[BF22] Excalibull

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Bragallot
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[BF22] Excalibull

Post by Bragallot » Sun Nov 20, 2022 3:28 pm

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The rowboat ground to a halt on the beach. Valarius held on to the sides for balance until it had fully stopped. He threw his pack and the most important piece of cargo, a large keg, onto the beach, then leaped onto the beach himself. Valarius glanced up at the moonlit sky and scanned the beach, finding some tall grass on his right. He carried the rowboat towards it and hid it as well as he could, then returned to collect the keg and his pack, kicking the sand to cover the tracks left by the boat as well as he could.

Valarius looked up at the terrain in front of him. The terrain climbed up at a gentle angle, eventually changing into a grassy field. Off in the distance, to the right, he could see treetops. Valarius decided that's where he should be headed. He was halfway up the hill when he thought he heard the sound of approaching horses. He looked to his left and saw the silhouettes of riders in the distance, some of which were carrying torches. They were unmistakably soldiers.

Valarius cursed under his breath and tried to stay low. The thought of ditching the keg crossed his mind for a split second, but was eventually abandoned. His brothers and him had had to fight far too hard to abandon it now. He hoped he might go unnoticed, but the riders were getting closer, heading straight towards him. All that time spent at sea had been for nothing: the imperials had somehow been able to estimate where he would disembark. Perhaps they also simply had plenty of men to spare, or it was a case of bad luck.

In the end, it didn't matter how they had found him, only that they had. Valarius quickened his pace. There were at least a dozen of them, which was far too many for him to fight. He could already hear the soldiers shouting, see the moonlight reflecting off their spear tips and helmets. The forest was still too far. Valarius checked his options and discovered rough terrain sharply to his right, which climbed up a cliff overlooking the sea. It was littered with rocks, both big and small. Far too dangerous for any horse to climb without risking breaking a leg, Valarius reckoned, especially in the relative darkness of this moonlit night. He went there instead as the sound of approaching hooves and shouting men behind him grew louder.

Valarius reached the rough terrain right as the horsemen got close enough for him to make out the words they were shouting.

"He's the Bull we're after! Charge, men!"

Good luck with that, thought Valarius as he pushed up the rough terrain, careful not to slip on any loose rocks. His heavy armour made it difficult to climb at a fast pace. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that the soldiers were dismounting to chase rather than risk their horses slipping on the rocks. They drew swords and came after him. The soldiers were all in mail, still fresh and unburdened by any load. A grim realization came over Valarius; he would not be able to outrun them.

Valarius scanned ahead and quickly found what he was looking for. A solid position between two large boulders, where he could not be flanked. He threw down his pack, set down the keg, and turned to face his fate. The imperial soldiers soon appeared from between the rocks, the torches some of them carried casting light on Valarius. His sword and armour barely reflected the flames, but his silver shield, emblazoned with the Bulls' head, shone brightly, defiantly.

The soldiers looked confident and relieved to see Valarius giving up on trying to escape, but they only edged closer slowly, none of them particularly eager to approach the Bull warrior first. They waited for their officer, a sergeant, as marked by the short black cape he wore, to push through them and approach.

"Surrender, savage," the sergeant simply demanded.

Ten of them, Valarius thought, flicking his visor shut. A few must've remained behind to tend to the horses. There were probably still a couple too many, but if he minded his guard and relied well on his armour, then perhaps...

The sergeant, not seeing the desired reaction from Valarius, nodded at his men, who ran forward. There was a sudden battle cry, and more dark silhouettes pushing through the night. Valarius shifted, fearing that more imperials had snuck around to surprise him, but then he realized these weren't imperial voices or battle cries, and the soldiers were equally surprised as he was.

Torches were dropped as men went down, there was a confused clash of steel on steel and the pushing of bodies, and finally a hastened retreat of figures fleeing into the night, back to where the imperials had left their horses. All the while Valarius remained frozen, keeping his guard up, unsure of whether he'd gotten into more trouble, or less.

A torch was picked up, and its light fell upon a massive, shirtless warrior, wearing the typical horned helmet of the Bulls. In his left hand was a shield, not silver, unlike Valarius', but brown, and bearing the same insignia, but it was the item held in his right hand that drew the most attention. A three pronged sword, black, like Valarius' steel, and dripping with blood. It looked too large and cumbersome for a man to wield, but he held it almost effortlessly in one hand. Around the shirtless man, several warriors gathered.

"They've fled. Shall we pursue them, Kath'os?" a warrior adorned with a pair of large horns asked.

"No," the shirtless warrior said in a deep voice befitting of such a man. "They will be back soon, with more men. We need to get back."

"Yes, chief," the warrior obeyed, turning to gather the other warriors, who were busy stripping the fallen of any valuables, and keeping an eye out for the unlikely return of any of the imperials.

Kath'os lowered the massive blade, prompting Valarius to lower his guard as well.

"Come, brother. Join us," he said.

Valarius sheathed his sword, slung his shield over his back and recovered his pack and the keg before returning to Kath'os and his men.

"What's in the keg?" Kath'os asked, surprising Valarius.

"It fell from the sky," Valarius said, aware of how stupid that sounded, yet it was true. "Many came trying to collect it, but I got away with it in the end. The contents are an ale-like liquid. I believe it contains great power. It's sustained me on my journey. I've used it sparingly, but the strange thing is, I could swear it's still full."

"Interesting," Kath'os simply stated.

"I'm-" Valarius, unable to bear the silence that followed, started, but Kath'os cut him off.

"No introductions are needed. You've already heard my name. The Bull God tells me everything I need to know," he said, looking at the massive sword in his hand.

Valarius' heart skipped a beat. It was likely his name was still cursed by many for his part in causing a civil war among the Bulls several years ago. Was Kath'os trying to stop him from revealing it, out of fear for how his men would react? Or was Valarius reading too much into it? After all, hardly anyone knew he was alive.

"I owe you," Valarius said, walking next to Kath'os as they headed towards the forest. The warriors made a circle around them, watching for any enemies that might be close.

"You owe me nothing. You came here because you were guided by the Bull God too, were you not?" Kath'os inquired.

Valarius thought about that, staring ahead of himself blankly. In the long nights spent at sea, rowing his boat and fighting against the elements, he had never felt alone, without purpose, or helpless.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose I was," he said.

Kath'os smiled approvingly, in a way that might have scared a lesser man. His face was weather-beaten and scarred, but not yet entirely devoid of the liveliness of youth.

"Then you also know the plight our people currently face."

"It's a reality I wish I could deny," Valarius sighed.

After the imperials' betrayal at the Haunted Wilds, the death of Grand Marshal Marnix and the destruction of most of the Bulls' standing forces, their people had been scattered by the Empire, forced to hide in caves, as Valarius had until he obtained the keg and set out to sea. Valarius suddenly realized that due to his seclusion, he wasn't aware of how the situation had developed.

"What's happening in this region?" he asked, admitting to himself that while he thought he was somewhere in the borderlands, he had no idea of exactly where he was.

"The imperials are clever," Kath'os said. "They have allowed our people to build settlements and till fields in this place, so long as they uphold imperial law. Many warriors remain in hiding, but many have come out and accepted the terms, too."

Valarius didn't like this, but he understood the need for warriors to feed their families. The woods and caves could only provide for so many, and it was a fearful existence, with imperial search parties always abound.

"That's surprising. I saw imperial citizens get punished for taking pity on our people and helping them," he said.

"It is a strategy. They even provided the materials and plans for the settlements our people built. A cornered, wild animal is unpredictable, hard to control. One that has a house and food, one that has something to lose, is more likely to accept its place."

"They are converting us to their culture, domesticating us," Valarius said with disgust. "You lead men, they call you chief. We can put a stop to this!"

Kath'os' piercing eyes seemed to look straight through Valarius' helmet.

"Isn't this what we've been fighting for all these years? For our people to have a place to call their own and to live in peace?" he asked.

"Perhaps," Valarius said, surprised, "but then why are you here, fighting the Empire, instead of joining them?"

"The Empire has many enemies now and can ill afford another, but what will happen once they have pacified them? I still don't think they have our best interests in mind. I don't want to bring their wrath down on our people right now by starting a rebellion, but I won't let them pacify our spirit, either. Else, what will happen if they turn on us again, when we've become a nation of farmers, complacent and weakened by peace? Who will return to reignite the flame and protect them, if no warriors are left?"

The thought horrified Valarius. It was one thing to kill warriors on the field and chase the Bulls into hiding, but destroying the very soul of his people was another altogether.

"What do you plan to do?" he asked.

"I will gather all able-bodied warriors who refuse to submit, and lead them east," Kath'os said simply.

"East? Beyond the mountains? Out of the Kingdom? Or Empire, rather?" Valarius stammered, unable to keep up with Kath'os' explanations. The Kingdom, now the Empire, if the Kingdom had indeed fallen to the imperials, was bordered by mountains which could only be crossed reliably by large numbers of people through two passes that were guarded by the castles of Lion's Maw and Starkeep, which the Bulls had struggled to fight through at the height of their power. There was no way they'd be able to do that now, even with the empire distracted by the myriad conflicts plaguing their newly conquered territories. In the light of this he wasn't sure whether to think of Kath'os as a visionary leader, or a madman.

"What if there was a way around the mountains?" Kath'os asked, his gaze fixed on Valarius.

"What do you mean?" Valarius asked.

Kath'os lifted the massive sword in his right hand slightly and stared at it for a while.

"Excalibull tells me not to trust you enough to tell you yet," he finally said.

Valarius moved his hand to open his visor, wanting to show the warrior his anger, but Kath'os checked him with his free hand and shook his head ever so slightly. Valarius' breath caught in his throat. He was now convinced this man knew his identity, his past, and perhaps even his future. Why else hide his identity from his men?

"The sword doesn't want me to reject you completely, either. Wouldn't you want a chance to redeem yourself in the eyes of the Bull God, Valarius?" Kath'os said, stressing his name.

Valarius surpressed a gasp. His survival, the keg that fell from the sky, his journey here, this meeting with Kath'os, it couldn't all be coincidence.

"Yes," he said, determined. "I will do anything to aid our people. For the Bull God."

"For the Bull God," Kath'os agreed, lifting Excalibull to the moon.
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Re: [BF22] Excalibull

Post by Scratch » Mon Jan 02, 2023 7:13 pm

Concept and Theme -- 9/10
Form -- 8/10
Voice -- 7.5/10
Style -- 7.5/10

TIEBREAKER CATEGORY--Presentation -- 10/10

Total 42/50

Always good to read Medivo, I think I even remember Valarius from back in the day.
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Re: [BF22] Excalibull

Post by Kommander Ken » Mon Jan 02, 2023 8:48 pm

FOR THE BULL GOD!

Concept and Theme: - 10 - Ooooh This is lining something big up, and I love me some good old fashioned BUll content.
Form: - 10 - Fantastic work. The story had be interested from the first paragraph to the last bit of dialouge.
Voice: - 10 - I love how Kath'os seems to drip with confidence, you can really tell how he carries himself and in his words.
Style: - 16 - No real complaints here. Tone is hopeful with hopefully some redemption for ol' Valarius.
Presentation: - 9 - Super tiny misshaps here and there.

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Re: [BF22] Excalibull

Post by MadMario » Sun Jan 08, 2023 4:11 pm

Concept & Theme - 10
Form - 9
Voice - 9
Style - 18
Presentation - 9

A compelling and entertaining story, easy to find into the setting and great characters. Well done!
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