Legends of a Fallen King: Zara [Chapter 3: Runic Affinity]
"Accursed fool..." I muttered to myself, as I set up runes to cross the Serpentine River. "Thinking that the World Rune would protect his tribe forever." Glancing over at my glowing satchel I let out a sigh. "This kind of power will only backstab anyone who tries to tame it."
Completing the inscription, I grab my satchel to place the World Rune in a place where nobody can find it. However, as I held the satchel, I could not help but remember those I have left behind as I look back, towards the Freljord. Looking ahead, I see the river and think, "This crossing would only be able to fit five anyways. Plus, I cannot have anyone stealing the World Runes during the pass."
Before I can get into position, I feel a rumble. The rumble grows louder each passing moment.
"An earthquake, in Kaladoun? No, that's impossible. However, if it's coming from the ocean-" I panic and scramble to set up a barrier. If a tsunami truly was coming, it would be coming fast and there would be no time to run. As I finish my barrier and step inside, a wave of dread fills my soul as I see the surface of the ocean resonate with a circular expansion. I take my stance as the head of a leviathan breaks the surface.
"By the scrolls, what is a leviathan doing this close to the shore?" I exclaim as I blast an arcane bolt at the leviathan, but the leviathan continues to rise with an amplifying quake each passing moment. As I barrage the monster with a flurry of my arcane prowess, I cannot help but wonder, "Why does this leviathan not recoil?" As I ponder upon this, I find that the leviathan is lying on top of another rising object. Trying to discern what it is, the quaking amplifies as I finally bear witness to a massive clouded eye.
"A whale?!"
I fall in complete awe as I see the corpse of a whale rising alongside the leviathan. Upon further examination, even the leviathan was long been dead. Beyond the whale, I witnessed the crushed remains of sharks, giant squids, Kraken, etc. Once the stacked remains rose to as high as a mountain, it crashed upon the shoreline. A crater was formed on the marshland in its wake. I could not help but barf in utter disgust of the putrid flesh that lied before me.
"Where could I sell these?" An unknown voice asks. I look around me to see that a ghastly being snuck up behind me. I scrambled into a battle stance as quickly as possible, but- "Woah, woah! I don't mean any harm." the ghoul interjects. "I just want to know where I could sell these... fish."
Composing myself I replied, "Sorry, but I highly doubt anyone would buy those things."
"Ah," The ghoul releases with a disappointed sigh. "I figured as much. Who would even want to eat this junk?"
"Eat?!" I exclaim in total surprise. "I thought you were going to sell this as game, trophies for collectors."
"Oh, right," the ghoul affirms. "I could have done that couldn't I?"
As the ghoul examined the fishes, I took time to examine his form. The ghoul bore a broken crown alongside a sword he began poking the fishes with, I assume both eroded from the ocean. Despite his absent-minded disposition and rugged clothing, an aura of regal might emanates from his ghastly outlook. It comes at no surprise to me due to the mighty strength I stand witness to, as he rummages through the flesh, carrying whole sharks with one arm as the other dangling arm fell off. Wait a second.
"Hey." I call out to the ghoul.
"Yeah?" he replies.
"Well, your arm-"
"What about it?" he questions further.
"It fell."
"Fell?"
"Well, fell off."
"Oh!" the regal ghoul chortles. "Don't worry about that, it's useless anyways."
Silence in disbelief, I can only shake my head. Suddenly, I notice something peculiar--something dangerous.
"Hey-"
"Zara," he replies, "and you are?"
"Ryze." I reply to the sudden introduction.
"Ryze, I see. Okay, go on."
"May I have a look at your crown?"
A sharp silence cuts between us as he ponders. Did I push too far? To incur the wrath of this being would be the end of me. Despite my worries, Zara removes his crown. "I don't see what could spark your interest about this rusty old thing, but go ahead."
Zara passes the crown to me and I touch the jewel within. It is faint, cold, but alive.
"If it does not trouble you, I would like for us to go to my study," I offer to Zara to further examine this crown.
"That's fine with me, I don't have a destination anyways." Zara accepts as he tears away a freshly killed shark. "Can I bring this?"
I nod as I change the destination of the runes to the Freljord. Beckoning Zara inside, I begin the channel to the other realm. I must verify the integrity of the crown. Zara may be a mighty foe, but if it comes to it, I will face him head on. Else the World Rune, that is his crown, may spark another disaster.
Thanks for reading. This is the third chapter for Zara, The Cryptic King, a custom champion I made to represent my vision of The Ruined King. The former chapters was mere exposition. Now things are escalating fairly quickly to introduce some actual relevant parts to the Ruined King.
Ryze is introduced in this chapter by coincidence. However, his connection with Zara is not such a coincidence at all. World Runes will play a tremendous part of laying the foundation of the fall of the Blessed Isles. We still do not get to see Zara in a serious light yet,
since he is recovering to the horrors of the abyss. It's why he might seem a bit angsty here.
Also, if you thought that the span of time that occurred between this chapter and Conquering the Abyss was mere days, the actual span of time is over the course of centuries. Zara had a lot of roaming to do in the bottom of the ocean. That said, he is quite experienced with dealing with abyssal creatures. After all, he beat colossal creatures with one hand and a rusty sword. Quite a feat to behold.
As always let me know what you think about this chapter. If you like that development, let me know, so I can focus on these points in the future. If angsty Zara rubs you the wrong way or anything else in this chapter, rub me the wrong way with your harshest critique on these things. Even if your concerns may be harsh, it at least let's me know what I should fix. The worst thing you can say, is nothing at all.
Mandatory Spoiler Warning: I humbly ask of my fellow readers is to let me know what you think and be wary of spoiling. I personally don't care for spoilers myself, but I know that some people are real sticklers for this. I am intending for this lore to be novel-length, so it certainly will be something to watch for. Just make sure that any plot beyond the current chapter isn't mentioned. For example, if you have a problem with a previous chapter that conflicts with the current chapter, then make a comment about it in the later chapter instead of going back to an older chapter.
Thanks for going over this chapter, and I hope to see you in the next one: Yearn to Learn. [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]
Arc 1: Our King Returns
- A Distant Memory
- Conquering the Abyss
- Runic Affinity
- Yearn to Learn
- Forged from Sand and Runes
- The Blue Sea
- Pain and Pride
- Lost Homelands
Arc 2: Method to the Madness 9. Dawn upon Zaun 10. Good Morning Ghost 11. Knight of the Full Noon 12. Madness of Man