User:Prestige/Story

This is the story of a human, found in the Tarnished coast. (I am going to write a lot more).

Introduction

I was born in the Tarnished Coast.It is a region of Tyria, where little creatures called Asuras live, they once lived in the underground, but were forced to the surface by the rise of the Destroyer threat (a creature that hunted the lives of Far-North tyrians for ages, until it was finally slain, by a group of heroes).

My father, Ronan, an ex-soldier from Kryta. He left the White Mantle's army after they attacked Beetletun, the little town of my mother. He was against all of the Mantle's point of views, which were resumed to killing-every-living-being which do not praise the White Mantle's opinions.

My mother, Madeline, was a caring woman which was born in Kryta, in a town called Beetletun. She was captured by soldiers from the White Mantle order, an order which single goal is to convert by force every human in Kryta to the Unseen gods because Madeline believed in the 5 human gods which include : Balthazar, the god of war and fire ; Dwayna the goddess of life and air ; Melandru the goddess of earth and nature ; Lyssa The twin goddesses of beauty and illusion ; and Grenth is the god of death and ice. She was killed on year 1090 AE in a fire for being a witch. She never gave up on her religion, even if the White Mantle would torture her. In fact, every citizen of Kryta that believed in the five human Gods were burned because they were considered a-threat. Madeline was never found, but I believe she is in the Underworld, being held captive in a spirit form.

I was taken to the Ventari's sanctuary, a safeplace, isolated from the wars of humans and centaurs. Ventari, an old centaur, Ronan's friend, is the founder of the Ventari sanctuary. Ronan joined him in his sanctuary because he had no where else to go. In fact, deserted soldiers are considered criminals since they pledge allegiance to their King for the duration of the war, which never ended.

Chapter One

1098 AE.

- Chris! Wake up, said Ronan, or I'll throw a bucket of water on you like I did the other day!

- Alright, alright ! I'll get up, I answered, but please stop waking me up this early!

My dad had the brilliant idea to wake me up before the sun would even come up, in fact, I could hardly even see his face with the darkness surrounding us. Ventari was still sleeping close to his so-called tree of life.

Ventari planted a seed long ago, he told us that it would eventually grow into something bigger, reproducing itself to make other trees like itself and lead to a forest, where life would emerge. He called his tree Sylvari.

I dreamed of a place called Cantha, a legendary place perhaps, the name sounds foreign to me. There was a monk, that monk was a woman. She was meditating in a big area, next to a monastery. She soon stood up, and engaged a conversation with the master of that place. The master was old, he had grey hair, he had wrinkles all over his face. He was wearing a blue robe, symbolising inspiration, sincerity and spirituality. The monk was angry, the only words I heard in my dream we're "Lion's Arch".

When I woke up, Ventari and my dad, Ronan, were ready to leave. I took what I had, before we left, I asked my dad what was Lion's Arch. He answered : "Lion's Arch is the capital of Kryta, the noble family once lived there. Because of the White Mantle pressure, the royal family had to live in the Lion's Arch Keep, where it does not have any power along Kryta. Princess Salma leads the Shining Blade, considered outlaws and rebels by the White Mantle.

We reached an area, called the Arbor Bay ruins. Ventari stopped, telling us to be silent. I wanted to ask what was happening, but Ronan put his hand on my mouth, so what was coming wouldn't hear us. I saw a caravan pass, it was full with weapons, swords,bows,staves, scepters and a lot more I simply didn't know. The creatures we saw were not human, they we're strangely resemblant to Ventari. What are centaurs doing in the Tarnished Coast !?

When the caravan was far enough, Ventari told us that centaurs must be buying weapons from the Asuran people to lead another war against the humans. Ronan asked :

- I cannot imagine another war, it could involve more than simply the centaurs and the humans, what if there is a major war, breaking apart factions and villages !?

- We cannot stop what is happenning, we can only observe from afar what both races are planning on each other.

We continued our way to the secret place Ronan wanted to show me, avoiding all the simians on the way, or as I like to call them, "evil monkeys". We finally reached an old staircase, leading straight to the underground. After we had made our descent down the dark and eerie staircase, I saw what my dad had talked to me about.

A portal, with symbols on it, oddly resembling Asuran dialects were written all over the portal. Ventari and Ronan stopped to bid eachother farewells, as they would probably never see each other ever again. Ronan grabbed my hand, taking my bags with him and we passed through the portal.

Chapter Two

We found ourselves in a weird region, I was surprised by the fog surrounding us, as it's quite uncommon to see fog in the Tarnished Coast. I stood up, looking at the surroundings. I spotted some creatures that were bizarrely alike of the Tarnished Coast creatures we used to see. My father said to me,

"Son, this is the Maguuma Jungle".

Ronan took my hand, and we walked, following a path of dirt. I could not believe my eyes, I would see humans for the first time, apart from my dad and I. We could see footprints, we realized we were close to a human settlement. We soon reached a human settlement, when we were in-signt of the outpost, I started running and spotted a signpost. I read in human writings, "Quarrel Falls Outpost". We soon entered the settlement. There, we met Clement, a merchant. Ronan introduced himself and I, calling ourselves "travelers", from very far. Clement asked us some questions in a nervous manner. Ronan quickly remarked that comportment and asked Clement.

-"Clement, We're not from the White Mantle as you may fear".

He pondered for a second, then asked :

"Alright, I believe you. You don't have the same attitude as the White Mantle and they are not allowed to have sons".

He invited us into his rudimentary home, he lighted up his fireplace and he made us tea from herbs harvested from the region. We conversed about local herbs, regions in Tyria, and Clement eventually talked about Lion's Arch.

-"Ahh Lion's Arch, the city of opportunities, the trading center of Tyria. I once lived there, until the White Mantle tortured me. Luckily, the Shining Blade organized my evasion from the camp of the Gate of Kryta. The White Mantle controls everything, good thing I'm in the Maguuma Jungle right ?" said Clement, happily saying his last sentence, proud of being from the Maguuma Jungle.

-"Cle...Clement ? What is Lion's Arch about. I dreamt of something about that city! said Chris.

Chris then told Ronan and Clement his dream about the Canthan monk, which was a woman. He added that she mentioned the city of Lion's Arch.

-"What was her name, Chris ?" asked Ronan, curious of his dream.

-"I...do not know, I only heard the words Lion's and Arch". said Chris.

A deep silence entered the little house. Clement and Ronan were very curious, they waited for Chris to say something else about his dream. Chris then asked, timidly.

-"Dad, what is Cantha ?"

-"I don't remember well that name, I think it is a location somewhere in this world".

Chris seem't distracted, he could not explain that feeling, he was simply astonished. If Cantha is a location somewhere in this world, would it explain the strange world he saw in his dream ? All the creatures he saw, the large area near the monastery ... What about the old man which looked like the Master of the the monastery. But the part in his dream which made him think the most, was when the woman said the words "Lion's Arch".

Clement invited us for the night in his house. There were two beds, one for Ronan and I and another one for Clement. They both got sleep quickly, but I could not sleep, as I had my ideas somewhere else. Hours passed, I could not sleep. I decided to check Clement's papers, if he would own something that my father would need. I removed the bed sheets and stood up delicately, so Clement and Ronan would not hear me.

I looked around. The few things I saw did were not what I was looking for. There was a fireplace, the two beds Clement and Ronan were sleeping in, a little library and a dark. Exactly what I was looking for ! I sat down on the wooden chair and I started to look for any documents my dad would need. I quickly discovered a map, the map had a lot of regions. One region was made of sand. I guessed it was a desert. Another was made of light brown dirt, I could read a word "Ascalon" ... what happened to the grass !? What is this Ascalon ? I took the map and went to sleep. It finally came ... I had the Dream.

I saw the same Woman. She was next to a ship. The ship was made of wood that formed all together a circular deck. There was symbols written on it, I could not understand nor identify them. She climbed the little staircase that was separating her from the boat. I could hear a dialogue in my dream this time.

-"Here is my monastery credit, please bring me to Kaineng City." She asked, using an accent which was pretty uncommon to where I'm from.

-"Alright, we will be in Kaineng in two hours!" Answered the captain of the wooden ship, happy of making money.

Chapter Three

I woke up suddenly, my father was shaking me. I figured it was time to leave. Ronan was packing his bags, he had his leather armour on him and Clement was outside speaking with a costumer. I took the opportunity to ask my father about Ascalon.

-"Dad?"

-"Are you going to ask about your dream again ?" He seem't curious about my answer.

-"Not really ... "

He seemed a bit disappointed of my answer but then I asked ...

-"What is Ascalon and why is it made of light brown dirt ? "

An awkward silence entered the house, Ronan took a deep breath and answered.

-" Ascalon was once full of grass. It was attacked by creatures known as Charrs. They look like tigers, they walk on two legs and they can communicate like we, humans do. They are divided by legions. They use weapons as we do. Some even have the power to summon walking minions from the dead. Ascalon city was my birthplace, it was siege'd when I had your age, Chris. I had 12 years old. My younger sister ...

Ronan started crying, Chris could feel his sadness. He could understand, as he lost his mother. He continued talking :

-"My younger sister was named Hannah. She was killed by them. Yes,Chris. You have an aunt."

Chris could not believe his father, how can he hide all of his family to him ? Why is he keeping all these secrets. Ronan took Chris's hand, he asked him :

-"If you have any questions about your family, don't hesitate to ask me. I'm sorry for hiding all these secrets from you. Sometimes, the truth hurts more then lies. I hope you will understand.

We packed our belongings and joined Clement outside for our last conversation before we would leave. Clement told us to take care, and as we were about to leave he yells :

-"CHRIS! I FORGOT!"

I came back to hear him.

He then went back into his house, he took a little bag containing my present. He quickly removed the leather and what I saw made me so happy.

-"Chris, I want you to have this. I want you to have this bow, Chris. It was made out of local wood. It use to belong to a soldier that guarded this place for ages. He died eventually"

-"By the love of Dwayna! Thanks a lot, I will take good care of it."

-"I'm happy you like it. Here are some arrows for you to have." Added Clement, happy because Chris loved his present.

Chris and Clement gave each other their last farewells and Chris left with Ronan, his father.

When we were walking through this weird jungle, I showed my dad the map I had taken form Clement's house. He was surprised, he quickly added :

-"Chris, how did you get that map ?"

-"Euuh...uh. I don't know" said Chris, he was clearly lying.

-"You stole it didn't you !?" responded Ronan, angry of his child behaviour.

-"Yes I did. I'm sorry. I just thought it was something we'd need for our so called trip."

-"Your right, give me it. I'll try to locate where we are."

Ronan took the map, sat down on a rock and tried to localize where they were. After several minutes, he finally spoke and said :

-"I know where we are!" He said, happy of his discovery.

-"And ... where are we !?" Chris said, wondering about their location.

To be continued ...