《The Cyclical Nature of Time》Chapter 25 – Turning a page (interlude)
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Tor was devastated. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, it was practically his default state at this point. When he had woken up on the wagon, his chest had hurt terribly and he could hardly breath. He was scared shitless and just barely kept himself from panicking. He had fought it down and somehow managed to trick his captors that he was still out from the fight. The panic had resurged as he moved his head ever so slightly and realised that he was stacked among a couple of corpses. But he kept his cool, right up to the point that the impossibly strong girl that had kicked him in the fight threw him over her shoulder as if he was weightless. When she sat him down in a chair and he saw the door closing, he knew what was waiting for him.
At that point something snapped and he found that he just couldn’t care anymore. His life had been utter shit since that they Josef brought them into his folds, and whatever pain was waiting for him here would only further cement his misery. That was apparently the central theme of his life now, to be suffering at the hands of those stronger than him. Fucking bring it was all he could think as he faced his would-be interrogators.
But the treatment he received was something completely unexpected. They treated him fairly and rewarded his cooperation with respect. Perhaps respect wasn’t the right word, but they treated him without contempt and made sure he didn’t suffer needlessly. When they shortly after agreed to his suggestion of helping them with improving their defence, he could hardly believe his luck. Being in that village was like a return to his peaceful childhood, where being soft wasn’t considered a weakness and hard work was met with appreciation and respect. It slowly brought him out of the darkness he had found himself in and he began to imagine a future where he was a proper part of this wonderful place.
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In the middle of those strangely pleasant days, a young read-headed girl began coming around every now and then, when there were no others around the cell that he and Bert shared. Tor had trouble understanding her motivations. By some misguided reason, she wanted the village to be attacked, and her plans included their escape and future cooperation. Tor wasn’t sure how he felt about it. On one hand he wanted nothing more than to stay in this blissful place. But on the other hand, he still had his brother to look after, and he still couldn’t understand what had caused him to change so much. Bert wasn’t as uncertain, he jumped at the opportunity at escape and did his best to lead the young girl on. In the end, the decision was made for him, like so many other of the decisive moments in Tor’s life. The attack that the village had been preparing for came around, and in the midst of the confusion the girl showed up, carrying both keys to the cell and some equipment for him and Bert.
Their escape was an untroubled affair, they simply climbed over a section of the palisade that had been emptied at the beginning of the battle. Tor debated with the rest of them if they ought to join in on the attack, simply because he feared Josef’s reaction if he didn’t appreciate their choice. The red headed girl, Birgitta, was against it while Bert was all for it, leaving Tor as the deciding voice. By the time it came to him to cast his vote, the battle was already going south, at least from the Wolves perspective. The three of them joining the battle wouldn’t tip the scales at that point, so they decided to wait some distance outside of the village, in order to find any potential survivors.
Just as he had feared, Josef was furious when they met up and he found that they had been in the village during the attack without helping, but the worst of it died down when he learned who the red headed girl was. Whatever plans that motivated him to attack the village in the first place was largely irrelevant now. He had been humiliated there, and pride was everything for Josef. Birgitta came into this mess like a godsend. Not only did she know everything about the village, she could be working as an insider for them, making sure that the next attack turned out differently. The two of them began scheming straight away, leaving the rest of the Wolves to just tag along on the return back to camp. Once they were there, Tor sought out Josef at first opportunity.
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Tor surviving his capture and the subsequent escape must have meant something to Josef, because Tor was met with far less disdain than usual. He even got a pat on the back as gratulations for finally growing some backbone. Josef’s approval wasn’t what he was after though. He needed to find his brother, to finally talk to him and find out what had happened in their separation. The cold smile that he got in return for his question sent shivers down his spine. There was a sadistic glee to it, that could only mean one thing.
“Sorry kid, can’t help you”, Josef had said with a light-hearted tone. “Your brother wasn’t as tough as he thought he was. His throat was cut by a dear old friend of mine. His weak attack was batted away as if it was nothing and she left him in the dirt and moved on. It was pathetic really.” His voice was casual, as if he was just retelling an interesting anecdote, but his words shook Tor to his core. Reconciling with his brother had been Tor’s last straw, the last thin thread that kept him going. And now he was dead, cut down as one of many in an anonymous crowd, his death and life meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things. He had sat down without noticing and Josef had laughed and ruffled his hair.
“Don’t lose your mind over it. He just didn’t have what it took”, he had said and moved on, leaving Tor with his fractured world. He felt completely detached, as if everything in the world lacked meaning, and nothing could have any hope of mattering. He didn’t know how long he sat there, but eventually he noticed the sun going down and the chillness of the evening. Reality began to sink in and he realized that he couldn’t remain sitting there forever. He would need to eat and sleep at some point, he just didn’t know why he should bother. Why even continue with this charade of a life? The answer came to him as he thought about it. He wanted revenge. He wanted this world and everyone in it to pay for what it had done to him and his family. Josef was definitely on that list, but so was the village that had robbed him of his brother. He couldn’t take on the entire village by himself, but he didn’t need to. Tor smiled. He was definitely going to kill Josef. Just not quite yet.
Josef had always been driven, but the current him was something else entirely. He was no longer content with being a mere pack leader, he was aiming far higher now. It wasn’t out of character for him, pride alone had spurred him on to always work towards the top. The failed attack against the village had proved that it was a bigger challenge than what could be overcome by a single pack, and that need for more manpower forced him to take a more direct route to secure his advancement. Fortunately for him, that wasn’t particularly hard in a group like the Wolves, and Tor vowed to himself that he would be along for the ride.
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Thaellis A Kingdom Down Under
A kingdom down under, once it had prospered, expanded, built, and conquered until all that they thought of worth was theirs. Peace ruled for a time the people absorbed in their own self-satisfaction. But eventually, old urges returned. Conquest called, though this time there was no outside outlet to turn it towards. So in ages so long and distant the memories most couldn’t recall, the kingdom turned upon itself. War raged for many years, no one coming close to being considered a victor, it appeared that this self-destruction would go on till nothing was left. Many if given the chance would have claimed that would have been a mercy for this kingdom and its people. For as they killed, and butchered each other over things they already had. Vibrations traveled through rock and stone guiding things best left alone. Creatures came things of horror armed to the teeth with claws, fangs, and armor. Cities fell and were consumed not even the bones of individuals remained, for these creatures hunger knew no limits, had no end. The kingdom rallied together once more, what was left, they fought and fought but their Nightmare had no end. Their greatest, brightest minds worked their magic, carved into stone. Wards they called them, this would keep their Nightmares away. They abandoned attempts to fight and focused on walling every surface of the kingdom with these Wards. It worked mostly, an illusion of peace returned, one that crumbled often, but it was better than before, it was a bearable hell now. So here we start our story as ages have passed for a walled-off kingdom, hunted by a never-ending Nightmare. With a poor but deserving soul born into this world.
8 168Arashia: A LitRPG story
Laurie Deveraux thought her idiot family tossed her into a virtual reality game because they are stupid that way. Except it wasn't a game. Instead, she end up in a world resembling virtual reality with said stupid family, working together to explore this new world. Ummm... what is with that look! Don't plan anything crazy you whacked out cousin. Gahhh.. shut up naggy relative from hell. This character doesn't want to listen to you! Points? Stats? Listen for an hour? Done! Brothers help! Who killed who? Huh? No, save me from family reunion! We are family... damn it, portal to Earth open up! 2 chapters a week, every Monday and Wednesday. Extra = Friday
8 152Dungeoneers
In an alternate world, instead of the pandemic, a different worldwide problem occurred. The outbreak of the first dungeons. Strange monsters appeared out of the sudden, mysterious portals. While modern human weapons were capable of dealing with the initial outbreak, only special individuals, later known as Dungeoneers could deal with them through the use of special skills and abilities. This is a series of stories revolving around some of the first Dungeoneers and what they would later go on to do as the world continues to be afflicted by increasingly more dangerous dungeons.
8 186Tools of Slaughter: Story of a Human
In a world filled with war and horror, she was a tool of slaughter. She fought her way emotionlessly through the war for her masters' commands. But it isn't until they die that she realizes how much the people she killed meant to her. ... People say that being immortal would be an incredible dream come true, but they are liars. Immortality is a nightmare. People also say that they would rather have no feelings than to feel hurt. But she would rather feel something than to feel nothing at all; especially when people who care about her die right in front of her, under her own hands. She would do anything to become human. To live, to feel, to die. To be in control of her own fate. Even if it means losing everything.------------------------------------------------
8 158The Gaang React To Ships
Ib: DaGroot and many others!!Please do not get offended, they are my opinions! If you have a diff 1, I would be honoured to know it!FYI: Toph can see, there is no bending, Suki and Sokka do not have any [email protected] and Aang cannot access Avatar State. (Set seconds before the Kataang kiss making their relationship start)
8 78Skyrim Guide
A Guide for Skyrim
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