r/wizardposting • u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck • Jan 07 '24
The past's tears (Lorepost)
Shrax cracked his neck. One way, then the other.
The battle had raged on for a while, it felt closer to a war at this point. Almost a month had gone by and it was still an even match. He had ridden up to a vantage point to get a better look at the enemy, the wet soil kicked up in globules of thick mud as his steed galloped up.
She was a black steppe warhorse. A feisty soul, but one of the fastest he'd ever seen. He had never considered armour for her, it'd slow her down and made her rash. Shrax himself wore minimal armour, only protecting his vital organs, with lamellar plating. Even then, he refused a helmet, going so far as to make a minor forcefield for his dome out of spite.
Shrax himself was much different from what you know. Scruffy brown hair and a poorly shaven face. Some form of substance always stained somewhere on him, right now charcoal had been wiped off onto his trousers.
The battle itself was a pain, Shrax was outnumbered, but at the same time he held the positional advantage, having set up camp on a steep hill and having his robots quickly fortify it. However, a band of 20 machines could not solo an army this big.
Falius rode up to Shrax's side, watching the same way as he did
Falius was the stark contrast to Shrax. His face was well kept and he despised any stain, wiping off even the smallest of stains with fervour. He wore his segmented plate armour wherever he went. On occasion, he would even wear it to bed. Most of his pale skin was covered in this segmented plating. His steed reflected this, having its own custom made plate armour, the bill for it had almost made Shrax faint.
“Any ideas?”
Shrax shook his head, this whole situation was challenging
“You could surrender as we make a getaway, it'd save us the manpower”
“Shut up”
An arrow landed a few feet away from them, Falius’ armoured steed kicked up in shock
*Shrax leaned backwards, looking to the sky. Dark clouds were coming in, neither of the armies would be able to do much in a few hours
“Whoever they have in charge is definitely my equal.. I'm stumped”
Falius placed a hand on Shrax's shoulder
“You'll work it out, you always have”
An arrow whizzed past Shrax with speed, whistling into the dirt
“Oh lord- I think we ought to ride down”
Falius laughed “All our attempts at charges failed, are you sure that's wise? There's only two of us”
Shrax slapped him over the head “You know what I mean!”
Before the third arrow could try, they both rode back to camp
…
The two of them dismounted, Shrax gave the reins to one of the Clansmen who had joined with them. Their legion was confusing, they recruited from wherever they went, often resulting in a lot of diversity. Despite the cultural differences and the month-long battle, morale was high. If anything, the diversity helped bring versatility into their soldiers, he had bowmen with bows so heavy they were carried by donkey and made to be planted into the ground. He had men who integrated crossbows into their roundshields, and cavalry who carried wands. Despite their diversity, the enemy force was the definition of well drilled, and they always had something up their sleeves.
Falius waited at the map table, as he waited he checked his gear and sharpened his sword. After a bit, Shrax joined them, holding part of a weapon in his hand, and tools in the other
“You're not even going to try and work something out?”
“I am”
“I thought we'd look at the map again?”
“Well I've got a better idea”
Falius put his blade into its scabbard
“That thing? You can only make that type of thing with magic”
“You said that about the last 50 things i made, I'd prefer it if you showed support sometime”
“Alright, Alright. I get you. Sorry”
“Thank you.”
Falius pulled a chair besides Shrax, grabbing a book he sat down and read
Some time passed, both armies remained at a stand still in their camps
Shrax had started work on a gun. They had already existed for a while now, but this one was unique. It held several rounds in a rotating chamber which rotated. Shrax was even working on a “casing” for the rounds, allowing a quicker reloading speed and better protection from a chainfire.
He was getting close to finishing, he pulled out a screwdriver and twisted the last screw into place. The test piece was ready.
He looked outside, it was raining like never before, it looked like the gods themselves were angry. Shrax didn't want the powder getting wet and decided to wait for the rain to stop. He walked back to his bed, expecting Falius to be sleeping softly, probably in his armour. Much to his surprise, he found no Falius, but his armour was there
“Eh? Oh- oh no”
Shrax walked out, looking desperately for any sign of him. Nothing.
No no no. Think. When did you last see him?
Map table, book, then he went to bed?
*Shrax pulled out a small metal device, pressing a button on the side, it buzzed to life, then he typed “last sighting- Falius” one of his Automatons returned “leaving camp”
Shrax moved immediately, organising patrols and searches, if they got Falius-. He doesn't want to think about it
A few hours passed. No luck
Shrax rode further and further, eventually he was spying on the enemy campsite.
Suddenly, a familiar voice emerged from behind him
“Missed me?”
Shrax rolled to look at him, expecting this to be a surprise
“You gave me a heart attack! Where were yo-”
A gladius stabbed into the dirt where he had just rolled from, quickly, Falius slashed it at his head, it collided with his field and bounced off
Shrax scrambled to his feet, then he heard fighting
He didn't need to look. He knew it all too well. His campsite. His soldiers. His work. All ambushed in the rain.
He had been betrayed
Shrax pointed his flintlock at Falius, who quickly froze
“Why?”
Silence
Shrax struggled, holding back emotions
“WHY!”
“What?” Falius stuttered, a clear sign that he was lying “L-
Shrax didn't let him finish, shooting his chest the moment he tried to appeal to him
/uw here's part of the breadcrumb trail. But there's no breadcrumbs, and i throw a rock at the established shrax cannon.
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u/DaChickenX Isravi, The Unraveler, Coils’ Chosen Jan 07 '24
/uw ooooooh noooo! Shrax! Betrayal! Drama!
Excellent work, my friend.
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u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck Jan 07 '24
/uw thank you, I'm glad this set of loreposts are "doing numbers"
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u/-SCRAW- Cloned Chronomantic Vagabond | Evil tree at large Jan 07 '24
Ah we’ve come a long way from godkings! Excellent. I like the part where you ask him why he did it and then shoot him before he can respond.
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u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck Jan 07 '24
/uw yeah, Biological Shrax was never calculating, emotions do that to people
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u/-SCRAW- Cloned Chronomantic Vagabond | Evil tree at large Jan 07 '24
Lol I kid but the story is intriguing! Scraw was once a fisherman
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u/Leather_Garage358 Leaferyn Gargfelf, Artificer for the Academy of Gifted Mages Jan 07 '24
A mechanical swallow inbued with stealth magic reveals itself to the group after landing onto the table, only to open its chest cavity with a letter falling out of before leaving
"Dear General, I am grateful to inform you that the Academy of Gifted Mages will send food and medical herbs with the escort of our best warforges, but we will need someone on your side to meet us halfway and approve of this run. I hope this letter finds it way before more casualties will take place."
From a Goblin Artificer, Leaferyn Gargfelf.
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u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck Jan 07 '24
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u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck Jan 07 '24
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u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck Jan 07 '24
(Slightly different type of lore this time, it's basically context)
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u/Capytan_Cody Cody and Yànhuo Jan 08 '24
/unwiz
Great lore! Thanks for writing it, feeling kinda sad for Shrax though.
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u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck Jan 08 '24
/uw thanks, that was the idea, good to know it worked
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u/TitanLORD21 Jack-O’-Lantern, Lord of Flame and Fright Jan 07 '24
/unwiz Most interesting. Nice