Eternity
12-15-2005, 10:58 AM
*Breaths Deep*
I sit here, in my quiet realm. Here I am master of all within the ruby walls. Generations pass; growing, withering, living and falling, while I stay constant. I am Eternity. I lived before you first saw light, before your grandparents, before your legends. I have dwelt here longer than you could comprehend. I once walked among men, among the heroes of the world. I stood beside people barely remembered in song and fought creatures now unknown. I was Sapheron and my destiny was set.
The Sapheron line is ancient, and has often been broken. It is a long tale of how I cheated death and lived on, free of the burden of death. Many people try this. The great Nagash, long ago achieved it, as did the Queen of Lahmia. Now their lands are dead, as are their people. The vampires live on, each a beast that must kill for itself, a creature of evil. None have I seen as ancient as I. Countless souls fall to Chaos in their fear of death, only to find their Gods have lied. I give these examples so that maybe you will think better of me when you learn of my life. I merely wished to live, like most others. What set me aside is that I was not afraid to fight for this goal. Even to kill for it.
I was a man. Nothing more. I was the Sapheron of my people, our greatest warrior. We lived in an area long lost, on the borders of the dead lands of the South. Our gods were many and abstract. One I worshipped, the God of War. I would fight for him, so fight I did. I fought and killed for decades. Man and beast fell to the Blade Sapheron. I fought the people of the desert, and the barbarians that came from the North. I fought green skins as they raided our homes and burnt our ships. None could stand before my blade.
It was then that the swan boats arrived. They sailed faster than any of our men could crew a warship, even though the wind was against them. The weather did not affect their graceful length, as waves broke softly and wind grew weak. Sorcery was in their make, but I did not care. I saw only the beings within. I saw armour and bows and blades. I saw a fight. The years had brought death to my mind, and in them death I saw. No Sapheron had ever lived longer than I was then. My fourth decade was ending but no Sapheron had ever fought his way into legends as I could then. I wished to fight. To prove myself the greatest of my race. Others warned me. They said the people of the ships were the people of the Gods themselves, and to go against them was death. The legends of my race recorded these people. They had once fought the devils that had overrun the world, and saved it from destruction.
I went to prayer. The influence of the War God had long saturated my mind. His smooth power bending me to his will. He demanded I fight. That I always fought. I understood not his reason, but I understood his wish. I went to the shore, with nothing but the Blade Sapheron. The ships were out them and I called them. I demanded battle. I challenged them. They stared back. I see now they thought me mad, for I was alone and they were many. I had no armour and they had strange weapons that could throw miniature javelins with as much force as I could a spear. They were coated in metal and shone like the stars. I stayed their, called whenever I pleased. They watched for a long while. Eventually they moved closer. One of the God People stood at the prow with one of their strange weapons. I swore at them. Called them cowards, that as warriors they were not worthy of the War Gods work. I invoked the name of the God. Khaine. The God Man paused at that. Another came forwards. He was dressed in gold and silver. His helm was high with a plume of blood feathers falling from its peak. He demanded my name. I answered Sapheron. I told him that Khaine wished me fight, for that was my duty. The warrior was troubled. He told me that Khaine would wish me fight elsewhere, as they were also devoted to then War God. I did not retreat. I stubbornly stood my ground staring the God Man in the eyes. Eventually he came to the shore. Just him. He was, he said, a prince of his people, a great seaman and warrior. To that I smiled. None had ever stood before me. None ever would. I was Sapheron.
The Prince of the God Men drew a blade. Such a blade. It was longer and slimmer than the Blade Sapheron, and I bore the most graceful weapon of my people. Runes danced along it, written in flame. A great ruby was upon his breast. It glowed with an inner flame also, more beautiful than the Sun.
I charged the prince. My blade came down in an arc, trailing stars as it did in battle. The prince blocked, and the air thundered as the magic blades stuck. I could feel my swords wish to kill seeping into me. The two of us fought for hours. Always I was blocked, ever he attacked. He could not break me, but still, it was obvious he was the greater of us. Suddenly he drew his blade back and I had an opening. I lanced forwards, aiming for the heart. The point of the Blade Sapheron hit the great ruby, and its inner blade flashed out. The Blade Sapheron exploded in my hands, showering us with shards of metal. They struck off his armour, and lodged in my flesh. Then he struck forwards. He also struck to the heart, but I unprotected and unarmed, could do nothing. I tried to dodge, but he revealed a speed that no human could follow, and struck home. The God Blade pierced my chest and was drawn out faster than I could see. I fell. Above me the God Man stood. He looked sad. Slowly he sheathed his sword, and unclasped the gem from his chest. Its fire was dimming, and a small crater was at its centre. He dropped it beside me. A tribute, he said, to my death. I looked at it next to me in the sand. Even slower than he, I reached out, and grasped it. Its warmth spread up my arm.
I saw Khaine. His was still there, still watching. He was happy with me, that I had fought a foe no man could beat for him at his bidding. He told me that I was his great devotee. That he would look over me if I continued to do his bidding. I agreed. I feared my death. I begged for him to save me, and in his great power he did. I awoke to blood walls, to ruby walls. I looked out from them, without eyes or body I was, and I saw my dead body beside me, with my hand around me. The gem I now dwell in. The object that killed me is my eternal tomb. I am eternal in here. I was Sapheron. All I could do was wait for a new warrior to come. Khaine old me that I was to slay the greatest foes I could find. He said that a new warrior would someday find me, and that I was to teach them my art. They would be a new Sapheron. They could kill for Khaine wit my guidance.
It was nearly a millennia later that I was found. A ship came up and men came ashore. My bones were found half buried in the sand above the beach. Just bones and a sword hilt and a ruby. I was picked up. I was taken back. To the land now known as the Land of the Dead I was taken. To Nehekhara and its mighty cities. In these cities I waited for one worthy.
It was many years before I came to the hand of one powerful enough for me to reveal myself. He was a great warrior. I taught him from when he was a boy till he became a general. He was slain in the wars against Nagash. I was surprised at first, to find his soul was locked in here with me after death. With another came a way to communicate, a way to see. I gained a form again. I couldn’t recognise it, though I assumed it must have been how I looked so long ago. The two of us waited on, till another came a while later. He was slain by the vampire Abhorash in the wars against Lahmia. So in this manner I have slowly moved through history. Finding a bearer, teaching them, then bringing the skill of each past Sapheron against the greatest of foes. Sometimes we win, other times we lose, and I gain a new companion to speak to and remember times when we were alive. I cannot touch those I am with. We have no voice. We merely see each other, and exchange thoughts.
It was not long ago, barley eight centuries that the great Khaine allowed me my freedom. I had served him well he said. One day he may call on me again. Until then the world is mine to explore, at least what little I have not already seen. I can do what I wish. See what I want. I take bearers now for who they are, rather than how they fight, as one day I will spend eternity with them. My name, I have forgotten. I did so long ago, in my millennia on the shore. All I know is that I was Sapheron. I chose the name Eternity myself. I like it. For although one day I will undoubtedly be no more, I will be around this world longer than even the God Men, the Elves they are called now, could understand. I am no longer Sapheron, but my line continues. From one to the next, for as long as I exist.
Sorry if it’s a bit pathetic. I’ve lost a few of my writing skills since the old forums I think. Anyway that was a story I wrote a while back. I lost it a while back too, so I rewrote it. Hope that you enjoyed it, and I hope even more that it didn’t show how out of practice I am. Think I may have spelt a few Warhammer names/places wrong too. I’m out of practice on the fluff too. Anyway that was a history pretty much, originally intended to show how my character came about. (the character was the latest Sapheron). Please criticise me loads. I need to get back into this stuff.
I sit here, in my quiet realm. Here I am master of all within the ruby walls. Generations pass; growing, withering, living and falling, while I stay constant. I am Eternity. I lived before you first saw light, before your grandparents, before your legends. I have dwelt here longer than you could comprehend. I once walked among men, among the heroes of the world. I stood beside people barely remembered in song and fought creatures now unknown. I was Sapheron and my destiny was set.
The Sapheron line is ancient, and has often been broken. It is a long tale of how I cheated death and lived on, free of the burden of death. Many people try this. The great Nagash, long ago achieved it, as did the Queen of Lahmia. Now their lands are dead, as are their people. The vampires live on, each a beast that must kill for itself, a creature of evil. None have I seen as ancient as I. Countless souls fall to Chaos in their fear of death, only to find their Gods have lied. I give these examples so that maybe you will think better of me when you learn of my life. I merely wished to live, like most others. What set me aside is that I was not afraid to fight for this goal. Even to kill for it.
I was a man. Nothing more. I was the Sapheron of my people, our greatest warrior. We lived in an area long lost, on the borders of the dead lands of the South. Our gods were many and abstract. One I worshipped, the God of War. I would fight for him, so fight I did. I fought and killed for decades. Man and beast fell to the Blade Sapheron. I fought the people of the desert, and the barbarians that came from the North. I fought green skins as they raided our homes and burnt our ships. None could stand before my blade.
It was then that the swan boats arrived. They sailed faster than any of our men could crew a warship, even though the wind was against them. The weather did not affect their graceful length, as waves broke softly and wind grew weak. Sorcery was in their make, but I did not care. I saw only the beings within. I saw armour and bows and blades. I saw a fight. The years had brought death to my mind, and in them death I saw. No Sapheron had ever lived longer than I was then. My fourth decade was ending but no Sapheron had ever fought his way into legends as I could then. I wished to fight. To prove myself the greatest of my race. Others warned me. They said the people of the ships were the people of the Gods themselves, and to go against them was death. The legends of my race recorded these people. They had once fought the devils that had overrun the world, and saved it from destruction.
I went to prayer. The influence of the War God had long saturated my mind. His smooth power bending me to his will. He demanded I fight. That I always fought. I understood not his reason, but I understood his wish. I went to the shore, with nothing but the Blade Sapheron. The ships were out them and I called them. I demanded battle. I challenged them. They stared back. I see now they thought me mad, for I was alone and they were many. I had no armour and they had strange weapons that could throw miniature javelins with as much force as I could a spear. They were coated in metal and shone like the stars. I stayed their, called whenever I pleased. They watched for a long while. Eventually they moved closer. One of the God People stood at the prow with one of their strange weapons. I swore at them. Called them cowards, that as warriors they were not worthy of the War Gods work. I invoked the name of the God. Khaine. The God Man paused at that. Another came forwards. He was dressed in gold and silver. His helm was high with a plume of blood feathers falling from its peak. He demanded my name. I answered Sapheron. I told him that Khaine wished me fight, for that was my duty. The warrior was troubled. He told me that Khaine would wish me fight elsewhere, as they were also devoted to then War God. I did not retreat. I stubbornly stood my ground staring the God Man in the eyes. Eventually he came to the shore. Just him. He was, he said, a prince of his people, a great seaman and warrior. To that I smiled. None had ever stood before me. None ever would. I was Sapheron.
The Prince of the God Men drew a blade. Such a blade. It was longer and slimmer than the Blade Sapheron, and I bore the most graceful weapon of my people. Runes danced along it, written in flame. A great ruby was upon his breast. It glowed with an inner flame also, more beautiful than the Sun.
I charged the prince. My blade came down in an arc, trailing stars as it did in battle. The prince blocked, and the air thundered as the magic blades stuck. I could feel my swords wish to kill seeping into me. The two of us fought for hours. Always I was blocked, ever he attacked. He could not break me, but still, it was obvious he was the greater of us. Suddenly he drew his blade back and I had an opening. I lanced forwards, aiming for the heart. The point of the Blade Sapheron hit the great ruby, and its inner blade flashed out. The Blade Sapheron exploded in my hands, showering us with shards of metal. They struck off his armour, and lodged in my flesh. Then he struck forwards. He also struck to the heart, but I unprotected and unarmed, could do nothing. I tried to dodge, but he revealed a speed that no human could follow, and struck home. The God Blade pierced my chest and was drawn out faster than I could see. I fell. Above me the God Man stood. He looked sad. Slowly he sheathed his sword, and unclasped the gem from his chest. Its fire was dimming, and a small crater was at its centre. He dropped it beside me. A tribute, he said, to my death. I looked at it next to me in the sand. Even slower than he, I reached out, and grasped it. Its warmth spread up my arm.
I saw Khaine. His was still there, still watching. He was happy with me, that I had fought a foe no man could beat for him at his bidding. He told me that I was his great devotee. That he would look over me if I continued to do his bidding. I agreed. I feared my death. I begged for him to save me, and in his great power he did. I awoke to blood walls, to ruby walls. I looked out from them, without eyes or body I was, and I saw my dead body beside me, with my hand around me. The gem I now dwell in. The object that killed me is my eternal tomb. I am eternal in here. I was Sapheron. All I could do was wait for a new warrior to come. Khaine old me that I was to slay the greatest foes I could find. He said that a new warrior would someday find me, and that I was to teach them my art. They would be a new Sapheron. They could kill for Khaine wit my guidance.
It was nearly a millennia later that I was found. A ship came up and men came ashore. My bones were found half buried in the sand above the beach. Just bones and a sword hilt and a ruby. I was picked up. I was taken back. To the land now known as the Land of the Dead I was taken. To Nehekhara and its mighty cities. In these cities I waited for one worthy.
It was many years before I came to the hand of one powerful enough for me to reveal myself. He was a great warrior. I taught him from when he was a boy till he became a general. He was slain in the wars against Nagash. I was surprised at first, to find his soul was locked in here with me after death. With another came a way to communicate, a way to see. I gained a form again. I couldn’t recognise it, though I assumed it must have been how I looked so long ago. The two of us waited on, till another came a while later. He was slain by the vampire Abhorash in the wars against Lahmia. So in this manner I have slowly moved through history. Finding a bearer, teaching them, then bringing the skill of each past Sapheron against the greatest of foes. Sometimes we win, other times we lose, and I gain a new companion to speak to and remember times when we were alive. I cannot touch those I am with. We have no voice. We merely see each other, and exchange thoughts.
It was not long ago, barley eight centuries that the great Khaine allowed me my freedom. I had served him well he said. One day he may call on me again. Until then the world is mine to explore, at least what little I have not already seen. I can do what I wish. See what I want. I take bearers now for who they are, rather than how they fight, as one day I will spend eternity with them. My name, I have forgotten. I did so long ago, in my millennia on the shore. All I know is that I was Sapheron. I chose the name Eternity myself. I like it. For although one day I will undoubtedly be no more, I will be around this world longer than even the God Men, the Elves they are called now, could understand. I am no longer Sapheron, but my line continues. From one to the next, for as long as I exist.
Sorry if it’s a bit pathetic. I’ve lost a few of my writing skills since the old forums I think. Anyway that was a story I wrote a while back. I lost it a while back too, so I rewrote it. Hope that you enjoyed it, and I hope even more that it didn’t show how out of practice I am. Think I may have spelt a few Warhammer names/places wrong too. I’m out of practice on the fluff too. Anyway that was a history pretty much, originally intended to show how my character came about. (the character was the latest Sapheron). Please criticise me loads. I need to get back into this stuff.