 |
| LEEEEROOOY JEEENK...oh, wait—wrong universe. |
To the west of Parma lies Keld, the land of the savage and warlike Keldon people. In most times, the Keldons and the people of Parma hold to an uneasy peace—the Paladins of Parma have lived alongside the Keldons for a long while and have guarded their borders well. But every so often, an upstart Warlord leads his or her warband into Parma in search of raiding and pillaging or to prove his or her own might. I have heard tales of rarer invasions where multiple tribes of Keldons join forces to attack, but thankfully, I’ve never seen such in person.
It was in my first years in Parma when I joined the Paladins to push back an invading Keldon force led by a warlord named Gorzul—a rather brash young warrior, even for a Keldon, seeking to make a reputation for himself. He brought his warband of around a hundred fighters into Parma’s lands to find fame in destruction. The Paladins were not unprepared, for they had contacts amongst other tribes, and Gorzul had begun his road to slaughter against his countrymen. And so, they met his warband with a superior force of trained and disciplined soldiers, and Gorzul’s forces were pushed back with moderate losses to Parma.
During the battle I assisted the Paladins with my magic, calling lightning and fire down onto the Keldon army from afar. From my vantage, I had a good view of the fighting. For the most part, the discipline of the Paladins was an even match for the fury of the Keldons. But every so often, I saw a lone Keldon fighting with what seemed to be the strength of a dozen fighters, who could shrug off what would be mortal blows to others. These Keldons would invariably fall in the end, but the trail of foes they’d take with them was terrifying. I learned quickly to strike them down with my magic as as soon as I found them, lest their frenzy go unchecked.
After the skirmish had ended, I learned that the Paladins called these raging warriors berserkers, and that their capabilities were both well-known and widely feared. I did not forget them, and years later I encountered berserkers again—but under better circumstances. I sought out a more...well, “peaceful” isn’t a term that really applies...a less bloodthirsty band of Keldons, and found them in a tribe led by the warlord Valra. Not only was Valra open to trading with outsiders, she was a rival of Gorzul and she remembered the role I had played in humbling him. After I had traded away my goods—spices and other exotic herbs from distant lands and other planes—and arranged for the Keldon steel to be shipped to Parma, I spoke with Valra and asked her about the berserkers.
Valra told me that amongst her people, there were those who could enter the Berserk trance by themselves, and others that needed a little...encouragement...from the Keldon mages to do so. Some of those able to do it by themselves employed certain herbs or mushrooms to go Berserk, others simply worked themselves into a frenzy through chanting, howling, and sheer force of will. But it was those who needed assistance that interested me, and I managed to convince one of the Keldon mages to teach me the spell to send them into a Berserk frenzy.
I intended to wait until the right time to try out the spell myself, but ended up casting it on myself some months later when I was ambushed by bandits. I was unprepared, and Berserk was the first spell I could call to mind. To say it was effective would be an understatement. As soon as I finished channeling the mana into shape, I felt the change. My heartbeat was rapid, my blood pumping faster...my hand reached for my blade. A red haze of rage washed over my vision, and my fear and inhibitions disappeared as I rushed to engage my foe. I felt no pain from their swords and spears, and I laughed with the thrill of cutting them down. I did not tire, did not falter until all had fallen. And then, just as soon as it came, my strength left me. I felt as weak as if I had long suffered from a fever, and I bled from dozens of wounds—none enough to kill me outright, but I had no doubt that they would be fatal if left untreated. It was all I could do to drag myself into the undergrowth, apply some Healing Salve, and pass out.
When I awoke, I had no idea how much time had passed, although it was long enough that someone had come to drag the bandits away. I have no idea whether they had been friend or foe, but they must have missed my hiding place. Still feeble and weak, I began my long trek back home. My lesson learned, I have never attempted to cast Berserk on myself again.
Bear Warriors and Elite Soldiers
The word "berserk" comes from "bear shirt" in one language of a distant plane—warriors who eschewed heavier armor for bearskins and who fought with the strength of a bear. In battle they would go enter a frenzied state where they gained great strength and felt no pain, but at the cost of being unable to distinguish allies from enemies. The greatest of these warriors were even said to change shape into bears themselves, perhaps inspiring tales of werebeasts. The fearsome abilities of these warriors made them valuable as elite guardsmen and shock troops, though their valued status is largely forgotten and they are instead mostly remembered as ravenous looters and pillagers.
Shock and Awe
Berserk is a spell that sees a fair amount of use by serious battlemages. Its power derives from its surprise and explosiveness—a well-timed casting on a well-chosen creature can lay an opponent low in one fell stroke. Not even defending allies are proof against such an attack, as the Berserkers can often hack through scores of lesser warriors to reach their targets.
 |
| My first 93/94 deck. Well, other than the ones I put together in 1994, I guess. |
Danatoth of Alsoor
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
No comments:
Post a Comment