Paladins of Gaiaheim: Ragtag Bunch of Misfits

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Share12021-10-05 20:39:33

Posted by: Valhalla Erikson
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2023-02-14 01:23:46

Summary: A team of aspiring adventurers embarks on a mission they thought would be a cakewalk but they've come to find out that it's a mission where they're way over their heads. When they've discovered it reality came crashing down on them in a big way.

I know what you're thinking. Reminds you of a certain adventure group, doesn't it?

Don't worry; it's not that kind of story. The story you're going to get is one where the adventure group faces a harsh reality that their first adventure doesn't automatically equal success. Even if things didn't go their way they're now faced with a big question, what will they take from their loss, and how they'll use it to improve in the future?

The rating for the web serial will be Rated MA: Not a family-friendly series.

No relation to the Wolf-Crest series :glasses:

Share22021-10-05 20:49:59

Posted by: Valhalla Erikson
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Registered: 2021-09-07
Invites: 0
Posts: 301
Respect: +17
Positive: +3
Total time:
8 days 4 hours
Last visit:
2023-02-14 01:23:46

Prologue
Harsh Reality

Ever since he was a child he had dreamed that he wanted to one day leave his village and become a Venturi like his father Bjorn. A vow that he had promised his dad when he'd visit his gravestone on his birthday. He had no illusions, he knew of the risk going into it and he knew that whatever assignment he's tasked to do it may be his last but the potential rewards he'd get from it will make it all worth it. He envisioned returning home with his Venturi badge in hand and enough money to support his family. And joy from the villagers that Ragnar gets to continue the family legacy. Unfortunately, that joy turned into agony.

Ragnar awoke to the humming sound of an airship. He tried to move but each movement provided him with a sharp pain intense enough to make him cry in agony.

"That's the funny thing, your mind says you're no worse for wear but your body tells ya otherwise." A voice near him spoke out

Ragnar leaned back on the medical bed and looked to the side to find a rather tall and, admittingly intimidating-looking Orc.

He's tall, around 8ft tops, and no doubt a few years older when compared to Ragnar's 18yrs of age. His mind is still a bit hazy but he remembers that encounter within the catacombs. Where he and his crew were battling alone Ratigan.

"I-I really don't understand...what happened." Chihiro Xie reached a trembling hand down to her broken leg which was wrapped up and resting in a cast. "I-I've trained so hard. I've trained for years...I've practiced those moves hundreds of times." She closed her eyes. "I've beaten plenty of monsters! So how...how did I lose against that thing? It was one monster! One monster! I should've had that in the bag instead...I ended up like this!"

Setsuko sighed and took a shot. "That's the way it goes, kiddo. We're not invincible. Nobody is. No matter how strong you are, no matter how fast you are, there's always a very real chance of fighting someone or something stronger than you. There's always a real chance you could lose. That's life. That's just how it is." She poured herself another shot of wine. "But, silver lining, Zahgigoth made it in time to save you all, so now you're faced with a decision. How will you move forward? Will you wallow in defeat and marinate in fear or will you rise above this defeat and rebuild yourself, stronger and better than before?" The Drunken Master questioned.

She choked back a sob and gripped the bed. "I'm going to be a laughingstock back at the dojo*, aren't I?"

"Possibly but that just makes the question that much heavier. Now answer."

She went quiet for a whole minute while Setsuko calmly sipped her wine while waiting for her. She eventually nodded and raised her head up again despite the sheer pain in her body and the humiliation weighing down her mind. "I'll rise. I'll rise. I will always rise."

"That's my girl. Now lay back, sip your medicine, and get some rest. When you've recovered I want a play-by-play of what happened in there."

The sixteen year old girl raised an eyebrow. "Uhmmmm....that's...booze."

"Same thing. Now sip."

Chichiro nodded and took a sip of the wine shot glass she'd poured her, squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed it down. To her surprise she could always feel the pain being fading. At least a little.

"That's my girl. Now get some rest. I'll wake you when we return."

"Thank you..."

"Thank Zahgigoth. He's always on time after all." She stood back up and walked out of her room while Chihiro closed her eyes and tried to drift off back to sleep while she did her best not to think of the absolute thrashing she took from the monster.

*The School of the Ten Thousand Legendary Fists.*

"Father wouldn't have failed like this. He would have faced that monster and took him down no problem" Ragnar sniffled. Noticing that he could barely move his arms Zahgigoth wiped his face with a handkerchief.

"I know ye ur down rit now yet this is something ye had ta here." Zahgigoth or Z for the sake of the story proceed to tell the tale of Bjorn's first adventure. He should know because he was part of Bjorn's squad at that time. Recalling the moment when they had to go and fight a troll.

"Wait...A troll. Isn't that a Dragon-level threat?" Ragnar asked

"It is but the guild was short on men, it was a very busy year back then, so they had to send in what's available and we were it." Z explained then continued the story. The adventure took place within the forest and the group knew they couldn't just take the troll head-on. Stealth and evasion is the key. He recalled the time when Bjorn was so terrified of the thing that, when it tried to eat him. Bjorn practically pissed himself and it hit the troll right on the eye. It was the distraction the others need to attack the Troll while it was vulnerable.

"Ahhhh man that brings me back." Setsuko Caihe mused from the doorway. "That was one hell of a fight but Bjorn pulled through. He was the reason we won that one. If he didn't take its eye out and bury his sword in there, I never would've been able to pierce its skin. Thankfully, he did, so my Suiken-ryu Tsuraneuchi was able to shoot the sword through its brain."

"And...did that kill it?" Ragnar questioned.

"Not right away. Trolls tend to take a long time to die. Shredding their brains helps but they will keep coming. That's why cutting off their heads is the next step." She laughed. "We had a time getting his sword out of its head though. Bjorn had to force its skull open to get it out."

"Are you serious?" Ragnar asked.

Z chuckled. "Yeah, he did. He outright pried its skull open to get Crusader back. The point of this story of course is that even when things look their worst there is always a chance to win and succeed and you shouldn't allow one minor setback to defeat you. What happened in today's battle was harsh but you survived and you have a chance to recover and make a comeback. You shouldn't be ashamed to feel fear in the moment or even after a battle. But as long as you're alive you can build yourself and keep moving forward."

"What our Dominars sum up is that a loss is a loss but what shall we take from it going forward?" A young woman said next to him. Ragnar glanced at his fellow squad mate Jon Shado. Her arm is bandaged up and in a sling but she looks a little better off when compared to himself and Chihiro.

"Well, first step, train to be better" Ragnar stated

"Now you're learning!" Setsuko cheered before putting a straw in her drink and offering it to Ragnar. Jon helped propped his head up so he'll accept the straw then drink the beverage. It took him a good minute before he was finished. "That was refreshing! thank you"

"No problem" Setsuko responds, a little surprised by this as the liquor within the beverage was pretty strong yet Ragnar took it like a normal bottle of water.

(That burned my nostrils when i was within five feet of it. Pretty impressive tolerance.) Jon smiled

"I'm impressed. That's the strong stuff. It will fix you right up though. Just lay back and rest and let your body heal up."

"Sure thing. Thank you. Everyone. I'm glad everyone's okay...Priestly is okay right?"

"Priesty Girl is okay. Luwanna took as much of a beating as the rest of us but she'll live." Jon informed him.

Luwanna Summerstream meanwhile was sleeping off her injuries in her cabin while pretty blue sparkling lights danced around her bandaged body and slowly healed it.

"Okay, that's good." Ragnar withed with relief. His anger giving way to relief that they all made it out of there alive.

"There is one thing that I never got when it comes to yer ole man. He was a good man but he'd tell you straight up that he's no leader. That's not his calling. One thing ye have over him. Remember what ye learned today and one day you'll make a fine leader" Z stated as he watches the young Ragnar gradually drift off, taking those words to heart.

Author's Note: So what you've seen is a sample of what you'll come to expect from this series going forward. I look at Dragon Knights as me reconstructing the Heroic Fantasy approach by showcasing that the heroes in question are people. Most of them do get scared when fighting monsters and some of them don't succeed in fighting just one monster. Speaking of the monsters....

I also want to showcase that the fantasy creatures that we are familiar with have an edge to them. Some of them aren't easy one-hit kills and you need strategy and preparation in order to defeat them. If I had to use a tagline it would be this: 'If you think you know fantasy, think again'

Share32021-10-05 21:25:24

Posted by: SuperKamiGuy1
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Registered: 2021-09-07
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Posts: 627
Respect: +3
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Total time:
25 days 23 hours
Last visit:
2024-04-21 21:33:08

Valhalla Erikson wrote:

Prologue
Harsh Reality

Ever since he was a child he had dreamed that he wanted to one day leave his village and become a Venturi like his father Bjorn. A vow that he had promised his dad when he'd visit his gravestone on his birthday. He had no illusions, he knew of the risk going into it and he knew that whatever assignment he's tasked to do it may be his last but the potential rewards he'd get from it will make it all worth it. He envisioned returning home with his Venturi badge in hand and enough money to support his family. And joy from the villagers that Ragnar gets to continue the family legacy. Unfortunately, that joy turned into agony.

Ragnar awoke to the humming sound of an airship. He tried to move but each movement provided him with a sharp pain intense enough to make him cry in agony.

"That's the funny thing, your mind says you're no worse for wear but your body tells ya otherwise." A voice near him spoke out

Ragnar leaned back on the medical bed and looked to the side to find a rather tall and, admittingly intimidating-looking Orc.

He's tall, around 8ft tops, and no doubt a few years older when compared to Ragnar's 18yrs of age. His mind is still a bit hazy but he remembers that encounter within the catacombs. Where he and his crew were battling alone Ratigan.

He's tall, around 8ft tops, and no doubt a few years older when compared to Ragnar's 18yrs of age. His mind is still a bit hazy but he remembers that encounter within the catacombs. Where he and his crew were battling alone Ratigan.

-

"I-I really don't understand...what happened." Chihiro Xie reached a trembling hand down to her broken leg which was wrapped up and resting in a cast. "I-I've trained so hard. I've trained for years...I've practiced those moves hundreds of times." She closed her eyes. "I've beaten plenty of monsters! So how...how did I lose against that thing? It was one monster! One monster! I should've had that in the bag instead...I ended up like this!"

Setsuko sighed and took a shot. "That's the way it goes, kiddo. We're not invincible. Nobody is. No matter how strong you are, no matter how fast you are, there's always a very real chance of fighting someone or something stronger than you. There's always a real chance you could lose. That's life. That's just how it is." She poured herself another shot of wine. "But, silver lining, Zahgigoth made it in time to save you all, so now you're faced with a decision. How will you move forward? Will you wallow in defeat and marinate in fear or will you rise above this defeat and rebuild yourself, stronger and better than before?" The Drunken Master questioned.

She choked back a sob and gripped the bed. "I'm going to be a laughingstock back at the dojo*, aren't I?"

"Possibly but that just makes the question that much heavier. Now answer."

She went quiet for a whole minute while Setsuko calmly sipped her wine while waiting for her. She eventually nodded and raised her head up again despite the sheer pain in her body and the humiliation weighing down her mind. "I'll rise. I'll rise. I will always rise."

"That's my girl. Now lay back, sip your medicine, and get some rest. When you've recovered I want a play-by-play of what happened in there."

The sixteen year old girl raised an eyebrow. "Uhmmmm....that's...booze."

"Same thing. Now sip."

Chichiro nodded and took a sip of the wine shot glass she'd poured her, squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed it down. To her surprise she could always feel the pain being fading. At least a little.

"That's my girl. Now get some rest. I'll wake you when we return."

"Thank you..."

"Thank Zahgigoth. He's always on time after all." She stood back up and walked out of her room while Chihiro closed her eyes and tried to drift off back to sleep while she did her best not to think of the absolute thrashing she took from the monster.

*The School of the Ten Thousand Legendary Fists.*

-

"Father wouldn't have failed like this. He would have faced that monster and took him down no problem" Ragnar sniffled. Noticing that he could barely move his arms Zahgigoth wiped his face with a handkerchief.

"I know ye ur down rit now yet this is something ye had ta here." Zahgigoth or Z for the sake of the story proceed to tell the tale of Bjorn's first adventure. He should know because he was part of Bjorn's squad at that time. Recalling the moment when they had to go and fight a troll.

"Wait...A troll. Isn't that a Dragon-level threat?" Ragnar asked

"It is but the guild was short on men, it was a very busy year back then, so they had to send in what's available and we were it." Z explained then continued the story. The adventure took place within the forest and the group knew they couldn't just take the troll head-on. Stealth and evasion is the key. He recalled the time when Bjorn was so terrified of the thing that, when it tried to eat him. Bjorn practically pissed himself and it hit the troll right on the eye. It was the distraction the others need to attack the Troll while it was vulnerable.

"Ahhhh man that brings me back." Setsuko Caihe mused from the doorway. "That was one hell of a fight but Bjorn pulled through. He was the reason we won that one. If he didn't take its eye out and bury his sword in there, I never would've been able to pierce its skin. Thankfully, he did, so my Suiken-ryu Tsuraneuchi was able to shoot the sword through its brain."

"And...did that kill it?" Ragnar questioned.

"Not right away. Trolls tend to take a long time to die. Shredding their brains helps but they will keep coming. That's why cutting off their heads is the next step." She laughed. "We had a time getting his sword out of its head though. Bjorn had to force its skull open to get it out."

"Are you serious?" Ragnar asked.

Z chuckled. "Yeah, he did. He outright pried its skull open to get Crusader back. The point of this story of course is that even when things look their worst there is always a chance to win and succeed and you shouldn't allow one minor setback to defeat you. What happened in today's battle was harsh but you survived and you have a chance to recover and make a comeback. You shouldn't be ashamed to feel fear in the moment or even after a battle. But as long as you're alive you can build yourself and keep moving forward."

"What our Dominars sum up is that a loss is a loss but what shall we take from it going forward?" A young woman said next to him. Ragnar glanced at his fellow squad mate Jon Shado. Her arm is bandaged up and in a sling but she looks a little better off when compared to himself and Chihiro.

"Well, first step, train to be better" Ragnar stated

"Now you're learning!" Setsuko cheered before putting a straw in her drink and offering it to Ragnar. Jon helped propped his head up so he'll accept the straw then drink the beverage. It took him a good minute before he was finished. "That was refreshing! thank you"

"No problem" Setsuko responds, a little surprised by this as the liquor within the beverage was pretty strong yet Ragnar took it like a normal bottle of water.

(That burned my nostrils when i was within five feet of it. Pretty impressive tolerance.) Jon smiled

"I'm impressed. That's the strong stuff. It will fix you right up though. Just lay back and rest and let your body heal up."

"Sure thing. Thank you. Everyone. I'm glad everyone's okay...Priestly is okay right?"

"Priesty Girl is okay. Luwanna took as much of a beating as the rest of us but she'll live." Jon informed him.

Luwanna Summerstream meanwhile was sleeping off her injuries in her cabin while pretty blue sparkling lights danced around her bandaged body and slowly healed it.

"Okay, that's good." Ragnar withed with relief. His anger giving way to relief that they all made it out of there alive.

"There is one thing that I never got when it comes to yer ole man. He was a good man but he'd tell you straight up that he's no leader. That's not his calling. One thing ye have over him. Remember what ye learned today and one day you'll make a fine leader" Z stated as he watches the young Ragnar gradually drift off, taking those words to heart.

Author's Note: So what you've seen is a sample of what you'll come to expect from this series going forward. I look at Dragon Knights as me reconstructing the Heroic Fantasy approach by showcasing that the heroes in question are people. Most of them do get scared when fighting monsters and some of them don't succeed in fighting just one monster. Speaking of the monsters....

I also want to showcase that the fantasy creatures that we are familiar with have an edge to them. Some of them aren't easy one-hit kills and you need strategy and preparation in order to defeat them. If I had to use a tagline it would be this: 'If you think you know fantasy, think again'

Oh man I am so happy to see this story back! This is the beginning of a true legend with some fun and fantastic characters! I love their interactions together bro and the big damn heroes moments and interactions between the mentors and their kids that balance heartwarming and humor in equal amounts.