52. we can use the word shit? or any variation thereof

46. evil will always win... because good is dumb

46. evil will always win... because good is dumb

32. we're just plain better than everybody else :P

we're the only ones with a top 101 list

12. I look good in black

Over a week on the road with his men, Dagan was starting to feel the pressure of leadership. He had been used to leading several dozen men at once... but under the command of other men. 200 soldiers, most of which were older that he was, all by himself... and to top it off, many were Friends of the Dark. At least one was Sammael's spy, he assumed. He was under the utmost pressure. As often as not, Dagan looked towards the shadows. Myrrdraal could travel through the shadows. He had seen enough of the Eyeless in the last week as any man would ever want and more. Just the thought of them following him made his skin crawl.

Just at the end of the day, the first village came to view. It was almost symbolic to what was about to happen to the kingdom of Kandor. Losing a war, with armed soldiers fighting for their country was one thing... what Dagan was about to do could only be described as legalized murder. The Shadow had indeed entered the boundries of Kandor.

The village was almost empty, save for the few men that stood on the road with whatever weapon they could gather. He assumed most of the rest of the population was hiding in their homes, or fleeing as fast as possible. 200 soldiers could mean only one thing... battle.

Dagan didn't even move his head to talk to the Cavalry Squadron leader, "Run them all over and don't stop. Send one file north, one south, and you personally take two west. Everyone you see... man, woman or child; kill or bring to me. Word of us cannot spread through Kandor. Do not linger here, the infantry will destroy whatever men you leave."

Without a word, the Squad Sergeant moved back to his men. No more than a minute later, more than 40 men on horseback thrundered towards the village. The village men, brave as they were, instinctively fled from the onslaught. The infantry squadrons ran forward to meet the remainder, as the cavalry split up. The archer squadron easily picked off those who escaped the infantry and fled north or south.

Dagan, his Underlieutenant, his First Sergeant, and the special commando units trotted slowly towards where the infantry was already wrangling the remainder of the villagers. He sent out is special units to search all buildings. He knew they, at least, would be able to do their duties to the fullest extent. No matter how immoral they may seem.

"Lieutenant," one of the infantry Squad Sergeants took Dagan's horse's reigns as he dismounted. "what should we do with the rest of them?" obviously this one had not been listening at the briefing. That or he was either a lightfool, or a Friend of the Dark that didn't quite realize his obligations.

"Kill them." Dagan said. "Kill them all."

"But sir..."

Angrily, Dagan unsheathed his sword and walked towards a crying child. His stomach was turning, but he couldn't seem weak in front of his men. If they were to respect him, this was the time to start. Boar rushes down the Hill The child became silent as his head rolled to the ground. Screaming women and children were heard in the background, but Dagan only heard a muffled buzz as he turned to talk back to his horse. He felt as if he needed to bring up every meal he had ever eaten. "Give them arms if you wish to make yourselves feel better about it... but it will be done. Its your lives or theirs... but either way they die." And if they didn't, it would be his life.

Dagan al'Kar

Lieutenant of Shienar

Dark Initiate

It took a long while for Dagan to recover from the shock of the meeting. He had expected a nobleman, obviously a Darkfriend. To realize the King himself was a Darkfriend shattered nearly everything he had ever knew about the world. Discovering that one of the Chosen, the Destroyer of Hope himself, ruled Shienar broke him completely. The Chosen! Burn him. Even as a Friend of the Dark, it was a nightmare come true. The Chosen. A man so powerful and so ruthless that Dagan's very life could end at any whim, and Sammael would have as much remorse (and as much trouble) as if he was stepping on an ant. Sammael had spoken, and he mus now obey... to become as ruthless as a sword in the Chosen's hand.

He now had to harden himself. Failure was not an option. Sammael may hold the sword, of which Dagan was a part, but Dagan was the hilt that had to lead the rest of the sword. 200 men had to see that he was worthy of their command. If Dagan couldn't prove himself to the hardest of all, 200 blades might stab him in the back. The protection of one of the Chosen might not stand in the heat of battle.

Captain Mikhov open the door to the barracks where his men were waiting.

"Aten-chun!" a voice barked from inside. 200 men stood at attention, waiting for Mikhov to speak.

"At ease." the Captain ordered. "This is Lieutenant al'Kar, your commanding officer for this mission." Dagan would have been taken aback if the statement of his new rank had come an hour ago, before his new Master had made himself known. This, he just took in stride. It made sense anyways. 200 men was four squadrons, a Squad Leader couldn't very well lead four other men of the same rank. He was still in civilian clothes though, so maybe nobody would notice that he wasn't a Lieutenant five minutes earlier. "An order from Lieutenant al'Kar is an order from myself, his word is absolute. Lieutenant."

"Thank you, Captain." Dagan stepped forward to address his Banner. Most of these were younger men, though grizzled old veterans dotted the barracks as well. "It is an honor to be given command of such a mission. I'll keep this short and sweet for now. I want a meeting with the Command Staff at 1800 hours at the 'Borderman's Hope'. Each squadron will recieve their own briefing from their Squad Leaders at 2000 hours. So use your time wisely. I'm assuming you've all known about this mission for some days, so our leaving at sunrise tomorrow shouldn't be any kind of a problem." Easier said than done. Dagan had to figure out all he needed to talk about before his meeting with the Command Staff. He had no idea this was his mission coming here.

"Aten-chun!" a voice barked again as Captain Mikhov and Dagan turned to leave.

"At ease." Mikhov yelled out as he left.

The road to Fal Moran seemed longer when it was travelled alone. Dagan had found it suprisingly easy to leave his duties back at Fal Dara. Obviously the one who summoned him ad connections in the army, because instructions were already given to send him on his way before he had even gotten back to the barracks.

He had the entire trip to figure out who could pull enough strings on both sides to make this possible. Any conclusion he thought of didn't make him feel any better. A noble maybe. One that had been a Friend of the Dark long enough to have some sort of pull.

It wasn't long after he had arrived in his room that the door swung open. With a shoack, Dagan bowed... now it all made sense, "Highness." the flaming King of Shienar himself. Now he realised why there was such a need for secrecy in and indiscreet place like an inn. But how did he get in here without being noticed by the general public?

Dagan dismounted his horse, deep into the western woods. "You are late, worm." A scratchy voice hissed behing him.

Dagan stiffened, the Halfman's gaze held him, even from behind. He clenched his jaw. Everyone was late, according to the Eyeless. If he wasn't half frozen, he would say so, like he was another man that had too big of a mouth. But this wasn't a superior officer or a know-it-all Darkfriend... one word and he was dead, plain and simple.

The Myrddraal seemed to sense this and came in front of him. "You are displeased with my words?" Its eyeless gaze was set straight on him now. Dagan tried to shrink away, but he was helpless to do so. He had fought and killed Shadowspawn even after he had turned... he liked it. He hated Trollocs. He hated Myrrdraal even more, mostly because this was what happened when they looked at you. He was no stranger to fear, if you had none during a battle you were either dead or a careless fool who soon would be. But he had learned to control it, to use it for caution and motivation. This... this was something he had not puzzled out how to handle yet. He didn't know if he ever could. "Speak, if you have something to say."

"I meant no disrespect. I was only wondering why I was called here."

"Questions and idle thoughts can be dangerous for you. Most of my kind would not be so forgiving." Dagan had to almost laugh inside. They were all the same in every way. In a way, he could almost see an advantage. The Fade didn't kill him because it needed him for something the obviously only he could do. Again, it was almost as if it could read his mind. Could it? "You are summoned. But do not think yourself to be above any other human scum. You can be replaced as easily as could any weapon made by the hands of men. Your father has worked with your summoner before. You were chosen only because of your name. Go to Fal Moran. He will meet you at the 'Borderman's Hope' in three days. Your room has been picked and is waiting for you." The Myrddraal walked behind him and was gone into the shadows.

Dagan noticed that his hands were clenched. There was still fear in him. It wasn't the Eyeless anymore. There were few men who could ever have hired his father for anything, unless it was when he was young. But whoever this was obviously had known him at his apex if he trusted that much in a name. Now not only would he have to meet with a man so powerful as to command his father, but also he now had to live up to those lofty expectations... or probably die trying.

Dagan looked out from the top of the city walls. For a full mile north, the grass was kept short. Past that was a cold dark forest. Past even that was the Blight, where his Masters were plotting and planning. It was still hard to imagine that the Chosen were out there… somewhere. He was used to Trollocs and Myddraal and Dragkhar, but the thought of the Chosen was unnerving to say the least. One of the Eyeless had actually spoken to him. And Friends of the Dark were commonplace. He knew of only a few, as was allowed in any Darkfriend Circle. They were his peers, and in many ways inferior to him. He had only been a Friend of the Dark for three years, but he was also a soldier, and had the favor of an exreamly high ranking Friend. Xander do’Rain was the one who showed him the way. In a way, though, his path to the Shadow had started much earlier.

He was the son of another high ranking Darkfriend, supposedly as high as one could get since the days of the Trolloc Wars and the powerful Dreadlord. His father was the Master of the Order of assassins, a blademaster of the highest caliber. He never knew the man, though Peaten al’Kar knew his son. He had watched over him since birth, and Xander since he was very young. Xander was his father’s Apprentice, and eventually became the second in command of that very order after Peaten’s death.

Three years ago, Xander came to him and persuaded him to the Dark. Dagan had the dagger that was given to him that night still hidden in a trunk in his mother’s house. It was his father’s once, one of the many things Xander managed to salvage after Peaten’s death. Xander had said there were others, some of which he brought back, small bits of armor… the hard leather mask he always wore. He could do little with those, his father was a larger than normal man. His armplates could fit around an average man’s leg. Xander had described him as a Trolloc minus 2 feet. There were more items promised, but he had not seen the Illianer in over a year.

He looked over at the young men in his command. Eight years in the army had given him the rank of Squad Leader, one of the youngest in recent history. He knew somehow his future would be one of commanding men, but not for Shienar. His armies would fight side with Trollocs and Myrddraal. He couldn’t help but wonder which of these men would be fighting with him. Xander had told him he wasn’t the only Friend of the Dark in Shienar’s army. He had learned now that they looked just like any other person. In fact, his Circle Leader was a grandmotherly woman that had been in the Shadow for over 40 years.

“Shift change.†He barked. “Get back to the barracks and get some rest.†He would get no such luxury. Dagan had other duties to fulfill.

Dagan al’Kar

Dark Initiate

cool... thanks

I'll try my post again

cool, I'm in

hmm that might be fun.

and acctually sammael in shienar would be perfect... he's a military man and I'm going to be a dark soldier.... beeeeery eeeenterestiiing

so how retro is it? My character is only 25 and has only been a soldier for 8-ish years.

ummm... why do I need special permission to post?

are there any RPs going on in Shienar right now... prefferably with the army? I just made a new Darkfriend character thats a soldier in Fal Dara. If not, I suppose I'll have to wander the Blight or something for a while

what email?

Peaten was the "Isam" half of Slayer... unless someone stole my character's name, in which case hell will be raised. Dagan was fathered when Peaten was still young. I don't have the books on hand so I can't point out exact dates... but Peaten was supposed to be about 50ish, the same age as Isam and Lan in the books. I have no idea if thats still holding up in this timeline (acctually if it is, I'd like my Slayer back) In my mind, Peaten died about 10 years ago-ish. This bio takes place maybe 3 years before the present. Xander died about a year ago while posing as a spy in the Band. If you'd really like, I can make out a family/Xander timeline according to how the storyline was when I left. I didn't know if this was the same RP or not.

Name: Dagan al’Kar

Age: 25

Birthplace: Fal Dara

Height: 6’1â€

Weight: 185 lbs

Dagan is the only son of a seamstress named Shari, who raised him by herself his entire life. He knew his father as only a name, Peaten al’Kar, a dark assassin who fathered many children in his travels. Dagan was the first of these, and watched the most closely from afar. His mannerisms are in every way identical to Peaten’s. Though a man of good intentions (at least early on in life), he often lets a hot temper get the better of him.

As a boy, he was always in trouble. Fights were the most common cause of his troubles, often with the wrong kind of people. When he was 17, he got into an argument with soldiers in a tavern. Feeling disrespected, Dagan challenged them. It was not long before he was arrested and put into the prison of Fal Dara keep for the third time. After talking to his mother, as he was still a boy, it was decided that he be enlisted into the army of Shienar. This was a life changing move for Dagan. The hot-headed youth was repeatedly disciplined for his actions. Slowly but surely, the boy became a man.

After over two years of repeated trouble and discipline, Dagan had become a model soldier. He excelled in all aspects of battle and embraced them. It wasn’t until yet another year he was changed once again. Three years of training had finally made him battle-ready… maybe too much so. His first trip into the Blight was beautiful to him. The sounds and the smells of battle enthralled him. It was a place where his native passion and years of anger could finally come out. His first taste of blood was exhilarating. Afterwards, he was slowly returning to his old ways.

When he was 21, the final piece of his downfall was set. In the back alleys of Fal Dara, he was attacked by two men. With both subdued, he gave them each a chance to leave before he arrested them, because they looked like beggars and he had pity on them.

“The Great Lord take you.†One spat.

“Darkfriends!†Dagan unsheathed his sword, “I should kill you now.â€

“Do it.†Another voice came from behind him. “They do be scum. The lowest of the low.â€

Dagan turned around to see a short man, with no visible weapon. His face though, was clearly one that had no fear in it, even with a sword in his face. “Are you one of them?â€

“One of them? If you mean a sad beggar that only half believes in the Dark… no. But if you do mean a Friend of the Dark… that I do be.†Before Dagan could raise his sword all the way, the man had his wrist pinned up to the wall with one hand, and his throat wit the other. “I do be here to help you. Do no make me kill you. Your father did trust me to look after you.â€

“You know my father?†Dagan struggled to get loose, but the man’s grip was like a vise. “Who are you? My father would never associate with… one of you.â€

“You do no have any clue who your father was. He…â€

“Was? You mean he’s dead?â€

“Aye. And I did see it with my own eyes, so it do be true. He was did be my Master, and I his Apprentice. My name do be Xander do’Rain. Peaten was the greatest swordsman I did ever see… one of the best since Jaerom himself. He died fighting one of those Witches pets, the best they have had in since Jaerom. Peaten was sent to kill only the best… only those worthy of his services. It was the best fight I did ever see.†He let go of Dagan as he reached behind him. He held a wicked looking dagger, with the blade over a foot long. It was curved at the tip and serrated at the base. It was masterfully forged, better made and probably more expensive than any sword in Fal Dara. “It was one of his. He did want you to have his things. Some may take some time to get back… his ashanderei the Warder did take back to the Witches. Forged in Thakan’dar it was. The greatest of all weapons forged since the Age of Legends.â€

“So why now? What do you want from me?â€

“Of all of his children… you did be his favorite. We did be watching you grow up whenever we could. He did see much of him in you… and you were the first.â€

Dagan could hardly see. He couldn’t have been more stunned if the man had punched him. “I… I couldn’t… I’m not like… that.â€

“He did want you to become one of us. I did see you over the years. You do be restricted by this rag tag army. Who is one man to tell another how to act… what to feel? Your father did make the same decision, as did I. You do be a man, act like it. The only rules I do follow do be my own, and those of the Great Lord, of course.â€

“I… I can’t. This is too much. My father… Can you teach me? To be like him?â€

“Only if you turn… if you truly turn, heart and soul to the Great Lord of the Dark.â€

Dagan sank to his knees, half involuntarily. “I pledge my soul to the Great Lord of the Dark. I will kill the man that killed him. If it takes pledging my soul and forsaking the Light… I will get revenge.â€

“Good.†Xander pulled Dagan to his feet. “I can no teach you… not now. The leader of this Circle will contact you soon. He will tell you more about the rules for this particular circle. As Peaten’s son, your name may become known to higher circles. But do no think your name will save you. Those that know it will respect it. But to the Eyeless, a name means nothing. Peaten al’Kar killed Myddraal, Dagan does not. To them, you are nothing but a worm. To the Chosen, you are less.â€

Dagan almost fell to his knees again. “The Forsaken are loose. But how? And what would they want with me?â€

“The Chosen may find some interest in you because you are an insider in one of their enemy’s armies. Do no think you are the only one. But I repeat, you are less than nothing to them. Even your father was nothing more than a fancy weapon in their arsenal. The son of al’Kar may have a more dangerous path through the ranks than the father did.â€

Note: about the ashanderei... it was a weapon one of my characters had way back when. It was approved because of IC he was the highest ranking Darkfriend/Assassin there was. If I can't end up getting it back later on, its locked up in the Tower anyways and i'll never bring it up IC again.

Dagan al'Kar

Friend of the Dark

*pokes Mr T in the chest* no hostile takeovers of my favorite org without paying me off first

well, I don't yet. I'm trying to figure out what I want to be

its Jhae! howdy stranger *winks*

Im here... for one last shot at activity. My only problem is, I don't know who I want to be. A lowly Darkfriend, maybe. A lacky. Maybe.

The Ghost of Peaten al'Kar

former 1/2 of Slayer

also the Ghost of Xander do'Rain

former Master of Instruction