Revelations: The Chronicles of Zerrer the Third

[Zerrer]

((I should mention that this story isn't canon; it doesn't relate to the 'real' Zerrer at all.))

“It’s pointless!”

A book was flung across the desolate library, coming into contact with a wall and creating an echoing clatter as it fell to the floor face down and open. For three days Zerrer had searched through the abandoned castle of Jorthan, making his way through at least two libraries during his time there. His frustrations were rising, so far it had been a fruitless search with nothing to show for his endeavours. When he came across that old man at the bar again, he would surely pay for the false information he spewed out more readily than the alcohol he was holding within his liver at that point.

Zerrer had arrived at the bar a week previously, in a new town he had arrived at called Lorgass. Zerrer often travelled around from place to place, making a habit of stealing from innocent passers by in dark alleyways and the like, and then moving on to the next town once his profile with the local law enforcement began to look grim. His large stature, reflexes, and strength always made short work of the victims who happened to wander through Zerrer’s territory.

Lorgass town was just like any other he had stumbled across before, but after brutally mugging a couple of hikers in the hills, he found himself with an excess of funds. A trip to the nearest bar was certainly in order. Whilst there, an elderly drunk had approached him, addressing him by the name Blod'Hren, a name that Zerrer had never heard of before. The old man stated that the resemblance between the pair of them was so striking that it could not possibly be a coincidence, the white hair, the height, the white eyes, it was all too similar. After telling Zerrer of a nearby castle where Zerrer Blod’Hren (they even shared the same first name) used to reside, Butz (The old man) disclosed that there may be more information in the castle as Blod’Hren was very much into finding any living relatives he could, especially soon before his untimely death.

So there Zerrer sat in the library, head in hands, trying to comprehend the mass amounts of information he had flicked through that was unrelated to his search. If Blod’Hren was such a meticulous genealogist, surely there would be some records. That’s when he noticed it.

Near where the book had hit the wall, a small passageway he swung silently open. The book had hit a nearby light fixture, which released a catch hidden in the stone walls, and opened the door. Eagerly, Zerrer rose to his feet and began to hurry down the passageway towards a private study where Blod’Hren had kept his records. The search through these records turned out to be much more successful, within two hours he had learned more about his own bloodline than he ever knew, tracing back over thousands of years. Zerrer discovered from the records that he wasn’t a direct sibling of Blod’Hren as he had previously anticipated, but rather a nephew. Blod’Hren was his father’s brother, or more specifically, Zerrer’s uncle.

Taking a moment to allow this to sink in, Zerrer read on with renewed interest. It turned out that his father and his uncle were both named Zerrer, but took different family names due to a technicality. This had come from a dispute within the family as to who should hold an ancient treasure, one that had been passed down for generations. Both Zerrer Blod’Hren and Zerrer Dahkhan (Our Zerrer’s direct father) were identical twins, an event that had not been anticipated. Instead of splitting the treasure between the two of them, it was decided that the treasure would only be passed on to the one who bore a son first, so that the treasure could then be passed on to the first-born and continue down the line. Dahkhan was the first, producing the present Zerrer, and as thus received the key to the treasure, but Blod’Hren, in a jealous rage, had slaughtered Dahkhan at the initiation ceremony and taken the key, hiding with it for years until he had the opportunity to claim the treasure without interference from the other family members. He waited in hiding until he found that many of the others had died, then went to a place called Feinheld Cave to retrieve the treasure.

With rage, Zerrer punched the table in the dank study room, splitting the wooden frame into two distinct halves. His own uncle was responsible for his father’s demise? This was a lot for Zerrer to take in as he had only just learned that he had a proper family. Blod’Hren had taken what was rightfully his, and he vowed to himself there and then that he would be the one to retrieve the family treasure.

The documents contained directions and maps to Feinheld Cave, which was obviously Zerrer’s next destination. At this point he was a bubbling cauldron of emotions anger and rage dwelled within him, yet he felt a sense of who he was for the first time in a long time. He knew he had a place, something to which he belonged, which was a first as far as he could remember. Heading out now with all this confusion would only cloud his judgement, so Zerrer decided the best course of action would be to rest in the castle for another night, then set off in the morning.

Travelling to Feinheld Cave isn’t the type of thing you could do if you fancied a quick look round, or simply wanted to go on a day trip. It took two whole days by boat to get there, and the boat left Lorgass town once every fortnight on a scheduled trip, only for those who needed to visit the island and it’s main village of Gusyor, known only for it’s remoteness.

Instead of waiting, Zerrer, who was feeling a little more cool headed than yesterday after a long sleep, entered the town and quickly tracked down the local sea captain who usually ran the fortnightly trips. Calmly, he addressed the bearded sailor.

“When is the next trip to Gusyor?”

“Sorry” Apologised the captain in a cheery manner. “There ain’t gonna be another boat for another six days!”

The next words out of the sailor’s mouth were inaudible through the splintered wood and glass where Zerrer had pushed his head through a nearby display cabinet with an impatient swat. Knowing very little about sailing of any kind, Zerrer figured he’d learn the basics as he went along, usually being a fast learner at these sorts of physical activities, so he leaped onto a particularly nice looking boat with large sails, and cast off into the water.

Luckily for Zerrer, the next two days flew by pretty fast. He’d got the hang of sailing rather fast, and the captain obviously liked to keep his ships pretty well stocked up on food so he sailed on with a nicely full stomach. He had plenty of time to reflect on what he had learned, and was actually rather excited to reach the cave and find out what this hidden treasure supposedly was. He wondered whether the treasure was still there, or even the key, as Blod’Hren could have easily moved them both in a desperate bid to keep the treasure for himself. Before long, Zerrer could see the gaping mouth of Feinheld Cave, around the other side of the island where the boat would normally be headed, so he sailed in with a sense of adventure keeping him alert.

A sudden jar of the boat almost flung Zerrer out into the water. The boat has stopped, berthed on a bed of sand well inside the mouth of the cave. Before him, a few metres up the bank was an unusually large door set into the stone backdrop of the cave, coated with symbols which he did not understand. He figured they must be family crests or something equally as relevant as he began to trudge up the wet sand, his feet sinking into it and making the short journey twice as difficult as it should have been.

“Stop!” A booming voice from above roared from an unknown location. “What brings you here?!”

Zerrer’s eyes jumped around, trying to identify a source for the voice amongst the shadows. Due to the echoes, it was much more difficult to figure out where the voice had come from. After a few seconds of searching, Zerrer decided to address the being so as not to suffer from any kind of surprise attack, and hopefully buy him a few moments to find the assailant.

“I am the son of Zerrer Dahkhan, I am here to claim what is mine!” Although Zerrer had never come across a person who could equal him in strength, there was a slight tremor in his usually bold voice due to the fact that he felt a little out of his depth here. Looking upward, he saw two gigantic blood red eyes scrutinising him though the darkness.

“So, the third Zerrer finally makes his way here. I was wondering when you would show up. You certainly look like your father, and your uncle for that matter.” The creature said as it descended towards Zerrer, revealing itself against the little remaining light. The dark scales shone a healthy shine as the creature showed itself to be a dragon, in every sense of the word. Long neck, scales, wings, typical dragon, except that it’s pigment was dark black. It was at this time, Zerrer would have readily given his soul for a weapon of some sort.

“I shall be your test Zerrer the third, the test to see if you are worthy to accept the treasures that lie behind the door. Are you ready?”

Unsure how to answer a talking dragon of such size, Zerrer stood aghast at it’s smoking nostrils. He stalled for yet more time as he looked around frantically for something to use against this beast.

“Why do you guard the treasure?” Zerrer queried, not particularly bothered about the answer, but looking for anything nearby that he could use.

“I am merely a guardian who resides within the chamber, a manifestation of power. Your ancestors have all fought me and some have won to attain the family treasure, a right of passage to those who are worthy. I shall live on in this cave, even if you don’t”

Springing into action, not really understanding the dragon’s words, Zerrer hoisted a rather large boulder from off the shoreline, and cast it in the dragon’s direction, scoring a nasty blow on the side of it’s head. The dragon turned its head and revealed a nasty looking wound from the strike, glaring at his opponent.

“Such dirty tactics are not usually in your bloodline. I’ll teach you the meaning valour” The dark lizard snorted, and then released a stream of blazing fire towards Zerrer. He leaped backwards towards the sea where the boat still floated, ducking under the cover of the water as flames rippled over head. The water around him began to heat up and bubble, causing him considerable pain. Zerrer held out until the dragon had to stop and take a breath, at which point, he darted out from the water, and dived for cover behind a massive rock at the side of the cavern, just in time to evade another fiery blast. He leaned against the rock as flames lapped over the sides and top of the boulder. Just then, becoming tired of Zerrer’s constant duck and hide tactics, the dragon grabbed hold of the rock Zerrer hid behind between his jaws, and rolled it out of the way, trapping him in a corner.

Without anywhere to run and nothing to loose, Zerrer began to charge towards the dragon as it readied another blast of fire, leaping to the side, and grabbing a firm hold of one of the spike around it’s head. The dragon bucked to the side to remove him, but Zerrer held on tightly, pulling himself onto the back of its neck, a place where the dragon could not reach him. He grabbed hold of another large spike which stuck out of the back of its head, and heaved mightily, feeling the spike begin to crack as it was hoisted free of it’s base. Once removed, Zerrer steadied himself due to the dragon’s swaying protestations, then plunged the spike into the back of it’s head. He repeated this at least six times until the dragon finally collapsed and fell forwards. Zerrer simply stepped off the beast, and walked around the front.

“Well…done. You have proven…your worth. The key …is yours.”

“But I thought Blod’Hren had the key!” Zerrer stated, confused and tired.

“He did…but he did not prove himself. He lost his life to…me”

And with that, the dragon closed its eyes, and flashed brightly as light beams broke through the skin. The dragon dissipated into the light, which then made its way towards the ceiling where a small hole resided. There, it would rest and rejuvenate until the next person stepped up to prove themselves.

In it’s wake, a large orb was left on the sand. Zerrer took the orb and approached the large door, which immediately began to creak as it slowly swung open, revealing an enormous decorative room. At the other end was a huge chest of lavish design, which would have made Zerrer gasp in amazement if he was that sort of person, but he cared little for intricate, delicate decoration, and simply approached it, lifting the lid to reveal his family treasures. The treasures which were now solely his.

Prologue by Addman

[3kul]

Wow, great writing as always there Addman!

And an interesting topic choice by you Zerrer, not at all like something I'd choose. *contemplates commissioning Addman to write a story about a day in the life of Joe Smith, an assembly line worker in a cardboard box factory, who in his spare time enjoys making standard issue cardboard boxes.*

[addman]

Oh you posted it? Glad you liked it Zerrer, and thanks for the kind words 3kul.