Forums / Roleplaying / The Price for Arrogance

I knew the day would come when I myself would need saving, the day that I would crumble before the might of another. What I had not known is that the time would come so soon and that the challenger would overwhelm my own power by so much. It was not unlike the power of a god, devastating yet precise. I stared into his eyes searching for any sense of fear, yet all that I saw was the reflection of a cowering old man looking back at me, crawling for an escape route but not
finding one.

I felt a powerful boot crush my face and chest to the hard marble floor and the tip of a sword was placed on my shoulder in a surprisingly gentle manner. I was at his mercy. My breathing was rapid and my lungs burned intensely, yet my mind was working at a very fast pace, thinking of a way that I could escape while simultaneously recalling the things that I would leave behind. My son, Josiah, my daughter, Blaire, and most of all, the woman that I knew I would still love in death. Not even my passing could part the force that bound our souls together. At this moment in time, that was the only thing that I could be entirely sure about. When my soul ascends into the heavens, I know there will be at least two that would be devastated at my parting, my lover and myself. For I know that neither of us can find such a perfect match as long as we live.

My thoughts were soon interrupted when the man slapped me across the face with the blunt of the sword. “Your arrogance is great, sir,” he whispered, “to challenge every man in the kingdom calling yourself undefeatable. Yet here you lay, with my dominance as evident as your weakness. You shall die for your haughtiness, good sir, for your claims have offended many of the realm’s kings as well as myself.” Just as he raised his sword over my neck, voices became audible near the entrance of the building. The man glanced down obviously plagued by indecision. After a moment, a devious smirk appeared on his face. Just as I was wondering what was happening, I felt his body shift slightly and a boot connected with the side of my skull, allowing me to sink into the darkness as I lost consciousness.

I awoke the next morning to the sunlight creeping up my back, my legs receiving copious amounts while my upper half still remained in the shadows. I stared at my fingers, confirming that they were still there. I then turned to my toes, which were also completely intact. Finally, I lifted my shirt, for there must be some sort of injury after my encounter the previous night. Unbelievably, I had nothing larger than a small bruise on my stomach. Relief twisted through my body as if it were being transported through my veins, starting near my heart and winding outward towards the extremities. All of my fear was washed away as I entered the cascade of daylight pouring through the door of my palace.

I am a leader that rules with the intimidating façade that I earned in the battlefield as a young man. My home is on the hillside in the outer boundaries of the city of Velant, and is positioned so that I may see the entirety of the land that I rule. Yet most of all, it gives the people the hope of being able to see their valiant leader and his dwelling. I walked out to my small balcony overlooking the city. I half-expected the buildings to be smoldering from last night’s intrusion, yet thankfully, he had left the civilians alone.

I turned back and walked through the doorway and continued down the hall. As I turned the corner headed towards the servant’s quarters, I slipped and found myself on the ground for the second time this morning. This time, however, my head slammed to the floor with a loud thud. Dazed, I sat up to find that the side of my head was drenched in blood as was my white clothing. The crimson liquid was pouring down my legs by the time I was back standing. At this point, however, I found that the blood was not my own. It belonged to the bloody carcass sprawled ten feet ahead. I approached the body and saw that the arms were crumpled beneath it and the legs and neck had deep slashes in them, exposing the torn muscle and fat in the person’s body. About three feet off to the side and written in the victim’s blood, the killer had scrawled a simple yet haunting message, “You're Next.”

....y no continue?