by Geltab
The Man Who Would Kill Death
By
Geltab
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
The man who would kill death
Copyright © 2013 by Geltab
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
The Man Who Would Kill Death
The beat of my heart now lies as bones in the ground, the one who taught me to love is dead; and the light is gone from my life. All because of you Death, because of you. I will have my revenge on you, it will be in this age or another, this universe or other realms, run as far as you wish, you will feel the pain I feel. You, who mockingly sit on your black throne judging those endless souls streaming past your feet, seeking their peace, a smile on a skull tucked smugly under your black hood, I know you are in there, hiding behind that cowl you bastard! Hold your sickle in your right hand if you think it makes you strong, you are nothing, you escape because you run from age to age. When you run, you take those whom we who live, have loved. I will not let time bleed away in this life as others do, not a second shall be wasted. I will find a way to beat you, I will outwit you, and I will win. For Death is not an abstract concept, but a terrifying monster, and I will be the man who kills Death himself.
Durel's Vow
Year of the Crow, 6854
Durel was over three hundred years old when he rescued a small white dog drowning in a river outside of his tower. He lived alone, except for the creatures of the forest where his magical tower was constructed, as he had for the past century. Durel was a magus, from an extinct order and race of men. He practiced a taboo form of magic, dealing with necromancy and other forms of blood magic.
Durel was born a street orphan and raised by thugs. At the age of eleven he was mercifully taken in by a mysterious old man no one had ever seen in his village. The old man raised Durel as his own, teaching him ways of magic the small boy never imagined could exist in this world. Durel only knew the man as The Nameless One, he thought the old man just liked being dramatic, but he never learned his name. When Durel was forty the man disappeared, he taught Durel what is needed for several lifetimes as a magic practitioner, now it would be up to young the Durel to survive.
He not only survived, he thrived. Becoming the foremost magic practitioner in the known world, but he never found any love, light never shone on the creeping darkness in his heart. Everyone around him, no matter how much he helped them was afraid of his power. They would move to the other side when he walked down the street, if he walked in a store it was empty in minutes, life became unbearably lonely and empty. Power can bring loneliness instead of happiness when applied in the wrong direction. Durel lived this way for over a century, moving from town to town, city to city, until the people were too afraid of his power to even glance at him. He had tried to be kind to them, but simple lies and gossip spread, turning his name to mud. Humans naturally fear what they do not understand or cannot control, and Durel was uncontrollable.
After two hundred years traveling Durel visited everywhere you could go with a human population, learning every village by name. It took him longer than a normal lifespan, but he finally realized his destiny was to be alone. And so, he moved one last time just over a hundred years ago to the center of an ancient forest no one ever visits because they believe it cursed. He built a tower out of summoned stone directly in the center of the forest three hundred and fifty feet tall to see over the tallest trees, and there he lived...alone. Practicing magic became his entire life, improving his already immense power, learning secrets of the multiverse. Always there was a hole in his heart though, there was no love, no one in the past seemed to appreciate his healing or shown him any love despite his good and kindly deeds. He began to grow bitter with his thoughts, alone in the tower, and Durel grew into a being ungodly powerful. Anger filled him until it was him.
According to the stories one particular afternoon he felt ready and left his tower intent on walking to every population he came across and simply killing everyone. His rage had turned him into an emotionally detached, very dangerous being, capable of doing the evil his heart clamored for. Marching south along the riverbank that day outside of his tower he heard the first small yelp, he ignored the sound. Hearing it again he investigated, looking down he saw a small white dog, a puppy in fact, struggling in the rough water. This man, if you could still call him that, Durel, who was on his way to kill all of humanity stopped and watched. Centuries of bitter hatred began melting away the longer he watched its little furry face struggle against the water, fighting for its life. With one hand raised he turned his wrist and the dog was transported into his arms. He wrapped it in a warm blanket he summoned and turned back to his tower, never fulfilling his evil plans.
After drying, feeding, and watering the dog, Durel sat by his blazing hearth staring at the puppy. The puppy was sleeping across his lap; it was so small, so fragile and beautiful.
“What unknown power does this little fuzzy thing have over me?” Durel said smiling to himself, the first time he could remember smiling in decades. It felt good to smile again, he remembered The Nameless One.
That's how it went for the next fifty years, Durel and his little white dog lived together. They would leave the forest and walk around healing the sick for months at a time before returning to their tower, never accepting payment of any kind. Durel and his little white dog became famous, known as symbols of good in the world. Two countries even made Durel and his dog walking along a road the symbols of their flag and went to war over the colors! Thankfully Durel put a quick end to their bickering.
He named his dog Lady, he thought it fit her, for she was most definitely a lady, and he would talk to her in a language no one could understand. He would tell people it was because she was too cute for normal words so he had to create new ones; many people thought they were actually communicating, who knows? Durel was a changed man; those fifty years with Lady were the best times of his life. His heart grew so big there was only room for love and life, she taught him to love unconditionally. Every morning she would wake him with showers of kisses before their walk, the same time every day. He loved her as if she was his own baby daughter, she became his world instead of anger, hatred and dangerous magic spells. How could he ever feel angry looking at that sweet, smiling face? As much as any human ever loved their child, Durel felt about his little Lady.
Fifty years, never had a dog lived so long. Durel kept her alive and healthy with magic for fifty years until it just wasn't possible anymore. The one thing Durel could never conquer, the one spell he could never master, Death. It was the last thing out of his control. That day though, the day he lost his Lady, Durel's loving heart died with him. He instantly wanted revenge again, he felt the anger swell, this time it was not directed towards this world or any creature upon its face. This time it was Death, Durel would figure out how to defeat Death itself and bring back his little white dog, the only thing that ever made his life worth living, the only thing to show him how to love, and love h
im more than he deserved. He could not let this happen, he would not accept Death, Durel rejected the concept of Death.
And there he has been, locked in his tower since the day of his beloved Lady's death, trying feverishly to find and defeat Death. Tome after tome, spell after spell, text after text, it was all Durel did from the moment he lost his baby in wide eyed disbelief, he has been struggling to find a way out of Death's frozen hand. Over the years of study, Durel had convinced himself Death was a literal figure and not just something that happened. Everything he tried to verify his hypothesis ended in
