The Epic of Willdog: Part 2

Prologue

Modern philosophy tells us that once the body perishes, as does the mind, the concept of a "spirit" is held to be nothing more than a religious fantasy fabricated by those fearing everlasting nothingness. Modern Willdogophy tells philosophers to shut the HFIL up, and teaches the truth to those who listen, that all men contain three elements to their being, mind, body, and spirit, in order for a man to truly be destroyed all three of these elements must be vanquished. In many cases the destruction of a body leads to the destruction of the corresponding mind, though it is possible for someone of great will to maintain a state of life in mind even though their body has been destroyed. A spirit, it is known, cannot be destroyed, only banished. Some clans worship the power of mind over body, some the power of body over mind, and yet others the power of spirit over both, the truly enlightened however worship only Willdog.

Deep in the forest where no man walks, a clan are gather'd in their place of sacred sacrament. They stand together, a circle of hooded figures surrounding a stone bed upon which two motionless figures lay. Slowly they begin to chant in unison, they circle the figures, at first slowly, and then rapidly, their movements matched to the pace of their chanting. Suddenly a current of dark magic reaches up from the bowels of the earth and grasps hold of the two figures. A bolt of lightning shoots between them and just as suddenly as it arrived, the dark magic departs, the gather'd mind-worshipers cease their rambunctious behavior and the night air becomes quite still. All those in attendance wait, one minute, then two. When it seemed their ceremony had been for not, the worshipers began to murmur in despair. Suddenly a screech cuts through the air like a knife through warm margarine, one of the previously motionless figures raises his hand into the night sky before triumphantly raising to his feet atop his stony resting place. The hooded figures surrounding join in his screeching and fill the sky with the noises of their jubilant. The forces of Elias are resurgent.

Chapter 1: Returns a King

King Zaloba rode through the forest of Sgniht Live flanked by two of his finest knights. The previous night, the usually chill King had been roused from his slumber by an awful noise piercing the darkness. The King had managed to pinpoint its location to deep in the woods bordering his fine city of Alonzo and had this morning set out to find it's source thusly.

The stallion that Zaloba rode snorted nervously. Horses liked the woods no more than men did. It was known by all that dark things dwelt in the forest. It was rumored that even Willdog himself was not immune to the forest's ambiance, and that his powers were dampened in the woods and the area around it.

The horse-mounted trio reached a clearing in the woods, King Zaloba held up a hand to signal a stoppage to the other two. His purpose became clear when the two knights spotted the squat hooded figure facing them in the middle of the clearing.

Zaloba pondered his options and then slowly cantered forward to meet this mysterious figure. He stopped but five horse-lengths away from the cloaked man (he assumed) before calling out a challenge.

"What's up dude?" the King bellowed at the figure who must have been as wide as he was tall.

Upon not receiving a response the king tried a different tactic.

"Who the fuck are you?!" he said, his aggression now coming out.

The hooded figured did not respond verbally but instead slowly raised its hands toward the hood through which no light penetrated.

"I..." the figure said while grasping its hood, "am the Box." he said while lowering his hood to reveal a shiny bald head, and a face framed by glasses and a mustache.

The king was struck speechless, he had known the Box, in a time that seemed a million years past. The Box had been his own mentor and liege before deciding to take a pilgrimage into the forest to learn the secrets it held. Since that day there had been no word of the Box, and everyone, King Zaloba included, had presumed him dead, but the evidence to the contrary was now looking at him with eyes that seemed to twinkle with glee.

"I am here to inform you." the Box continued, "That my Lord had risen again. Your kind has ruled this city for too long. You have hunted, destroyed, and even verbally belittled those of my kind. Well your sarcasm and cynicism is lost on us, and now we shall return to our rightful place of power." he said whilst smiling widely.

"And who is your lord?" King Zaloba asked coolly, "You used to worship the One True God as I did."

"That, I'm afraid I can't tell you." the Box said, "But what I can tell you is..." he began, ".WAV!"

Suddenly a torrent of wind whistled from behind the Box, building in pitch and ferocity until it had an almost musical quality to it. The Box gestured towards the king and his knights, and the noblemen were thrown from the forest of Sgniht Live landing outside the gates of Alonzo.

King Zaloba scrambled out from under where his horse had fallen on him and looked to his two knights, both of whom seemed worse for wear. One of them was drenched in some sort of greenish liquid. The other looked at him before turning to the king and saying.

"King Zaloba, my brother just throwed up."

End Chapter 1.