Innocence

Discussion in 'Create-A-Hat' started by Tojo, Dec 3, 2012.

  1. Tojo

    Tojo Existential Complex

    Disclaimer: This will be a fairly long text post. There will be a TLDR for the contest entry at the bottom for the judges or if you dont have the time to read this, but i urge to take your time take a look at the story. Thank you and Enjoy. Oh and im pretty bad at dialogue, so i apologize in advance for bad or the lack of dialogue. Critique is always welcome.

    *Knock* *Knock* "Blacksmith! Blacksmith! Are you there, are you finished. Please answer me." A soldier pounds at the door of a blacksmith. He is nervous, not wanting to disappoint his lord or he may lose his head. The door opens and he is greeted by the young daughter of the blacksmith. She gleefully waves at soldier. The mother peeks from the corner of the stairs not sure if she should let in the soldier. The daughter takes the soldier's hand and has him follow her to her father's workshop

    In front of his forge, to the surprise of the soldier, a fairly un-aged man hammers the finishing touches into a finely crafted blade. A man of a few words and attentive, the blacksmith senses the soldier's soldier presence, pointing him to the crates of weapons and armour.


    "Thank you. I'm glad you are the best in the nation. These are very beautiful swords. Who knows how much these will help though. If we fail..... It will be good to know it was not your fault."

    "But how do you know you will there is nothing more i could do." The soldier stares thinking over the question. He ignores it.In the small province of Aian there is much strife and it must defend itself from its larger neighbors Mizu and Kasai. The weapons of Aian are the best in the land, but the lord is unsure with even the best they will be able to take on the combined might of his neighbors.


    "I will let the lord know if you can be of anymore assistance." The soldier collects the weapons shipment, leaving as quickly as he came.


    "Papa, who was that, what were in the boxes?" The father looks down at his daughter, catching her in the middle of a yawn. He smiles, patting her black hair as they walk back into the living room.

    "Momma, papa is done. Can we eat now?" The day ends and news of the battle will be arriving soon.

    Out of breath, the soldier from the day before arrives at the home late in the night.

    "Blacksmith..Blacksmith it is I. There is something urgent. I must speak to you."

    "Who...are...you?"

    "It is I. Yuan. I arrived yesterday to pick up the supplies. We've won the battle, bu...but our lord... he is not satisfied. He will be here soon. Watch your tongue. He is not like before. He...he is less, benevolent..."

    "I heed your word. Return home. You are tired. I will deal with him in the morning."

    "But sir i fear for you life, possibly your family's."

    "Everything will be fine." Still out of breath Yuan, sees the confidence in the blacksmith's eyes. He catches his breath and stumbles home, still concerned.

    5 Hours Later
    The blacksmith is up, preparing his workshop for any request his lord may have. He ponders the warning the soldier left him. What could the lord possibly do to him or his family. He is one of the prized assets of Aian. What waited for him. A chill run down his spine.
    Moments later the entourage of his majesty arrives. A member of his court announces their lord's presence. The entire city has come out to congratulate his victory, but the crowd sense an aura unlike anything they felt before and are weary of approaching him. The lord stops off his palanquin and enters the home.
    "Blacksmith... I must thank you." A stern look and cold voice meet the blacksmith. The lord draws his weapon.
    "This blade cut through the armor of our enemies with such...ease... I must ask how did you accomplish that. A blacksmith of this caliber, would have been twice your age, thrice even."
    "I have talent and training. My father taught me as his father before him..."
    "Oh. Is that so. But if i do remember correctly your father was a terrible blacksmith, failing even to craft a single dagger in his lifetime. How could you have possible learned from him. You did something, something we both know is a terrible terrible thing."
    "Ho...What is that you want?" Something looms over the room changing the atmosphere. The lord smiles, knowing the blacksmith is powerless and now without dignity or honor.
    "I came here to ask if you would kindly make myself and my two generals some masks, 'special' masks." The lord cracks a smirk, as if it were a joke between two close friends.
    "And if i refuse?"
    "Oh well if you refuse then you refuse."
    "Then. I..."
    "I'll just take your family as compensation. Does that sound fair?" The Lord laughs, with full confidence that the blacksmith is unable to do anything, lest he risks the life of his family.
    "Okay. I'll do it. What are the specifications."
    "There will be three masks. Brutality, Doubt, and Innocence. Im sure you know what i wish the masks to represent with those name right. Tell me if you require any specimens or other supplies. You have a week to complete them or else you'll force my hand. Good luck." The lord turns and motions everyone to leave. The crowd has dispersed and the entourage is headed back to the front lines. With his plans in motion, the conquering of Mizu and Kasai will no harder than swatting a fly.
    The cold has overtaken the room the blacksmith is in. What is he to do. If only he were as great as his grandfather this may not have happened. If only his father were a better blacksmith this may not have had to happen. Past finally reaches the present, he has made a terrible mistake. Now he wishes he could go back and rewrite the past. If only he had not learned from a demon, an ogre, the art of blood forging. The ability to attune a piece of armour or weapon with a certain trait, by using blood of their victims in the smithing process.
    A letter is written requesting specimens for the commissions. Not wanting to collect the blood of criminals and beggars for they may not hold the required trait. What is to happen though. If the city or his family finds out...Who knows what may happen. Within the next few days, blood viles labeled brutality is sent with a note attached.
    "I will only give you brutality as it is the easiest to come by. Consider this a challenge. Doubt should be fairly simple, just look around pick someone who seems to never know what or why they would want to do anything. Innocence...Innocence is the real challenge. Who can you find that is still pure and has not seen the horrors of the world. Im sure there aren't many."
    "Damnit! Now he's toying with me. I have to find doubt and find it soon." A knock is heard and the blacksmith is hesitant. His wife heads to open it. Yuan is at the door, anxious to hear what the lord has spoken to the blacksmith about.
    "May i ask what the lord wanted with you after all this. Did he congratulate you, what is he forcing you to do?" A blank stare and nod are the only things that meet the questions.
    "Dont dodge the questions. I need to know. If it involves another weapon shipment then that mean we may have to go to war again. I dont want to go to war... I... I want to protect everyone, but i dont want to die away from home. Please tell me. So that i may tell my own family." A thought stirs for a moment in the mind of the blacksmith. It has to be done he says to himself.
    "If you wish to know follow me to the workshop. It is best i show you." Two enter only one leaves. Brutality a deep crimson, with the horns of a ram, eyes a of the most ruthless warlord is complete and battle scars by the dozens its mouth is covered in bloody bandages, Doubt, a lovely amethyst, it has ears of a rabbit, eyes glaring at you as if questioning you, yourself, its mouth is set to the left in a doubtful fashion. Now the hunt was on for Innocence, but who, who could possibly fill that role. There are only a few days left before his wife and child are taken off.
    Two days pass and experiment after experiment he could not find the blood of a man who was still considered innocent. He has tried full grown men, women, adolescents as well, but none has fit the trait properly. His murder count is going up and soon he will be discovered whether or not he likes it. The is only one group that remains. Children, but how low must he go to protect his own family.
    Another day has passed and his desperation grows.
    "All of the failures. NOTHING is working absolutely nothing. These children i keep harvesting are not it. These orphans, left and forgotten, have seen too much in their situation. What am i to do. Do i kidnap the children of my neighbors. I don't know what am i going to do...What was that? Is that a... child?
    Time passes and the mask is completed. A rich sapphire unlike anything seen before. It glows steadily with a dim blue light. Instead of horns or ears, there are two wings fluttering about with new life brought into them. There are no eyes, but a blindfold to protect you from the world and its atrocities. A simple smile graces the mask. But there is a certain familiarity to the mask. Who is it...? The blacksmith ponders this, but realizes the lord will be here soon to receive his request. He exits the workshop to notice the house is empty and cold. His wife is gone, his child also gone. A knock is heard.
    "Blacksmith, You do know what to day is don't you. Open this door and hand me my masks."
    "Yes m'lord. Walking back into the workshop he see innocence fluttering around trying to achieve flight, he picks it up and faces it toward himself and stares at it. More knocking is heard. Glancing over his shoulder then back at the mask.
    "What am i feeling... Who are you?" It's little wings wrap around his as if sensing discomfort and in an attempt to comfort him. The feeling washes over him again, this time with certainty. Before he has time to react the door is broken down.
    "Blacksmith you had better hand me my masks out i'll have your head as well as your families." Thinking quickly he makes a break for the exit on the other side of the workshop. He runs and runs, but he doesnt know where to, where could he possibly go now. Hours pass and he has eluded capture, but where is he.
    At the base of a mountain he finds a familiar cave and takes shelter. The soft beating of metal draws him close to the rear of the cave, Innocence's light making the cave easier to navigate. At the back of the cave he finds the cause of his troubles.
    "Demon, why have you forsaken me. My family is dead, my reputation ruined, everything i once loved gone. All because of your foul teachings."
    "You forsakened yourself. I merely passed on my knowledge onto a willing student" In the light of the cave and his daughter, he could do nothing. The ogre was right. He himself was to blame for all that has happened. Nothing he does now changes the fact he murdered people in the name of his family and lord. Losing everything, because of a secret that should have remained one. In his eyes only one course of action was left.
    The blacksmith wished for atonement. As a final request from the student he asked the ogre if he could bring about he punishment and wishes the ogre take care of his daughter. With a glance the ogre sees no child, but a mask, but realizes why the ogre must do what it is about to do.
    "You will make a fine hammer"
    A final nod followed by the clang of an anvil.
    Fin
    Oh boy did that take forever to write. Sheesh. I commemorate you if you read the entire thing and i thank you too. That was a difficult. Oh and im bound to get a couple of "why so serious" posts and i'd like to say its my writing style. I like dark and not so happy go lucky or comedic stories. Not saying i cant write them. its just they'll be of lesser quality compared to this one. In case anyone is wondering the final word count is 2,056. I like this story a lot. its better than some of the other ones i've written. Oh and Yuan was never supposed to be in it, the wife instead was supposed to die. but i couldnt fit it in as well as the child so Yuan was a good replacement.Oh and please dont kill for no art work im working as hard as i can. i've been busy as can be.
    This is the story description:Time passes and the mask is completed. A rich sapphire unlike anything seen before. It glows steadily with a dim blue light. Instead of horns or ears, there are two wings fluttering about with new life brought into them. There are no eyes, but a blindfold to protect you from the world and its atrocities. A simple smile graces the mask

    Real/Other Description: The mask is a deep sapphire color that glows dimly a blue color. The mask also has two wings about a foot long. i have no idea how many pixels that would be sorry. As stated before it has a blind fold covering its eyes this is aesthetic and doesn't affect the player. oh wings also have affect unless you would like to animate them to make then flutter about slightly. It smiles without a care in the world because it does not know what happens in the world. If there are to be special effects and buff i planned that the mask would provide a type of protection that would make some creatures and most humanoids nonhostile to you, say a poptop or viruorb or apex or floran, but to more massive creatures and extremely hostile creature it would not affect them. Now it would be cool if its protector (the ogre) made it into the game ,but if it does not then i would see as a floran drop like some kind or floran dungeon would house the mask somewhere in a chest or something.​
    *descriptions are subject to change.​
     
    Hebephryo and Aeronaut like this.
  2. Adam #

    Adam # Big Damn Hero

    This is create-a-hat, not create-a-long-epic-story-about-a-hat(mask).
    Still, good job on the writing :up:
    Did I even read this?
     
  3. KernelPanic

    KernelPanic Phantasmal Quasar

    You could write a story about the hat. That's in the rules. :)
     
  4. Adam #

    Adam # Big Damn Hero

    Oh nvm then, sorry :badpokerface:
     
  5. Tojo

    Tojo Existential Complex

    Haha I kinda suspected some would call me out for no art. Its only natural if I'm correct I'm one of maybe 5 people who made mostly text contest entries.
     
  6. KernelPanic

    KernelPanic Phantasmal Quasar

    Hehe, I created a 'hat' too. I should have gone for a story I guess (although there isn't much of a story) since I'm not a good artist. :-/
     

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