limp, quite possibly also shattered.

Bram pointed at the youth and barked, "Remember this lesson. Remember it well.

'Never beg. Never borrow. If you can't take it, you don't deserve it.

'The finest rewards in life are those taken by force of arms and if you can't manage to force your way into better circumstances, then you deserve to be nothing more than food for the maggots that surely await you in the grave.

'Take what you want in life, seize it. Spare nothing nor no one, for tomorrow, you may die.

'Waste no more time here, become a bandit or a murderer or a pickpocket, but if I catch you here again, I'll rip out your guts and hang you from yonder tree by them," He finished, gesturing at an oak in the distance.

The child whimpered, and like a scalded dog, began to flee into the distance.

Bram bit his lower lip in thought and shouted once again, "Halt, youth!"

The child reluctantly stopped and turned in its tracks bringing its one good eye to bear upon the big man in the saddle.

Ota pulled a spare dagger from his saddle bag and threw it into a nearby stump. It sank into the rotten wood with a thud, the pommel quivering as the blade bit deep.

"Kill for a man and you spare his life for a day.

'Teach a man to kill and you've spared him for a lifetime."

[Crunchyfrog]

Angelo Steel from Galleons of the Stars, by Kalanna Rai



Quote: The slim figure stood over the slowly cooling body with a pensive look on his normally angelic features. Grabbing the bottle from near the dead man's hand, he walked a few feet over to where a rock jutted from the sand. Dusting some sand from the top of the rock he sat nimbly, his filthy breeches catching the last of the sun's rays. Taking a hearty swig off the bottle he resumed his contemplation of the dead man.

"You do realize what a predicament you've put me in Red? Don't ya? I mean it's not that I don't have the inclination to bugger off and watch your kids, wherever and whomever they may be, I don't have the time. I've got a debt to pay mate." The corpse, of course, didn't reply and the man took another pull off the dirty bottle.

Twisting his dirty fingers in his hair he yelped and pulled them back when the strands cut in, drawing blood. Shaking his hand a bit and sucking on the wounded digits, he looked from the bottle to the cuts and back. "Nah. I'd probably catch something if I poured this on there." He made a mental note to break himself of that habit, it just wasn't healthy now that he had steel wire for hair.

Once again the body drew his attention. "I know you're probably standing in front of the Maker himself pleading your case Red, but I haven't got a case to plead mate. My only hope is to pay back that debt and hope Himself keeps his hands of Meself. You understand don't you?" The body didn't reply and the slim man stretched wide his wings, drawing little designs in the sand around the rock.

He looked up, to where his ship waited for him, could almost feel her beckoning. Standing a little unsteadily, he gingerly tip-toed around the body, all that remained of Bloody Red Savage, one of the great Pirate Lords. Something, morbid curiosity maybe, made him stop and look back, squinting at the corpse's face in the waining light.

"You realize you don't look so good mate. I realize that you're dead and all, I mean I've got your blood all over me, but still...I've seen better looking dead men. You just don't have the same...spark you had in life. Know what I mean mate?" The body made no reply save that it grew cooler.

In life Red Savage had stood an impressive six foot ten, with shoulders wider than two other men and a booming voice. His scarlet mane of hair, like a lion, had instantly marked him out as much as his height. Into that hair, and the beard he'd grown to match, were braided trinkets. Only a few, not nearly as many as some. One in particular had the slim man's attention.

He looked around, even though he knew there was nobody anywhere remotely close to this deserted spot aside from himself and the corpse. Then he moved over and reached out a hand, grabbing the gleaming trinket and yanking it clear. He looked guiltily about as he cleaned the hank of red hair that had come with it off the end. "You won't be needing this anymore, will ya mate? I mean it was mine to begin with...it's not like I'm stealing anything from ya Red."

Red remained dead silent and the slim man glanced back toward his ship, watching for a few seconds as she sat there against the red horizon. He started toward her and, reaching the edge of the waves, spread his wings as if to take off. But, as he glanced back over his shoulder at the body, he heaved a sigh. "You expect me to bury you, don't you Red?" Turning around and scowling as salt water soaked his already filthy boots, he picked his way back to the body.

"I've got nothing to dig with mate unless you'd be willing to lend me a hand?" He paused then sighed into the darkening silence. "Of course not. I didn't suppose you would. Fine, I suppose there's something around her I can use." However, after glancing around in a board manner several times, he saw nothing he could use as a shovel. He took another long swig off the bottle and realized it was empty. Turning it upside down he stretched out his tongue to catch the last drops, scowling plaintively as if a dirty look by itself could put more spirits back in the bottle.

"See, now look. It's empty. You drank too much before heading off to oblivion. Always were a greedy bastard Red...and don't give me any of that lip that you were saving for your kids mate. You couldn't even remember their names, some father." Staring morosely from the body to the bottle an idea dawned on him. Tossing the bottle up in the air, he brought one of his wings around in a slashing motion.

With a thunk, the two halves of the bottle landed in the sand. He nodded to himself, glancing first from his wings then to the neatly bisected bottle. "Maybe that wasn't so bad a side-effect after all. See Red, I'm thinking positive. Just like you said, think positive! Of course see where it got you...dead mate. Not too much positive about that."

[Crunchyfrog]

Liane, from Asylum for Storyless Characters (Directed by Idea Master) - Character written by Phantomfan


Quote: Liane sat slumped next to a pile of rocks, panting with exhaustion. The walk had tired her out, not to mention the excessive heat and distinct lack of water. Her sisters were bickering, as usual.

‘Let’s go to the canyons!’ Brilliant choice, Liane. Really fantastic. Karakel said, sarcastically.

‘Aye, Neve agreed. ‘We were in a beautiful, cool forest with plenty of things to eat and see…

‘Not to mention things to hide behind, Ria added. ‘This is such an open space…

‘Yes, well, not all of us are comfortable being surrounded by trees all the time Neve, Liane said wearily, fed up with the constant arguing. ‘And Ria- you’ll just have to get used to openness.

‘But it’s not a good thing, for thieves like me-

“There is no more ‘like you’, Ria! There is only us!” Liane shouted out loud, unable to contain her annoyance any longer. She took a deep, calming breath. ‘Look, already we’ve nearly been killed twice. We were lucky to get out of that last one with only a bad arm. We need to work together in this if we’re going to stay alive.

There was a brief silence.

‘So. Who’s next? Karakel asked, rather cheerfully.

Liane sighed and pulled out her letter wincing as she bent her injured arm.

‘They’re putting us against a team, it seems.

‘I’m starting to really not like this Idea Master guy- he seems to be very intent on killing us all off. Ria muttered.

‘Yes, well, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Liane shot back. After all you’re the one who got us into this thing in the first place.

‘And now I’m rather regretting it.

Karakel intervened. ‘Can we please just get on with the fight?

Fine, Liane replied, calming down. ‘Ria, would you mind getting us around quietly?

‘My pleasure. Ria took control, eyes darkening to a muddy brown. She bent down low, picking her way quickly and silently among the rough and uneven ground, as a thief would in the dark of night. Suddenly, she stopped.

‘Neve, do you hear something?

Eyes now green, Neve listened closely. ‘Yes. There are two people- most likely male, over there. She pointed directly ahead of them. ‘Behind that pile and down below.

Liane took control once again. ‘Alright then, let’s see if we can do this. She walked forwards slowly, careful not to make a sound, until she reached the pile of rocks Neve had pointed towards. She cautiously peered around it. Yes, there they were, talking quietly with each other. A lone pebble dislodged itself and clattered down the edge of the cliff. Both men stopped talking immediately and looked towards the source of the noise. Liane yanked her head back around the pile and stood extremely still.

‘Great, go ahead and give away our element of surprise, why don’t you. Karakel said, sourly.

‘They saw us! Liane said urgently. ‘What do we do?

Neve took control and grabbed her bow and arrows. She knocked one and edged around the pile- only to find one man sitting alone in the middle of the canyon.

‘Wait… where’s the other one? Liane asked, confused.

“Hello.” A voice sounded directly behind her. Neve spun around, drawing the bow tight and wincing at the pain in her arm. There was the man, a few feet behind her. He looked at the bow and tutted. “Can’t have that, I’m afraid. He leaned forward and became a blur. Neve’s bow and arrow was yanked from her hands, only to appear again atop another rock pile, over thirty feet away. The man appeared again, panting slightly. “I’m Blitz, by the way.”

Neve blinked, bright green eyes filled with surprise. ‘Did he just… how-?

Liane’s eyes changed back to a purple, and she stayed stock still- unsure of how to react to this.

The man leaned back slightly. “Mmmm… why did your eyes just change?”

Liane remained silent.

A bolt of power shot towards Liane’s head, and she only just managed to duck in time. Another one came, and another, and another. Liane was forced to jump and duck continuously, and began running pell-mell away from this crazy Blitz guy.

‘He’s got some sort of power over energy! Ria said, breathlessly. ‘That’s how he can run so fast- and he’s shooting at us with pure energy.

Well then how in the bloody hell can we get rid of him? Liane replied, frantic.

One could almost hear the grin in Karakel’s voice. Let me.

Liane’s eyes faded to a silver gleaming with bloodlust, and she drew her sword. Blitz frowned.

“There you go again, with that weird eye changing thing. Why do you do that?”

Karakel cut at him again, Soulstealer glinting fiercely, and he jumped out of the way- reappearing directly behind her. She whirled around, and Blitz placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, creating a bridge of energy pouring into her body.

Fire, flames, burning, pain… the smell of burning hair filled the air, and Liane was struck rigid as the electricity ran through her body. Her arms wouldn’t move. She strained even harder, barely able to focus as the power rattled her brain. She pushed as hard as she could- and suddenly, her eyes turned a bright, pure blue. The four sisters all pushed their arm with the sword forward- directly into the neck of Blitz.

Eyes wide, the yellow power faded from them and he fell backwards onto the ground, a golden kind of liquid pouring from his wound. Released from the hold of the electricity, Liane slumped forwards- eyes a purple dull with pain and fatigue.

What on earth was that? She gasped.

I think… I think we managed to all take control at the same time… Neve said, wonderingly.

That’s one down, only one more to go. Karakel commented, happily. Let’s get him!

[Crunchyfrog]

Anramun from Shatterglass - by Kalanna Rai


Quote: Anramun's stance never wavered, his staff held tightly in both hands, the end firmly planted into the ground as he watched all four bandits at the same time. He watched the beads of sweat roll down the fat man, Habith's, face, watch the two brothers shift and fidgit. Watched Nayl, the youth doing the same to Anramun, simply watching.

A twich, one of the brothers raising his blade just a bit, breaking the stalemate as his muscles slowly recieved the signal to step forward from his brain. Before the move was completed, Anramun's staff was in motion like a bar of amber light, sweeping through the air with an odd humming noise. One end hooked the man by the foot, unbalancing him even as it continued upward to slam into his manhood with savage force. Needless to say the man dropped like a weighted sack, sword forgotten as both hands held his injured parts.

He didn't stop there, moving on to the other brother with the smooth motions of a river flowing over rocks. A single step forward, a shift in how he gripped the staff, and he slammed it into the gut of the second brother, following it up with another step forward and another savage change of direction. The but of the staff connected with the back of the man's head and he crumpled like a forgotten doll as Anramun danced back.

Habith looked from the two brothers sprawled in the dirt of the roadway back to where Anramun stood. Sweat poured down his porcine features, his fat jiggling as his spine melted. "You...you're not human..."

"No Habith, he's both more and less than human." The smooth voice belonged to the big youth and Nayl shifted on his feet. "You're him arn't you, Lady Alwynn's bastard. I've heard about you and I thought you were another like me...but I see I was wrong to think that. Because if you're half blooded anything then I'll be damned."

Anramun chuckled, never relaxing his guard as he politely inclined his head toward the big youth. "If you think I'm a changling you'd be incorrect. I honestly was born of Lady Alwynn. But while she is mortal you are correct that I'm not half anything."

Nayl spat in the grass, tossing down his weapons. "Take the Hound and go. I don't want any more to do with you. The longer I stay anywhere near you, the longer I risk encountering that which hunts you. And while I'm strong enough to fear very little in this world, the powers that serch for you my Prince, turn my spine to icy gel."

Habith's mouth hung agape as he stared at Nayl, as if seeing the big youth for the same time. "Ye' coward! I'll deal with this my-" His words were cut off as Anramun delt him a savage blow to the temple. Habith's eyes rolled up into his head and the fat man hit the ground with an almost earth shaking thud.

With all the force he had left, Anramun drove the butt of the staff down against the small dark stone that dangled from Habith's wrist, smiling savagely when it shattered with a pop of ugly violet light. Then, gripping the staff two handed, he leaned against it like a man on his last legs. "You don't have to worry about what's hunting me Nayl. I've delt with the attack for today."

The big man looked at his companions and shook his head. Now that he'd revealed he wasn't entirely human, it was easy to spot the slight features that marked him as other. The lightly pointed ears, tips hidden by his shaggy hair. The almond shaped eyes that glittered the green of new leaves. The calloused hands with fingers to long and nimble to belong to their broad palms. And though his muscles were decidedly human, they were supported by an inhuman skeleton.

"It will follow you, looking for you, and all who have seen you. None will be safe, my Prince." Nayl ran a rough hand through his shaggy brunette locks, massive shoulders rising. "But when it comes we will fight because it's all we can do."

"You will not fight alone. There are many, many, who will aid you." Anramun's golden head slowly raised, eyes locking with that of the half blood. "But you cannot continue on as you have been. Aiding human bandits to capture creatures that do no belong in this world. A Hunter's Hound is a dangerous thing...and Fearstones are abominable. You, of all creatures, should know this."