Related Stories:
Age of Zaros
Age of War
A Great Lament
Demon Tide



The serpent-tongued Sliske emerged from the dark corner of the Zamorakian temple. The great demonic leader, Gorath Tor, was waiting for him there.
“You summoned me,” Sliske stated.
“I did,” the black-skinned, winged demon replied. Sliske kept his staff close, the purple glow that the orb illuminated seemed to light up the place.
"It is a challenge, is it not?" he asked.
Gorath Tor nodded in response. “You will not flee now, I will crush you.”
The shadow dweller simply ignored the threat. “After the defeat of Thammaron, did Zamorak place you in charge of the demon kin?”
The dark, menacing creature growled beneath his deep breath. “During the Great Wars our lord had many generals, each with their own faction to-”
Sliske let out a laugh, enraging the demon. “You know as well as I that the demons follow one leader. After Thammaron died, I take it that you weren’t selected to be his demonic commander?”
There was a silence, but eventually Gorath admitted “no.”
“As I thought.”
“It was Delrith, but Delrith was banished to another realm. I am now acting in charge of all the glorious demonic armies.”
“And you shall you lead Zamorak’s glorious hordes to victory?”
“Hordes?” Gorath seemed to smile with his black, curved mouth, displaying his many razor-sharp teeth. “I’ve never heard such a cold, distant, yet correct word. Yes, I will lead our hordes as they conquer all of Geilnor, as they should.”
“There is one problem,” Sliske confessed. Gorath’s harsh, dark eyes narrowed.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Edicts of Guthix,” the Mahjarrat lord replied. “Anyway, let’s get to the reason you sent us.”
“No, first I want to clarify, Sliske,” Gorath said in his deep, demonic voice, although Sliske was the least intimidated, “the Edicts will be evaded. I know not about you Mahjarrat, but this Guthix cannot hold us demon kin in place!”
“Then you will bring destruction on the world” the serpent-tongue retaliated, “for a second time? As if the Great Wars were not devastating enough, you wish for an even greater being to destroy us all!”
“Fool, that is not what I said!” Gorath said in an angry fray. “Zamorak shall find a way to bend the Edicts, no matter what this Guthix being says!”
Sliske frowned with his pale, light skin. “Enough races were obliterated during the Third Age, a relative few now remain, yet you would have them wiped out, too? Do you not care for your own race?”

There was a pause, both parties frowning at one another. “You will not trick me into admitting my guilt, for I am guiltless. Zamorak is all powerful, all knowing. He will find a way around these edicts.”
“Let me show you what devastation was brought upon us during the last wars,” the Mahjarrat raised his staff, and in a blur the world around them changed from the dreary, dark temple to a vibrant, snowy valley filled with pine trees. The landscape was gorgeous, even Gorath, the war-hardened demon, thought so.
“I know not whether your memory serves it’s purpose, but mine does, and it remembers this land well.” The forests seemed eternally still, the snow and icicles gently resting upon the branches of the pine needles that surrounded the two warriors. “This is where we Mahjarrat used to live like gods. This paradise was once ours, until you destroyed all of it!”
Immediately after Sliske‘s claim, the ground began to shake. Fire consumed the trees that once were stained with a pure white layer of snow, and the glorious cliffs that stood over the valley collapsed upon each other, creating a terrible noise. The cries of thousands of dying warriors echoed through the ears of the two as the image they had conjured up turned into reality, a reality more real than anything the demonic leader or the Mahjarrat lord had ever sensed before.
“You destroyed it all,” Sliske repeated. Everything around them was still, from the scorched and blackened earth to the dead trees that surrounded what was once a mighty valley.
“I destroyed it?” scoffed Gorath. “I destroyed it? The war did this to these lands, not I nor the armies of my god-”
Sliske smiled at the irony. “Ha, and who do you think was in the war?”
“-Saradominists invaded, and-”
“You are hiding your shame,” Sliske said, his anger rising. “Had Zamorak not rebelled, Zaros would still rule over these lands! This…this once beautiful land…this once great, magnificent, beautiful land was our home. You destroyed it, as you destroy everything!”
There was another pause, this one longer than the last. Sliske was ready to get onto the reason that he had come; his patience was wearing thin and he wanted to kill the traitor of the Empty Lord.

Gorath once again broke the silence with a deep, low laugh. It grew louder and louder, and Sliske’s annoyance was growing evermore.
“You claim that we Zamorakians did this, do you?” the demon laughed. “I bask in your hypocrisy…I remember Carrallanger and what you did there!”
A wave of guilt and regret swept over Sliske, and he was immediately taken back. Was Gorath there to remember that battle, so long ago?
“I have not the power to conjure an image from my memory, particularly not one from thousands of years ago, but I remember the great battle of Carrallanger, and how you in your greed destroyed the city so that no one else could have it.”
“I destroyed it so that Zamorak would gain nothing, and I succeeded!” Sliske harshly replied. “Had I not done that, the city would have fallen into your foolish god’s hands.”
“I remember how fiercely you fought, and then how hastily you destroyed it when the battle turned against you! They say that the shadows you cast still blind those wary enough to travel there, and the shades you summoned still wander the ruins to this day.”
Sliske’s eyes began to water as his lip started to tremble.
“I did what I had to do…” he managed to say. Sliske briefly reminisced of the glorious towers of Carrallanger, the city he once ruled over, and the tall, great citadel that was in the center. He remembered the battle for the city very well, and it had broken his heart when he had to destroy it.
“Ah, the great, serpent-tongued Sliske, where are your speaking abilities now? You can’t hide what you did!”
“I know that what I did was justified!” the Mahjarrat was in a rage as he clutched his staff with both hands. A tear rolled down his bright, white cheek. “Whether you accept that or not is your choice. Now let us finally begin what you called me here to do!”
“Agreed. Prepare to die, for today I slay Sliske, the one who dwells in shadows!”
The black demon stretched out his huge arms and displayed his magnificent and terrible wings. He growled menacingly in an unsuccessful attempt to frighten Sliske. The Mahjarrat was unimpressed; he simply clutched his purple staff ever more firmly.
“You die this day!” Gorath charged and jumped at the mighty warrior of Zaros. With rage that he struggled to contain, Sliske pointed the staff at the demonic leader.

The second Gorath leapt up in the air to kill the Mahjarrat, the purple staff glowed vibrantly as a barrage of shadows shot forth from his staff. The spell struck the demon square in the face, blinding his vision. Dazed, the creature fell to the ground, waving and slashing at imaginary shades that danced in front of his vision. His mind became lost in another world, a world created by the spell; a world where the shadows blinded and confused him, each moving past his eyesight.
Sliske could only glare at the pitiful site. The mighty demon leader was on the ground after only one spell, his arms, wings and tail violently clawing, flapping and slashing at the imaginary ghosts that haunted him. The ruckus caused the top layer of the soil to form a dust cloud around the flailing demon. Within moments, Gorath’s body calmed down, yet his mind remained lost in the shadow realm.
“No, you are wrong about that,” Sliske said, approaching the demon at walking pace. The Zamorakian’s breath was harsh, each one resembling a growl. Drawing his staff back, the Mahjarrat lord lunged the weapon at his enemy’s chest. The purple orb sank deep within the skin, and Gorath opened his mouth wide as if to scream, but instead he simply fell over, dead. With his task complete, Sliske disappeared once again into the shadows.

Fascinating short story, I must say!

You gave a great description of the background details during their argument. You then finished it off with a brawl that showed how powerful Sliske was.

By the way, was Sliske sent to kill Gorath?

No, but Gorath summoned him to a fight. I'll try to clear that up better.

I liked it, just another one of Finway's stories which were awesome.

Do you want me to give my review on it or is my opinion good enough ?

Opinions are unacceptable. A review is absolutely required.

Crap, are you sure? I think you can let the old Fakester slide off the rail for free. Catching my drift?

And you made me laugh. Opinions are unacceptable huh? Well this is a fact: Your story was awesome.

Does this count as a review?

Well it depends. How low is your standard for a review?

It doesn't matter, just give me a review, Fake!

Technically I did give you a review since a review is one's opinion but if you want me to give you a thorough review I'll be happy to do so. It'll be given to you tomorrow since I doubt I have the energy to do it today.

I'll take the thorough review, and if it's not here by tomorrow, then I ought to...

Well I am very off with dates, you should know since you were waiting for a chapter.

You know, if you have this much time to make such foolish replies, you should write the review now.

Yes but foolish replies are easy to come up with while I have to think to write a review. And Finway you're going to be mad if I tell you something... (Should I tell you?) Or do you wanna remain calm?

I'll decide my own emotions, thank you very much.

But tell me!

I decide your emotions for you. And it's June. So the Story of the Month Contest is going to take place very soon. And you just made a fabulous short story. Maybe the one you submit could have a little bit more --- I'll tell you what it could have with the review I give you.

A little more emotion, perhaps?

It appears you have read my mind, but hopefully your story will be better for the contest even though this is good enough.

How do you think this story compares with my other short stories?

It's good but -- hey! You're trying to get a review out of me! I see what you're doing and it won't work. I can say though, that when this story pops up to "A Great Lament" it's not as good. That's just my opinion.

But what about "Foreshadow," "The Ape God," "Against the Will," "The Sad Tale of Lord Shadwell," "Stories," or "The Gifts of Guthix"?

I shall tell you tomorrow because now I have to go to sleep. 'Night.

Good night. Please do not forget about the review!

Yes, A Great Lament was just beautiful!

An absolutely fantastic new short story, Finway! Your way of depicting the scenery is really good, and the characters' wordings are just fun to read! Aside from minor, infrequent typos, your short story certainly kept me going with its great vocabulary and curious characters. I just don't know how to say it but, all of your short stories are the best!

If I'd host a Contest, I'd give this an 8.8/10!

I'm still interested in knowing what "A Great Lament" had that none of my other short stories have. Anyway, Fake, where's my review?

Well I couldn’t find any spelling mistakes or grammar from my last read. I’ll be sure to re-read and see if I can find any. I liked a Great Lament better than this because you displayed more emotions. And the fight scene in that story was marvelous. The fight scene in this book was good as well but not as good. You displayed no character change in this book and the emotions stayed the same except when Sliske finally had to kill Gorath. I don’t like that Gorath didn’t put up much of a fight even though Sliske was supposed to have dominated him. Another thing is that in the beginning Gorath summons (calls) Sliske even though one is a Zarosian and the other a Zamorakian. Hope you enjoyed my terrible review of this story. (Sorry not in the mood.)

You know.

I find RuneScape a horrible and boring game, but I admire the fact that JageX has put lots of background information to add a bit of a storyline. The gods, battles, ages, they really help more people play the game and let people expand on it using stories like your's, Finway.

It was more of a challenge, I'll change that.