SUPERDRAFT: Cast your Fantasy KINGDOM!

[Psybolt]

A Villain:  Playing the role of McKai, the apprentice of Sebastian DeClercq is   Finn Wolfhard

 

[Psybolt]

 

PART SEVEN- The Secret of the Prince

 

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” screamed The Elder, rushing over to the dangling body of Prince Jessup, the blood dripping from the wound.  The Dagger of Time remained plunged into the boy’s chest. The Elder looked at the pale face of the boy he spent years protecting as the boy’s breathing became rapid.  The Elder removed his golden helmet as Jessup’s tear-filled eyes connected with The Elder for one final time. One deep gasp of air was all that remained as the life drained from his eyes.

 

“You knew this is what…” started DeClercq, but he was interrupted by the powerful hand of The Elder clutching around his neck and lifting him off the ground.  The legendary warrior’s face watered with tears at the loss, his teeth clenched in hate. DeClercq slapped helplessly at the arm, afraid that he finally may have pushed this man too far.

 

A flash of bright light was sent directly into The Elder’s face from the wizard’s hand, temporarily blinding the warrior.  He dropped the wizard to the ground, grasping at his face.

 

“Don’t… pretend… that… you didn’t know… this ...is what… had to ...happen,” said DeClercq, holding his throat and trying to gasp for whatever air he could get into his lungs.  

 

Dropping to his knees, The Elder finally cleared his vision.  He looked back at DeClercq with a deep seeded hatred burning inside his soul.

 

“The boy was innocent.  He had nothing to do with any of this,” whispered The Elder.  

 

“Wrong.  The boy was everything.” DeClercq replied.  “Since our ‘queen’ decided to put him at the center of this fraud, this was always to be his fate, as tragic as it may be.  Now, get up. The Galadral forces will be here momentarily and you need to be ready.”

 

DeClercq callously strolled right beside the grieving warrior, walking straight to the hanging body.  With a snarky smirk, DeClercq removed the Dagger of Time from the chest of the boy. The remaining blood on the blade seemed to absorb into the metal like a sponge.  

 

As he departed, The Elder reached for his helmet.  Turning the helmet so he could look at the front of it, The Elder longed for a day when this golden piece of armor stood for something, inspired the denizens of Galadral.  Where had that man gone?

 

Reaching over to the pool of Jessup’s blood that had puddled up on the ground, The Elder swept his gauntlet through the liquid, smearing it across the golden helmet.  He repeated this motion over and over until the blood stains streaked across the helmet’s visage. Placing the soiled helmet back on his head, The Elder stood to his feet.

 

“Now… The Elder is dead too,” he said.

[Psybolt]

 

PART EIGHT- The Secret of the Prince

 

With the Dagger of Time in his possession, Sebastian DeClercq knew the plan was moving quickly.  He was one step closer to reclaiming the world in the name of chaos. The plan was working perfectly.  Yet, he also knew one important point.

 

It was not his plan.

 

“I am here,” DeClercq said, entering a hidden location beneath the landscape of Galadral.  In his banishment, the wizard had found his way to this hidden land beneath the surface, a land that was once a thriving world of chaos.

 

Syn was the city-state that arose from the corruption of the world.  It burned brightly and ended abruptly like a candle in a breeze, a breeze from the God of Chaos himself.  Brother Chaos brought Syn into being and crushed it beneath his heel just as easily. It was the chaotic decision to make.  Brother Chaos was never evil though some of his choices could be seen as such. No, Brother Chaos was random. He was tumultuous.  He was disorder. It was in his name.

 

It was also a chaotic choice to remove himself from the game.  He would allow the world to become whatever it was going to become because that was the most anarchic thing he could do.  

 

Brother Chaos was named Hugo Stanton and his total disregard for his followers and the religion, Stantonism, founded in his name showed some that he had no love, no empathy for the inhabitants of Syn.  This was true. Hugo Stanton only cared for tumult.

 

So when Sebastian DeClercq stumbled into this chamber in search of a place to rest, a place to feel safe and to make a decision about his life, the wizard was shocked at what he found.  Or more accurately, what found him.

 

That was years ago. The planning had taken years and as he grasped the magical artifact that had been driven into the chest of Prince Jessup, he could feel everything was falling into place.

 

“My lord?” he said.

 

“Yes, Sebastian.  I am here.”

 

From the shadows stepped a human-like figure, dark hair and a beard.  He carried himself with a swagger that DeClercq had not seen. It was as powerful at this very moment as it was all those years ago when he accidentally stumbled upon him.  DeClercq, the powerful wizard, knelt down, bowing his head to the arrival of the man.

 

Brother Chaos.

 

“Everything is going perfectly, my Lord.  The Prince is dead, his blood feeding the Dagger of Time.  The Galadral forces are nearly here. Once they have been devastated, we will return Syn to the world and you will be free to resume your presence in the lives of your followers.  We shall reinstate Stantonism to the country as soon as we cleanse the pretenders away… those pagans… the queen... whose name in used in falsehood.”

 

Brother Chaos held out his hand.  Declercq handed him the Dagger of Time.  

 

“Good.  My self-imposed exile has gone on long enough.  It is time for Chaos to return to my world and reign supreme.  Finish... King…. Stanton’s forces off and return to me.  Then we shall bring forth Syn.”

 

“Yes…” DeClercq said, standing and leaving the deity alone.

 

Brother Chaos smiled as he looked at the Dagger.

 

“Fool,” he said, laughing.

[L. Marcus]

Theft From Another Studio: Camelot from The First Knight!

[Old Man]

Picks for Friday and Saturday:

 

Fantasy Race: The Snake-Men!

 

 

 

Option: Burt Reynolds as Man-at-Arms

 

 

 

[Psybolt]

 

PART NINE- The Secret of the Prince

 

Wyldsyde had been tracking the path left by the Elder since they left the castle.  She had a heart-wrenching thought … “this had been too easy.”  She knew that she was following The Elder, one of the greatest heroes to ever live and, while he is clearly not at the same level he was at his peak, he had dispatched her and Jessup without a second chance.  She was on her guard. She had to be, because King Stanton was anything but focused. She was scared and that emotion was taking her out of her game. At she could not shake the idea that this was a trap.

 

That thought did not leave her when they found the entrance to the underground cavern.  

 

“My King,” Wyldsyde said.  “We must be careful. This all feels too mundane.”

 

“Anyone who comes to face us will not find us wanting.  They will only find death until I have my son back.”

 

“Yes, my King,” she said.  This all seemed to Wyldsyde like a tragedy waiting to happen.

 

She could not believe how right she was.

 

Once inside the cavern, the forces almost immediately discovered Jessup’s hanging body.  King Stanton cried out in anguish, rushing to her son’s frame and throwing her arms around him

. 

“Cut him down,” said Wyldsyde to a nearby soldier.  She was choking back her own tears as the tormented howls of a parent echoed through the cavern.

  

In the grief-stricken heartbreak, the disguise that had done such a good job of preventing detection for so many years, fell aside.  King Stanton did not care any longer. There was no reason to continue the facade. She was no longer King Stanton. She was Zara Stanton, now and forever.

 

The Army of Galadral could not believe what they were seeing.  The gasps were nearly as loud as the cries of pain coming from their monarch.  Grumbling quickly spread like a cancer through the men. Wyldsyde was having none of it.

 

“This is not the time for anger over a deception!” blurted out Wyldsyde.  “We have something more important… more pressing than that. This turn of events can wait until we bring that traitor to justice for this heinous crime.  Prince Jessup was kind and honest and deserved more than being murdered in a cave, hung up like a deer by someone he trusted.”

 

Zara clutched her son’s body, kneeling on the floor.  She was past any semblance of leadership. She could not find a reason to push on.  Wyldsyde could see the state she was in and she did what needed to be done to step up.

 

“Such noble words for one so young.  Truly an inspiration. It is sad that you will die here as well.”

 

Sebastian DeClercq stood in the room, The Elder on one side, McKai on the other.  

 

“Who are you?” Wyldsyde said.

 

“This will be the final time that someone does not know my name, child” DeClercq said.  “McKai.”

 

The young apprentice began a complicated procedure of hand gestures, opening what seemed to be a portal.

 

“This is the site of the City of Syn and the lost souls are plenty,” said DeClercq.  “This is where my apprentice excels. Summoning these souls… the army of Sluagh.”

Sluagh are the spirits of the restless dead, the spirits unable to gain access to any afterlife because of their sins.  Truly the City of Syn had plenty of such creatures. Spirit after spirit flew from the portal, flying into the clash. The Forces of Galadral began their battle, unsure of how to fight these spirits.

 

“I got the kid,” called out Wyldsyde as she began to make her way toward McKai.  The Sluagh swarmed around her, but she was quick enough to dodge their advances.

DeClercq levitated Jessup’s sword to him, moving across the floor to the grieving mother.  

 

“Lies have a way of coming back to haunt you, your majesty,” DeClercq said, grasping the sword with both hands.  “Oh, how I have been waiting for this moment.”

DeClercq raised both hands over his head.  Zara did not make a move. She would not move.  Her life was over now anyway. She had not even realized that her own sword was being drawn from her sheath.  

 

DeClercq brought the sword down toward the head of the queen only to feel it blocked.  Another sword had come up from beneath Zara.

“What?” DeClercq stammered, not sure what had happened.

 

Pulling free from Zara’s grasp, Jessup stood to his feet, holding the sword in opposition to the blow DeClercq had attempted to deliver.  The killing wound to Jessup’s chest was gone, no longer there, but he did not wonder about any of this. He was reacting.

 

“Leave my mother alone,” he said.  

 

“You’re dead,” said DeClercq.  “I killed you myself!”

 

“Clearly you are a failure, because I am not dead.  That will be something that you will not be able to say very soon,” said Jessup.  He moved forward with his mother’s sword. DeClercq, who still had Jessup’s own sword, swung it again, only to find it blocked without much effort.  Since DeClercq was never a swordsman, it only took two more moves to find the sword flying free from the wizard’s hands.

 

Meanwhile, the Galadral forces were not having much success with the wicked creatures from Syn.  They would thrust their swords at the monsters, discovering that the swords could only keep them at bay.  Other times, the Sluagh flew right through the soldiers, pulling their own souls from their bodies. The battlefield was beginning to be littered with the falling bodies.

 

Wyldsyde had made her way to face with McKai.  Realizing that the Sluagh were not able to stop her, McKai stopped the motions of his portal spell to turn his own attention to Wyldsyde.  As soon as he stopped, the portals disappeared and the continuing flow of Sluagh stopped coming. Those here were still here, but at least the constant swarming could be prevented.

 

“This did not need to be your fight.  In fact, Wyldsyde, there is a place for you in the new world Master DeClercq is creating.  You would fit right into the chaos we intend,” McKai said.

“Thanks for the thought, junior, but I think I have my own ideas for my future.”

 

Flames shot from McKai’s hands toward the teen girl.  She rolled out of the way. He sent a second fireball from out of nowhere toward the agile thief.  This one also missed. McKai was becoming frustrated with her quickness, but continued launching the flames in her direction.

 

What he did not realize was that, with each move, she got closer to the apprentice.  She lunged at his left leg, driving her foot into the side of McKai’s knee. It buckled sharply, a loud crack heard throughout the cavern.  McKai cried out in pain, dropping his hands to his knee. Wyldsyde spun from the ground and drove a spin kick to McKai’s chin, knocking him backwards into the cavern wall.  He struck his head on a protruding rock, knocking him out. McKai dropped to the ground, blood pouring from his head wound.

With the apprentice down and out and their anchor gone, the Sluagh disintegrated from this plane. The remaining soldiers tried to compose themselves after the devastating attack of the creatures.

 

DeClercq was unhappy.

 

“I knew that little brat would be trouble,” he said.  With a wave of his hand, a force knocked Jessup back off his feet and he moved like the snake he was to, once again, try to kill Zara.  

 

This time the Queen was ready.  She had found the will to live and she drove a blow into DeClercq ribs. The wizard was shocked by the force of the blow and he went to retaliate.  There was Jessup again, swinging his sword at him. DeClercq magically deflected the blow, and Zara delivered a second blow. Mother and son battled DeClercq for several moments, blow after blow, block after block. 

 

“My lord, Brother Chaos, hear my prayer,” said DeClercq just before he released a widespread force blast, sending both mother and son backwards.  The wizard huffed heavily as he tried to recapture his energy for one more blow. The last one was able to stun his foes, this time he would end it.  “This is now over!”

 

Abruptly, a sword blade sliced through DeClercq’s throat with little resistance, the neck bones holding nearly zero opposition to the powerhouse blow.  His head fell to the floor and rolled away as the body collapsed to the ground. The Elder stood behind the beheaded body, his sword dripping with the wizard’s blood.  The Elder’s golden helmet rested on the floor beside him. The greatest warrior in Galadral’s history let his sword clank to the rock surface at his feet.

 

“Yes, this is over,” said The Elder.  He made eye contact with Jessup. “I’m sorry.”

 

Jessup nodded in appreciation for everything that he had done for them for so many years.  One final heroic gesture for the warrior.

 

The cavern began to rumble, rocks falling from above. 

 

“It’s not over yet.”  A classy female voice rang through the cavern.  A monstrous creature flew up from a nearby pit.  

 

The City of Syn was also the home of a creature, a monster that would cause devastation and chaos.  The God of Chaos loved it. This was the monster known as Tiamet the Chromatic Dragon. A five headed dragon with heads like a rainbow: black, white, blue, red and green.  Massive wings spread across the cavern as it raised into the air.

 

“We are here, finally untethered by our chains,” Tiamet said.  The voice was opposite every expectation you would have formed.  Dropping from the back of the dragon, Brother Chaos glanced around at the carnage surrounding them.

 

“You may be spared if you drop to your knees right now and swear your loyalties to the return of the one and true Brother Chaos… or you may die.  Choose quickly.”

[Duke Bushido]

1 hour ago, Old Man said:

Picks for Friday and Saturday:

 

Fantasy Race: The Snake-Me

Option: Burt Reynolds as Man-at-Arms

 

 

 

 

 

And Michael Jackson as Man E Faces! 

 

 

[Bazza]

58 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

And Michael Jackson as Man E Faces! 

 

 

 

David Bowie would be better. 

[Cancer]

Pshaw.  Go for Lon Chaney.

[Bazza]

7 hours ago, L. Marcus said:

Theft From Another Studio: Camelot from The First Knight!

 

What the... Here I thought we were...friends. 😕

 

I might just have to draft a certain place from Old Man’s now... 

[L. Marcus]

I'd be willing to let you draft another Camelot, as long as it's not the one from The First Knight.

 

Or snatch one from Oldie, I'm very fine with that!

[Bazza]

*scratches Castle Greyskull of the list of possible replacements for Camelot. Wonders if I could get away with drafting The White House from a John F Kennedy era film.  *

[L. Marcus]

From 13 Days, possibly?

[Bazza]

That is a possibility. Or maybe something a little frozen...

 

(*winks in Pariah’s direction*)

[Old Man]

11 hours ago, Bazza said:

 

David Bowie would be better. 

 

I'd have gone with Jim Carrey, personally.

[Psybolt]

Optional Character:  Wallace Shawn  (character yet to be announced)

 

[Pariah]

INCONCEIVABLE!

[Duke Bushido]

1 hour ago, Psybolt said:

Optional Character:  Wallace Shawn  (character yet to be announced)

 

 

Monster that threatens to speak out loud? 

 

 

[Psybolt]

 

PART TEN- The Secret of the Prince

 

Spoilered for length

 

 

 

“You’re a liar,” said Zara, standing strong with Jessup and the former Elder standing beside her. Wyldsyde rushed over to Jessup.  The few remaining soldiers filed in line behind their “king” ready to lay down their lives for Galadral.  

“I’m a liar?” said Chaos.  “That is ironic coming from you, King Stanton. Or should I say Queen Stanton?”

“Yes, I mislead a lot of people.  I lied to their faces. It became second nature to me.  I saw a liar every time I saw my reflection and that is how I can recognize a liar when I see one.  You’re no God!” she exclaimed.

“Perhaps that is true,” he said.  “Perhaps I was instead a high priest of Stantonism and when I found Sebastian Declercq, I saw an opportunity.”

He spotted the decapitated head of DeClercq on the cavern floor and he shook his head.  

“Poor Sebastian.  He could have used some of your common sense, your majesty,” said Brother Chaos.  “However, the world knows nothing and, once we finish you off, there will be no one to question my authority.  Besides, what could keep me in the good graces of the God of Chaos more than causing chaos in the world? I am sure the real Hugo Stanton would appreciate the moxy.”

“You miscalculate your importance, Imposter,” said Ogden.  

“Is that so, Elder… or are you simply Ogden Wetherby now?” Brother Chaos said. “ It seems that you threw away your life’s work… your spotless reputation… over nothing.  You handed the boy over to his death… although I must wonder why the boy is not dead. Your blood did power my dagger, after all.”

As Tiamet the Chromatic Dragon continued to fly just above Chaos, he pulled out the Dagger of Time, spinning it around.

“With this magical artifact, I will return Syn to the surface, and reconfigure the world in my image, under my control.”

“How do you plan on using a magical dagger,” asked Wyldsyde, “since Declercq is dead and…” She looked over to where McKai had been knocked out, but he was gone.

“DeClercq and his child apprentice were always expendable.  I don’t need them,” he said, as the dagger began to glow. “Legend says that this dagger was used by the real Brother Chaos to wipe out Syn and now, I shall use it to return the city to prominence.  The Word of God shall come through me.”

The ground began to rumble, quivering as the dagger glowed brighter, like a miniature sun in the hand of Chaos.

“Tiamet, kill them all,” said Brother Chaos.

The massive five-headed dragon flew toward the heroes of Galadral, releasing her brutal flames from her red dragon head.  The remaining soldiers scattered, trying to avoid the fire spurts. Zara grabbed Jessup and Wyldsyde and pulled them aside.

“Jessup, you must get that dagger and stop this quake,” she said.

“How can I stop the quake?  I don’t know any magic,” he replied.

“But it is in your nature.  My son… all of the other lies I have told was to protect you from the one big one.  The King was not your father…”

“I know, Mother.  DeClercq taunted me with that.  That is a matter for another time.”

“You do not understand.  King Stanton always believed that I betrayed him with another, because he was unable to procreate, but that was untrue.  Your conception came to me in a dream… or I should say… your true father came to me in my dream… “

“What are you saying, Mother?”

“You were an immaculate conception, placed within me inside my dream by Brother Chaos,” she said.

Jessup stared disbelieving at his mother.  What had she said to him.

“I’m sorry, but we do not have time to waste, my son,” she said, turning to Wyldsyde.  “Help him.”

“Yes, my queen,” Wyldsyde said, grabbing Jessup by his arm and pulling him toward the imposter Brother Chaos.  Suddenly, the teen girl shouted. “Look out!”

Tiamet lunged at the queen, the mouth of the white head of the dragon open wide and preparing to devour the royal lady.

“Mother!” shouted Jessup, trying to pull away from Wyldsyde, but knowing he would never reach her in time. 

At the last instant, before the jaws of the blue head clamped down around Zara, Ogden appeared from out of nowhere, knocking the queen away.  The powerful jaws of the beast snapped shut across Ogden’s torso, her viciously sharp teeth impaling into his chest and legs. He did not scream.  He would not allow it as the dragon flew back into the air. The pain was unlike anything the greatest warrior of Galadral had ever felt before and he was afraid he was going to be torn in half from the power of the bite.

Ogden cleared his mind from the pain, struggling to control his appendages.  I have to do this, he thought.  Battling the anguish, Odgen positioned his sword just beneath the dragon’s blue head, thrusting with all his remaining strength so the blade drove into the soft flesh beneath the dragon’s blue head.  The head reared up, dropping Ogden from her mouth. The sword remained jammed into the long snake-like neck of the beast.  

The warrior crashed to the ground with a mighty thud and Zara was at his side immediately.  With whatever strength she could muster, she dragged the fatally wounded hero to the side of the cavern.  She spoke softly to him as the battle raged around them.

The blue head of Tiamet hung impotently, the blood draining from the wound.  The other heads were raging in anger over the loss of one of them. Wyldsyde recognized what had to be done.

“Jessup, with the Elder down and the rest of the forces so wasted, I’m going to the dragon.  You have to get that dagger.”

Before he could argue with her, Wyldsyde ricocheted off the cavern wall, flipping herself through the air.  She grabbed ahold of the dragon’s tail and began pulling herself up the monster.

“She is marvelous, isn’t she?” said Chaos, admiring the efforts of the girl.  “It is a shame that it is all for naught. There is no way a young girl like that can take down a dragon as old as Tiamet.  She just committed to her own doom.”

“Don’t underestimate her, Imposter,” said Jessup.  “She can handle herself.”

The ground was shaking worse now than before, as the quake continued to sign the return of Syn.

“You can’t stop this now, boy.  You time has passed.”
 
Jessup leaped at Chaos,grabbing his right arm.  Chaos grabbed Jessup’s opposite arm and the two struggled for control.  Meanwhile, Tiamet was trying to knock Wyldsyde from her perch on the dragon’s back.  

“You have no weapon, girl,” said Tiamet, “and it is just a matter of time before you fall from my back.  You will never puncture my back with you human’s sword. There is too much armor there. I cannot wait to taste your charred flesh, child.”

“Do you hear that, Jessup Stanton?” asked Chaos.  “The girl is dead… she just does not know it yet.”

“You talk too much,” Jessup said.  He had maneuvered him toward the cavern wall so he could roll backward to his back.  As this happened, Jessup placed a foot into the chest of the imitator, flipping him over top and slamming him upside down into the wall. The Dagger of Time clanked to the stone ground. 

Jessup pounced on the Dagger of Time, but he did not attack Brother Chaos.  Instead, he turned to the flying dragon.

“Neika!” he shouted, throwing the dagger through the air.

The toss was perfect, the dagger spinning like an arrow on line for a bullseye.  Wyldsyde reached to the projectile, snatching the dagger from the air. Positioning it quickly, she plunged the magical dagger into the heavily armored back of Tiamet.  The blade sunk into the back of the creature and she reared back, an inhuman screech coming from the remaining four heads. Wyldsyde pulled the dagger out and repeated the blow for a second time.  Again and again. Each thrust resulting in an anguished cry from the monster.  

Brother Chaos stood up, shaking his head.  The anger flashed across his face.

“I’m going to kill you, boy!”

“I am the future king of Galadral.”

Jessup began raining blows, punches and kicks, upon the frame of the imposter, moving quicker than he had ever moved before.  Each blow precise and with purpose to incapacitate his enemy. He had been training in fighting, but he was now at a new level and it scared Jessup a bit.  But that did not stop him. As the dragon crashed into the wall, slumping to floor, Jessup delivered a spin kick to the face of Chaos, sending the man into unconsciousness.  

The quake was getting worse with each passing second and stone columns were beginning to smash up through the floor.  Time was against them.

“Mother!  Neika” cried Jessup.  “Get the survivors and the wounded out of here.  I’m putting an end to this once and for all.”

Wyldsyde tossed the Dagger of Time back to Jessup, who moved himself into position.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but it just seemed as if he were going by instincts.  As the rest of the troop departed, he held the dagger above his head, driving it down into the floor.  

“No!” screamed Chaos, who head regained his consciousness and leaped on Jessup’s back.  “This is my destiny. You cannot take it from me.”

The roof of the cavern began to collapse, a chunk of the rock landing on Chaos.  He cried out in pain and the area continued to crash down around them.

Zara, Wyldsyde and the remaining soldiers had gotten everyone out of the cave, including Ogden, who held on to his final breath desperately.  As they finally escaped back into the nighttime sky, the ground collapsed, sinking in on itself, completely burying the entrance to the underground passageway.

 

 

TO BE CONCLUDED

[L. Marcus]

HONORABLE COMMISSIONER! I regret to say that there might have been a slight oversight. My Villain Pick is not listed -- Jeremy Irons.

[Bazza]

before i forget. 

 

Stealing from another Set/Studio: Arendelle inc Enchanted Forest and Ahtohallan

 

Obligatory Fantasy race: Trolls from Frozen series. 

[death tribble]

You know how in 'A Knight's Tale' they had modern pop music ? I was wondering if I could have something anachronistic, you know like tanks.........

[Pariah]

1 hour ago, death tribble said:

You know how in 'A Knight's Tale' they had modern pop music ? 

 

Ladyhawke did it better.

[Old Man]

No, Ladyhawke's soundtrack was jarring, distracting, and misplaced. 

[Old Man]

On 1/18/2020 at 12:21 PM, L. Marcus said:

Theft From Another Studio: Camelot from The First Knight!

 

Just out of curiosity, does this take all Camelots off the table, or just the one from First Knight?