Record of Guild Wars

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Record of Guild Wars

By Daryll Pung

Ascalon

Rated: R

             It is one of those perfect days.  The sky is that perfect blue; the kind you get in late summer or early fall; the temperatures are quite comfortable and the trees have just begun to change.  A gentle breeze blows out of the west, caressing all it touches.  Even ornery skale or a rampaging river drake can’t take the pleasure out of the moment.  All around, the grass is green, the red iris flowers are blooming, and Ascalonians are going about their business in beautiful field, hill and dale, protected by the Great Northern Wall.

            The skies grow dark.  Livid, black, wicked looking clouds that seem to be laced with veins of fire are spreading out, developing with frightening rapidity, coming ominously from the north.

            The level of light around is quickly dimming.

            This is no ordinary storm.

            Pillars of flame lance the horizon, bursting from the current locations of Charr Flame Temples.  Few realize the significance at first.

            Even young Gwen, with her flute, red cape, and flowers, dancing and playing around outside the main gate of Ascalon City, stops to watch, wondering.

            It doesn’t take long for reality to set in.

            Streaks of fire and massive hunks of crystal burning with blue flame begin raining from the sky; one of the first strikes levels the highest tower of the castle at the center of Ascalon City, bringing the whole structure down with it in a stupendous roar of rock and flame.  Houses are quickly set ablaze, roofs and walls smashed to rubble.  The panicked people have nowhere to go, because being out in the middle of this deadly rain is lethal. 

Soon, too many are dying; burned to a crisp, or crushed under tons of rock, wood, and fiery crystalline shards by the terrible magical assault, to even care about the destruction occurring all around.  Small villages like Ashford, including massive damage to the Abbey nearby, are completely obliterated in stupendous explosions of fire, crystalline shards, and death.

            It’s not just the heat, the smoke, or the devastation.  It’s the smell and the sounds; the terrible reek of cooking human flesh, and the screams of the dying… or those already dead, whose minds have simply not caught up to that fact.

            However, this is merely a prelude. 

The deadly fiery crystals are demolishing whole sections of the Wall.  A cloud of dust and smoke rises higher into the dark, seared skies.

            The rain finally subsides… but the relief of the moment is brief. 

All are still in shock.  There isn’t even time to begin to comprehend all of the casualties; the loved ones who will never smile again at their families.

The true horror of the still-burning trees, towns, grasslands, and even the rivers now rears its ugly head:  a vicious furry, growling, snarling horde bursts through the rents made in Ascalon’s defenses.

            The whole fearsome army of the Charr charges right towards me…

            I awake with a start, sweating.

            Again.  That damn nightmare… again.

            Memories, really; none of it is figments of my imagination.  It happened, two years ago.

            We of Ascalon call it the Searing.

            It has literally brought us to our knees in the face of the Charr threat.

            Dawn is in the sky; but even when the sun is at its height, it will find no clear blue sky over Ascalon; even the air here is dead, decaying.

            I push myself upright from my sitting position; I’d been leaning against the filthy hunk of wall behind me, trying to get a little sleep.  I have a mission to accomplish, as one of the Ascalon Vanguard, a mission assigned me by Duke Barradin.  It just isn’t safe to camp out in the open anywhere; so my little party and I had overnighted here at Piken Square.

            Not that anyone would want to camp out in the open in Ascalon any more; it’s bad enough being in one of the few strongholds… most of which are little more than fortified ruins.  Who needs a roof over their head?

            Yes, that last bit was sarcasm.

            I suppose some explanations are in order.  You’re probably wondering who I am, what the Charr are, and all that.

            Nobody stays informed anymore; not that I blame them.  Life is hard enough; get your helmet.

            I am Derrelli Ixensjach, with short red hair and brown eyes, tall, and clad in what we call Flameforged armor for an Ele like myself.  It is in shades of gray, white, and black… and perfectly suits my mood at the moment.

            What is it now?  Oh, Ele?  Short for Elementalist.  We Eles are the attack spellcasting profession here in Tyria and over the world; and I myself prefer fire… despite my past experiences, or because of it.  Not totally certain; don’t really care.  Can I get back to my tale, now?  I can?  You’re too kind.

            Okay.  The Charr… they’re a sentient race of furred beasts, with both canine and feline qualities.  Taller and stronger than humans on average, though one can’t always tell, since they run hunched over, with a curious, loping gait.  Some of them are also smarter than us humans, by and large.

Well, not me, of course.

Hey, if you don’t believe me, just wait until one of them stands up to fire a bow or cast a spell on you; guarantee you’ll acknowledge the truth, then… a second before you die.  Better hope there’s a Monk around to keep you alive, ‘cuz the Charr don’t screw around.

The light is steadily increasing; I move about, kicking my party members awake, including my fellow guild member, who we call Big.

You don’t want to know his full name.  His parents must’ve really liked the lotus, if you get my meaning.

At any rate, he’s blonde-haired, cut short; big, burly, and inevitably clad in metal templar armor, with a gold pattern on it.  He prefers a sword… and likes stirring up more trouble than can be realistically handled sometimes.  He’s a Warrior; which by default pretty much automatically means charging straight into the thick of the bad guys.

Not too bright, eh?  You couldn’t pay me enough.

Still, someone’s got to do it; and he’s got some kinda luck sometimes; that, and having a good Monk helps.  I do appreciate his antics; buys me more time to blast the baddies back into the primeval ages.

            Our other two companions at the moment have been assigned to us by the Duke:  Stefan, another Warrior, and Alesia, a Monk. They provide additional front line support, plus healing capabilities; we’ve worked with them before.  Our guild is still rather small currently; at this time it’s just Big and myself; I’m the leader.  We call ourselves The Omega Adventuring Company, or OAC for short; and I’ve got big plans for our guild, which right now means consuming every Charr in my path in a blast of searing, hot revenge.

            What?  You want noble and righteous, go find yourself a Monk, or maybe even talk to Prince Rurik.  I’m just here to cook my opponents alive… until they’re not.  So, you can please stop giving me that look… unless you want to be included in the ‘opponent’ category?

            I thought not.

            Which brings us to our current mission; you’ll have to excuse me for a few moments while a brief my companions in.

            “We all alert?” I ask; naturally, I get only grumbles in reply.  “C’mon people, we’ve got work to do.”

            “Since when are you all dedicated like that?” snorts Big, shaking his head and standing up with much clanking of metal.

            I smirked.  “Since our new task involves deep-frying some Charr.  Get with it, already.”

            “We’re up,” Alesia’s feminine voice cuts in.

            “What’s the task?” Stefan adds.

            “Glad you asked,” I reply.  “It seems our furry fire-loving fiendish friends have set up new Flame Effigies, precursor to constructing more temples, in the Diessa Lowlands.  We get to go eliminate them; and the job ain’t complete until the last Flame Keeper is dead, and the fires are out.”

            Big shrugs.  “Fine by me.  Where we headin’?”

            I frown.  “C’mon, Big.  I know its expensive and all, but please pay attention!  Diessa Lowlands.  I just said it.  We’ll map to Grendich Courthouse and proceed from there.”

            “Screw you,” snorts Big.  “Where we leavin’ from is all I wanted to know.”

            Wait a minute… the reader is interrupting us with a question.  Yes?  Map?  By Balthazar, you have no knowledge whatsoever about Tyria, do you?  Mapping, as we call it, is actually a means to teleport between settlements, towns, and outposts; anyone with the proper concentration and brainpower can do it.  As long as the location is somewhat permanent, then the enchantments are put in place so that we can travel long distances without all that tedious walking.  The kicker is we can’t map to a location without actually being there first, so some of that tedious walking is necessary beforehand.  At least the walking part is often interrupted by fighting… I get cranky when I haven’t barbequed something in a while.

Any other questions?  Good.  Mind sitting back and shutting up while we get on with it?  Good.

I was starting to get mildly annoyed.  This is a bad thing.  Ask anyone.

A few seconds later, we formed up, facing each other, bowing our heads, and concentrating, focusing our destination in our minds; a moment after that, a subtle temperature change let us know that transit was successful; our senses then began reporting in the different smells, sounds, and sights that confirmed it.

We looked around; flickering firelight highlighted the dark, austere stone walls.  This is one structure somewhat intact, and people here actually make an effort to keep it somewhat clean.

We made our way through the various guard patrols, and paused on the top of the steps, near the very tense guards that were the first line of defense for this place.

It was easy to see why they were tense.

Ascalon used to be a green place.  Beautiful.  Relatively peaceful.

Now it is not.

From where we stood, gray, dead hills dominated the view.  Stunted, dying, or freshly deceased trees poke up here and there; some stubborn surviving weeds still grow as well.  The ground and the air are choked with ash and dirt.  We can see part of a stone bridge, heavily reinforced with timber; big sections are missing, dating back to the Searing.  Where ponds, lakes, or rivers used to be, a thick, oily tar that is all that remains.  Crumbling ruins of people’s houses, there a church, dot the landscape.  The sky itself is a dingy, sullen red amidst the sunrise.  Skeletons lie here and there; some bestial, some human.  The stench in the air is one of despair and decay.

This is a land of death.

And just standing here, we can see no less than three Charr patrols moving around; one is approaching the base of the long climb of stairs that lead into the Courthouse.

Bold, aren’t they?  Still, they know it’s somewhat safe; and if those patrols go missing, they know we’re out and about, doing something.  No one said they were stupid.

High time to make them back off a bit.  Granted, this whole area was outside the Wall when it still stood, but it was fought hard over even then.

“Let’s get them,” I hiss, already charging up an Immolate spell.

Flames erupt over the nearest Charr; what we of Ascalon have labeled an Axe Warrior; with a snarl, the beast turns to run right at me; only to be intercepted by the tag-team of Big and Stefan, who come in with a vicious Sever Artery and Power Attack combo that leaves the beast bleeding and reeling.

His pals race in; two Stalkers- Ranger types that love Ignite Arrows- and a Shaman (a Monk), who promptly starts healing the Axe Warrior as the Stalkers begin shooting with those annoying fiery arrows.

Damn things sting. 

Noting that Alesia is busy keeping Stefan and Big on their feet, I cast a Healing Breeze on myself, and get back to work, now targeting that Shaman, comboing Fireball, Phoenix, Firestorm, and even Flare spells as fast as I can get them off.

It’s a close run thing; even with Alesia’s Orison of Healing- a quick burst of healing- and Healing Breeze spells, both Big and Stefan are badly wounded by the time the Shaman finally crumbles under the power of the fire I’m wielding.

That’s when the momentum shifts back in our favor.

Without a healer, the Axe Warrior quickly falls, his body still on fire as we shift our attention to the two Stalkers, whose fire has become erratic on account of them trying to dodge Big and Stefan.

            I nail the closer of the two with a Flare- a quick, concentrated projectile of flames- just as Big cuts him down with a Power Attack; the fire blast and mighty strike are too much for it.  The last Charr turns as if to run; the last mistake it will ever make, with a fiery Phoenix nailing it in the back in time with a Gash from Big and Griffon’s Sweep from Stefan.

            After a quick check to see if they were carrying anything interesting, we get back to business; all patched up and ready to go.

            We’ve run various missions through this area before, and learned tough lessons from it; so we double back to intercept the other patrols nearby, including going after a fourth that often passes over the bridge.

            No need to have them sneak up on us when we least expect it.

            The battles with the other two patrols are hard-fought; but we come out the victors; Alesia is definitely earning her keep right now.

            Caution is the order of the day, despite my words earlier.  Rash people don’t survive long out here; the Charr are ruthless.  I carefully time our attacks on the fourth patrol, consisting this time of two Blade Warriors, a Martyr, Ash Walker, and Mind Spark.  The Martyr is a slightly weaker Monk than the Shaman dispatched earlier; Ash Walkers are Necs- short for Necromancers; spell casters that specialize in death and blood magics and curses- and the Mind Spark is a Mez- short for Mesmer, a type of spellcaster that likes hexes and interrupting magics; by that I mean they’re good at casting their spells faster than you, so that they can use their magic to prevent you from completely casting yours.

            Fun group.

            This one takes a different strategy than the earlier fights; Big and Stefan will try to keep the Blade Warriors busy whilst I target and destroy that Mind Spark.  The rest will have to wait; Alesia and I will be useless if that Mind Spark is allowed to have his way with us.

            We also have to hold off to make sure the Charr patrols in the valley below are not in range when we attack and draw off this patrol; bows and such may not reach up to our location very well, but spells sure as hell will, and if there are healers down there, we’d be in even more trouble.

            I set aside my staff and prepare my flatbow; I’m not very good with it, but you’d be surprised how useful it is to rain a few arrows down upon the enemy and get them to come after you.  I am, in essence, the bait; I’ll be leading them all back to our location.

            Of course, the Charr have pulled that trick on us before, too.  Hey, if it works, right?

            “Ready?” I ask.

            “Yes,” all three reply.

            I step out from hiding, string already taut.  Taking careful aim at the Blade Warriors- so much the better if they come separately to the slaughter- I let an arrow fly.

            They don’t even notice the first two misses over their heads.  Don’t look at me like that; I’ve already stated I wasn’t too good with a bow.

            The third, however, strikes sinew; in the right arm of the Blade Warrior on the left.

            That one shot is all it takes; they’re now all over me like white on rice.

            I pelt along, flat out, back towards my allies; the three casters halt near the end of the bridge, leaving the two Blade Warriors to their fate.

            No honor among thieves, I guess.

            Panting hard, I dart back around the bend; the Blade Warriors are shouting cheerful stuff like “Come back here, meat!” and “Where are you going, prey?”

            Meat indeed.  Time for a Charr-beque.

            They catch up, only to see me throw my bow aside and pick up my staff; the Immolate spell- it not only inflicts a blast of fire damage, no line of sight required, but also sets the enemy on fire- bursts forth almost of its own accord.

            At that very moment, Stefan and Big leap out of hiding, already swinging with Power Attacks.

            The first of the two Blade Warriors goes down quickly; they don’t have healing back-up, or any other kind of support…

            Uh-oh.  Let me take a step back and refute my previous statement.  They actually do.  The spell casters had stopped to allow a fifth patrol to catch up!  This one’s smaller, only an Axe Warrior, a Stalker, and…

            Oh, hell.

            A Charr Flame Wielder.

            Okay, big trouble.  That’s an ele.  All Charr eles use only fire magic; but this sucker is as strong as I… and with both these groups combined…

            “Fall back!” I shout, even as the second Blade Warrior drops and fiery arrows begin detonating in our midst. 

            Time for a fighting withdrawal; we take it in turns, Alesia and I shooting energy bolts with our staffs to cover the Warriors, the Warriors returning the favor as we run like hell.

            At the base of the Courthouse stairs, despite our wounds and desperate situation, we turn to make our stand.  The Charr are all strung out now; the Flame Wielder, Mind Spark, and Martyr have lagged too far behind.

            Alesia has already hit us all with a Healing Breeze spell (it provides a constant regeneration effect) and is now blanketing us with as many Orisons as she can, as fast as she can.  Big and Stefan charge at the Axe Warrior; I target that blasted Ash Walker.

            Unfortunately, the Axe Warrior has targeted me. 

            I quickly cast another Phoenix; this spell generates a fiery blast around me- damaging the bad guys close in- before shooting an explosive blast at the targeted enemy, which then explodes and nails all bad guys in its radius.

            Neither Axe Warrior nor Ash Walker likes that; even the Stalker gets hit.

            While my Phoenix spell recharges, I decide to back this Axe Warrior off; his last swing almost took my head off.

            I cast a Firestorm, centered on the Axe Warrior’s location.  It’s an area effect spell, raining fire down in streaks for a short time; fortunately, it only hurts the enemy.  It isn’t particularly powerful in comparison with some of my other spells, but it’s useful for one reason:  who in their right mind is not gonna flee and get out of the effect when it’s raining fire?

            The Axe Warrior is typical of this; and as he panics and turns, he gets nailed with a Sever Artery and Gash combo from Big, and drops, burning, bleeding, and very much deceased.  Stefan has already switched to the Stalker.

            I suddenly feel all weak; it’s hard to breathe.  It’s like my life force is ebbing away…

            And that damn Ash Walker is visibly getting stronger.

            Shit.  Life Siphon.  A nasty curse that steals health from the target and gives it to the caster, over time.

            What is this, pick on Derrelli day?

            Nuts to that!

            I can feel the soothing effects of another Healing Breeze come over me; trusting my healing to Alesia, I turn back to that fucking Charr Nec- now being attacked by Big- and rip off a Fireball straight to its face.  This spell’s pretty straightforward:  a ball of flame that explodes on contact, hitting target and any enemies nearby.  It hurts, too.

            Just ask that Ash Walker.  And that Stalker, which was standing too close.

            As the shockwave and heat blast from the explosion passes, both the Stalker and the Ash Walker pitch to their knees; and then flat on their faces.  Big and Stefan make sure they’re dead by shoving their swords through the back of their necks.

What?  We don’t want them getting back up on us.  Besides, they pissed us off.

Satisfied, we allow Alesia time to finish healing us up- Big and I, who’ve both added some Monk abilities to our repertoire, add our own Healing Breezes to the mix as well- and recovering.  The area reeks of the coppery stench of blood and fried ozone; a nearby scrub bush is still burning.

            There are still three more Charr to kill; we can see them preparing for us as we advance.  I also would like to recover my bow.

            Monk, mez, and ele.  Hmmm….

            “Kill the Martyr first,” I order quietly.  “If we all concentrate on it, it should go pretty quick; and then we no longer have to worry ‘bout the Charr healing up.  After he falls, Big, Stefan, nail that Mind Spark; I’ll pound that Flame Wielder.  Take that mez down quick; I’ll do what I can in the meantime.”

            “Got it,” Stefan says.

            “What, no gung-ho nuke ‘em all, here, Derrelli?” smirks Big.

            I scowl.  “You know as well as I how much those pricks hurt.  More, I would imagine, what with Lava Font and all.”

            A spell I haven’t learned yet- soon, trust me- Lava Font cause the ground to erupt in flames all around the caster.  It’s sort of along the lines as Fire Storm, except it can’t be targeted.  It doesn’t last as long, but it hurts more.  Useful for getting bad guys off of you.

            Big and Stefan have both felt its effects.

            “Right,” Big says.  “Let’s get them!  For Great Justice!”

            No sense hanging back.  We’re screwed if we don’t get in close, quick.

            We charge.

            It has turned out to be a very long day.

            We’re in a gully, now; underneath that bridge we cleared of patrols several hours earlier.  Yes, thus far we’ve prevailed, though Alesia had to rez Stefan once…

            Sigh.  Yes, reader, I see your damn hand, again.  Rez is short for resurrect, okay?  Stefan got cut down in a Devourer ambush.  To stop you from interrupting again, Devourers are big, six legged bugs with twin stinger-tipped tails and bad attitudes.  What, you thought Charr were the only things out here?  Please.  Devourers aren’t particularly smart, but they do come in several flavors- a Warrior type, Ranger type, and Nec type- and have instinctively developed some of the very same abilities we train to learn; they tend to attack from underneath the ground.  There are also gargoyles hereabouts- we cleared a ruin of them that was in our path- and we know from experience about the rock-type elementals, storm riders, and even a hydra or two that roam the area.

            Don’t get me started on hydras.  Ouch.  If you thought Flame Wielders were bad…

            At any rate, we just finished wading through some tar, killing off the last Charr patrols in this little valley, and have the last effigy in sight.

            We’ve drawn off and taken out the guards- that was entertaining… and again, yes, that’s sarcasm.  Three Flame Keepers are all that remain.  Priests, of a sort, they are among the strongest of Charr, and most honored.  Remember those Fire Storm and Lava Font spells I mentioned earlier?  They use both.  With three…

            This is going to hurt.  None of the other effigies was fun; but those only had one or two Keepers.

            “Nothing for it,” I frown.  “We’ve got to charge right in.  I’m sure that makes your day, huh, Big?  Alesia, perhaps you should hang back; try to stay out of the spell effects.”

            “Got it,” she whispers.

            “Fuck you,” Big retorts.  “Just blast ‘em, Pyro.  Let us tanks do our jobs.”

            “After you, then,” I mock bow, sweeping my arms towards the Flame Keepers.  At least that elicits a giggle from Alesia.

            For hopefully the last time today, we charge.

            The Flame Keepers already casting, even before Big and Stefan get in range.  Fire begins raining out of the sky.

            Trying to ignore the feel of flames cooking me alive, I return the favor, centering my Firestorm over the closest one.  Big and Stefan are already over it, Severing and Gashing and Power Attacking and Griffon Sweeping; I add my Flares, Fireballs, Immolates, and Phoenixes to the mix.

            The ground erupts in flames; the fire from the sky is getting thicker.

            Stefan collapses from the gratuitously dispensed fiery death.

            Big and I manage to bring down the first Keeper.

            Unfortunately, another has maneuvered to where it can attack Alesia; she’s trying to rez Stefan amidst a rain of fire.

            I switch targets to that Keeper, as does Big; but the bastard is proving remarkably resilient.  His buddy seizes the opportunity to join in casting spells at Alesia.

            They aren’t stupid, I’ve already said; targeting our healer is a very effective move.

            I stop for a second to throw one of my Healing Breezes Alesia’s way; she succeeds in getting Stefan back on his feet.

            Big falls, consumed by Lava Font eruptions.

            This is not going well.

            I scowl, and resume blasting the second Keeper to kingdom come; Stefan wades back in, swinging in wide arcs, backing the Keepers off some.

            It’s just enough; they get too close to each other.

            I quickly spout off another Fireball and Phoenix; the twin fiery explosions briefly stagger the Keepers.

            Big is back on his feet in a column of white light, pulled back from the light in the nick of time.

            We renew our assault, despite the fact that we’re all hurting, big time.  I mean, I like fire, but this sucks; I don’t even remember being this hot and burnt and cooked and what have you during the Searing.

            ‘Course, back then, I was in a cave, hunting down a Charr named Vatlaaw Doomtooth.

            But I digress. 

We press our attack, swords flashing amidst blood sprays, shields blocking, fire roaring; and our combined assault drops another of the Keepers, leaving only one.  That is, of course, one too many.

The Keeper steps back, trying to keep us off of him, layering another Fire Storm on top of a Lava Font, all centered on him.

Big and Stefan share a glance, and back off, out of the effects, allowing Alesia to catch up on the healing.

I just keep on flinging fiery magic at the Keeper; but hot damn, I’m running out of juice, here.  I seriously need a moment to recover.

As the Font fades, even though the Fire Storm continues, Big again shouts “For Great Justice!” and he and Stefan race back in, heedless of the streaks of burning pain scorching the area.

I cast an Immolate.

Stefan Power Attacks; he gets another Orison from Alesia.

Big quick-combos Sever Artery and Gash.

I launch a final Phoenix.

It seems to happen in slow motion; amidst the exploding flames and gleaming, crimson-coated steel, the Keeper topples backwards, fur ablaze.

He hits the ground with a thud and certain finality.

Fire stops raining from the sky.

For long moments, nobody moves; Alesia is the first to act, resuming with her healing prayers to bring us all back to combat-capable condition.  We still have to get back to safety, after all; more patrols could be out there.

Exhausted, beaten, burned, and bruised, the four of us approach the effigy.

“Well, damn,” mutters Big, after tipping over the pyre and putting it out.  “Pyro?”

“My pleasure,” I reply grimly.

I launch a last Fireball.

As the debris from the exploding, partially-constructed structure thuds to ground, we disappear under the bridge and around the bend, not even bothering to watch the dust settle.

Mission accomplished.  The hell with anything else; we’ve earned a nap.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

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