Friendship is multi-dimensional

by Sliske

Chapter 1- The Soul Altar

It was the year 171 in the Fifth Age. The legendary hero Xenia had died helping Arianne, Ozan, Sir Owen, and Arwan hold back a massive TokHaar invasion. The Mahjarrat threat had died down somewhat, each of them deciding to isolate themselves following the deaths of Lucien and Jhallan.

Arwan was the only one of the legendary heroes to maintain any sort of contact with any of the Mahjarrat, though he secretly despised them for the fact that the Mahjarrat Sliske turned his friend Akrisae into a wight. Arwan despised Lucien above even Sliske and Zemerougal. Lucien had flat out killed half of a group assembled to stop his ascent into godhood. And Arwan was powerless to stop him at the time.

With Lucien slain by a race of ancient beings called the Dragonkin, the world faced a new threat, for they want nothing short of the complete and utter annihalation of everything in the world. The legendary Staff of Armadyl was shattered by the dragonkin attempting to impale Lucien with it. The Stone of Jas was hidden to prevent the Dragonkin from getting any stronger than they already are.

But Arwan's mind couldn't rest easily. He wondered where the dragonkin came from. How they came into being. Why their power was tied with the use of the Stone of Jas. But more than anything, he wondered about the World Gate. He knew the World Gate was how many of the races came to Gielinor from many different worlds. But was it open? Could races still come into Gielinor? Can anyone even leave? Where is it?

His studies seemed to prove that the gate was closed, but he still couldn't rest easy. Even the fairies in Zanaris seemed to say that the gate was closed. But it wasn't enough for him. Surely, if he could travel via fairy rings to different planes of existence, the world gate would be open.. How else could Goraks gotten into the God Wars Dungeon, when they live on an entirely different plane?

If the world gate was open, he wanted to go to see where humankind on Gielinor came from. A bartender in the northern part of Varrock once said something about a place called Earth. What was Earth? Where is it? Are there more people there? He'd spent many a day since the ritual speaking with Azzanadra and Ali the Wise about that.

"Anything's possible, I suppose." Azzanadra said. "We came here through the world gate, but that was aeons ago. I don't remember where it is." He sighed. "Why are you so hard pressed to find that thing anyway? You use the fairy rings all the time to go to distant realms. What makes anywhere the World Gate can take you anything special?"

"You know as well as I do that the Stone of Jas is hidden. That's good news. But the dragonkin are a threat beyond our capabilites. You saw how easily they wasted Lucien. And he had the Staff of Armadyl! The same staff that Zamorak used to banish Zaros." Azzanadra flinched as Arwan said Zamorak's name. "If there's something on the other side of that gate that can bring down the dragonkin, I want to find it. Lucien nearly attained godhood. Hell, he may as well have been a god at that point anyway! If the dragonkin's power surpasses that of even a god..." He paused a minute. "If Zaros can't even do away with the dragonkin... We have no choice but to let Gielinor crumble before them. We need to destroy the Stone of Jas. Hiding it isn't enough."

"Zaros is more powerful than you could even begin to imagine, Arwan! Do you honestly think that my Lord cannot trounce these dragonkin?" Azzanadra asked, somewhat infuriated that Arwan would undermine his god like he just did.

"I don't know, Azzanadra. I was only born 20 years ago. I don't know what ANY of the gods are capable of- save for making the Wilderness the savage wasteland it is today. You've been around millenia! You'd know more than I would." Arwan replied.

"Alas, I was imprisoned during most of my stay here on Gielinor. My Lord was banished, and I was powerless to stop it from happening." A tear formed in his eye. "Zaros is capable of many things indeed, Arwan. I have no doubt in my mind that he can kill the Dragonkin." He paused. "Perhaps I should allow you to speak to my Lord. If it will put your mind at ease, hear what my Lord has to say."

"Sounds fair enough. But how can you contact him?" Arwan asked, then face-palmed as he remembered the task Azzanadra set for him not two and a half years earlier.

"Seems you remember the Frostenhorn, the Entrana Relic, and the Barrows Icon, Arwan. But it requires more energy than what you can provide to be able to converse with my Lord." Azzanadra paced around the Senntisten temple for a minute. "Arwan. Grab ahold of the Frostenhorn with your left hand, and grab the Barrows Icon with your right, placing both your right hand and the icon on the altar. I'll do the same with my left hand and the Entrana Relic." Arwan nodded in agreement, and did as instructed. Azzanadra muttered some words, and the world around them seemed to shudder, before they found themselves standing in an empty space.

"Azzanadra, my Faithful. You have returned to me. Ah, I see you have brought Arwan with you! What do you need, my servant?" A voice boomed. Arwan bowed upon hearing the voice.

"My Lord, Arwan has a question he would like to ask you." Azzanadra said in his bowed state.

"Very well, I will allow it. Arwan, arise, and ask thy question." Zaros boomed.

Arwan rose to his feet slowly, the might of Zaros affecting his movement. "Forgive me, Zaros. I've never been in the presence of a god such as yourself in my short lifetime. But I must ask you. What happened with the World Gate? Do you know if it is still open?"

Zaros chuckled. "Thou hath been forgiven, Arwan. As for your question, I cannot say that I know. I have remained here in this dimension for many a millenia. Since that traitor Zamorak stole my godhood. I have been slowly gaining in power, thanks to your efforts, along with Azzanadra's and Wahistiel's as well. When I return to your world, I plan to exterminate Zamorak once and for all. But that's beside the point. As for the World Gate, I know for a fact it was still open before I was banished here. If it is open now remains a mystery to me. However, the World Gate was located near the place where the souls of those who have died rest."

"The Soul Altar?" Arwan asked increduously.

"Indeed. The World Gate was located inside the altar, if I recall correctly." Zaros said.

"Did you know about the expeditions of the Fremennik? They destroyed all of the altars in existance. They now exist in pocket dimensions, accessible only through the use of a talisman. If the Soul Altar suffered the same fate as the rest of the altars, bar the Astral Altar, how will we get there without a talisman?" Arwan asked.

As if in response, white puffs of smoke surrounded Arwan, making it hard for him to breathe. As the smoke grew denser, he felt something in his hand. Something solid. "This is a Soul Talisman, Arwan. Do not lose it. It is made from the souls of a thousand Myriad." Zaros said.

Arwan and Azzanadra both gasped simultaneously. "But the Myriad... They were killed out during the God Wars! Their souls... they can't be reclaimed!" Arwan yelled.

"Silence!" Zaros boomed. "You will not address me in such an insolent tone. Be thankful that I am a merciful god. I have decided to spare you your life. As for the Myriad, they were just one of the many races I had amongst my legions. Legendary craftsmen they were. I was deeply saddened to see them go. Alas, as craftsmen of such a caliber they were, this is what they would have wanted. To be crafted into something that will unlock many secrets. Secrets even I do not know."
"Follow the tug of their spirits. Let them guide you to the Soul Altar, and the World Gate."

"My Lord, before I depart, I have but one last question for you." Azzanadra said.

"Speak, my faithful." Zaros said.

"Two years ago, I told you of the death of Lucien at the hands of the Dragonkin. What is your take on them. How should we dispatch them?" Azzanadra asked.

"Alas, I am not sure how any of us would fare. If they destroyed the Staff of Armadyl, as you say they did, I will not be able to channel any of my godly power into anything. Likewise, the Stone of Jas is hidden somewhere that even I do not know. So there are no god-forged items accessible at the moment. Bring me something that I can channel my powers into, and there is no doubt in my mind that I cannot dispatch of the Dragonkin. But until I have something like that, I am afraid that I would be just as powerless as you are against this threat." Zaros said, with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"Thank you, my Lord." Azzanadra said, bowing.

"You are indeed welcome, Azzanadra. Arwan. I have but one command for you. Do not die. You are still essential to my plans." Zaros boomed.

"As you wish." Arwan said, also bowing.

"Very well, Arwan, let's take our leave." Azzanadra announced formally.

"Farewell, my faithful." Zaros called out.

The world shuddered again as they returned to the temple at Senntisten.

"Well... That's depressing news, Azzanadra." Arwan said.

"Indeed it is, my friend. Perhaps a journey to the World Gate is what is in store for us. But no one knows what we'll find on the other side of it." Azzanadra said.

"Yeah. This is true." Arwan said, pausing a moment. "We need more than just the two of us on this journey. Safety in numbers, right?"

"I can talk to Ali. He'd want to go. After your last run-in with Sliske though, I don't think you'd want him to tag along to another world." Azzanadra replied.

"Damn Sliske to Hell, Azzanadra. He got Akrisae. He WANTED me." Arwan replied with disgust.

"Arwan, we've come a long way since you freed me from that pyramid. Forget what I said back at the Ritual. You've become a good friend. I'll be damned to Hell myself if I let Sliske turn you into one of his Barrows Wights. I'd sooner have him as my mortal enemy than lose an ally such as yourself. Even if you are short-lived."

"Thanks... I think." Arwan replied.

"So, Arwan... I know vaguely how Runecrafting works- Larriar had a long conversation with me about magic and it's ins and outs. I explained to her how we Mahjarrat are able to cast magic without the use the runestones you humans need. She was fascinated. She, in returned told me about runecrafting, and how it works. I'm under the impression that the Soul Talisman 'pulls' you in the general direction of the altar, right?" Azzanadra said.

"Indeed, the talisman will tug in the general direction of the altar it's attuned to." Explained Arwan.

"Which direction is it pulling? I've gotten somewhat accustomed to this new world, despite being imprisoned in that damned pyramid for millenia." Azzanadra asked.
Arwan holds the talisman close for a second, waiting for the familiar tug. It never came. He tried moving around, but the talisman never responded, despite everything he did.

"That's... New. I've never had a talisman act like this before. Even the Cosmic Talisman responds on the mainland. Which means..." Arwan went on. "The Soul Altar has to be in another realm."

"What? Another realm?" Azzanadra sighed. "Well, Zanaris seems to be as good a place as any to start looking, what with it being the nexus of all realms."

"I was thinking the same thing. I've used the fairy rings many times to teleport to one place or another. I have no idea what's in store for us, so I'm going to bring a stockpile of runes, just in case." Arwan said.
They walked from the Temple in Senntisten to the Grand Exchange in record time. The guards who usually guard the gate into the Senntisten ruins were off duty, so they used the gate that was usually reserved for the Digsite workers.
After purchasing several thousand runes, Arwan and Azzanadra made their way to the River Lum and walked along its banks until they saw the fairy ring. Stashing his runes in one of his pouches, Arwan looked to Azzanadra.

"Are you ready for this?" Arwan asked.

"I've been to countless realms myself, Arwan. Remember? All Mahjarrat hail from Freneskae, a land torn by millenia upon millenia of war. I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever comes our way." Azzanadra said with a smirk.

"Alright then, let's do this." Arwan said, stepping into the center of the fairy ring, disappearing from sight. Azzanadra followed right behind him.
After a few seconds, they arrive in the familiar realm that is Zanaris. Arwan stepped out of the fairy ring and took a look around. He'd been here before many times, be it to travel around the mainland quicker than normal, or doing various tasks for people both on the mainland and here. Still, he couldn't help but be captivated by Zanaris's beauty. There were pine trees everywhere forming the border of the area. They grew so close together, you couldn't walk through them if you wanted to. The streets were rather dusty, but the residential fairies saw no point in having paved roads when they float everywhere. Arwan looked around for a fairy, but there were none nearby. They were probably out doing their random errands, he thought. Arwan looked in the houses that the fairies had constructed in the trees in amazement that anything could live in them, even something as small as a fairy. Arwan walked over to the sheep that always stood by the fairy ring.

"Hey Sheep. How are ya?" Arwan asked.

"I'm doing quite well, thanks for asking. How about you Arwan?" The sheep replied.

"I'm pretty good actually. Gonna be doing some field work. Not sure when I'll be back." Arwan said.

"I know you and your field work. Stay safe, human."

"As safe as I can be."
At this point, Azzanadra looked at Arwan with a look of confusion.

"Did that sheep just talk?" Azzanadra asked in wonder.

"Why, yes I did." The sheep responded. Azzanadra fell to the floor, unsure of whether or not he was losing his mind.

"Sheep... Don't... Talk!" Azzanadra practically yelled.

"This is Zanaris, Azzanadra. Nothing should surprise you here." Arwan said with a chuckle. As Arwan was talking, a raincloud appeared above Azzanadra's head, unleashing its torrent on him.

"Stupid cloud..." Azzanadra mumbled as the cloud dissipated as quickly as it came.

"See, don't be surprised about anything here. Anyway, see ya later sheep." Arwan said.

"Farewell." The sheep said, walking off to the nearby wheat field.

"That was... Odd..." Azzanadra said cautiously.

"There's a talking cow here too, but the cow and the sheep don't get along very well. The cow doesn't get along with anyone... Anyway, let's get outta here." Arwan said.

"We should. Arwan, what direction is the Soul Talisman pulling now?" Azzanadra asked.

"Let's find out." Arwan said, pulling the Soul Talisman out of his pack. He held it out and was surprised to get a tug this time. "It's pulling towards the fairy ring. Maybe something will happen if we dial a code while holding this thing."

"Worth a shot." Azzanadra replied.
After several minutes of tinkering with the fairy ring, the Soul Talisman begins to float from Arwan's hand, glowing softly.

"Whoa..." Arwan said in wonder.
As the talisman got closer and closer to the center of the fairy ring, the glow became more and more intense, flashing from a bright white to a vibrant yellow- a stark contrast to the blue-colored grass that made up most of the area.

"Whoa indeed." Azzanadra said, just as confused at what was going on.
Once the talisman reached the center, it just dropped to the ground, still glowing the same vibrant yellow it had been glowing before. Once it touched the ground though, the mushrooms that made up the fairy ring began to glow the same vibrant yellow. Before long, the whole fairy ring was nothing more than a solid circle of yellow on the ground.

"I... I think that's a portal to somewhere." Arwan said.

"I'm sure of that myself. Where is the question..." Azzanadra replied.

"Only one way to find out though..." Arwan said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Let's go." Azzanadra said.
Arwan and Azzanadra stepped into the glowing yellow circle on the ground and found themselves floating in space.

"Look at the stars, Azzanadra." Arwan said.

"Amazing. Here I thought Zanaris was the most visually pleasing place I'd ever see. These stars go on forever." Azzanara replied.
The weightlessness they were experiencing soon subsided, and they found themselves in a cave somewhere.

"What is this?" Azzanadra asked no one.

"I'm... Not sure. And the Soul Talisman is gone too. It must have burned up while making that portal here." Arwan said.

"Yeah. Well, we might as well explore. See what we can find." Azzanadra said.

"There seems to be a village down that way." Arwan said, pointing toward a light off in the distance. Arwan noticed that it was nighttime, and a sudden chill went down his spine. "I don't like being out here this late at night. Well... I don't know how late it is, but I don't like being out here. We don't know what dangers there are."

"You have a good point, my friend, but I think we should walk towards the village you pointed out. It's as good a place as any to begin the search for the World Gate." Azzanadra said as he began to walk towards the lights.
After a few minutes, they were already at the village, but no one roamed the streets. It was quiet, perhaps a bit too quiet for a village, regardless of the time of night. Arwan pointed toward a building that stood out more than any other building around. It was a giant circular building that stood in the center of town. It had a sign on the front porch that read "Carousel Boutique".

"Hmm... Seems the people here speak the common tongue." Azzanadra pointed out.

"Yeah. Well. It's getting rather cold out here. Maybe the people in that building can provide a place to sleep for the night." Arwan said, fighting a yawn.

"You have a point. Let's go." Azzanadra said, walking toward the building.
It was a rather short walk to get to the building, not taking more than a minute from where they were. Arwan approached the door and knocked on it three times. After no answer for a minute, Arwan and Azzanadra turned around to leave to go the next house when they heard the door open behind them, and a rather aggravated female voice coming from behind them.

"Honestly, it's three o'clock in the morning, what pony is awake at three-" She stopped talking and stared at the people on her porch. They turned around and looked at her. She wasn't a person at all. But a unicorn. And a small one at that. And she was talking.

Azzanadra was the first to break the silence. "This has been a very strange day..."
The unicorn stared at Azzanadra for a moment, then looked over to Arwan. After another awkward silence, the unicorn spoke up. "Come in, dears. It's rather cold out here, isn't it?" More than happy to oblige, they followed her inside.
Arwan glanced around the building and saw some things he'd expect to see from Thessalia back in Varrock. After a moment, Arwan spoke up, choosing his words carefully. "Where are we?"

"Why, you're in Ponyville, of course dearie! But if I may be so kind to ask... What ARE you exactly?" The unicorn said.
The question caught them off guard. Arwan was a human of moderate size and Azzanadra was a rather big mahjarrat.

"We're humans. Well, I am at least. He's a Mahjarrat." Arwan said.

"A human..." The unicorn repeated with interest.

"Indeed." Azzanadra said. "A mahjarrat is kind of like a human, but we live longer and are much more powerful."

"Yep." Arwan said. "So do you have a name, miss unicorn?"

"Oh my! I'm so sorry humans! I've been so caught up in you that I haven't introduced myself! My name's Rarity." She said, extending her hoof for them to shake.

"I'm Arwan." Arwan said, accepting her hoof-shake.

"My name is Azzanadra."

"It's pretty late guys. You should probably get some sleep. I'll introduce you two to my friends in the morning, and we can talk about everything then." Rarity said.
Arwan chuckled sheepishly and put his hand behind his head. "Sorry for waking you Rarity."

"Yeah, sorry." Azzanadra said.

"Good heavens, don't be sorry you two! I could never let two... humans? Yeah, I think you said humans. I couldn't let two humans sleep outside!" Rarity said, her horn glowing. A soft thump was heard. "I've prepared the guest beds. Go ahead and get some sleep. We can talk more when everypony's awake."

"Thank you, Rarity." Azzanadra and Arwan both said, yawning.

"Not a problem!" Rarity said, yawning herself. "I'm going to go back to sleep. Good night." She said as she went to her room and shut the door behind her.

"So we're in Ponyville." Arwan said quietly.

"It seems so. I wonder if everyone here is a unicorn, or what." Azzanadra replies just as softly.

"Dunno. But let's get some shut-eye. We'll need it for tomorrow." Arwan said, drifting off to sleep.

"Yeah..." Azzanadra said, yawning. "Good night."

Comments

[nonameguy0010]

Wow.. I've been off of that game for too long. So many new terms lol. 2007 and earlier was the best time for runescape.

[Regidar]

OMG! runescape and MLP! I f**king love you!

[Mr Ted]

You sir have made me a happy Brony, add me in game I might just hug you somehow.

a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/560223_193183290791405_100002992076479_277591_2018630946_n.jpg
Comission for Mod Moltare by Bladespark

[LunaUsesCaps]

LMFAO nerd.

[Mr Ted]

583234
weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/oh-you-dog.jpg

[Sliske]

582955 Words cannot describe how much win is contained in your photo.

[Mr Ted]

Technically its Mod Moltares but he shared it on the Runescapes MLP forums and I stole it because relevance.

[time_to_brony]

omg...mlp AND runescape could this day get eney better?!?!

[Dr Freemane]

Glad to finally see someone brave enough to post a runescape/mlp crossover fic here.

Seems like an interesting start, though it'll probably only draw a small niche audience if this first chaper's anything to go by, given the amount of prior knowledge of runescape lore needed to understand half of what's going on.
Also, the dialogue of Azzanadra and Rarity could use some work, their casual manner of speaking in this seemed a bit OOC (particularly for Rarity, not much you can do about Azzandra with limited canon character development).

Keep up the good work, and hopefully this will turn out amazing, if only for us 'scapers to enjoy

[Sliske]

602613 I was half asleep when I wrote the second page, lol. I planned on editing it later on.

[Glare]

I had a fangasm dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Rainbow_Dash_lolface.png

[Pjoelj]

Okay, this is it. I'm going to make that crossover I've delayed for ages now.

Now for some (hopefully constructive) criticism.
Being (or at least, liking to think that I am) fairly well versed in Runescape lore, this was a great read. But for any non-scapers out there, you left a little too much unexplained. For example, how'd they know what a mahjarrat is? Or the frostenhorn? Sure, that knowledge may or may not be important to understanding the story (probably not, but I wouldn't know), but still I suspect not understanding these constant references might make non-scapers feel left out.
Oh, and remember Chekov's gun. Although the less crucial references to various parts of the game, such as the TokHaar invasion and the death of Xenia, provide some nice background, you simply don't put a gun on the stage unless someone is going to fire it, so to speak. Unless those events get more significant later on, the mention of those just slows down the story and adds more information for the reader to remember "just in case it gets important"

Either way, I really like both the idea and the story

[Sliske]

I'm surprised at how many positive things have been said about the story- given I wrote it when I was half asleep. Dunno when I'll get started on the second chapter. I'm away from my computer momentarily.

[Rakdar]

*screams* TELL ME WHEN NEXT CHAPTERS COMING!!!!!!

[ice blitz]

omg you combined runescape AND mlp??
encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS-BMrIrmkvh0YYnxp8_Y56cC_4kL1hViHLlkMiM_mvGa1q1noW

[Sliske]

Hmm... Looks like I really gotta get started on the second chapter... I've been mulling over a few ideas, but the problem is... I have a really active imagination... So chances are, I'll end up deviating from the original story. Just a forewarning though. When my mind wanders, I write and see where that takes me.

[Tygerburningbright]

looks over quest book odd just last quest old xena was still alive and kicking.