The Beginning To The End (Fishwolf & Lucas)

[Lucas Falkreath]

The sounds of battle echoed over the entirety of the village the sound of steel against steel echoed to his ears even as he moved about the house pushing his youngest sister into the closet with his mom, the echoes of their cries slipped through the cracks in the wood to slip to him as he stepped out into the war that waged outside. His bare feet touched the dirt ground, his jaw slipping to the ground at the look of the enemy that fought the villagers.....they weren't there mere shadows that moved upon the ground. He pressed his hand to the ground shakily and muttered lightly, almost scared like. The flames danced from the fires of the house and shifted to the ground crawling along the dirt and the grass trying to burn the target that had been laid out before them but to no avail. The creatures of darkness that swirled beneath the feets of the villagers all stopped at the movements of the flames and turned their frightful gaze upon him. He turned his back and began to run as fast as he could through the village gates and away from the scene.

His feet pounded against the ground as he ran, his heart beat in his chest like the bell that echoed for church in the morning. His legs pounded and ached as if he had been running for days, for weeks and finally once he was out of range of the village....the people that was his family, he collapsed to the ground. His back rested against the tree and his breaths slipped through his lips harshly causing the burning sensation down his throat, he didnt know who or what those creatures were they were just monsters.....demons.......what were they? His eyes slipped shut, his body falling still all except his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. His family, his friends all massacred by the creatures, by those shadows and yet he had no concept of what those creatures were but he would have to research them. He had to get up and make his way back......he rose from his spot on the ground and to shaky feet, his legs felt like jello but he stumbled forward back the way he came. He walked continously but the black smoke rising in the distance only destroyed the last tinge of hope he had.

His inner voice only continued to feed into his lack of hope, telling him that they killed him all raped his mother and sister and ripped them to pieces. He shook his head tears gathering on the sides of his eyes as he ran, he ignored the way his legs felt the way they shifted, the pain all he could think about was his mother and sister both crouched in the closet their fearful eyes gazing up at him. This pushed his feet further to pound to the entrance of the village the gates torn off of their hinges and the very building that were once there now gone. He darted through the village to the home that he once stayed in........he dropped to his knees at the sight the sight that would dance upon his mind days after the incident. His mother lay strung up in the air by what seemed to invisible wires her naked body covered in the marks of whips and claws, blood leaked from the wounds and to the ground leaving puddles beneath her feet. He crawled to her feet his hands placing upon the dirt causing him to shift back in horror, a small seemingly horrible voice of fear left his lips.

There was his sister beneath the shattered form of his mother, half of her body burned by flames, dark black scorch marks danced upon the left side of her body showing the pale white of her skeleton. Along the right side her face seemed to be twisted up in a fear like scream that caused him to scramble to his feet in terror and dart off in the same direction he came from, his body felt numb his insides turned in a sick fashion and soon he was collapsing to his hands and knees in front of a tree his lips parted and the fillings of his stomach spilling onto the ground with the tears that leaked from his eyes.....who would do this? Why did they target his quiet little village.....he moved to his feet and stumbled to behind a tree and whined lightly from his spot...what was he going to do now? Who would help him now? He was alone and would be from this day forth, he sat there until the sun set awaiting for the creatures of the wild to claim him.

 

[FishWolf]

Corina stumbled over the hill, away from the shouts and screams coming from the burning village, away from those creatures whose eyes burned bright red. Those shadows had creeped into the village from nowhere, and had immediately started slaying the villagers, using cursed weapons of steel and darkness. There was no mercy from those wraiths, no hesitation as steel blades plunged into human flesh. They weren't just wraiths. Corina thought bitterly. They were demons. And there was a ring of truth to this accusation. Those...monsters weren't human, more like creatures wrapped in shadow and death. They didn't even flinch when one of the village warriors had driven his blade into the creature's waist. Instead the creature had turned and had dispatched of the warrior as quickly as Corina could blink. Her grandmother had turned to her then, and said, "These creatures aren't of this world, Corina. Run from here, and never come back. Run! While you have the chance!" Corina was certain that everyone was dead now, and she turned back towards the village, watching the black smoke rise from the burning village like a phantom of death, confirming Corina's fears. It was lucky that Corina escaped, even though she was wounded. Corina's leg had been shot with an arrow, and there was a large gash that went from her cheek across her shoulder from a swinging sword. Corina still didn't know exactly what happened, or why, but she now knew that there was no going back, that she would have to leave soon. Her face felt like it was on fire, and the pain in her leg made her feel sick to her stomach. Tears flowed freely down her face, mixing with the blood that was dripping onto her tunic. Corina turned and labored uphill blindly, to pained to do anything else but struggle to take the next step. She made it to a thick bush that would hide her from the dark creatures. She collapsed underneath the bush, allowing a sob to escape her throat. She then put her shaking hands around the arrow still protruding from her leg. She snapped a stick off of the bush to bite on, and gripped the arrow tightly. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and pulled.

She screamed in pain, and threw the discarded arrow out of the bush. She had snapped the stick in half with her teeth, and she spit out the broken wood. She ripped cloth off of her tunic and used it to wrap tightly around the wound, making a temporary bandage. Her vision flickered. She then lay in the bush, too exhausted and in too much pain to do anything else. She must've passed out for only a minute, because she awoke to see herself in the same spot, with the blood only halfway dried. She then shakily stood up, and staggered back out into the field. She then headed north. She didn't know where she was going, but anything would be better than staying at the site of the death of her entire village. The village was her life, the place where she was born, the place where she had killed the coyote that was terrorizing the sheep, the place where she was discouraged from touching any kind of weapon. It was where she was secretly taught to fight by Guilden, the blacksmith of the place. She even got to see a real dragon there. But now, nothing was there. Just blackened bones and burnt ashes. She allowed a few more tears to slip from her eyes when she realized that Guilden was dead. The tears stung the gash on her face, but she didn't care. Just keep on walking.


.

 

[Lucas Falkreath]

The sun cast its golden light upon the area seeming to center around him one last time before casting him and the forest in a silent darkness, no sounds were around him at this point and he was left to listen to the screams that echoed in his head. They were loud and piercing villagers reaching their hands towards him, their skin falling from their bodies leaving nothing but skeletons that grasped for help, he stumbled back even in the visions...why did they come? What did they want? They danced on the corner of his eyes those shattered liquid tears, his eyes slipping shut at the pain at the heartache, where was he going to go now. The questions all danced in his mind even as he removed his arms from across his chest and let them fall to his side, he pushed himself from the ground and stood slowly bare soles resting against the dirt ground, a shattered soul barely slowly falling to pieces. He turned to the opposite direction of his village and began walking...well more like stumbling in that direction looking for anything..

They are all dead and you couldn't save them, your sister, your mom, that girl you had a crush on all killed by these creatures.....what are you going to do now? How are you going to exact your revenge? How do you beat that which you can't see or even attack?

The voices that came with night, those voices that were his doubt, his hopelessness all increasing for the night...seemed to reach up wanting to claim his sanity, his hope began to slip away to join the clouds slowly in the air, what was he to do now? He wondered if there was anybody else out there that would understand the thoughts or feelings that now echoed through the entirety of his body, he looked over the horizon as he walked the deep navy of the sky lingering there over him. He stopped for a moment to listen to the sounds of the night only just barely catching the sound of a snapping twig followed by a screech of pain. His eyes widened at that, his body trembling for a moment before he took off forward darting towards the sound. His bare feet pounded into the dirt as he ran causing his breath to slip forth in a painful manner, who was here and were they okay or are they being attacked? He honestly wondered maybe he could find somebody that would help him or guide him through this.

He continued running up the hill his feet pounding into the dirt, he made his way to the top and stopped looking out over to the horizon catching sight of the two dark shadows shifting towards the position of the scream as well as the female sitting behind the brush of bushes. The shadows sped their way towards the crouching woman and he'd have to get there first but how, his emerald eyes shifted about gazing for something....his fingers grazed the ground for a moment grabbing a handful of dirt and tossing it into the air he muttered something lightly. The dirt spun in the air for a moment before a small dome of earth encased the woman stopping the shadows outside of it, they growled in hatred looking around before resting their eyes upon him he took a small breath and prepared for a battle.....they charged towards him and seemed ready to feast upon him......he raised his hand again and clenched it an began muttering more shakily this time.

The spell would take a bit more time and he knew it, he felt the sting at his side fro the claws and he tumbled to the ground falling upon his back just as a small spark of light danced from the palm of his hand pushing the two creatures back with a screech. He shot to his feet and darted past the two creatures towards the dome stepping in front of it just as it faded, revealing the girl back to the outside world He stood in front of her a sword formed into both of his hand looking towards the two creatures as they tried recovering from the light. He could be in trouble here, he could die here yet he still defended her....he would not let another die to these creatures, not since they destroyed his village...He was scared his body trembling in fear at the two creatures yet they looked at him seeming to eye him for a moment before turning and running into the forest behind them. His eyes widened in surprise before he collapsed in a heap on the ground breathing a sigh of relief he was happy they left scared away by something. He was glad he was happy...he turned to gaze at the girl and gave a small smile.

"Are you ok?"

 

[FishWolf]

Corina turned, surprised to hear a voice behind her. "Are you ok?"

​

Her eyes met those of a young man, and she stepped back a bit, wincing as pain shot up her leg, regarding the man sitting on the ground who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "I...I'm fine..." She said, not exactly knowing why. She was obviously injured, but still she seemed to feel the need to mask her pain. She didn't know this man, no matter how much she wanted to trust another human being. She definitely favored him over those...demons, but still, she didn't want to appear weak in front of a stranger. She looked down into a puddle that had formed from a small spring, and she saw that her cheeks were covered in dark blood, and dried tears left a streak down her face from her emerald eyes. Her auburn brown hair was burnt and tangled. Corina did not look "fine." She self-consciously touched her face, knowing that the gash definitely made her look foolish by saying that she was. "Well, no, I'm not. But that doesn't matter. I need to get away from here, away from those things. You don't look like you're fine, either." She said, inclining her head to indicate the large wound on the man's side. "Were you attacked by them too, did they get...?" She trailed off. If those demons had rampaged this man's village as mercilessly as they did hers, he probably didn't want to talk about it.

Corina looked up at the sky. There were clouds darkening in the distance, almost like a sign of the dark times coming. Almost as in response to her thoughts, a low rumble of thunder sounded off in the distance, echoing throughout the valley. She needed to get to shelter, or at least get somewhere safe. She shifted her weight to lessen the pressure on her injured leg. "I need to go. To get somewhere. Are you coming, or not?" Corina wasn't raised to sit around. She was taught that if something important needed to get done, do it. She looked back towards the clouds, staring into the distance, her eyes misting over as she remembered her family, the ones that would never be seen again. A lump formed in her throat, and she struggled to keep the tears brimming in her eyes from spilling over. You're on your own now, Corina. No matter what happens, no matter who dies, you need to survive. It's what Grandmother would have wanted. Don't give up. Corina turned back to the man then with fire and determination in her eyes.

She was about to say something when she stopped. She tilted her head to the side. Sounds met her sharpened ears, the sounds of hoof beats thudding on the ground. She then turned back, expecting the worst. There were multiple horses running across the plain, mounted by people in steel armor. Corina was frozen, she could only watch as the horses grew closer. Corina stepped out of the bush and waved her arms, trying to get the soldier's attention. The soldiers turned, and headed towards her, the horses galloping at full speed. They stopped a few yards out, the horses panting and foaming, their coats streaked with sweat. The soldiers dismounted, and Corina limped out to meet them. Up close she could see about thirteen soldiers, obviously led by the female of the group. The leader was dressed in men's armour, carried men's weapons, yet still had a feminine side to her. The leader was a redhead, with short hair that barely touched her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes and she was obviously a good fighter, judging by the confident way she carried herself. The leader eyed Corina suspiciously, taking in her condition. "What happened to you, girl?"

Corina stopped a few feet away from the leader. "I am Corina. My village was attacked. I am the sole survivor of that village." Corina said, her voice wavering a bit. She tried to stay strong, unemotional. She didn't want these soldiers to think her weak.

"The only survivor? Am I to believe that you fought off your attackers?" The leader asked in disbelief. She looked behind Corina, at the man that had appeared earlier. "What about your companion?"

Corina shook her head. "I merely managed to escape. I did dispatch of one of the...men that attacked my village, but he was simply caught off guard." Corina didn't want to say that demons had attacked her village, because the soldiers probably would not take her claims seriously. Corina herself hadn't taken her Grandmother seriously when she spoke tales of demons when she was a child. How could she expect the soldiers to? "As for my companion, I am not sure."

The leader nodded, then looked at the man. "You over there. What is your story?"

 

[Lucas Falkreath]

He breathed in lightly his breath passing roughly between his lips to inhale causing a cough to dance from his lips, followed by the light breath exhaling roughly into the air…his emerald eyes met the girls own, his long silver hair had fallen out of its ponytail and hung down over his shoulders, he placed his hand lightly over his side as the woman spoke, he pushed upon the ground and heaved himself up to sit upon the ground. He listened to the words as they left the woman's lips, each word she spoke held strength despite what he was sure she had seen, what she had been through was the question. Had she been through what he had? The destruction of her village by these things, her family ripped apart by their dark hands or set ablaze by their red gaze, these demons would pay for what they did if it was the last thing he did. In his anger the hand gripping his side grew a golden color the bright color dancing between each of his fingertips to cover the entirety of his hand in the light, and with it his eyes seemed to change as well the dark emerald green seemed to fade changing into that of a golden tint staring up at her.

His eyes slipped closed when he felt the small pinprick at his side, his hand slipping away from the wound at his side just as the soldiers rode out to meet them…he slipped his eyes open to stare down at the wound and they widened in horror or surprise at the wound…it was covered in a dark golden energy that circled the blood-stained scratches watching as it began to seal up itself at a very slow rate, it was painful to the teenage boy but still the wound slowly disappeared. He pushed himself to his feet just as the woman clad in the armor had turned her gaze upon him, her rough voice danced to his ears and yet he curled his body so the healing of the wound wouldn't be seen by them and turned his emerald eyes to rest on the group of them, he parted his lips to speak, to think the words that danced forth but instead all he saw was those creatures their deep crimson eyes staring into his soul waiting to claim it as theirs to feed upon. He closed his lips and thought it over for a bit trying to find the right words to speak trying to answer the question posed towards him. He parted his lips again to speak again, his voice was just as shaky as before but he managed to push his voice out.

"I….m-mm-my v-v-village attacked by creatures…."

All he could think about as he spoke was his mom crucified upon that slab of wood, of his sister only ten years old burned like a piece of meat beneath their mother both murdered by these dark creatures. He caught his throat at that point and anger painted along his face, he raised his hand and eyed the woman in the steel armor a determination for revenge dancing in his eyes. He stepped forward next to the woman he had helped he had placed his body between to protect and he began to speak with a new fire that danced inside of him, like a raging fire taste for the end to these creatures.

"Miss, My name is Gabriel I am a seventeen year old boy from a small village to the south, about three hours ago or maybe a lot later my village was destroyed by dark shadow like creatures that shifted along the ground….there is no way to hit them with normal steel but they shy away from light well a vast majority of light, I happened to run across this female a few moments ago when two of the shadow things were aiming to attack her. They were scared off by something and took off into the woods and that's my story for the time being."

When his voice stopped dancing in the air his eyes shifted to the darkening skies, his emerald gaze seemed to be hoping something but for now he would wait whatever this woman had left to say whatever she still wanted from the two of them. His eyes fell back upon the other girl, Corina he was sure she had said her name was, he had to admit she was kind of cute despite the fact she was covered in dried blood and dirt and had seemed to even come from the rival village of his but for now he didn't care, he smiled lightly despite what had happened hoping that whoever these soldiers were they kept the two together, they would understand each other better than most and to be honest he didn't want to have to explain his story to every person he had come across. He didn't know why but he just felt the need to try and protect this woman. He raised his hand upwards and hovered it lightly over her cheek before speaking lightly.

"You're hurt let me take care of that before you bleed out.."

 

[FishWolf]

(Sorry about the wait. Short post, I know, but I have to get some errands done.)


Elsa recoiled a bit when the man named Gabriel put his hand in front of her face, but she had just seen him heal himself magically with his bare hands, so she nodded. Elsa had to admit that she felt a serpent tongue of envy for the man, because she had never been able to do magic. Elsa had the blood of a mage, but her father was a non-magical human, which meant that she only had half the magic that a regular mage had. The result; Elsa was a witch. There were three kinds of magical beings in this kingdom. The most powerful were called sorcerers or wizards. They could craft poultices, control the elements, enchant weapons, perform powerful spells, and even scry on others. The average magical person would be called a Mage. Mages could do almost everything a wizard could, but they cannot scry or use mind-control, but Mages can control the elements. Then there were Witches. Witches could not use spells, but they could make powerful potions, or enchant items, or make magical talismans. Elsa also had a slight green-thumb, which meant that she was good at gardening, but besides that, the only things she could make with magic is enchantments and potions. Elsa could make a mean healing brew, but even then she needed the right ingredients. Her mind flashed back to the day that her grandmother taught her about witchcraft.

"Now look here, Elsa. I am going to show you how to make a potion. What kind to you wish to learn about?" Grandmother asked.

Young Elsa looked at the cauldron with boiling water bubbling softly over the fire. "What about a strength medicine?"

Grandmother smiled. "Sure. First, we'll need the ingredients. Go fetch some from your lovely garden."

"But Grandma, how am I to know which plants to use?"

"A Witch always knows, my dear."

Elsa looked at Gabriel, then looked back at the soldiers on their horses. The horses snorted and danced about impatiently, obviously wanting to return home. The leader nodded. "You may come with us, then. A mage will be valuable to the Rebellion."

Elsa looked at the leader quizzically. "The Rebellion?"

 

[Lucas Falkreath]

He gave a small smile when the woman nodded his emerald eyes falling now upon the crimson liquid that fell past the dirt on her cheeks. The hand he left hovering over her cheek began to glow brightly in a golden color, his fingers moved into different odd shapes before the wound upon her cheek slowly began to seal itself. His eyes rested on the wound until the entirety of the wound faded allowing the clean skin of her cheek to return to its normal soft texture with the slight tan skin. His smile returned lightly afterwards crossing his seemingly pale lips for a moment nodding lightly at the girl, turning when the women mentioned the rebellion his eyes seemed to change from a look of somewhat relief to that of anger…his mind dancing back to right before the attack on his village to the man that rode to their door and spoke. He would remember it always when the man spoke, he was a soldier clad in the armor of the kings men but what he had to say was not a happy tone.

"Are you the wife of the mage known as Teresis?"

His mom had looked up with a small smile at the man, that smile she always wore as she tried to dress Destiny, his little sister and her heavenly voice danced through the room as it always had. "Yes, I am are you a friend of his, if so I regret to inform you that he is not home right now."

The soldier shook his head and looked down tears streaming on the corner of his sapphire eyes, "Your husband miss died on the battlefield approximately two days ago saving my life…..He died before I got to thank him…I took on the task of bringing you the grim news…"

"Rebellion…you are the reason my father is dead you are fighting against the kings men, you people killed my father and you want me to help you?"

One of the soldiers trotted his horse forward and stopped in front of Gabriel, he looked down at the boy his dark eyes seeming to lack sleep but his body still spoke as if he was ready to defend the woman that sat as what seemed to be the leader of these people. The soldier reached his gauntlets up and placed it on either side of the metal plated helmet slowly pulling it from his head, Gabriel gazed up at the long black hair that slipped down from beneath the helmet, the strands of white obvious to even him. The soldier shifted the helmet down beneath his arms and extended the other forward a look of sorrow upon his eyes but still determination. He shook his head and parted his lips lightly and a voice slipped forth, the voice was that of a man that had seen a lot of pain, of suffering.

"Your father did not fight for the king, your father if he was a mage was taken by the man that betrayed the king, my uncle and claimed his throne. The man has been pulling mages in and doing experiments on them turning them into shades and shadows and using them for battle, the fact they havent captured either of you is a god send so please can we get back to the rebellion's hideout so we can discuss this more."

Gabriel sighed lightly extending his hand upwards and taking the soldiers hand that was now extended forth for him, the soldier pulled him up on the horse while another rode in front of Corina and extended his gauntleted hand forth, when she took it he pulled her upon the brown haired horse and looked back at the leader awaiting for her to begin riding forward.