Post by cesmith on Jul 6, 2007 15:18:33 GMT -5
Series: Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction
Title: Kendra’s Story
Author: cesmith
Beta: None
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction and all of its characters were created by Blizzard Entertainment. They belong to them and were used without prior permission. No profit is made through this story.
Summery: Just one battle of many for the young assassin Kendra.
A/N 1: This story was written for the 11th challenge on the ffnetauthors dot proboards29 dot com message board. It is a 2 part challenge. Part one, write a story as you normally would and then, part 2, go back and remove ALL adverbs and adjectives and supply the precise verb or noun to say exactly what you want to say (MUCH harder than you would ever realize). This is part 2. I removed over 400 words from the original and the story suffers greatly for this.
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Kendra looked over The Stony Field, surveying the landscape. Nothing but rocks dotted the countryside, a place crops had thrived. Trees and grass were all that survived in the fields. She could see the walls that had divided the farmland. They were crumbling under the malevolence of Diablo. Evil tainted the breeze.
Inhaling, Kendra tried to determine the direction of the assault.
Her body twitched, facing the east. The power emanated from that direction. A sneer formed on her face, her bloodlust stirred as she realized the demons were headed in their direction.
“This way,” she whispered to Kyoko, who the moment Kendra had stopped had begun preparing for an attack. Kendra nodded in approval. Though Kyoko was but a youth, she was a veteran. She had proven herself to be a warrior.
As a Rogue, Kyoko had fought against the hordes at Tristram, and survived.
She had refused the temptation that Andariel represented. The temptation that her comrades had succumbed to.
And though she had known nothing of Kendra, except she had passed the challenge to kill Blood Raven, ex-captain of the Rogues, Kyoko had pledged her loyalty to Kendra, mind and body. Kyoko was dedicated to ridding the world and humanity of the demons.
‘Stupid,’ Kendra had thought of Kyoko, wondering what her motives had been.
After weeks of fighting, she knew that Kyoko had no agenda, except for a desire to correct injustices. Kyoko’s reason for taking up her weapon was because she was a champion.
Kendra’s motive was – power. She wanted power, so much that her body couldn’t contain it. Since she didn’t expect to survive this war, she had no plans on how she would use it. Power was her god.
They made a team, complimenting their strengths, in fighting and temperament. They relied on each other.
Kendra and Kyoko crept toward the trees that dotted the scenery. At the edge of the copse she waved to Kyoko to halt, wanting her to use the undergrowth as camouflage during the battle.
Kendra could hear the chatter of the demons and the clicking of the skeletons. They were beyond one of the barriers.
Crouching in the trees, she closed her eyes and breathed through her mouth, centering herself as she gathered her magic and wrapped it around her. She readied her weapons as the Carver came in to view. ‘Scouts,’ she noted.
Still squatted, Kendra crept from the trees, advancing on the demons. They hadn’t noticed her. As she struck, she took care that none escaped her blades, lest they warn the rest. She attacked with a flick of her left-hand, killing two. The third turned to run, but he was wounded as she sliced out with her right-hand. She didn’t have to pursue him; the poison killed him before he could take a step. None uttered a sound.
She waited but a breath and the army came into view beyond the wall and stopped to face her.
As she lunged into the fray she caught sight of the boss located in the center, his minions forming a wall around him. Kendra snorted at that. Did he think that would keep him safe?
By extending her arms and flicking her wrists, she attacked as she spun. She ended the lives of dozens.
Kendra could hear the twang of Kyoko’s bowstring. To her right she heard *thunk* as an arrow struck one of the Dark Rangers. She grinned as she killed a creature, and she watched in irritation as the body glowed with iridescence and reanimated to fight her.
‘Shit,’ she thought, ‘a Carver Shaman.’ Looking, she found him, distanced from the battle, working his magic. The Shaman was a weakling. She could kill him with ease, but the magic they wielded could raise the dead or sear the skin.
Kendra turned in his direction; but the DevilKin reanimated and continued to fight her.
She drew the power of her talent, the power she had labeled Fade. It was a skill her Master had taught her to deflect the damages caused by magic. While she used this ability, fire, poison, ice and lightning would have an affect on her; they could harm her, but the effects would be decreased.
The Shaman Carver, seeing Kendra coming, called all the Carvers and DevilKins to him and turned to run, leaving his underlings to do his work. Her target established; Kendra cut a path via the demons, concentrating on taking out the Shaman Carver. The Carvers cut at her back and legs with their swords as she hurried toward the Shaman.
As she reached him he let loose with his spell. The fire shot toward Kendra, the force slowing her. Her skin tingled and pustules formed on her face and arms, but her spell held the power at bay. With a stab of her weapon and a twist of the blade, he died, but not before suffering because of her poison.
As the body dropped, her attention became focused on the minions. She hacked them with her claws. Without their Master to revive them, Kendra could kill them all. Each death replaced her life-force the horde had managed to steal from her through the wounds that covered her body. The energy caused her body to throb, screaming for release.
And released it would be after she killed the leader. She channeled all that power into her weapons and Fade and barreled into the monsters, bellowing her challenge, heading for the boss. He met her in a clash of power. Her Gemmed Hatchet Hands glinted in the sun as she raised them to strike, but the demon countered with his club, blocking her attack and landing a blow. Her shoulder was numb from the contact and Kendra backed up to give herself room. The demon pursued her, swinging the club, this time connecting with her helmet. The battlefield echoed with the ringing, followed by Kendra’s howl. The rage was directed at herself for allowing her opponent to land a blow.
Kendra stepped back and went down, tripping over a rock on the battlefield. Assuming that his opponent could not protect herself: the demon raised his club, channeling lightning from the heavens. Bolts shot out of the weapon and toward Kendra. She felt her nerves tingle as though on fire. She could not control the spasms that swept through her body. But luck was with her and Fade held. She pressed her advantage and jabbed, her claws catching the monster in the abdomen. She shoved her claws in and with a sweep dug furrows in his skin. He dropped, writhing on the ground, struggling to raise the club for a lightning strike. Kendra struck, burying the talons into his throat and he ceased to struggle.
She rose, panting from the exertion and pain as the minions surrounded her and attacked. She grinned at her enemies and lost herself to the bloodlust that was consuming her. God, she loved the power as it coursed through her, caressed her, and stole her mind of all reason. All that existed for her in that moment was death. While others died, she felt alive. Blood covered her, coated her weapon, soaked into her clothes. It didn’t disturb her, or sicken her. Blood was life, blood was power and she didn’t care whose blood it was, because while she was under the bloodlust, it didn’t matter. She justified the massacre in the name of justice, to the righteousness of freeing humankind from the influences of The Three Brothers: Diablo, Mephisto and Baal along with the demons they had brought into the world. She justified her actions and killed all in her sight.
The pounding in her ears subsided, lowering to a pulse. She glanced around the battlefield as she realized how quiet it was. On the earth lay the enemy and their blood. So much blood that the land could not soak it up. Gold, armor and weapons littered the ground, spoils for the victor. These items would finance her quest. She may be saving the world but the citizens gave her naught. Traders had been known to gouge their prices, calling it gambling.
With a thought she looked around and spotted Kyoko, leaning over, throwing up.
‘Good,’ Kendra thought. She might retain her humanity with all the slaughter she will be forced to commit.’
Kendra watched her for a moment, allowing her privacy to finish being ill and approached her. Being an archer was an advantage for Kyoko, she appeared to have no injuries.
They greeted. Each one pleased they had survived the battle. The minute Kyoko saw Kendra’s wounds she reached into her pouch and procured supplies to treat them. Kendra would have refused help, but seeing Kyoko’s determination caused Kendra to permit her to help and she suffered in silence, enjoying the companionship.
Kendra watched Kyoko as she worked, realizing with amazement that she wanted Kyoko to survive this war between Heaven, Hell and Earth. Kyoko deserved the world that was to be. Kendra had no fear of facing her own death. If she died there were heroes who could and would carry on the campaign against the evil spreading over the world. She had met several in towns and had appropriated armor, weapons and gold from their corpses. Time would tell.
Kyoko put salve onto Kendra’s arm, wrapping it with bandages. “You look like a zombie,” she joked to break the tension.
Kendra worked not to smile, no expression showing. ‘Kyoko needs to be indentured to a Champion to ensure her survival.’ Kendra thought. Out loud she said, “Let’s go.”
They continued their quest.
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A/N: When I first started this challenge I thought the hardest thing would be to get an idea. Boy was I WRONG! Recognizing and removing all the adverbs and adjectives and rewriting sentences so I didn’t just cut everything (as I was so very tempted to do) were by far the hardest. I am sure I missed removing several adj and adv’s (as I was checking this part over I discovered two adjectives that had slipped by me). I don’t like this part as much without the description, but there are a few words I used that I was tempted to transfer to part one, but I think that would defeat the purpose of the challenge.
Title: Kendra’s Story
Author: cesmith
Beta: None
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction and all of its characters were created by Blizzard Entertainment. They belong to them and were used without prior permission. No profit is made through this story.
Summery: Just one battle of many for the young assassin Kendra.
A/N 1: This story was written for the 11th challenge on the ffnetauthors dot proboards29 dot com message board. It is a 2 part challenge. Part one, write a story as you normally would and then, part 2, go back and remove ALL adverbs and adjectives and supply the precise verb or noun to say exactly what you want to say (MUCH harder than you would ever realize). This is part 2. I removed over 400 words from the original and the story suffers greatly for this.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kendra looked over The Stony Field, surveying the landscape. Nothing but rocks dotted the countryside, a place crops had thrived. Trees and grass were all that survived in the fields. She could see the walls that had divided the farmland. They were crumbling under the malevolence of Diablo. Evil tainted the breeze.
Inhaling, Kendra tried to determine the direction of the assault.
Her body twitched, facing the east. The power emanated from that direction. A sneer formed on her face, her bloodlust stirred as she realized the demons were headed in their direction.
“This way,” she whispered to Kyoko, who the moment Kendra had stopped had begun preparing for an attack. Kendra nodded in approval. Though Kyoko was but a youth, she was a veteran. She had proven herself to be a warrior.
As a Rogue, Kyoko had fought against the hordes at Tristram, and survived.
She had refused the temptation that Andariel represented. The temptation that her comrades had succumbed to.
And though she had known nothing of Kendra, except she had passed the challenge to kill Blood Raven, ex-captain of the Rogues, Kyoko had pledged her loyalty to Kendra, mind and body. Kyoko was dedicated to ridding the world and humanity of the demons.
‘Stupid,’ Kendra had thought of Kyoko, wondering what her motives had been.
After weeks of fighting, she knew that Kyoko had no agenda, except for a desire to correct injustices. Kyoko’s reason for taking up her weapon was because she was a champion.
Kendra’s motive was – power. She wanted power, so much that her body couldn’t contain it. Since she didn’t expect to survive this war, she had no plans on how she would use it. Power was her god.
They made a team, complimenting their strengths, in fighting and temperament. They relied on each other.
Kendra and Kyoko crept toward the trees that dotted the scenery. At the edge of the copse she waved to Kyoko to halt, wanting her to use the undergrowth as camouflage during the battle.
Kendra could hear the chatter of the demons and the clicking of the skeletons. They were beyond one of the barriers.
Crouching in the trees, she closed her eyes and breathed through her mouth, centering herself as she gathered her magic and wrapped it around her. She readied her weapons as the Carver came in to view. ‘Scouts,’ she noted.
Still squatted, Kendra crept from the trees, advancing on the demons. They hadn’t noticed her. As she struck, she took care that none escaped her blades, lest they warn the rest. She attacked with a flick of her left-hand, killing two. The third turned to run, but he was wounded as she sliced out with her right-hand. She didn’t have to pursue him; the poison killed him before he could take a step. None uttered a sound.
She waited but a breath and the army came into view beyond the wall and stopped to face her.
As she lunged into the fray she caught sight of the boss located in the center, his minions forming a wall around him. Kendra snorted at that. Did he think that would keep him safe?
By extending her arms and flicking her wrists, she attacked as she spun. She ended the lives of dozens.
Kendra could hear the twang of Kyoko’s bowstring. To her right she heard *thunk* as an arrow struck one of the Dark Rangers. She grinned as she killed a creature, and she watched in irritation as the body glowed with iridescence and reanimated to fight her.
‘Shit,’ she thought, ‘a Carver Shaman.’ Looking, she found him, distanced from the battle, working his magic. The Shaman was a weakling. She could kill him with ease, but the magic they wielded could raise the dead or sear the skin.
Kendra turned in his direction; but the DevilKin reanimated and continued to fight her.
She drew the power of her talent, the power she had labeled Fade. It was a skill her Master had taught her to deflect the damages caused by magic. While she used this ability, fire, poison, ice and lightning would have an affect on her; they could harm her, but the effects would be decreased.
The Shaman Carver, seeing Kendra coming, called all the Carvers and DevilKins to him and turned to run, leaving his underlings to do his work. Her target established; Kendra cut a path via the demons, concentrating on taking out the Shaman Carver. The Carvers cut at her back and legs with their swords as she hurried toward the Shaman.
As she reached him he let loose with his spell. The fire shot toward Kendra, the force slowing her. Her skin tingled and pustules formed on her face and arms, but her spell held the power at bay. With a stab of her weapon and a twist of the blade, he died, but not before suffering because of her poison.
As the body dropped, her attention became focused on the minions. She hacked them with her claws. Without their Master to revive them, Kendra could kill them all. Each death replaced her life-force the horde had managed to steal from her through the wounds that covered her body. The energy caused her body to throb, screaming for release.
And released it would be after she killed the leader. She channeled all that power into her weapons and Fade and barreled into the monsters, bellowing her challenge, heading for the boss. He met her in a clash of power. Her Gemmed Hatchet Hands glinted in the sun as she raised them to strike, but the demon countered with his club, blocking her attack and landing a blow. Her shoulder was numb from the contact and Kendra backed up to give herself room. The demon pursued her, swinging the club, this time connecting with her helmet. The battlefield echoed with the ringing, followed by Kendra’s howl. The rage was directed at herself for allowing her opponent to land a blow.
Kendra stepped back and went down, tripping over a rock on the battlefield. Assuming that his opponent could not protect herself: the demon raised his club, channeling lightning from the heavens. Bolts shot out of the weapon and toward Kendra. She felt her nerves tingle as though on fire. She could not control the spasms that swept through her body. But luck was with her and Fade held. She pressed her advantage and jabbed, her claws catching the monster in the abdomen. She shoved her claws in and with a sweep dug furrows in his skin. He dropped, writhing on the ground, struggling to raise the club for a lightning strike. Kendra struck, burying the talons into his throat and he ceased to struggle.
She rose, panting from the exertion and pain as the minions surrounded her and attacked. She grinned at her enemies and lost herself to the bloodlust that was consuming her. God, she loved the power as it coursed through her, caressed her, and stole her mind of all reason. All that existed for her in that moment was death. While others died, she felt alive. Blood covered her, coated her weapon, soaked into her clothes. It didn’t disturb her, or sicken her. Blood was life, blood was power and she didn’t care whose blood it was, because while she was under the bloodlust, it didn’t matter. She justified the massacre in the name of justice, to the righteousness of freeing humankind from the influences of The Three Brothers: Diablo, Mephisto and Baal along with the demons they had brought into the world. She justified her actions and killed all in her sight.
The pounding in her ears subsided, lowering to a pulse. She glanced around the battlefield as she realized how quiet it was. On the earth lay the enemy and their blood. So much blood that the land could not soak it up. Gold, armor and weapons littered the ground, spoils for the victor. These items would finance her quest. She may be saving the world but the citizens gave her naught. Traders had been known to gouge their prices, calling it gambling.
With a thought she looked around and spotted Kyoko, leaning over, throwing up.
‘Good,’ Kendra thought. She might retain her humanity with all the slaughter she will be forced to commit.’
Kendra watched her for a moment, allowing her privacy to finish being ill and approached her. Being an archer was an advantage for Kyoko, she appeared to have no injuries.
They greeted. Each one pleased they had survived the battle. The minute Kyoko saw Kendra’s wounds she reached into her pouch and procured supplies to treat them. Kendra would have refused help, but seeing Kyoko’s determination caused Kendra to permit her to help and she suffered in silence, enjoying the companionship.
Kendra watched Kyoko as she worked, realizing with amazement that she wanted Kyoko to survive this war between Heaven, Hell and Earth. Kyoko deserved the world that was to be. Kendra had no fear of facing her own death. If she died there were heroes who could and would carry on the campaign against the evil spreading over the world. She had met several in towns and had appropriated armor, weapons and gold from their corpses. Time would tell.
Kyoko put salve onto Kendra’s arm, wrapping it with bandages. “You look like a zombie,” she joked to break the tension.
Kendra worked not to smile, no expression showing. ‘Kyoko needs to be indentured to a Champion to ensure her survival.’ Kendra thought. Out loud she said, “Let’s go.”
They continued their quest.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A/N: When I first started this challenge I thought the hardest thing would be to get an idea. Boy was I WRONG! Recognizing and removing all the adverbs and adjectives and rewriting sentences so I didn’t just cut everything (as I was so very tempted to do) were by far the hardest. I am sure I missed removing several adj and adv’s (as I was checking this part over I discovered two adjectives that had slipped by me). I don’t like this part as much without the description, but there are a few words I used that I was tempted to transfer to part one, but I think that would defeat the purpose of the challenge.