Success! Ha ha, who thought I could pull this off? Finally, the Meuri chapter is revealed!
Break 2 – Meuri the Immortal
If Astoria is the sword of Rym, Sakar is its shield.
Meuri was once a princess of the Sakarlands, a cousin of its Queen, Lydia. Meuri was at her cousin’s side when Balken’s army descended upon the Sakarlands and turned the plains red.
Lydia used all of her strength to protect her land with a great and powerful barrier. Even Balken’s Cataclysmic Magic could not penetrate it. However, after four days, reinforcements did not come, and Lydia could no longer hold Balken at bay. In her last breaths she instructed Meuri to escape via a hidden passageway. By the time Balken’s forces entered her throne room, the Queen was already dead.
Her corpse was ordered stripped and publicly displayed in a show of humiliation. When Astorian forces finally arrived, it came in the form of Prince Kruseid and the last remnants of his squad. Meuri wasted no time joining him to escape the sight of her shamed cousin.
During their travels together, Meuri and Kruseid grew fond of each other. Meuri, however, chose to set her own feelings aside in order to protect her friends.
When the Seven Heroes sneaked into Aria, Meuri alone fought her counterpart in Ranka the Venom Mistress and defeated her.
Meuri returned to the Sakarlands and became its Queen. She hoped to find and train her successor quickly, then marry Kruseid and join him in Astoria. This was not to be. A sudden rebel attack tore through Sakar’s army, apparently felling Meuri quickly before the uprising was put down by Astorian and Rhean forces.
Meuri has “survived” many attacks on her kingdom in the years since her first death. She no longer maintains an army, instead openly welcoming her attackers to challenge her personally.
Meuri: There’s no need to sneak around. Welcome to the Sakarlands. It has been quite some time since I last entertained guests.
Mina: Oh my, we’ve been expected.
Kazan: Who told?
Tyler: Hey, don’t look at me. But I like it better this way.
Mina: Good. I don’t know how long I could have stayed silent. It smells awful.
Meuri: Sorry about the stench. It can’t be helped.
Meuri sat placidly on her throne, in the middle of a dimly-lit room littered with dozens of human limbs strewn about its cracked tiles.
Meuri: I haven’t any use for cleaning, I’m afraid. What’s the point? It’ll just get messy again.
Tyler: It’s about to get messier, then! Sorry, babycakes. Today you draw your last breath.
Meuri: I see. Only three of you? Quite a boast, that. Let’s get this over with, then. Aegis!
Meuri stood up from her throne and summoned a shield of light with her right hand. She gripped a scepter with her left and took a battle-ready stance. Mina, the archer of the group, stood at the entrance and prepared her arrows. Kazan, the group’s thief, quickly ran to the side and concealed himself. Tyler, the leader and brawler, charged forward to challenge the queen head-first.
Tyler: Here goes! Eat my Megaton Fist!
Meuri: Force Barrier!
Tyler’s fist stopped in front of Meuri’s face. Undeterred by her barrier, he continued punching away, chipping away at its durability.
Mina: Let’s see you put up shields without your vocal chords! Silencing Shot!
Meuri: Skin Shield!
Just as Tyler tore through Meuri’s Force Barrier, an arrow flew straight for Meuri’s throat. Her Skin Shield, a barrier that stops all attacks just short of her skin, easily deflected Meuri’s arrow. Tyler followed up with a powerful right straight, which Meuri defended against with her Aegis, an ethereal shield that defends against any attack once before disappearing. After parrying the attack, Meuri swung her scepter into Tyler’s face.
Tyler: Tough Skin!
Meuri’s attack connected, but did no harm. From her side, the thief Kazan sprang to the air and sliced through Meuri’s arm with his short sword. The hero’s left arm fell to Tyler’s feet.
Meuri: Gh…
Kazan: Looks like it’s over.
Tyler: That’s teamwork!
Meuri: Oh, no… It has just begun. Regenerate!
Tyler: What the…?
From Meuri’s shoulder grew another left arm. With it, she gripped her former arm, which in turn held another limb lying on the floor, and so on, and so forth. Her three assassins looked in amazement at the absurd event unfolding before them. With a single movement of her arm, the chain of limbs moved as one and whipped across the space of the entire throne room, crashing into all three attackers.
Mina: Kyaa! What the f-
Kazan: Those arms! They’re alive!
Tyler: Holy crap, I heard you were a monster but…
Meuri: I’m more than that. I am an abomination. That you challenged me without the fear my title demands is recklessness!
Meuri attacked once more with her arm whip, but Tyler was ready for it and punched the weapon directly. It separated in two, but that didn’t make the threat any less dangerous. Meuri had dozens more limbs in the room to attach to her whip at any moment, and they didn’t need to be in range to be of use. Several arms held Kazan’s legs down and prevented him from using his speed. More arms grasped Mina’s wrists and pulled the arrows out of her satchel.
Tyler: Nice trick. But how about I smash all of these arms all at once? Tremor Stomp!
Meuri: Skin Shield.
Tyler stomped the ground and sent shockwaves throughout the floor. Meuri’s Skin Shield protected the arms, limiting damage to the floor tiles and Tyler’s own allies.
Tyler: You’re kidding me… These are all… YOUR arms?
Meuri: Why so surprised? You certainly weren’t the first to cut off one of my limbs. Such a feat is impossible unless I allow you to. And I have decided that you’re boring.
Meuri’s whip attached itself to a chain of arms leading to Kazan’s leg. With it, she swung Kazan into the ceiling, then slammed his disoriented body into the floor with such force that the entire weapon broke apart.
Meuri: I hope you weren’t attached to that thief. I suppose I should return these arrows to your archer.
Meuri formed another chain of arms, this time with a handful of arrows at the end. The massive flail cracked once, plunging the arrows at its end into Mina’s back.
Meuri: And then there was one.
Tyler: Kazan… Mina…
Meuri: They have only you to blame for leading them here. No, that’s not quite right… It’s your fault for accepting the order. But I wonder… who in Etrium gave that order?
Tyler: H… How did you…
Meuri: I am no fool, brawler. I know of the rebels hiding out in Etrium. But I, unlike my compatriots in Astoria and Verdant, choose to act with finesse. If not for me, they would have burned that fortress to the ground.
Tyler: Heh… I’d like to see them try.
Meuri: Oh? You have that much faith in your leader?
Tyler: You bet. I figure if all seven of you together couldn’t finish the job, then two is nothing. We’ve got Balken on our side, lady.
Meuri: You lie. Balken is no more.
Tyler: That’s what he wants you to think.
Meuri: No, that’s what “he” wants YOU to think. And I shall prove it now. Regeneration!
Meuri cast a healing spell on Tyler, mending all of his wounds.
Tyler: Hey, that feels kind of good. I think you got your spells mixed up.
Meuri: Oh?
Tyler: That was your last mistake! Megaton P-*cough* Ahh… What the hell? I never get… My HEAD! It’s like somethings… growing inside it… AAGGGH!
Meuri: I always wondered… why me? Why was I chosen?
Tyler: Ch-chosen?!
Meuri: I achieved the highest form of Cleric magic after reading a book known as the Tome of Eternity. I learned of healing spells so powerful… well, just look at you. You’re dying from being healed too much. I don’t seem to have that problem.
Tyler: Healed TOO MUCH?
Meuri: Yes. I don’t have a name for it, mind you. I thought of “Overheal,” but that sounds too direct. Then again, it’s simple. Easy to remember. But tell me, are you terrified?
Tyler: Ggh…
Meuri: Are. You. Terrified?
Tyler: MAKE IT STOP!
Meuri: Fu fu fu fu. And there’s the proof. If you knew what the true Balken was like, this should be no surprise to you. Because this is nothing but a trick compared to what he’s capable of.
Tyler: The… The hell are you talking about?
Meuri: The Tome of Eternity is part of a set of forbidden texts that grant power to those who do not seek it. Balken read the Tome of Calamity. My cousin, the former queen, gave her life to protect this land, and so would I, if I had what mortal men would consider a natural life. But after four days of withstanding magical bombardments from Balken himself, she died. And yet that very day I witnessed Balken celebrating, not at all tired from the siege. That is what sets me and Balken apart from the monsters of this world. We weren’t meant to be!
Tyler: A… aaa…. a….
Meuri: No more quips? I see you’ve lost the strength to even speak coherently. Would you like me to end it?
Tyler, unable to speak, tried his best to nod. But he could not even manage that and settled for blinking.
Meuri: I’ll have my servants drown you in the moat.
Meuri snapped her fingers, and several chambermaids marched into the throne room to carry the three bodies away. Meuri returned to her throne and sat, staring blankly ahead.
Meuri: Balken, was it like this for you? Perhaps it’s no wonder you sought to conquer the world. It’s so terribly dull. What else is there?
Meuri
Level: 200
Title: The Immortal
Equipment:
1. Sakar Scepter – The royal scepter of Sakar. It is a heavy, blunt weapon that can easily crush a person’s head. Has no special qualities.
2. Severed Chain – Actually the fallen limbs of Meuri. They continue to live even after separating from her body. They are granted the same defenses as Meuri herself and can grasp each other as she wills.
Next time, on Bardass! Brier and Coleen encounter Avery, a hermit alchemist with a terrifying secret! A shadow from Brier’s past reveals itself in Quest 11 – The Way of Alchemy.