MoonDance

This story is about half-way done. I hope you enjoy it. Chapter One: Tough beginnings. The world of Runescape was very peaceful on the Second Month, Fifth Sun. Hunting was becoming more of favored profession. Men brought home meat and trophies to their families. Life went on normal as always. Sharks were being caught, forests chopped down, merchants were making money. A family in Falador was at the local chainmail shop. It was their son's sixteenth birthday, and he was going out in search of quests, to be a great adventurer one day. They didn't have much to show for their lives, but they saved all of their cash until they had enough to buy an adamant chainamil. Their son lit up with pride that his family would do such a thing when they needed the gold more. As he tried it on, he noticed a glisten off of the chains. There was a bright object in the sky. The family looked up with awe at the burning sphere crashing down towards Runescape. The meteor struck Falador with suck force that all the townsfolk and houses were obliterated. The shockwave resulting from the impact was felt hundreds of miles away, in Ardougne. With Falador wiped off the face of the planet, the economy of the world fell into an economic depression. People could no longer trade at the Falador Park. Many rare armors, weapons, and other goods were lost. The main supply of runes were gone, and people no longer were able to teleport. Someone in Camelot would have to walk over White Wolf Mountain, being in danger of dying. Prices rose for all items, and hardly anyone had a job. The armies of each city fell because of lack of income to the local government. The banks were forced to shut down. This equation meant nothing but, a world of chaos. Chapter Two: Realization. Zamorak sat on his blood red throne, pondering the current situation. The world was spread apart, just asking him to come in and take it over. This was his ultimate opportunity. Nothing would stand in his way! Zamorak called in his apprentice, Marzool, a lifesize imp with fangs. Marzool had always envied Zamorak's power, and one day intended to confront and overthrow him. He thought one day he would be strong enough to take on the evil of all evils, but he was terribly wrong. "Marzool, look at all these pathetic humans. They lie there day after day trying to survive. They no longer thrive in their lagre cities with armies. They are scattered among the land, fighting like savages. Saradomin is too busy trying to help them, he cannot stop our onslaught!" Marzool considered his master's words, then said, "Zam....master, what about Guthix? Do not underestimate him just because he plays more roles behind the scenes. He may appear weak, but you have witnessed his power first-hand." Zamorak bursted with rage. "That Fool! Guthix thinks he can act as he is the only God! He dare not interfere with my plans. Besides, we will become too much to handle. As long as we strike swiftly, there will be no chance to counterattack." Marzool was once again inspired by his master. Oh, how much energy ran through Zamorak, how much evil and rage. And yet, he controlled himself, to a point of conscience, pure genius, where all of his plans unfolded. Marzool walked away from the Throne Room, told his assitant to gather the minions into the main chamber, and sighed with relief. This plan might actually work. The world was truly defenseless. Chapter Three: Beneath The Tz-Haar were much larger than what was seen by the humans. The great civilization dwelled all the way down to the core, where thier leader's office was. To travel in Tz-Haar civilization, one would go in shuttles in the magma flares that spurt out from the center of the earth. The total population of the Tz-haar was roughly 19 billion. Simoultaneously as the Zamorak invasion was being planned, there were other plans, by the Tz-Haar... Though his full name was Tz-Van Khaleen Jin Byre Souh Marr, his friends preferred to call him Khaleen. He was a simple crafter during the day, but at night, he ran the missions against his own government. The Black Owls consisted of him as the leader, and over 1000 people working together. They would go on stealth missions to retrieve information, infiltrate headquarters of the Tz-Haar's leaders, just to be inch-for-inch with the government. Whatever the leaders of Tz-Haar knew, the Black Owls knew. Although the basic image of a Tz-Haar is a peace-loving creature, the goverment leaders were corrupt with power. They always had some tricks to pull off, and the Black Owls stopped them, except for this time. General Majh looked at the Great City, the capital city of the Tz-Haar, from his room high up in the black diamond [bleep]es. To most, you would see what the name suggests, a great city. General Majh saw nothing more than buildings filled with people and enterprise. He saw a desolate, fiery wasteland, stuck at the center of the earth. What the humans had, they did not know. The humans had grassy plains, snowy mountains, wonderous blue oceans. And most importantly, and unknowing to the humans, they had the Life Runes. Chapter Four: Just Living Alex and his family lived in Taverly. The druids called the entire devastation that had ocurred the Downfall. After the Downfall, Alex's father made little cash from selling his swords. He made little cash for the first few days, but then, he began trading his weapons for food and equipment. Most of the trade went to people from previous Varrock or Lumbridge, as they were preparing to cross White Wolf Mountain, and needed things to survive against wolf attacks. The family prayed every hour to Guthix, hoping that he might shine some of his glory upon them and help them survive. One day, the people from East Runescape stopped coming altogether. Alex dropped down on his knees and cried. After half an hour of weeping, he fell asleep on the cold, hard ground. He began to have memories of his past. His first sword, his first fight with a chicken. His first bow and arrow, his first wind strike spell. His first time he teleported, and he threw up from the shocking experience. He was an overall great warrior. He had visions of a face, shrouded in mist. In his dream, this face spoke to him in a deep, scratchy voice. It revealed to him that he was Guthix. Guthix explained to Alex that he was drained of his power, from the experiences of helping out the citizens of the world after the tragedy that has fallen upon us. He explained that he would die after doing this one last thing, and that it was up to Alex to find his own destiny. Guthix stretched his robed arms out, took Alex's shirt off, and punctured his chest. Alex began to float in the air, and light shone from his eyes and mouth. His chest felt like it was on fire, like it was being jolted with electricity. Guthix slowly vanished into nothing. And then, the world ceased to exist. The dream was over. It was a dream....right? Chapter Five: Enough on my Shoulders... Ah, the sound of chanting at the Druid's Circle. This awoke Alex from his slumber. He jolted up, and immediately removed his shirt. There was nothing there. He thought that it had to have been just an odd dream. But it seemed all too real at the same time. Perhaps it was a simple sign. The druids of Taverly often explained that dreams have much to do with reality. Alex walked to the local herblore shop, whose business had not done particularly well either. He asked some of the druids there to help him understand what was going on, but none had a real answer. Alex, disappointed, walked back home. He then realized something very simple; His father is always great to turn to. As he explained the dream he had, his father's eyes lit up. "Son," he said, "I hoped this day would not come. I hoped by the stars that this would not have to happen. But it must, I suppose..." Alex was confused. His father explained how he had a dream foreshadowing this day, that he was part of the fate of the world. Alex's father stood up, walked to his room, and re-appeared with a silver key. With this key, he opened the attic door upstairs. "Walk in," he said. Alex walked slowly up the stairs, into the darkness. He took a candle that his father offered him. In the attic, there was a closed chest. As Alex opened the chest, the room was filled with an eerie green glow, coming from the chest. Inside, there was a green broadsword, with the symbol of Guthix engraved in Emerald on the handle and the middle of the blade. Chapter Six: The Impossible? Sounds like fun. "It's the greatsword that Guthix used in the God Wars. It appeared here one night. I had a vision from Guthix himself that you would need it one fateful day." Alex stood in awe at the power emanating from the sword. He was a human, and he could literally see the aura it glowed with. After a minute of thinking, he began to become even more confused. He asked his father what he was meant to do with the sword. His father replied, "Guthix told me that sword has the power of himself. It has the power to slay a God." Alex knew it could only be Zamorak. Or possibly Saradomin...? In his dream, Guthix told Alex that he had to find his own destiny. Alex doubted that he would find it by sitting around here in Taverly, so he set out where his heart told him. "I'm going to East Runescape," he said. Chapter Seven: The Plan The minions of Zamorak entered the main chamber, and when Marzool entered the room, they all quieted. He began to speak with a booming voice. "The pathetic humans are scattered! The world's armied are decimated! They no longer exist. We sense that Guthix is entirely GONE. Saradomin is too busy tending to the humans' needs. Defenseless, they are! It is pathetic. We will gather up armor and supplies and begin our attack in three days. This plan is simple divide and conquer. The dividing is done for us already, we just need to conquer them. For all that is evil...Zamorak!!!!!" The demon audience cheered. You could tell they had great morale. They were not to be easily defeated. Zamorak heard the cheers from the chamber in front of him. He was pleased. Marzool had done a fantastic job rallying up the minions. In three short days, hell would be unleased upon the lands of Runescape. Every human would become a slave. The world would be HIS, finally. This was his destiny, and the Dark Lord knew it. Marzool walked to his own quarters, with several pats on the shoulder along the way. He felt much pride in himself. As he opened the door, he got an odd tingly feeling inside. A cold hand was on his neck. He turned around, and saw Saradomin himself. The power overwhelmed Marzool. He slowly walked backwards into his room, and fell on his bed, eyes wide open. Saradomin told him that he was part of destiny. Marzool replied with a growling, "I know." He thought about shutting up, but was too much full of pride to stop in his moment. He shouted, "Runescape will fall at the hands of Zamorak. That is the will of destiny!" Saradomin was unturned. He said in all his glory, "What is wrong with helping the weak? Why destroy them?" Marzool grinned. "The powerful deserve to live, and the weak deserve to die! The great should thrive, not the poor humans." Saradomin dared not take on Zamorak himself. He would be too weak to anything. Instead, he played it smart. He knew of the plan already, and he knew Marzool was against Zamorak deep down inside. "Marzool, this would be your opportunity to strike back. To prove you can overcome Zamorak. You can show the world you deserve to be a God. Remember your own words. You just now told me that the powerful deserve to live. If you think you are more powerful than Zamorak himself, show the whole world who is King." Saradomin faded away. Marzool thought about his words carefully. Was this really his chance? Was Saradomin attempting to use word tricks in order to gain advantage of him? He pondered this as he fell asleep on his bed. Chapter Eight: Deception The Black Owls heard of something big going down. Their main priority now was to figure out exactly what it was. Khaleen and the fellow Black Owls were unable to ride the magma chutes. The main bases' chutes were heavily guarded. Luckily, the Black Owls had a little talent on thier side. They could dig straight through the earth. Khaleen's second in command, Dauv, gathered up the head Owls. This was going to be their toughest mission thus far- to enter the government headquarters of the Great City. Dauv was quite possibly the largest and toughest of the entire Black Owls. But his ignorance showed that he didn't care about stealth. He was a more "hands-on" kind of guy. Many times the missions were compromised because of his rash decisions to go in and beat a guy up instead of sneaking past him. Khaleen knew Dauv was a great problem, and a threat to this mission, so he had to tell him right now that he was being dismissed. When Dauv heard the news, he was enraged, truly hurt inside. He tore past the entire Owl team, fists clinched. General Majh got a tip from his source. it told him that the great Dauv was dismissed from the Black Owls' service. Majh grabbed a piece of paper, wrote something down, signed it, and stuck it in an envelope. He went down to the main street of the Great City and found a mail deliverer by a magma chute. He told him to hand deliver it to Tz-Vir Dauv Mjay, a complete two thousand miles away. The deliverer looked quite skeptical, as it would take an entire day. One day was not to waste for one message. Then, General Majh grinned and picked out twenty thousand tokkul out of his wallet. The deliverer had never seen so much cash in one place. He hastily took the cash, said, "Thanks," and he was off. The General knew that Dauv would not disagree. When Dauv got the letter later that night, he was shocked. General Majh had asked him to side with him in the assault on the upper worlds! Dauv had taken a vow to always be against corrupt government, once he joined the Black owls. But now that he was gone...."Never!" he exclaimed. He might be gone, but he still believed in doing the right thing. Then he saw the P.S. at the bottom. It said, "Pay is twenty million tokkul." Ah, the universal lubricant. This changed everything. Chapter Nine: The Journey Begins Alex gathered up his equipment. With his father's last gold, he was able to buy a local neighbor's armor. It included a rune platemail, a rune helmet, amulet of glory, and a pair of rune boots. His father have him a spotted cape that he made from hunting some kebbits on his trip to the Piscatoris area. Then, Alex's sister gave him her white and golden mystic robes, and a fair amount of runes. He talked to a druid for some food, and got a handful of stews and various potions. Alex said his farewells to his family, and stepped on the road south the previous Falador. When he saw it, he almost cried. The city was nothing more than black and brown ruins now. Where once stood a great city with knights, merchants, and thriving families, now stood a barren wasteland. The area surrounding Falador was thick with dust, quite surely from the collision. Alex thought it amazing how the pollution can stay in the air, three weeks following the incident. He had to put his arm over his nose and mouth as he walked the path east towards Varrock. Why Varrock? Alex did not know. He had felt this urge deep inside that told him Varrock was the place to go, so he went with his instincts. Once out of the dust, he could see quite clearly. To his left was the infamous Ice Mountain, and the dwarf mining camp. His gut feelings told him to stay away from the place, he needed some rest. It had been a long day. He hiked up the mountain, noticing the thriving wildlife that was running around. Out of this grace, a silver pickace came thrusting toward Alex. A dwarf had attacked him. He thought, "What the hell?" Alex tried to stop the dwarf with words, but to no avail. The dwarf swung again, with Alex dodging the blow. He unsheathed his Guthix Greatsword, but it was far too heavy for his strength. The dwarm landed a blow into Alex's chest. He had to retaliate quickly. Alex cast a fire blast spell into the dwarf, only two feet in front of him. The spell took care of the dwarf, but the resulting explosion knocked back Alex with a burst of recoil. Alex descended the mountain and headed east even more. That blow to his chest must have done some real damage. He remembers walking on the dirt path until nightfall. After that, the world fizzled away in slow-motion. Chapter Ten: Thoughts Marzool was having a major headache after the past night. He wanted this power so badly. Was this his time to take on Zamorak? He could show the world who deserved to be a God. It's true Marzool was the most powerful out of all of Zamorak's minions. And it's true he could defeat human in combat. In fact, one-hit them. Marzool had powers beyond the normal demon. He had mental abilities. He could think of killing someone and they died. Wasn't this enough to oppose the God of all that is evil? And then other thoughts came rushing in. Saradomin's talk of peace and caring, could it be true? Was evil the wrong path to take? Marzool stood up, and slammed his fist into the wall, shattering it. He was a poor, confused creature. Marzool went to his scrying orb, and looked at the earth. There were people killing other people just to take one loaf of two-week old bread. Children lying dead from wolf attacks. And Falador, in ruins. For the first time in his life, Marzool cried. He finally got it through his thick head that being evil was a bad thing. Seeing the devastation brought him a new lead on life. He would now be good, and make up for all of those years he was a bad person. Marzool remember Saradomin's talk of him being a part of destiny. Could that mean...? Marzool would face Zamorak, all right. But not for his own selfish pride. To do the right thing. The minions of Zamorak and the spawned undead were in the main chamber. They had all of their swords and shields, ready for battle. It had been one day since the announcement. Some various attack plans were being drawn up by Zamorak and the head council. In two days, hell would be unleashed upon Runescape. Chapter Eleven: The More, the Merrier. Alex awoke with a hammering feeling on his chest. He staggered to get out of the strange bed he was in, but a voice ushered to lie down. He did so. The voice said to go back to sleep, but Alex was a part of destiny. Surely he shouldn't rest all day. He opened his eyes. He was in a plain brown shack, with a lit candle on a table. And an elderly woman sat beside him. "Hi there, young one. My name is Jeanne. This is my great grand-daughter, Kenzie." Alex looked around, but saw no one. Then, a girl in her late teens came from behind Jeanne. "Bless her heart, she is quite the shy one," Jeanne said. "H..hi," said Kenzie. From the looks of it, the family were of the elven race. Kenzie wore a green bandana on her long blonde hair. Alex saw a cupboard to his left, containing a bow made of the mysterious wood called "magic." Jeanne explained how she found Alex in the path just south of Edgeville, where he was right now. She then got a pitcher of water and gave Alex some. He asked for any news or information that might help him out on his journey. Jeanne said that she had not seen a soul in ages. Apparently, everyone in Edgeville went off to West Runescape in hopes of a better life. Kenzie, however, was not shy this time. She boldly stood up and offered to help me on my quest. Alex asked her what talents she had, and she said she was an experienced ranger. Jeanne protested, but gave in with a big sigh. Kenzie packed her things in her backpack, and put on some black dragonhide armor. Impressive. Alex asked about it, and she said that she had killed the poor beast when it attacked her on her exploration into the Taverly caves. She further explained that the hides have good overal defensive characteristics, especially against magical entities. Alex thought this could prove useful later in his journey. Kenzie might prove to also be a part of destiny, who knows. Chapter Twelve: The Secret General Majh was having a good day. He had an impressive new ally, and the crafters were almost done making the dolls. Dauv asked what the dolls were for, and Majh explained with a powerful expression. Dauv couldn't explain it. "The humans have more than they realize. They have lush gardens of colorful fruits. They have an open sky to gaze upon for hours. They have oh, so many things. And they take it for granted, I say! And they have those blasted life runes." Dauv's eyes shifted. "..Life Runes?....." Majh was pleased with his inquiry. "This will explain those dolls you are interested in. You see, Dauv, the dolls are empty vessels for a spirit. The Life Runes give us an opportunity to transfer spirits from living things to them. We can control them all! Imagine the power. One billion dolls, filled with spirits of the departed." Dauv was horrified at the plan. "But, General!!!! You mean to say that you are going to sacrifice living things in order to gain the advantage?" The General replied with a smirk. "Is that not what killing is? You take their life to have the upper hand." Dauv said firmly, "But this is no war. This is innocent lives you speak of. People who might just give themselves up if you ask." The General mentioned the twenty million tokkul and Dauv quieted, for the moment. Chapter Thirteen: Hope The Black Owls had successfully infiltrated and recovered the top-secret information. They discovered everything about the Life Runes, and the General's plan. The General was going to sacrifice the citizens of the Great City in order to construct over a billion troops out of dolls. People skilled in magic would control these dolls like puppets, giving simple commands such as "attack" or "go that way." Khaleen paced back and forth, back and forth, trying to get an idea. He could take on the mages that control the dolls. Or he could find out where the Life Rune alter was, and destroy it, before the General tapped into it. Khaleen picked the destroying the alter idea first, as if that plan didn't work, he could always kill the mages. Two plans. A good chance, he thought to himself. Khaleen gave a simple speech to the Black Owls. They were ready to go against this evil. This was the worst thing the government had ever done. But it went personal. They all had family in the Great City. If they were gone...the men and women of the of infamous organization could never fight again. Many of the Owls had children and parents that they loved. Girlfriends, boyfriends, aunts, uncles. Cousins, grandparents. Friends. The people whom they cared for could not be evacuated in time. The Black Owls were all gathered to the meeting warehouse. They were getting their weapons and potions ready. Khaleen considered the situation carefully, and realized something. They had no clue as to where the alter was. The plans that the General had in his office did not speak of the location of the Life Alter. Was it possible that they would fail in this task? Khaleen thought these horrible thoughts aloud, and many of the Black Owls began to become nervous. Some of them protested this mission. Some just wanted to get their family out of the Great City. But Khaleen was determined. Chapter Fourteen: Hope II Khaleen had to boost his men's morale. He began a speech. "We cannot run. If we do, that only makes us helpers of the billions of lives lost. When we find the Life Alter, we can destroy it and put this darkness behind us forever! Even if it is impossible to find the alter, we can kill the mages that control the dolls. I know you all care about your loved ones, but is one saved one worth one million doomed ones? I think not. A life is not interchangable. There is no such exchange. We can end this, once and for all. General Majh will fall, and so will our corrupt government!" The Black Owls now had new inspiration. They knew Khaleen was right. They knew one life was not worth one million. Though they hated it to hell, they would have to risk theirs' and their families lives in order to save the world. Shortly after his speech, Khaleen got a new idea. New recruits for the Black Owls. The more people he had working on finding the alter, the faster they would find it. So....all around the Great City, the Owls told their cause, told of the corrupt plans and what must be done. Most people that heard this called it nonsense or stupidity. Some joined, wishing to fight the evil. The Black Owls now consisted of thirty thousand people. One of the Owls suggested another idea. They had thought about how small the dolls were, and that there were mass amounts of them. That person suggested the dragon halberd's special ability. Khaleen was intrigued, but confused. He stated that the dragon halberd's ability was only unlocked in select situations, such as desperation, rage, or sadness. Then, the person who suggested this idea grinned. They told Khaleen that they knew someone who had a mass amount of these halberds, and potions that could make the user tap these abilities. Khaleen thought it too good to be true, so he asked about any side effects. The person frowned now, and admitted it had one. The potion lasted for thirty minutes only. And after that thirty minutes, the drinker would collapse, paralyzed, for one hour. Chapter Fifteen: Three is Company, Too Kenzie looked at Alex. He was wearing an impressive outfit, one that would require fair strength and willpower. Full runite armor with an amulet of glory, and a dragon-metal scimitar. She wondered if he had ever used the bow before. And she wondered if he liked her back. Marzool used his scrying orb and mental abilities to find a young man and a girl traveling. What brought him to these random folks of Runescape, he did not know. But he picked it as his destiny. Marzool then said, "Goodbye, Zamorak. I wish to face you soon. You will pay for what you've done to the poor people." Alex was looking at Kenzie, who was staring blankly to her left. When Alex asked what she was doing, she explained how she thought the grass was beautiful. That the color green was calming to her. Gave her a sense of mind. Alex understood. He had always taken the same effect from the color Blue. Out of this moment, a thundering crash was heard one mile away, straight ahead. Kenzie and Alex understood that it was probably trouble, and drew their weapons. They ran down the path, swiftly, but cautiously. Then, they saw a huge imp-like demon standing there. Staring right at them. Marzool tried to explain himself, but the girl shot an arrow at him. They had attacked him, without warning. He guessed that's what the humans called a "hello" to demons like him. The girl was preparing to fire another, so Marzool's mental powers enabled him to build a wall between him and her, out of the dirt. He yelled aloud that he wished for peace. The boy and girl seemed to understand. They halted their movement, and waited. Marzool told them his story, how he is not evil anymore. He explained the entire story of Zamorak and his planned assault on the surface. Alex accepted his request into the group, to face the villan Zamorak. Marzool then mentioned that the assault would begin on Varrock. Where Alex had planned on going all along.