| This is a work in progress. Please bear in mind that I will continue to update it and edit previous versions. Any feed back, good and bad, is welcome. It chronicles the life of a character named Ragnus Gungnir, who will later be known as the Messenger Of Death. Chapter One: It’s Just A Dream. Ragnus cried out in pain as the assassin’s sword impaled him through the left shoulder, pinning him to the front wall of his cabin. Blood seeped through his battle-torn clothes and along the edge of the blade. He kept his gaze, though blurred, on Tatsuya as she was tied to a relatively small tree, unconscious and beaten. Mustering the last of his strength, he grasped the assassin’s sword in his right hand and roared as he ripped it out. Blood gushed from his wound as he stumbled to the ground, struggling to stand. The assassin chuckled. “Oh how pathetic you’ve become. You really should have stayed at Master Genji’s side, and I, Armane, wouldn’t have to do this.” Ragnus’s long black hair was matted to his face with blood, and as he struggled to stand he raised his right arm, sword still in grip. “You… you will pay for what you’ve done.” He roared, tightening his grip on the blade until the blade shattered in his hand. His own blood trickled down his wrist and dripped onto the ground, tainting the once pure soil he worked so hard on just the day before. He took a step towards Armane, the ground giving way under him. Before he could move any more, he blacked out and collapsed. Ragnus woke up, sweat dripping from his forehead and running down his naked upper body as he sat upright. He was in his bed, with Tatsuya sleeping peacefully next to him, unharmed. Sighing, he twisted his body and kicked his legs out from under the blanket. He sat on the edge of the bed, hanging his head and resting his elbows on his knees, his black long hair matted to his shoulders and back and he pondered the meaning of the dream he had been having of late. Without warning, two arms embraced him from behind, accompanied by a soft and gentle voice. “Did you have that dream again?” She questioned. Ragnus nodded and sighed again. “It’s just a dream,” she continued, attempting to ease the tension she could feel in his body. “the important thing is I’m here, now.” She loosened her embrace on him and ran her hands down his arms, trailing her fingers along the toned muscles of his biceps. She continued to caress him in the such manner as Ragnus soon began to relax more and more. She brought her hands to his shoulders and, brushing his hair off and behind his back, began to work her magic touch. Ragnus always appreciated her massages, and it was only her that could truly make him relaxed. He closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to clear his mind of all thoughts of the dream. He opened his eyes and stood, turning to Tatsuya in full morning glory. He tilted his head to his left in a snapping motion, cracking his neck and smiled to his beloved, meeting eyes with her. “I love you. More than anything in the world.” Tatsuya shuffled herself to the edge of the bed, in front of Ragnus and sat up on her knees. Her head came to his chest and she wrapped her arms around him, strongly embracing him as she rested her head on his chest, closing her deep lilac coloured eyes. “I love you too.” She replied. Ragnus returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, holding her closer to him. The sun began to rise, signalling that it was time for Ragnus to be up for work anyway. He pulled away and as Tatsuya raised her head to look at him upon opening her eyes, he smiled at her, brushing her hair away from her face gently. She looked sad as she stared at him, opening her mouth to talk. “It’s your birthday… do you have to work?” Ragnus nodded in reply. “You know I don’t bother about my birthdays… I’d rather just get on with the day.” Tatsuya sighed softly, before chirping up somewhat. “Then let me make you breakfast. After all, I’m up now.” He nodded again. “Alright. I’ll need the energy.” He smiled and turned away from her, walking into the bathroom of the small cabin that they lived in. They lived in a remote location, away from people, yet a small dirt road connected them to a main trade route, allowing them to acquire goods with minimal effort. Ragnus owned his own farm, and worked on it daily, growing crops and raising animals for food and as bartering goods. Tatsuya got up and walked into their kitchen, turning on the stove and preheating it. Not bothering to put any clothes on, she went outside and collected some eggs from the hens for breakfast. By this point, Ragnus had got himself dressed in the usual clothes for farming. A white short-sleeve top, and dark tan-brown denim pants. He wore split-toe sandals of a sand colour, though dirtied from much use. As he came out of the bathroom, Tatsuya had re-entered the cabin and caused a smile upon Ragnus’s face when he saw her naked. “You know I love you being naked, but must you really waltz around all day like that? People could be looking…” He jokily remarked. Tatsuya giggled playfully and tossed him the two eggs. “For that, you can make your own breakfast!” Ragnus fumbled for the eggs and nearly dropped one. Standing up, he looked at her again as she approached him. “Lucky for you, I caught both eggs. If I hadn’t, you’d have been for it.” “And the punishment?” Tatsuya replied. “Let’s not cross that bridge, for I caught the eggs, and you remain… untouched” He smiled in a sly way, playfully enticing her to inquire furthermore. “Untouched? Ooh, now that, handsome, sounded promising. Can I try again?” He laughed softly, and smiled, walking over to the stove where he put the eggs to the side. He reached into a lower cupboard and pulled out a small frying pan and placed it on the now hot stove. “I thought I was making breakfast..?” Inquired Tatsuya. “I’m not stopping you, sweetheart. I’m just being helpful.” “Helpful? Ragnus dear, you don’t know the meaning of that word. Your idea of helpful is making the bed while I’m spring cleaning the home.” “That’s true… but it’s your choice to spring clean, it’s not like we live in a pig-sty. Unlike our porky friends outside.” Tatsuya slid up behind him and wrapped her arms around his lower torso. “Go and sit down. I’ve got this covered, because knowing you… you’ll fry the eggs beyond recognition.” “I keep telling you… that pork chop was meant to look like that. Added to the flavour.” “You could have fooled me, because you were choking on the charcoal if I remember correctly.” “Yeah yeah. Like I said, I had something stuck in the back of my throat.” “I’m sure you did. The slab of meat.” “I’ll give you something stuck in your throat in a minute… if you keep this up, woman.” “Mmm. Promising.” There was a brief silence as Ragnus quietly watched Tatsuya from behind, his eyes tracing up and down her curvaceous body. Sensing this, Tatsuya subtly shook her bum, teasing Ragnus. A few more moments of silence, and the breakfast was ready. Tatsuya turned off the stove and dished out the eggs onto the toast. She took it over to Ragnus and placed it before him on the small round wooden table that had just two old but sturdy wooden chairs, fashioned in the shape of a tree stump, much like mini thrones. As Tatsuya laid it down, she bent over and kissed Ragnus softly on the lips. Ragnus returned the kiss and brought his right hand onto the base of her neck, tracing his hand down her spine and eventually pinching her in the ass. Tatsuya jumped slightly by the surprise and giggled into the kiss, pushing into Ragnus more tenderly. She pulled back and licked her lips. “Always the kisser, you know how to work your tongue.” She winked and smiled, walking off into the bedroom area in search of clothes whilst Ragnus set about eating his breakfast. Just as Ragnus finished his food, there was a knock on the door. Before he could react and get up, Tatsuya shot past him. “I’ve got it.” She called as she reached the door. She opened it, giving view to a man of the same height as Ragnus. He wore tight black clothing or a strange material, commonly used by assassins of a high calibre and his lower face was masked. He had long, silver hair that dimly reflected the early morning sunrise. It was tied back suitably into a samurai style topknot. His eyes were dark and cold, empty. Tatsuya struggled to see any form of emotion in his eyes. She attempted to shut the door in his, but he stopped the it with his right foot, kicking it back open and taking Tatsuya by surprise. The stranger lunged forth with his left arm, thrusting his hand around Tatsuya’s neck, gripping tightly as she gasped in shock. Her hands quickly gripped around the man’s wrist as she tried in vain to free herself. She coughed as her breath was taken from her, struggling to call out to Ragnus “He-help.”. He pulled her through the door and turned 180 degrees in a quick manner to his left, bringing up his right knee and then extending, kicking her free from his grip and into a tree. The impact knocked her out almost instantly as she slumped to the floor from the crash. The stranger turned just in time to see Ragnus right foot connect with his nose, breaking it swiftly and painfully as the impact also fractured both cheek bones. The force of the kick caused the man to back flip in the air, yet he retained his composure and landed on his feet, skidding backwards a few feet. He stood, and laughed, wiping the blood from his face and snapping his nose back into place. “And so, Ragnus, we meet again. Oh how many times have we fought together, side by side? How the twist of Fate’s hand has now brought us together once more… only face to face.” Ragnus recognised the man’s voice. It was none other than Armane. An old ally in times past. Ragnus never fully trusted him, but knew that whenever they were together, the objective would always be fulfilled. He stepped out from the cabin, closing the door behind in a calm manner, slightly mocking him. Ragnus ran forward with incredible speed, rushing into Armane’s range. He roared in anger as he sent a swift upper cut with his right arm, only for Armane to bend backwards with much grace, bringing up his left leg and snapping Ragnus in the chin with his foot. Ragnus’s jaw slammed shut as his body flipped over and backwards, crashing into the ground and skidding back. His head slamming into the door of the cabin. As Armane stood and corrected himself, he yawned teasingly, brushing dust off his left shoulder in a taunting manner. “Dear me, I thought you were much faster. And now I bet you wish you left the door open, hmm?” Ragnus grunted as he stood up, his gaze snapping to the still unconscious Tatsuya on the ground in front of the tree. His mind was filled with rage and fury, and without thinking of a plan of attack, rushed forward again, this time with much more speed. Ragnus ducked down low and extended his legs, and began to slide along the ground, kicking up dust into the face of Armane. This obscured his sight briefly, but sensing that Ragnus would attempt a straight forward attack, he stepped back, wiping his eyes quickly to regain sight. Ragnus however, thought of this and kicked himself up, launching himself into the air and over Armane’s form. He twisted his body 180 in the air and as he descended, sent a supremely fast round house kick to Armane’s right ear. The kick deafened Armane as he cried out in pain and frustration of falling for such a trick, and his body went flying to the side and crashed into the ground. Armane couldn’t’t recover from the attack and ended up getting a face full of dirt. Ragnus landed and adopted a fighting stance, allowing Armane to stand. He watched as Armane brushed himself, his eyes turning darker as anger coursed through his veins. “Ragnus. Oh, how I was going to make your death quick and painless. Prepare yourself for death’s embrace.” Armane spoke in a sinister voice, enough to send terror into the hearts of monsters. Ragnus stood strong, awaiting for whatever may come. Armane dashed forward, fading from sight as he ran too fast for Ragnus’s eyes to see. He was left helpless as Armane reappeared from behind, delivering a quick and powerful right hook punch to Ragnus’s kidney. He quickly followed through with a swift left knee to the opposite kidney, causing Ragnus to fall forward face first into the ground. Before Ragnus could get back to his feet, Armane had already jumped and stamped onto his spine, making a loud noise as his bones cracked under the impact. Ragnus cried in pain as it felt like his back had been broken. He lay there, helpless as Armane stepped off him. He struggled to keep his eyes open as blood flowed slowly from his mouth, dampening his hair and tainting the once beautiful lawn with a crimson colour. Armane stepped in front of him, and kneeled, grabbing a handful of Ragnus’s hair. He stood, and dragged Ragnus up with him. Holding him aloft with his right hand, he swiped out to his left and downwards with his other arm, muttering words of arcane magic, creating a sword from a dark orange energy. Armane chuckled as the sword manifested fully. A gleaming blade that shone in the early morning sun, reflecting the anguish in Ragnus’s eyes. A long sword of adamantium, the hilt was embedded with a single skull at the end, with two rubies in the sockets. Runic letterings dotted the main shaft of the blade itself, as they seemed to glow a dark purple colour. Holding the sword in a back hand fashion, Armane lunged forth, slamming his left elbow into the Ragnus’s chest, letting go of his hair as he did. Ragnus cried out in pain as he felt his ribs break from the force, his body flying back and slamming into the wall of the cabin. Almost instantly, the sword followed as it was hurled by Armane, impaling Ragnus through the chest, piercing his heart as he was stuck to the wall. Ragnus blinked slowly, his life draining from him as blood spilled out. Raising his right arm, Armane commanded the sword from distance, and effectively dragged Ragnus body up the wall of the cabin from range, causing great pain as he twisted the sword inside his chest. Ragnus had barely any strength left, but mustered what he could and grabbed the blade, gripping it tightly with both hands. The blade cut into his fingers as he gripped it, the runic lettering reacting to his blood and changed colour into pure black. Armane was slightly concerned. It was the first time he had ever seen anything of such, but was convinced that Ragnus would die. Roaring in pain, Ragnus yanked the sword from his chest, causing him to fall to the ground, collapsing as he landed. Blood quickly surrounded him as it gushed out from the open wound and from his mouth. Commanding the sword once more with his right arm, Armane retracted it from Ragnus and hurled it into the air, flipping and spiralling before bringing it back down, once more into Ragnus body from above. The sword pierced his back, severing his spine as it sliced through. Satisfied with his kill, Armane brought the sword back into his left hand again and turned his attention to Tatsuya. His eyes grew dim as he looked to where she lay collapsed on the ground at the base of the tree. Not one for compassion, but not for taking the life of an innocent needlessly, he turned and took a step, walking away from the site. He stopped, quickly glancing to Ragnus’s corpse, certain he saw a slight movement. He watched for a few moments, checking to see if Ragnus might still be alive. No movement of breathing and no after-death spasm. Ragnus was dead to Armane. His sword disintegrated, leaving no evidence of it other than the damage caused. He walked, and didn’t look back, eventually fading from sight. Chapter Two: The Awakening. “Wake up.” A voice called. It was clear and vibrant, yet it came from inside Ragnus’s head. He opened his eyes slowly. He put his right hand on his head as a great pain surged through it, causing him to wince. His sight became blurry as he felt light headed for a moment. Regaining his composure, he looked around. He was stood in front of his cabin, the damage still apparent, though the world seemed blurry and dreamy in nature, tinted with a soft white. “Look behind you.” The voice called, making Ragnus turn around. He saw before him a single grave. Complete with a headstone, labelling it his own grave for certain. The place looked withered and dying, untouched for more time than was visible. Upon the headstone, hung a simple necklace. Ragnus recognised it instantly as Tatsuya’s. Another surge of pain coursed through him, this time through his entire body as he began to remember what happened. The necklace was adorned with a single blood coloured gem, yet upon closer inspection, Ragnus noticed something inside twirling. Something black spiralled inside the gem. “This is where you died.” The voice came from behind him this time, and it sounded familiar. Ragnus turned. There was no-one there. His shadow began to twist and contort as it began to manifest, creating a figure before Ragnus. The figure seemed to be an empty suit of samurai Warlord armour. The most distinctive feature were the horns of the helm. They came out from the side by a few inches, before extending up towards the sky by just under 2 feet. The second thing Ragnus noticed was the empty hole in the middle of the helm. No matter how hard he looked, he could see nothing, but felt a great power coming from within. He felt as though he had locked eyes with the whatever was inside the armour, and was rooted to the spot. In the figure’s right hand was a large halberd of ornate design. Blacker than the midnight sky itself, it was a perfect match with the armour. The hilt rested on the ground, digging into it slightly. Ragnus looked at the blade, and could swear he saw it shift slightly. “What are you?” Ragnus asked. Unafraid as he unconsciously knew the answer. “You.” Was the only reply the figure returned. “What’s going?” “You’re dead, Ragnus, or at least you think you are. You are currently in a state between life and death. 20 years has passed since the battle. This explains the state of your old home, and your grave.” “What of Tatsuya? Does she live?” “Yes. Her soul has not passed on, and so remains in her earthly bond, but all is not as it seems. She hunts for your killer, determined to avenge your apparent death.” “You said not all is as it seems. What do you mean?” “You’ll find out. But now it’s time for you to wake up. I am you, all you need to do is embrace me. Embrace who you are. Don’t lose your sight.” The figure began to fade, not allowing the chance for more questions or explanations. It withdrew back into the shadow of Ragnus, and caused Ragnus to grow dizzy and sick. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he watched the world seemingly shift from one state to another. The soft white tint disappeared and the world became only too real. The world became alive once more, and Ragnus collapsed, passing out. The gem on the headstone behind Ragnus’s unconscious body began to react. The blackness inside swirled more violently and erupted from the jewel itself. It shot into Ragnus’s back, initiating the transformation. Moments passed and Ragnus came to. He stood, and looked around. The necklace’s jewel was empty of the blackness inside and Ragnus looked at himself. He was covered in the same armour as in the dream state. He took the necklace from the headstone, gripping it in his left hand. He watched as it sunk into his hand, his armour absorbing it. He grunted as he struggled to remember what happened. His mind was a void, and only a few things were clear. He tried to piece together what happened. “Armane… you will pay what you’ve done.” He snarled to himself, rage coursing through his veins. Power began to erupt as hatred filled his mind. A black aura exploded around him and extended, draining the life from everything in proximity, turning everything into a monochrome. He began to lose control, the aura greatly expanding with every second he thought of Armane. It reached beyond the cabin and breached the plains. He roared in anger and hatred, struggling to keep control. A memory of Tatsuya appeared and furthered his hatred for Armane, causing the ground to cave in underneath him, his form levitated as his power continued to surge, the ground caving in deeper. “I love you Ragnus.” A voice inside his head. Tatsuya. A memory. His power dropped, his body fell to the ground as he stumbled to his knees. The aura dissipated instantly, restoring the colour to the area around him, the ground itself regained shape, as if nothing had happened. “I hate you… Armane.” He muttered to himself as he stood, his power surging once more. This time, he expected it and kept it under control, reducing it to normal almost instantly. Ragnus turned to his left, looking to the dirt road that had almost been taken over by nature. He began walking, and his journey began. His mind was set, Armane will fall. |
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How it all began.deviantID
| Well, where do I begin? A silly question to be fair. I'm roughly 6 feet tall, with (currently)long dark brown hair. Brown eyes. I have a scar above my left eyebrow, and it extends all the way to my left ear. I also have a mini scar on my left brow, too. I have many small scars on my body. Including two in the same spot on my left hip. The first one was caused as I went down a water slide in a water theme park in spain when I was 15 (I was currently in foster care) and then I got refreshed that scar some years later, when I decided it would be great fun and excitement to skate down a really steep hill on my skateboard when I was 19. A van was coming up the hill. I had speed wobble. I thought it would be a good idea to jump off and run. Only my legs can't run at 25 miles an hour. So, needless to say, I skidded on my hip for a fair few yards. I have a beard too, but it's not huge and scruffy. I generally trim it once a month or so, and keep it tidy. I shave my moustache and unruly bits of hair on my face. Body wise, I'm standard. I don't workout, but I never really get fat. I do cycle to work every day though, and I do eat alot, but the calorie intake to burning ratio is more than it should be, yet I still do not get fat. It's a blessing. I love listening to music. I'm into metal mainly. But I have an open mind to music. I listen to Dragonforce, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Tenacious D, System of a Down, Nightwish, Judas Priest, Dream Theatre, Linkin Park, Coheed and Cambria, Disturbed... the list goes on. I love action films (generally). I really love martial arts films. Horror films. Comedy. I hate romance films. I'd rather not watch one, but if my woman wants to, then fair enough, I'll watch it. For her sake. Games!! I love playing games. I own a 360, and in the 2 years I've had it, I've only had one RRoD to date. So, all good. I'm into RPGs, Hardcore RPGs (shame there isn't enough, but Sacred 2 is released in UK soon, so... WHOO!), driving games, beat 'em ups (I'll more than likely kick your ass on Dead or Alive 4) and FPS, and TPS. I can't think of what else to put down... so it'll end here for now. |
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Got to Chapter 2, I'll finish up later.
Nice work.
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