The Story of Cryoface

[igotrhythm]

Okay, so some of you may know that I roleplay from time to time, but one thing you may not know is that I tend to get depressed when winter rears its ugly head. To compensate, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself one day and instead try my hand at this writing thing.

Some background: The world is shamelessly borrowed from AdventureQuest (some of you younger folk might be familiar with it: I know tofurox is), and indeed, the story you're about to read is based off of events that took place during a great roleplaying tournament they try to hold every summer on the boards there; the Elemental Championships.

To the uninitiated: In a nutshell, what happens is that you make your character, who has pledged his/her/its allegiance to one of the eight Elemental Lords; the Lords of Fire, Water, Wind, Ice, Earth, Energy, Light and Darkness. So great is their devotion that they are willing to fight to prove the superiority of their Lord against the other entrants, each with their own agendas and motivations for competing. This year, there were three or four preliminary arenas, and between them, those to be judged the greatest representative of each element are chosen to participate in a free-for-all, anything-goes fight in the Grand Finals. While I was never supposed to make it out of that first round this year, the rightful Champion of Ice never showed up, so I got to try my hand because I was "second string". (I can only imagine what the conversation between the rightful champion and the organizer was like once the former finally decided to return to the Internet. One thing I'm counting on is that it wasn't pretty.)

What you are about to read is what I imagine is my character's take on what happened during his experience in the Grand Finals. I hope you enjoy it very much.

Chapter 1

I saw the Chosen leave the arena of stones floating who knows how far above the ground, and when I noticed I was not one of them, I resigned myself to keep fighting for the entertainment of the masses.

I may not have been chosen to participate in the Finals, but I would do everything within the power granted to me by my almighty Lord of Ice to prove that though I apparently did not have the right skills to move on, I could at least stop these other foolish flesh-forms from thinking I was just another monster meant to be slaughtered, not to mention the bloodthirsty crowd watching thanks to the scrying windows all over the place that allowed those who lacked the courage and skill to participate to nevertheless revel in the action.

Ever since I was created, I was taught that my kind was thought of as something for a flesh-form "adventurer" to cut his teeth on, nothing more than a training dummy, a stepping stone to fights that would shape the future of Lore. But we were stronger than that. The very fact that the average flesh-form had to take special precautions against being overly harmed by the power of ice just to survive where we decided to make our home, however, was enough to convince me that I could become something more, something greater. As I trained, I thought of myself as not just a Snow Warrior, but representative of all the monstrous races in general. I thought that you didn't need to be a flesh-form to win, and I was bent on becoming proof of that.

But enough about my history. There I was, still fighting for my life against exceptional flesh-forms bent on each other's destruction, though given the number of times I had to concern myself with two foes at once, I had my suspicions that the flesh-forms up here with me fully intended to eliminate me first. It didn't help when that one flesh-form tried to burn me with fire. Three flaming comets had come my way, but I could easily manage to evade two of them. The third one, however, had found its mark, and being an attack of an element my form was particularly vulnerable to, I was in understandable discomfort. But still, I fought on.

Suddenly, even though I had seen the Chosen leave the arena, I found myself in a different place. Around me, but separated by a number of protective wards, both physical and magical, were all manner of flesh-forms; another arena, perhaps? Then I took a look behind me. It was a magnificent pillar, almost like a gigantic, inverted icicle. Around the perimeter of my new surroundings were manifestations of the other seven elements.

Then it hit me.

I was in the Grand Finals. Despite the original wishes of my Lord, his chosen representative was a no-show. That much was evident from the mark on my back. It burned like that fire attack did, but there was no mistaking its divine origin. That mark was a reminder that I was nothing more than a stand-in, but still, I had been given a boon by Fate and by my Lord, and I did not intend to squander this opportunity.

[Cloud0005]

Make more.

[igotrhythm]

You ask and I shall give. It so happens I slapped together the whole thing in a couple hours or so, but I also decided to space out the posting of the chapters so I could see if people were getting into it or not.

Since I see that there's at least mild interest, on with the story.

Chapter 2

Okay, so I was in a new arena. Nay, not just any arena. The Grand Finals.

The first priority upon entering a battlefield was to get the lay of the land and the combatants on it. Basic training had taught me that much. Now was the time to take my measure of the other fighters.

Immediately something across the arena struck me as odd. A figure with a strong heat aura about it and a heavily armored individual seemed to be discussing something. Given what I had been up against before, I could only assume they were plotting my destruction. I had to start moving.

I moved to one side, towards a great whirlwind; a manifestation of the presence of the Wind Lord, no doubt. A ranged attack was out of the question at this point, because the howling winds would do whatever it liked with my intended trajectory. Onward I trudged, not activating my icewalking quite yet; I had no intention of giving away the presence of yet another contender, let alone one who had yet to gain his bearings.

Towards the Pillar of Water I trekked. It still appeared that the others were either ignorant of my presence, or simply paid me no heed, already engaged in their own personal grudge matches. It was hard to tell from the water crashing down whether the sounds from the audience was a cry for blood or a cry for help, seeing one such as myself appear in such a sacred place. But what these foolish ones watching didn't know was that I had both more and less reason to be here than anyone else.

On the one hand, my kind is made by the Ice Lord himself, but on the other hand, I had failed to earn my Lord's favor. Were it not for fate holding up the arrival of his favored, I would be back home, or worse, still in that forsaken collection of floating rocks being double-teamed.

Beyond the Water Pillar, though, was a roaring column of fire. Just the thought of approaching that...thing caused me to shudder with fear. I couldn't even move past it without taking substantial damage, so I decided to ready a little trick. With my sword in one hand, and a minor spell in the other, I decided to search out a target, when Fate intervened once again.

Another from the Sky Arena...this guy with the rustic accent had noticed me. Damn.

[Cloud0005]

Am I the only one who cares about this? D:
Moar

[igotrhythm]

Wow, I'm feeling really creative tonight. :/

Chapter 3

He was staring at me. There was only one thing to do...call him out.

"Hail and well met once again. My Lord has brought me here through machinations that I do not understand. But I thank you for aiding me in dispatching that one guy with the lightning and the horrible puns." Here I stopped a minute to consider my options, and decided that now was the time to unleash my little trick.

"And here is a gift from myself and the Ice Lord for allowing me the satisfaction of actually engaging in single combat this time." I threw it so that it appeared to go wide to the left, when that was but an illusion; it would actually curve back to the other side, a nasty surprise should he choose to dodge in that direction. To my surprise, this little ruse actually worked. Despite his almost incomprehensible reply, the snowball hit him in the shoulder, effectively numbing one of his arms. I had seen what this guy was capable of before, and I had no intention of him using his acrobatic combat style to my detriment, especially considering that he was an Elemental Champion now.

Still, seeing the pain on his face was a surprise. This spell wasn't designed to cause pain...he must have something up his sleeve. Still, now was the perfect time to use my icewalking ability to close faster than possible over a soft surface like all this sand.

Despite my speed, the first death of the event brought delighted cheers from the audience. A roar from the crowd served as an exclamation point to the end of the Champion of Light.

One down, six to go, I thought to myself, but I had to stay focused on the attack. Aiming slightly low and to the left of the center of his chest...well, I can't say I wasn't surprised as he brought his good left arm up to block my attack. Specifically, the bracer on his left arm blocked it. And of course, the counter-attack left me on the sand once again. Though I am blessed with an innate resistance to wind magic, I couldn't help but wonder how much longer I could hold out if things continued on their downward spiral.

[Cloud0005]

Moar people need to see this, seriously.
at least I like it

[igotrhythm]

Chapter 4

First my first attack of the grand melee fails, but roaring flame behind me? Something had to be done, and fast. Rushing diplomacy (I'm not good at this thing where I cooperate with a flesh-form), I entreatied my until-now enemy for a hand. I already knew the Fire and Earth representatives had something between them, and I had no intention of getting teamed up on again. Of course, the Fire Lord's chosen was mine to deal with and mine alone; I figured a guy as quick on his feet as the Chosen of Wind could hold his own against the Champion of Earth, who didn't seem any faster than I was as I was taking my measure of the competition, at least in such a ponderous set of garments.

Advancing on the Champion of Fire...I couldn't help but notice it was a "wo-man," as I believe the flesh-forms call them. Stranger things have probably happened in my Lord's eternal rivalry against the forces of the Lord of Fire. In front of me, a black cancer growing in the middle of the arena. I'm still not sure what was going on there that day, but I'm confident I don't want to find out, now or ever. At the time, though, I chose to keep a safe distance from the black area while continuing to close in on the Fire representative.

As I closed in, I could guess from the furs on her body and the spears at her back that she was probably from a tribal society much like mine, perhaps tasked with the responsibility of gathering food for her people. Us Snow Warriors being constructs, however, we do not require sustenance, so our time was spent differently, but just going through the process of getting the sword I was using back then from a human smith--Yulgar, was it?--reminded me that humans require food and water to prolong their still finite existence. But the fact that in their short lifespans they can accomplish so much is what makes them such a fierce and unpredictable foe.

True to my suspicions, a call from the armored one alerted her to my approach. They did have something going on between them, but being amidst the chaos of battle, I would have never imagined it was anything more complex than a partnership. In retrospect, maybe I should have tried to ally with that bug-man earlier...

As I approached, she prepared her defenses as well. I just hoped those defenses didn't include calling on her partner as I continued to close the gap even as she sought refuge near a column of pure white luminescence, no doubt a reminder that the Light Lord was still here even though his champion was not. I was not, and will never be, another monster to be slain for the entertainment of the masses. I was here to fight, even though my Lord would have preferred otherwise.

[igotrhythm]

Double post, but meh. Like I said, I threw this thing together in only a couple hours, and the conclusion of my character's story is almost at hand.

And now, the final chapter, at least from my character's point of view. (For those of you interested in how the rest of the fight worked out: After Cryoface was eliminated--I knew from keeping up on IRC that if I didn't die here, I would have been cut anyway--the Champion of Darkness, the so-called "bug-man," was the next to go, then the Water representative, and finally, Fire and Earth were forced to set aside their friendship to duke it out for the grandest of prizes, which Fire won.)

Chapter 5

Ow...ow...ow...she had made the ground around her hotter with fire magic. Damn witch. I threw another Snowball at her lower torso to give her something to think about while I tried to come up with something...only to notice that those furs weren't just decorative, they served to insulate her from cold temperatures. Still, it had gotten her attention, and I thought I saw an opening when she lunged forward. A simple parry that would most likely sunder an ordinary spear, but a solid-sounding THUNK told me this was no ordinary spear. The blasted thing had probably been blessed by the Fire Lord.

Oh, crap...there was something behind me, too. I couldn't risk it being her significant other, so I whirled around, figuring it would take her a while to get back on her feet. Sadly for me, however, she was either swifter than I took her for or I need to work on my reaction speed. The next thing I knew, there was a spear point in my torso, and it was starting to get hot. Then I hear her for the first and last time:

“It is over. Surrender now, leave these grounds, and your life will be spared. Continue with this doomed pursuit and I will melt you from the inside out.” As if to emphasize this very valid point, a surge of heat issued forth, causing me to wince, but I dared not squirm, lest the point inside me cause even more damage.

“Please, do not make me kill you.” I had no choice. The force of a Champion of Fire flowing through me would probably do more than just bring my existence to an end.

"Very well. I yield under the conditions you have set forth. Take your accursed weapon out of me so that I may leave in no more shame than you have visited upon me this day. I was disgraced enough when I was shunted here despite not earning the right, but now, having been bested once again, I find I would prefer a chance to live over a so-called honorable death on these sands. Enough people have been calling for my demise ever since I got here that I do not wish to honor their request. To them, as I am no doubt to you, I am just another monster to be slain in the course of trying to fulfill your own purpose in life. And here I thought I could change that..."

With those words, I shuffled to the gate behind the Pillar of Ice. I had failed, and because of my failure, my Lord had failed in his quest to prove that he was the most powerful of the Eight.

-------------------

Epilogue

Six months have now passed since the Chosen of Fire got the best of me. In reflection on the momentous events of that day, I realize now that strength of arms alone is obviously not enough to win in that grandest of arenas. I must continue to hone my magical ability, for my kind isn't exactly feared for its mastery of the Art. I shall graduate from these pedestrian Snowballs I threw back then to more advanced techniques that, surprisingly enough, the humans seem to have discovered and perfected to the point that pretty much any adventurer can walk into a certain building, pay the shopkeeper there a certain sum of gold, and walk out with knowledge of a new spell.

As for me, I intend to start with the basics: Hailstorm, Iceball, and other more pedestrian techniques, and by the time the next tournament rolls around, have mastered more complex magical weavings. They'll see the same Snow Warrior as last year...until I call forth the fury of an Algorstorm.

May the Lord of Ice be venerated now and always,

Cryoface

THE END

[Loverofstories]

Change it to the active tense. Such has become the modern way.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handou...g_actpass.html

[igotrhythm]

You say I use too much of the passive tense. I was talking this over with one of my fellow roleplayers from the same board, and his response was to ask you where you thought I could use the active tense. (Specific examples, please? 5 chapters is a little too much material for you to just tell me to use a certain kind of writing without saying where I should have used it.)

Thank you for the input, though.