forum The Age of Kings and Calamity (Closed Small Group, 3/3)

Started April 18, 2023 by @lord-of-the-carnival group

tune

(a bit of exposition here-)
(also esmeray will awaken to her powers and true self- just to try and make things interesting lol. for context to the second part of this starter, the Hero and the Mage have their own respective duties but usually have sit in to watch the mettings of the king and his subjects to take note of the people's discomforts or complaints; just have them be in the room. and remember, nobody should know anything about Esmeray's true powers and stuff quite yet [besides maybe the mage]!)

///400-ish years ago, in the last Calamity War///

Calamitas stood on her balcony for the last time in this incarnation, looking down with contempt at the old Hero, King and Mage.

"This is not the last time you shall see me, King, Mage and Hero. I shall return, someday, stronger than now. And you will each regret it. I swear it by the blood of Chaos that runs within me." she snarls.

The Hero laughs. "And we shall beat you then, too."

"Indeed, we will." the King agrees.

The Mage stays silent, but smirks.

Calamitas growls loudly. "Insolent fools. You will all rot."

The Mage now speaks. "No, we will not."

As the Mage says those words, a great bolt of black flame strikes down Calamitas from her aerie, buring her spirit beneath the rubble of the old King's castle.

Thus ended the last Calamity War. And thus began the Age of Kings, and soon after, the Age of Calamity.

---

The year is 1576, in the time of the great King Cassius. In his leadership, the country of Theuverild (THEY-oo-VEHR-IHLD) prospered. No wars, no battles beyong the ocassional skirmish between the scouts and the odd barbarians that roam the craggy mountains around Hûldir (HOOL-deer) Keep.

The people were well fed, crops were abundant, and drought was nearly a myth.

There were barely any murders or robberies in the capital of Hûldir, and what murders there were were quickly solved by the King's Peacemakers. Life was good.

Yet there were still some that dissented, that wished to go back to Theuverild's days over warmongering, of battles and chaos.

Esmeray was one of them. And she was also one of the most outspoken about it. Not even she knew why she was so adamant of Theuverild and Cassius conquering once more, yet she was.

So here she was, knelt in front of the Fair King Cassius.

"My fair King. . . I thank you for granting me audience this day, the day of the King's victory over Calamitas. I have come to you to ask about various whisperings between the poor folk. . . they say that there may be tidings of war soon. Is this true?" Esmeray asks. Her light alto voice was loud and filled half of the room just with volume, her words clearly anunciatedand and pronounced to be understood clearly.

The Throne Room of Cassius was a large affair, meant to hold great crowds of nobles and courtiers, and still leave space for the servants to move about freely. The walls were lined with overly elaborate seats, space to watch the King give audiences and grant requests.
Even in a land with so much prosperity, people found something to complain about. And while Huldir was a fairly peaceful place to live, the rest of the country was like any place made up of people: As imperfect as the people who inhabited it.
Thus, King Cassius had his hands full on a regular basis with requests, demands, meetings, and signing off on aid to various parts of the country.
The King had a comfortable and decadent throne, on a raised dais, centered on the back wall of the massive Throne Room. Next to the King was a seat, meant for a consort or Queen or co-ruler of some sort. Off to the side of that chair was an open spot, typically reserved for a guard of some kind.
It was in this spot that Ronnie usually stood, often for hours at a time, as King Cassius made his rulings. Ronnie had a huge hand in making sure anything Cassius signed off on that needed military help, got done. Putting down rebellion, settling disputes and feuds, delivering royal aid- it all fell under his jurisdiction. He did his best to make sure King Cassius could trust his wishes to be carried out.
Ronnie also served the purpose of guarding the King. Not quite by singlehandedly beating off any and all would-be attackers, though he could have. More typically, he intimidated anyone thinking any such thoughts into backing down. Average height, average weight, but with a dark aura around him that spoke as clearly of violence and retribution as if he'd said it out loud. Even his smile was threatening, what with the Hero's Mark across his face, marring his features.
Today, Ronnie was in his usual spot as King Cassius ruled. The girl's question was one that the King was asked regularly, almost on a daily basis. And Ronnie expected the good King would give the same answer he always did.

Ariella was sat off to the side and partly out of view. She hated this, she hated being here. But the King required her presence because of that blasted Mage mark on her back. She had done so well to conceal it over the years and one day jt slipped out, and now she was here, serving the King as he pleased. She wore a simple gown with an open back to reveal her mark. But even this simple gown from the King was more than she would ever be able to afford working in her apothecary.
Her job as Mage was simple. Sit by the king's side and watch. It was her job to notice if anyone of magic came before the King. She was to give a series of hand signals to the Hero to signal if the person was of magic. And depending on what that person was here for, the Hero would subdue them or Ariella would have to with her magic. The only problem with that was that Ariella was still learning how to use her magic. Some of it, she had gotten right away. Some of it was easy. Others, not so much. She had problems with her control. Sometimes things blew up that she didn't mean to happen. In her defense, Latin was very hard to learn and it was very confusing. And unfortunately, her book was only in Latin.
Said book was under her seat. She never went anywhere without. While she had some spells memorized, not all, not enough. She needed to have it in hand in case she needed it. And, she had tabed it. She had added tabs based on what kind of spells were in the book. Red for combat, blue for healing, green for earth, etc. It was a lot more helpful like that.
There was a girl approaching the dais, a peasant girl by the looks of it. It wasn't anything different for them. Plenty of peasants and common folk alike came to visit the king and share their concerns. And her words were the same just as many others. Too many peasants wanted them to go to war. Too many of them as if it wouldn't be there own lives being sent to the front. Their own lives being lost. Ariella didn't understand it, this need for war. War brought death and poverty and hunger. War was pointless. And she hated it.
But this wasn't why she was intrigued by this woman. No, it was something else. She couldn't quite make it out but she knew there was something swimming under this woman's skin. Ariella's back straightened. She glanced at Ronnie out of the corner of her eye and signaled be cautious. There was soenthung dangerous about this woman.

Cass was bored. Thoroughly bored. Nothing was fixing it either. None of the stupid fencing lessons, non of the parties, and certainly, not this. This Q&A about everything. Despite the fact that he was a King of legend and had a Hero and Mage at his side, he wasn't please with leading the country. 'Those who have everything want for nothing, while those who have nothing want for everything.' That was the thing his mother had said to him many times before she'd died. He'd floumd it was not strictly true, but true enough. For, Cass wanted nothing to do with being king. He had always wanted a simple life, but he'd never gotten it. His parents had slipped over his older sisters and brothers because of the stupid mark on his neck.

He hated the damn thing that makes him out as a king amount kings. For the mark had taken away any simplicity that he may have had I'm his life. It also made his brother, Malshite, hate him. If only slightly.

He was currently sitting on his throne, resting his elbow on his arm rest and his cheek on his fisted hand, a very bored look on his face. He watched as a girl walked up then glanced down at Amiella then to Ronnie. 'Be cautious.' He looked back to the girl, listening to her. He lets out a heavy sigh, straightening. "No. There is no war brewing anywhere." He stated simply. "And I'm not going to start a war either."

Cass was trying to make peace with the surrounding countries. He only wanted to be at peace. But he wasn't stupid. He knew unrest was growing, and at some point, it would blow up. Cass supposed that would make his life more interesting, but also a lot more difficult. He just wanted fun and interesting, not difficult.

"I'm not talking of your own personal desires, King Cassius. . . I am, rather, talking of the East Nations. In particular, Firbolg. (FEER-bohlg) The nation of warriors with specially forged curved blades." Esmeray restates calmly, raising her eyes - those strange red, orange and grey eyes, matched with her strange red hair that was as long as she was currently tall; (she is currently only around 6'4" tall) - to stare the King down.

She largely ignored the Mage and Hero, save to try and decipher their body language.

Ronnie caught Ariella's tiny signal, which would have escaped most other people's attention and was incomprehensible to anyone who hadn't helped her design it. He watched as the tall girl kneeling in front of the King continued her chattering, even though the King had given her a clear answer.
He couldn't have care less about Firbolg, or the other East Nations, or the 'specially forged curved blades'.
What he did care about was how this common wench was talking to the King.
He stepped forward, just one step, and spoke quietly, but intently. "Show some respect, madame. Remember to whom you speak."
He wasn't about to stand here and let her talk to good King Cass in that tone of voice. If she wanted to get anywhere, and continue this conversation, she would do it respectfully.

Esmeray's eyes snap up to Ronnie and give hi a look filled with violent intent and complete madness.

"I know to whom I am speaking, Hero. You have no jurisdiction yourself over my actions and I will not allow one with such a. . . tasteless personality as yourself try and assert his will over me." she snaps coldly. "I shall speak how I want to whom I want and the only man I shall allow myself to be ordered around by is the King himself. Now keep your distance lest I rip your testicles from your crotch, bore a hole in your throat and choke you with them."

Ronnie merely smiled at her, and took another step forward, ignoring her baseless threat. He'd heard such playground insults before, and as she was clearly no more a threat than some small child tossing about such insults on said playground, he met her eyes easily, matching her violent intent and complete madness with cool, collected efficiency.
"In stepping into this throne room, woman, I will remind you that you have placed yourself within my jurisdiction. You are correct; you will 'allow' nothing, and I will 'try' nothing. But you will submit, or I will beat it into you, without the trying. Now mind yourself when you speak to his Highness."

Esmeray stands up deliberately and stares the Hero down.

"And I shall remind you only once. . . you may reincarnate, but that does not mean you cannot feel the pain of death as I slowly strip you of your face and pride. It does not make you a god or even a demigod. You are still mortal. I may be mortal as well, but do not test me when I say that if you take another step forward, I intend for blood to be spilt on these floors, in front of your precious King. So make good right now on your threat to 'beat it into me, without the trying,' or shut your wretched carrion filled mouth, you horrid half-blood." she says silkily.

Ariella's anxiety was growing. The woman and Ronnie were passing threats back and forth and she was beginning to be worried that blood would be splattered today. Using her foot, she nudged her book a little closer to her in case she would need it. She wracked through her mind, trying to see if she coukd think of a spell that could help manage this situation but she was blank. That was probably more due to the fact that she was terrified and less so that there wasn't anything to use.
Her hands were trembling in her lap. She was looming between the pair and the king. What would he do? What would everyone do? She drummed her fingers on her thigh. Don't do this.

Cass sighs softly rubbing his forehead. This was certainly not how he expected his boredom to go. He watched quietly as Ronnie and the girl went back and forth before he clears his throat, “One; No one is spilling blood.“ He looks between the two, giving Ronnie a glare that told him to stand down.

“Two; Ronnie is right. You are speaking to me, and I would much appreciate a little respect, but I do not require it of anyone. But threats against my entourage, I will not accept.” He leans back slightly, thinking for a moment.

Being a king was not easy, certainly. And how many times before had he have to cool a heated room? He sighs softly, “I am sure there is a more dignified way to deal with this, without the threats and bloodshed, yes?”

Esmeray backs down, shooting the Hero one last venom filled look before turning back to the King.

"Yes, my lord. However, I never made a threat to him until he made on towards me. I was simply responding in kind." she says quietly.

"I suppose there is." she says. She didn't let on that she did not actually feel that way, not even by a peculiar twitch of the eye. "But again, I didn't truly start anything."

Ronnie's smile grew as the antagonistic woman displayed her ignorance. She hadn't the foggiest clue what he was capable of, clearly. Threats of pain and death meant nothing to a shade, who felt neither. And Ronnie was most certainly not mortal, in any sense of the word, but she was certainly allowed to believe herself superior if she really wanted to.

He took another step towards her, fully intent on carrying out his threat, only to be stopped by Good King Cass. He glanced over at the monarch, and stopped his forward momentum, though he didn't back down. He simply looked from the King to the woman, his smile staying serene and level.

Even for all her venom, the woman was still a recipient of the King's mercy. Ronnie hoped she knew how lucky she was.
He stayed where he was, waiting to see if she would show the proper respect, or if she would need it beaten into her after all.

She made the right choice, and backed down, and Ronnie allowed her to keep her pride by pretending he'd threatened her first. He hadn't, and all present knew it, but calling it out now would only antagonize the situation. As long as she was being respectful, that had been his only point.

He took a step back, not entirely back into his original spot, but not in her face any longer. As long as she behaved, or the King extended his mercy, Ronnie wouldn't need to do anything about the situation.

Esmeray knew how lucky everyone else was that the King had intervened, not the ammount of luck the Hero thought she had.

She knew she was dangerous, and that even if she didn't understand how she was dangerous, she could still hold her own against the Mage, Hero and King if it came down to that.

As a matter of fact, she really, really wanted to. She wanted to put Ronnie in his worthless place and wiping that aggravatingly prideful grin from his pitiful face.

Without really thinking too hard, she raises her right hand and forms a pistol shape, with the thumb pointed towards the left wall, then jerks it up. What follows was a geyser of fire and crackling red plasma, as the earth right in front of Ronnie is forced open with a sound like a cannon being fired. Esmeray's eyes widen, then she starts to laugh, quietly at first, then getting louder and louder until the sounds of her laughter echoed through the room.

Her body started to grow in size, from 6 feet, to 10 feet, to its full 13 feet and 7 1/4 inches of height, her skin bleaching itself of all color.

If she wasn't insane before, the power she'd just unlocked within herself would surely bring that about soon enough as the Mark of Calamity reveals itself upon her breast.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

Her eyes had closed during this, and now she opens them, revealing chaotically colored irises and snake pupils.

"Hero, King and Mage. . ." she hums in her multilayered alto. "The story continues at last. You should have known, you wretched beings, that I am eternal. I will always come back. What will you do?"

Cass sighs, leaning back slightly, a slight frown on his face. “Ronnie was merely telling you to be respectful, though he should know by now that I don’t command respect.” He gives Ronnie a look. He looks back to the girl and his eyes widen slightly.

He watches the woman make a gesture with her hand and then. . . He shakes his head, standing up. “Calamity. . .” He murmurs, not seeming shocked at all. He just seemed, resigned. As if he’d expected it.

Ronnie's smile grew, just for a moment, as he stepped into the plume of plasma and fire, reveling in the heat. It crisped his skin, which flaked off and was regenerated immediately, but otherwise didn't seem to have any effect on him.

He looked up at Calamity as she grew, the easy smile of a supremely confident man settling on his face. "We will do what we have always done. Defeat you."

His powers had grown since they'd last met, and since she seemed uninterested in diplomacy, Ronnie didn't feel the need to be careful about this. They would fight, and frankly, likely stalemate, if it was just the two of them. Calamity was an insanely powerful creature. But with the help of the Mage and the King, the Hero had no doubt they would triumph.

He wasn't worried.

He did, however, take a step sideways, stepping in closer to King Cass, who also seemed entirely unrattled. He looked over at Ariella as he did, wondering how much of this she'd been able to see coming.

Ariella had let out a quiet sigh of relief as the king had stepped in. Cass had always been known for his reign of peace, even if she knew it was more out of laziness that they did nothing. But most of the people idolized him for preventing war and that was it. She didn't care how they went about it, only that there was no war.

But that relief quickly rose to horror as the woman in front of then began to grow. Grow and grow until she stood double any of their heights. Oh gods, Calamity. She picked her book up then, hugging jt to her chest. She looked at the other two men, Hero and King, eyes wide and afraid. While she had suspected great magic, she had never suspected this.

This was more than she had ever thought she would see in this life time. Calamity was back and she was coming to destroy them all. Ariella didn't want to do this. She was nothing but a small time girl until her mark had been discovered and she had been shoved into the palace. She had worked at an apothecary before this, growing plants and helping people with their ails. She was not equipped for this. But the trembling book in her hand said otherwise.

"Defeat me? How? As you all have gained power, so too have I. It matters not what you do to me, because in the end, it is I who shall reign triumphant. You need to win for eternity, and I need only win once. . . in the face of such overwhelming odds, do you truly think your pitiful existances can stand to me?" Calamitas laughs. "In the end, you will lose, I will win, and Chaos will reign. The Age of Calamity is now."

As she says those last words, ribs of pure chaotic and ever-shifting energy rupture the earth with the scrape of metal against stone and stone against stone, slowly ripping the palace into pieces.

"For now, I am not in any mood to fight you. So I shall send you all on your way. If you try and come back, you shall find the gates closed and barred, your fields sown with primordial matter and your people slaughtered and assimilated." she smirks. And with a wave of her hand, the King, the Hero and the Mage are sent far away, to another continent across the Northern Seas.

---

(im introducing a secret character lol- we're going to have fun with the POVs here)

In the far northern mountain forests of Erebys (ere-EH-bis), a young lady clad in leather protective gear and fur winter clothing is on the hunt for food to feed her village for a few days
(her face- https://s3.amazonaws.com/notebook-content-uploads/content/uploads/original/3a00b8b3-88ee-4718-9828-c52f0e1bccbb.jpeg?1682959340)

Erin stood, clad in her fur and leather protective gear, bow in hand. She'd been on the hunt for days, and her small village relied on this bow shot.

She was facing the largest Gnarlhorn Buck she'd ever seen in her life, standing at well over 12 feet at the shoulder, with antlers that spread their bony, velvety canopy over all else.

She takes a deep breath, closing her deep green eyes and concentrating, tensioning the arrow to the bow string with a quick, silent movement.

Just as she is about to realease it, two things happen.

One, she feels a searing pain in her right eye, causing the arrow to fly wild as Erin releases it. The Gnarlhorn Buck startles and races off.

The other thing is three people clad in fine armor and clothing appear 15 feet away from where Erin was currently perched, amongst the craggy tongues of rock protruding from the mountain.

After a while, the pain fades and she can see perfectly fine. Actually, better, but that was currently not as important as the three strangers who had appeared from nowhere.

She slowly makes her way down to them, keeping her bow in hand and pulling out an arrow, ready to draw the longbow if need be.

"Wh- who are you people, and where did you come from?" she asks. Her accent was akin to a Russian one, but with hints of Japanese to it. Harsh, but a bit melodic. She only spoke their language because this northern village was technically close enough to the capital of the King's country that they were a part of his country.

Unbeknownst to her, a mark now scrolled across her eye, the centerpoint of it being her pupil. (her mark- https://s3.amazonaws.com/notebook-content-uploads/content/uploads/original/73ea4a5b-aa89-4798-86c8-33f78941e665.jpeg?1682959208)

Ronnie immediately tensed as she waved a hand, and he felt himself transported across several planes.
No matter.
He split himself, deciding that King Cassius and Ariella would likely be ok, but better to be safe than sorry. Part of him dropped into the far north with them, to help and to protect and to pull them back when they had a plan.
He glanced up as they were accosted by a young girl. He figured letting Ariella or the King handle this was likely best.

And part of him hovered over the palace, untouchable by Calamitas. He stayed there, largely to watch, to see what she hoped to accomplish. She couldn't cast him out, not by any stretch of the imagination, but if she was willing not to fight just yet, he would simply observe. Plane-walking was an easy enough exercise. It should be no trouble to get the other two back here, if that's what they decided they wanted to do. And attacking her now would be pointless, if not satisfying. They would stalemate, and likely tear apart several planes of existence in the process. No, better to lie in wait and watch her.

Cass blinks, one moment, he was standing in the remains of his hame and the next he was here. Where was here anyways? He looks over at Ronnie then Ariella. He lets out a slow breath, shaking his head slightly. Well, there now was this problem, along with the problem of the Calamity. His people. . .

“Well. This is just great.” He mutters, slowly sitting down on the rock. He dropped his head into his hands, shaking it slightly. Just as he was worried for his people, he was worried for his family. His pregnant sister, and his fiery tempered brother. He was worried what would happen to them.

He rubs his face, tense with worry and stress.

(its okay lol, just trying to keep this one alive)

Erin stares at the group cautiously, starting to walk in an investigatory circle around them, but freezes upon seeing the symbol inscribed on the finest dressed of them.

Nay, the Mark.

"King Cassius. . ." she breathes. It wasn't reverent, but rather a bitter breath, an exhalation of long lost hope and frozen dreams. Her village was one of the ones largely ignored by the main monarchy due to its distance from the capital. Her and her family and friends were abandoned, left for theirselves.

"So the other two are the Hero and Mage. . . which means Calamity's back." she groans. She puts the arrow back in its quiver and slides in the bow after. "Alright. I'm convinced I'm not hallucinating now, at least. But this just makes me angrier. How dare you three show your faces up here? Do you realize how horrible things have been without support from the monarchy? No traders come up here, and most of the time the earth is frozen solid. Your wizards could help, your trade could help us, but all you do is sit up in that castle and bide your time. I know right now isn't exactly the best time, but do you have any answers? Any way to justify or right these things?"

She was, justifiably, pissed at the rulership. Not everywhere was as good as Cassius would like to believe. Her right eye was starting to glow a deep green color as the snow, unbeknownst to her, slowly turned to water around her and plants started to grow. But after a while of glaring, she takes a deep breath and calms herself.

"Nevermind." she huffs. The plants whither and die, and the earth freezes once more. "You three are coming to the village. We can't have you dying."