| “ | You may think “Ajax can’t be beaten”. Three days ago, I might have agreed with you. But there is only one explanation for why he’s chased us across the timescape. He fears us. He fears us because he thinks we can win. And now, so do I.
— King
|
” |
King is one of the player characters in The Chain, a series of Dungeons & Dragons games streamed by MCDM Productions. King was a Higaran Cleric and Commander of the Chain of Acheron following their crushing defeat at Black Bottom.
Coming from the land of Higara, far to the east, little is known about the man who would be given the name King before he joined the Chain of Acheron. Beyond his fine clothes and quiet nature, few know the true story of who King was before he joined the chain. Originally acting as chronicler and the personal retainer to the Chain's original commander, Red, King would serve loyally as a member of the Chain, having served with them for years, crossing the timescape and fighting in several realms.
King would be present at the city of Black Bottom during the fall of the Chain. Having been hired to assassinate Mortum, the archwizard of Ajax the Invincible, by Kenway of Dalrath and Lady Sariel. The assassination was ultimately botched, having possibly been set up by Sariel to draw out Ajax, who arrived briefly after Mortum was attacked.
The following battle was catastrophic, with Commander Red being killed by the Demon Relg, Lady Sariel apparently being slain by Ajax, and the Chain being shattered and cast to the wind as Black Bottom was leveled. What remained of the Chain would flee by sea, being chased across both the physical and astral seas' by Ajax's forces. In this time, the new Commander Sweet, along with the Staff Sorcerer Nails would both die, leaving King as the only suitable Commander.
Rising to the position, King would help the Chain survive their journey through the astral sea, arriving in Capital, the greatest city in this or any age. Here, King would work with a single goal, to build up the Chain again as a force capable of opposing Ajax. Red and Sweet signed a contract to kill Mortum, and King was intent of fulfilling that contract, no matter the cost.
Battle vs. Bruno Bucciarati (by Lunathemoon123)[]
Prologue[]
Bruno stood outside of the the library of Alexandretta, the ancient sand stone steps leading up to the towering iron doors. Bruno ascended the steps and pushed past the door, walking into library's large atrium. He looked on in wide eyed amazement at the majesty of the building, the great vaulted stealing being covered in frescos depicting battles between gods.
"Do you need anything, sir?" an elderly attendant asked.
"Yes, in fact I do." Bruno said, a polite smile on his face. "I am looking for a friend, we agreed we'd meet here. He's a little shorter than me, likely has some arms and armor, and would be carrying around a large tome on his belt."
The Librarian nodded softly, his neck clicking as he did so. "I do know who you're talking about." he said. "He came here about an hour ago. He's up stairs, in the ancient history section. Would you like me to take you to him?"
"Of course I would." Bruno said. He followed the Librarian up the stairs. He'd have to wait to see if this man was his true target, but he was already prepared for if it was. He summoned Sticky Fingers, letting it drift just behind him.
...
King sat at a writing desk, flipping through a tome with one eye, with scanning his surroundings with the other. He took a draft from a mug of ale, finishing it as he continued to wait. He knew he wasn't safe, but he just had to wait an hour longer for the Somnium to arrive. Then he'd be free.
King read quiet for another moment, when he heard foot steps approaching, along with the tinny voice of the Librarian talking to someone else, someone he didn't recognize. He looked up from his book, pulled up his hood and adjusted his sword belt. He watched for a moment, hearing the footsteps and voices grow closer.
"Your friend should be just around the corner." he heard the Librarian say. King kept the book open, making it seem as if he was really not paying attention, though with his off hand he slid his straight sword part way out of its scabbard.
Finally, he saw the Librarian come around the corner, with a strangely dressed man only a few feet behind him. The Librarian pointed at directly at him before saying "He's right over there."
"Thank you." The other man said, before handing the Librarian a small bill. The Librarian walked away, and the new man moved slowly closer.
...
Both Bruno and King caught each others eye once the Librarian was out of eye shot. King stood up and glared at Bruno, while Bruno looked glared right back. There was a moment where both just looked at each other, the seconds ticking by.
Fight[]
Suddenly, King thrust his hand forwards and a crack of thunder sounded. An explosion of sound rang out from Bruno, causing the ground to crack and shattering nearby furniture into pieces. Bruno fell to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth. His ears were ringed, and his vision blurred in and out for a moment.
He staggered to his feet, before seeing the ends of King's robes whipping around the corner. He made chase, running as fast as he could after his prey.
King could hear Bruno coming around the corner after him, having recovered quicker than he expected. He cursed under his breath as he picked up the speed.
Despite his injuries, Bruno was still running faster than King could hope to move on his own. Calling forth his power, King gathered the opalescent energies of haste into his hand before diffusing it into himself.
Bruno suddenly saw King gain a burst of speed, making his target take off like a bullet. Bruno pushed himself, but felt the pain in his damaged limbs stop him from pushing his limits. King quickly vanished around the corner.
“Damnit!” Bruno said. He stopped moving, before turning to the walls of bookshelves to his right. He took a deep breath before punching the wall. A zipper opened on it, allowing him to pass through. He did the same again, over and over, moving through bookshelf after bookshelf.
King kept on moving, turning another corner. He’d managed to lose Bruno for now, but needed to escape the building before his would-be captor caught up. However, an exit was in sight. Ahead of him, he could see the stairway down.
He bolted, but before he could clear the distance, one of the bookshelves to his right unzipped and opened up. He stopped as he saw Bruno step out of the gap.
Bruno looked at him with cold eyes. “The chase is over.” Bruno said, stepping forwards, Stinky Fingers ready to attack. “You can either give up, or I’ll be dragging out of here. You decide.”
King began to move back, all while still facing Bruno. With a sigh, Bruno jabbed his arm forwards, unzipping it at the elbow and sending it flying forwards like a javelin.
King brought up his shield to block, but felt the force of the strike send him flying off his feet. He landed on his back. He looked at his shield, and found that it had been sliced in perfectly in two, the top half falling away.
Bruno moved forwards, his arm zipping back into the socket. King got to his feet, discarding the ruined remains of his shield. The hit had broken his concentration of haste, leaving him vulnerable.
With another incantation, King called forward more power, calling upon the power of Fire shield. His body was bathed in a thin outline of red flames. He drew his sword and held it two handed.
Bruno shook his head with disappointment. He then ran forwards, Sticky Fingers and the ready. King held his ground, ready to strike back.
As Bruno closed in, King brought his blade back to strike, but suddenly felt a surge of pain in his upper arm. The flame shield exploded, engulfing the outside of Sticky Fingers in flames. Bruno winced from the sudden blast or fire, while King fell back.
As he moved to get himself back on his feet, King leaned on his left arm, only to find that it wasn’t there. Just like his shield, his arm had become severed from his body. He looked at the stump, confused. The wound didn’t bleed, but the arm had been removed perfectly.
King turned to see Bruno regaining his bearings and moving in. King faced his attack, but continued to back away.
“Save yourself the pain.” Bruno said. “Just give up.”
King glared at Bruno, before calling upon more power. He summoned a marble of fire into his hand, when he then lobbed at Bruno. Bruno braced up behind Sticky Fingers, prepared for the strike. However, the orb whipped past and stopped ten feet behind him.
Bruno only had a moment to turn before the Fireball expanded out, the edges of the blast engulfing him. The blast rattled the chamber, causing the many bookshelves to wobble, as dust drifted down from the ceiling.
King gritted his teeth and ran through, moving around where he’d last seen Bruno and into the smoke.
Bruno slowly got to his feet, his skin blacked with ash. He got to his feet and began looking around. He could see the black robes of King whipping through the smoke, causing him to run after.
As he exited the cloud, he could see King running down the stairs. He ran full tilt, powering through the pain wracking his body. He wasn't going to let King escape.
King made it to the bottom, the exit of the library in sight. However, he could feel Bruno coming up behind him, getting closer with each moment.
King pushed himself as he ran, adjusting his sword grip to hold it standard. He cast the spell Magic Weapon, using some of his last magics to make the blade glow bright white.
Bruno quickly closed the gap, now only a few feet from King. However, just before he could command Sticky Fingers to attack, King turned to face him. His sword thrust into Sticky Fingers’ torso. However, instead of stopping as a mundane blade should, the glowing white blade ripped into it's torso, causing a similar wound to appear on Bruno's belly.
Bruno tensed with pain, but powered through it, having Sticky Fingers throw a flurry of punches.
“ARIARIARIARIARIARIARIARIARIARIARI!” Sticky Fingers cried, as it laid into King. With every punch, a new zipper appeared on King’s body. With one final punch to King's throat, Bruno looked him in the eyes coldly.
“Arrivederci.”
All the zippers opened at once, slicing King into dozens of smaller pieces. His head was the biggest part of him left, his face contorted in horror as he bounced on the floor.
Bruno dropped to a knee, feeling at the new open wound. He quickly applied a zipper to the injury, stopping the bleeding.
He then walked over and picked up King's head. His face was contorted in horror at his new predicament. “I did tell you to give up.” Bruno said, before beginning to walk away. “Unluckily for you, the boss only needs your head to get answers.”
Bruno exited the library and into the night.
Expert's Opinion[]
TBW