tedglines
14-12-2007, 17:57
Lord of Destruction
by Ted L Glines
In a time not past nor future but running alongside of today, three ghastly brothers race toward the summit of Mt. Arreat. Within the sacred Worldstone Keep, on that most holy of altars, their powers will be joined across the universe and for all time, and dominion of the earth will fall into their unholy hands. Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, the three prime evils, born of negative seed and doomed to make earth into a living hell. In the wake of their passing, countless monsters had been spawned to mill about and kill those daring enough to follow and interfere. No one will stop them now.
In her sanctuary bedroom, Annie stares into her PC screen, her mouse dodging and clicking, as she slaughters horrible monsters attacking from all directions. They fall with yelps and cries and groans. Her fast and furious bow mows them down but the fiends and wraiths just keep coming.
“Annie, are you still on the computer?” Her mother sounds exasperated and Annie groans inside. She is striving to complete a valiant quest and Annie resents the intrusion. A distraction at this point could get her killed. If only her mom would get a life.
“Yes, Mom. I finished my homework. I had my dinner. I took the dog for a walk.” The internal message is “Leave me alone!” Some things are more important than her mom's stupid control issues. Almost like her fists are clenching, Annie feels tightness grip her chest as she moves forward against all odds to complete her dream.
Annie has always been different. Instead of dreaming about boys, Annie always dreamed about wars; wars against evil. Annie has this fantasy of herself as an Amazon; a woman who could fight and win against the monsters of the universe. In her dreams at night, a warrior named Antiope came to her, giving her strength and dexterity and life, and urging Annie on with quest after quest after quest. “Antiope” is such a strange old name, but Annie feels a kinship with it. It is like Antiope is a grandmother of a grandmother of a grandmother, somehow. Blood runs very deep. It is an Amazon thing.
Annie has two virtual friends.
Annie and her two friends are a fighting team. First there is Abhaya, her Rogue hireling, annoying at times with getting lost (and having to be rescued) and her habit of opening doors drives Annie crazy. But Abhaya, with her flipping pony-tail and deadly bow, has been there for Annie ... forever. Looking among her school friends, Annie could not say the same for any one of them. Regular human friends give you support only when it is convenient. They are iffy at best. Abhaya will be there when it counts. And Annie loves her Valkyrie. The image of the Valkyrie as a warrior and handmaiden for the Gods is too romantic to resist. And her Valkyrie is a killing machine, always moving out and ahead to engage the attacking monsters.
Up ahead, the ground is white with ice and snow. Tall pillars surround the place of The Ancients, those three who guard the Worldstone Keep. These three, Talic, Madawc, and Korlic, were not spawned by the three prime evils. No, they are guardians led astray. After their eons of stewardship, they must be killed because they now stand in the way, barring Annie from running into the Worldstone Keep to kill Baal and end this travail forever.
Death happens, even to those who are good.
NOTES:
ANTIOPE 'confronting Moon'
The history of this Amazon queen is confused by propaganda and the fact that she shares her name with a warrior Goddess of Thebes. Antiope of Thebes was the second aspect of a triad of warrior Moon Goddesses. She descended to the underworld at the New Moon, attended by the crone figure Dirke 'cleft.' Each time the Moon reappeared after these few nights of darkness, Thebes rejoiced, and a bull, symbol of rebirth, was sacrificed and feasted on. It is from the ceremony of tossing a round cake representing the Full Moon onto the bull's horns that the gruesome tale of Dirke's death comes. The queen of Thebes was the embodiment of Antiope on earth, her older advisor the embodiment of Dirke. Occasionally their disagreements may have been severe enough to demand a ritual combat, or, more likely, the ceremonial combat was performed on the night of the first rising of the Waxing Moon. Dirke 'lost' each month, and the loss was well remembered. So much for Thebes. The name Antiope was popular among the Amazons, for it was carried by a queen, a princess, and an archer who gained fame in the Attic War. Queen Antiope's capture and removal to Athens by Greek pirates helped instigate that war, which included a massive slave revolt. Her death at the hand of Molpadia was not for treachery, but to save her from rape by the Athenian king. (~http://www.amazonation.com/FamousAmazons.html)
Published on Authors Den and Art With Words.
by Ted L Glines
In a time not past nor future but running alongside of today, three ghastly brothers race toward the summit of Mt. Arreat. Within the sacred Worldstone Keep, on that most holy of altars, their powers will be joined across the universe and for all time, and dominion of the earth will fall into their unholy hands. Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, the three prime evils, born of negative seed and doomed to make earth into a living hell. In the wake of their passing, countless monsters had been spawned to mill about and kill those daring enough to follow and interfere. No one will stop them now.
In her sanctuary bedroom, Annie stares into her PC screen, her mouse dodging and clicking, as she slaughters horrible monsters attacking from all directions. They fall with yelps and cries and groans. Her fast and furious bow mows them down but the fiends and wraiths just keep coming.
“Annie, are you still on the computer?” Her mother sounds exasperated and Annie groans inside. She is striving to complete a valiant quest and Annie resents the intrusion. A distraction at this point could get her killed. If only her mom would get a life.
“Yes, Mom. I finished my homework. I had my dinner. I took the dog for a walk.” The internal message is “Leave me alone!” Some things are more important than her mom's stupid control issues. Almost like her fists are clenching, Annie feels tightness grip her chest as she moves forward against all odds to complete her dream.
Annie has always been different. Instead of dreaming about boys, Annie always dreamed about wars; wars against evil. Annie has this fantasy of herself as an Amazon; a woman who could fight and win against the monsters of the universe. In her dreams at night, a warrior named Antiope came to her, giving her strength and dexterity and life, and urging Annie on with quest after quest after quest. “Antiope” is such a strange old name, but Annie feels a kinship with it. It is like Antiope is a grandmother of a grandmother of a grandmother, somehow. Blood runs very deep. It is an Amazon thing.
Annie has two virtual friends.
Annie and her two friends are a fighting team. First there is Abhaya, her Rogue hireling, annoying at times with getting lost (and having to be rescued) and her habit of opening doors drives Annie crazy. But Abhaya, with her flipping pony-tail and deadly bow, has been there for Annie ... forever. Looking among her school friends, Annie could not say the same for any one of them. Regular human friends give you support only when it is convenient. They are iffy at best. Abhaya will be there when it counts. And Annie loves her Valkyrie. The image of the Valkyrie as a warrior and handmaiden for the Gods is too romantic to resist. And her Valkyrie is a killing machine, always moving out and ahead to engage the attacking monsters.
Up ahead, the ground is white with ice and snow. Tall pillars surround the place of The Ancients, those three who guard the Worldstone Keep. These three, Talic, Madawc, and Korlic, were not spawned by the three prime evils. No, they are guardians led astray. After their eons of stewardship, they must be killed because they now stand in the way, barring Annie from running into the Worldstone Keep to kill Baal and end this travail forever.
Death happens, even to those who are good.
NOTES:
ANTIOPE 'confronting Moon'
The history of this Amazon queen is confused by propaganda and the fact that she shares her name with a warrior Goddess of Thebes. Antiope of Thebes was the second aspect of a triad of warrior Moon Goddesses. She descended to the underworld at the New Moon, attended by the crone figure Dirke 'cleft.' Each time the Moon reappeared after these few nights of darkness, Thebes rejoiced, and a bull, symbol of rebirth, was sacrificed and feasted on. It is from the ceremony of tossing a round cake representing the Full Moon onto the bull's horns that the gruesome tale of Dirke's death comes. The queen of Thebes was the embodiment of Antiope on earth, her older advisor the embodiment of Dirke. Occasionally their disagreements may have been severe enough to demand a ritual combat, or, more likely, the ceremonial combat was performed on the night of the first rising of the Waxing Moon. Dirke 'lost' each month, and the loss was well remembered. So much for Thebes. The name Antiope was popular among the Amazons, for it was carried by a queen, a princess, and an archer who gained fame in the Attic War. Queen Antiope's capture and removal to Athens by Greek pirates helped instigate that war, which included a massive slave revolt. Her death at the hand of Molpadia was not for treachery, but to save her from rape by the Athenian king. (~http://www.amazonation.com/FamousAmazons.html)
Published on Authors Den and Art With Words.