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Rotan stumbled back to his farm, a strange foreboding clouding his thoughts. His steps were heavy; usually he felt the ground beneath his feet but everything felt numb. It wasn't the temperature that caused the sensation, for his lungs burned and a strange heat radiated about him. His thick hands reached forward, gripping a hard surface as snow slipped from it; he had found the fence to his farm, which he had built with those very hands so long ago. He had hoped for stability, shifting his weight to the wooden structure, however, the world began to spin around him. Falling forward, he flipped across the top of the fence, falling on his back atop the hard soil of his farmland. His breath became painfully aware to him; the slow struggled flow ringing in his ears as everything faded to black.

Heat once again washed over him and the searing pain of it caused his eyes to flew open. The world had shifted drastically, gone were the fragile flakes of frozen water that kissed his face and, in their place, stinging ash burned against his skin. Looking around, Rotan noticed that he was not alone in this place... this place that was no longer his home. He now stood in a great valley, once green, yet colored gray by the rain above. Numerous creatures gathered around him, a great mountain that cast a shadow upon them catching their attention. Confused, it took Rotan a few moments to notice the peculiar features of the creatures that he found himself unable to name; he saw strange things: small rodents eternally dripping liquid clay, large mantis shaped things with the visage of a trout, and a doe with wings and a whirlwind beneath its cloven hooves. Despite Rotan's audible astonishment, they never shifted their gazes from the mountain looming above.

A terrible vibration brought Rotan to his knees, reaching up from the earth below and gripping him in a terrible lock that froze his body in place. A crackling sound filled the air and the source of ash became apparent as fire began rolling down the mountain and into the valley. Seething heat poured over Rotan's form, stripping him and the other creatures of their flesh. Though blind from the ordeal, a lone image entered Rotan's mind before the flames engulfed his skull; he saw the remains of a village within that valley.

Coming to with a start, Rotan's hand found his head as his vision continued to sway. A clawing sound attacked his ears as rolled to his feet, swiftly yet shakily. Looking around with a dire anxiety attacking his chest, Rotan began fleeing to the farm house.

((to be added to, maybe))

Putting one foot before the other, Darius lead the group of outcasts onward. The cold biting at their flesh, the road before them was solid with the cold, crunching under heavy boots. Snow was scarce in this tract of land between Orsin Vear and Barro. Darius figured it would be a week or two journey from the middle of nowhere to civilization. They had already been going for days. Not as fast as Darius would have liked, but when it came to ordinary folk, like these who he now held company with, they were not used to marching fast. These particular people were a little better than the norm, but it was still slower than Darius would have liked. This was one of the few places on the continent that Darius had not been. He did not know the animals, or whether or not there would be trouble with people. Every night when the sun went down, he showed the people how to make a proper camp. Using long spiked wooden stakes they had made as they went as a fence around their encampment. Putting nice big torches around the perimeter, keeping the animals away, and any potential intruder easily spottable. Normally with a group so small and untrained he would have preferred to be more covert, but these people did not know what it covert meant. They were loud, not used to the stealth needed to survive the wilder parts of the world. They never had any reason to. He had them rotate night watch. He would have two of them up at once, so neither would fall asleep and neither would miss anything. Him and Ragni each served their watch alone. Having been used to such things. So far nothing bad had happened. A raccoon snuck past once, and got into some of the dry meat that they carried. But there was nothing that caused any violence.

Once camp was secure, Darius got a little jumpy with just how much noise people made. They knew it was dangerous. But it seemed little quieter than a family camping trip. There was nothing he could do about it but be prepared for anything. He slept with a naked blade in his bedroll. Even though he had heard that this part of the world was not dangerous, he did not want to be caught unready. He was taking the time and effort to help these people for no reason other than common issues. He didn’t want to die for it. There was too much emotion in it. He didn’t want these people to die either. As far as he knew, they were the only ones who wouldn’t think that he was crazy. He had been suffering from more visions than the rest of them. They all had them, but it was almost as if he could sense their visions as well. He saw a dark shape stalking Ragni in the shadows of the night, and would warn him only to find it was nothing at all. He heard sinister laughter when alone with Kristalia, a succubus temptress laugh that clawed into his brain. The others caused the same sort of stuff. Then there were his own visions. There were eyes everywhere. Sprouting out of trees, out of the ground. Always watching him. Wide with insanity, or forbidden wisdom. Darius wanted to stick his blade in them, but they were always just out of reach. He just gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore them. There where whispers in his head, inaudible noise. Cross chatter from something he could not understand. He felt violent emotion rising just beneath the surface of the essence of his being. He ignored it, and focused on what was to be done. What could so easily break the mind of a creature with free will?

He had been training a few of them in the way of combat, Ragni had taken the rest. All of them decided to take a little lesson from the young Nox as well. Deciding that the art of hand to hand combat could become very useful down the road. Darius knew the power behind knowing how to dance around your enemy and break them by hitting vital points. It was just more knowledge that would keep them alive. Darius was more about just knocking an enemy down and sticking them with the pointy end. He utilized strength and resolve. He knew many men of his size would use their rage and adrenaline to go berserk, and while doing so usually killed many enemies, one forgot to defend themselves. While no war is won defensively, a good offence is a good defense. He taught them the means to avoid getting hit, without needing too much dexterity or coordination. He taught them to remember that their weapon was not the only means of attack. Sweeping aside an enemies blade with one’s own, then backhanding the enemy across the face with one’s free hand will surprise the enemy most likely. Battle was not about honor when it came to survival. Kick them in between the legs and bury your blade into their throat. Hit hard, with control, do not overextend, always be able to recover and defend. End the battle quickly, do not play games, do not waste your breath. Kill them at the first opportunity and move onto the next. Do not concern yourself with who you have killed, there will be time for sadness when the battle is over and you are still alive. Do not take your mind off survival. Do not fear your opponent, size and appearance do not mark skill. The greatest swordsman can be killed. Always watch for archers, the whoresons will kill you and all your friends before you know what happened. Things of that nature. He taught them exercises on how to strengthen their swing, and to be able to block better, and longer. They were still only just starting, but they showed much promise.

The sun began it’s lazy decent on the horizon Darius started looking for a good place to shack up for the night. He didn’t see any good sized clearings, so they would have to move on. He glanced back at the others and wondered how they were holding up. They would have been suffering more mental trauma then he had. Not only were they all having visions, but their own people kicked them out of their home. Darius knew what it was like to lose your home. He hoped none of them would take it to rough. Not only because he cared, but because anyone who couldn’t get their thoughts straight could be a liability. He sighed and kept walking.

Lucrezia shivered slightly, the wind had a bite to it; she tried to wrap her thick black cloak around her body but it did little good, the cold seemed to be spreading to her very core.

After the burning of the inn, she had returned to her home; she grabbed some traveling clothes and her father's longbow and arrows, he had used them for hunting and she had always admired it, it was the one thing in that house of torment that she had loved; in fact, it was the only thing in the whole damn village that she cared for, and not because it belonged to her father; but because she always admired it's hidden strength. The bow was made of yew and Lucrezia often ran her fingers over it, admiring it's beauty. She couldn't use it well but she was getting better. Now, it was strapped to her back and in an odd way, she felt like it was a friend.

It had been a long journey thus far, at least it felt that way sometimes; still, she was happier than she had ever been before. Lucrezia had gladly left the village, ignoring whatever jeers and threats that had come her way, it was all quite insignificant. Lucrezia had walked out of the village with her head held high; the villagers wanted them gone, and she was happy to oblige. Maybe it had hurt the others more, Lucrezia never asked them, she hadn't really spoken much since the fire. Her thoughts were on the visions.

The shadows hadn't taken on their odd misty forms again, she hadn't seen anything from them at all; but Lucrezia could hear them sometimes and could feel their presence. She could not tell what they were saying, it was in their voices, and it was all very loving and seductive, like a romance; but their presence gave off a more sinister feeling... an anger, and it made Lucrezia wary. Still, the feelings of love and sensuality they gave her made Lucrezia feel more human than she had in years. She didn't want to question it, when there were so many question as it was.

Lucrezia looked around, sun was beginning to set and she hoped someone would discover a resting place soon, she was cold and her body ached from training. Lucrezia quickly discovered that she was mediocre with a sword, but she loved her bow and often felt disgruntled when she had to abandon it to go back to the sword; but she said nothing, preferring to quietly practice and get it over with.

Her fingers ached and she tried to wiggle them a little but they just hurt more, she winced a little and wished once more, that someone would find a resting place.

Grundus held his chest hight as he walked through the cold. "I will take the first shift if that is what is needed." Grundus offered. His whiskers shivered in the wind. "I will also make the fire, I know ways of making it burn hot without much smoke. Being the black smith that I am." he added looking down at his hands.

Grundus grabbed some fire wood and arranged it in two ways, first he made a table-like structure on top of which he made a cone with a little exposed. he used the smaller pieces of wood as kindling. he grabbed some of his flint and created a spark that lit the small pieces of wood inside the cone and under the table. Out of his bag he grabbed a fan and fanned the flames to make them go higher.

"Get close to the fire, it'll help."

After having set up camp Nox put up his cot in his usual tent and threw his bag on top of it. The boy then exited his tent and thought. I need to clear my head and think a bit. just after having the thought Nox began to stretch his arms and said to no one in particular "I'm going to go for a walk, I'll be back before it's completly dark." and with that Nox strolled out of the clearing quietly making little noise with his steps.

While Nox walked through the wooded area he took in the sights and breathed in the crisp cold air, it helped him not focus on the dark images that lived on the fringes of his vision, haunting him with their very prescence. While walking a small sparrow landed in front of Nox and began to tweet and chirp at him while bouncing around on it's tiny legs. The bird looked friendly and hungry so Nox reached into his pocket and pulled a small bit of bread from it and offered it to the bird. The small animal took the bit of bread in it's mouth then fluttered up to Nox's shoulder, after the boy slowly stood up with his new companion and began to walk some more.

Nox would keep walking for another hour or so before he returned to camp the bird still perched on his shoulder. The boy just sat down by the fire silently and fed the bird another peice of bread then just stared into the fire the laughter of the "Dark Mistress" echoing in the back of his mind.

Talia was walking in the cold, her feet making crunching noises in the snow.
She was cold, but it really didn't bother her.
Her mind was remembering the day she had to leave her home.

After Talia emerged from the cellar, confusion and disorientation hit her in the form of a mob.
The silver haired woman watched as the other survivors, friends she had grown up with were now telling them they had to leave.

Talia tried to argue with them, make them see that it was not her fault.
She had even turned to Jessie, who was alive because the mercs saved them with their plan.
But the whore quietly without looking at any of them sided with the villagers.
Her heart cringed and twisted, and her resolve crumbled, and soon gave up the argument and trudged to her house near the rivers.

She arrived to her house, and noticed it had writings on it,symbols of their church.
Talia cursed knowing the bastards thought they were possessed.
She opened the door, which was unlocked and the symbols continued on the inside of the home.
Rage started to fill her.
"How can they do this!"

She started crying softly as she found her fathers leather backpack.
Talia filled the thing with two sets of pants made out of leather and fur,
then two blouses and a tunic as well.
Going upstairs to her room, she started picking through whatever else she could find.

A couple of silver and gold items she thought to sell off in the city.
A huge blanket her mother made her,and fishing tools.
Talia then walked to the vanity and found an item of great importance.
It was a silver pendant with a small painting of her parents holding her. she held it to her chest and then placed it around her neck.


She looked up to see how it looked in the mirror but was shocked to see the woman from her visions next to her reflection.

Talia was frightened as she knew this was not a vision, but could not explain how the woman was there.
"Why are...how are?"
The woman did not answear and just smiled.
Talia was dumbfounded for the lack of an answear,
And anger from the previous visions and events started to claw at her, so she lashed out.

"Damn you! damn you! damn you!!! because of you...because of these visions! people have died and now we need to leave!"
Talia watched as the woman had a smile and was mildly amused.
"This isn't funny!"

In her anger Talia grabbed a silver candle holder and smashed it to the mirror having it break in little tiny pieces.
As they fell the goddess vanished and Talia suddenly felt tired. She walked to her parents bed and laid there for a few moments with her eyes closed.

"Why does this have to happen...why?"
As Talia was reflecting she heard a thump sound in the room.
And for some reason, she ignored it.
The thump came again louder next to the bed, and Talia was now worried.
When she opened an eye, she saw nothing.

"I am going insane..."
It was then as she uttered this that another thump was heard on the bed now, she opened her eyes and was face to face with the goddess.
Talia was now frightened, The goddess was there, but she did not look like herself.

The ebony woman lost her beauty, she had red eyes and unruly hair.
Her body seemed disfigured and she looked more animal than human.

Talia fell from the bed trying to get away, She reached the wall and huddled there, fear overwhelming her.
"Go AWAY!"
Talia commanded but the ebony woman crawled over to her, A smile on her disfigured face.

For a moment Talia got the odd sense of predator, like a snake slithering to its prey or a lioness cornering hers.
Silver hairs covered her face as the young fisher woman trembled, she watched as the ebony woman reached her and pinned her with her claw like hands to the wall.

Talia let out a whimper and a cry pleading.
The woman just cocked her head to the side smiling and touched the fisherwoman's cheek with a nail.

"Kristalia...i am proud of you"

Talia could not believe what she heard, she looked at the figure in front of her with confusion. The goddess did not seem to lie, her eyes cold and cruel yet with a certain gleam.
Talia cocked her head like her, and although still terrified she dared speak.
"Why?"

She watched as the woman smiled her cruel smile.
"Because..you are letting your anger out..."
Talia watched with confusion, and the woman relented.
"You are angry, bitter and moust of all scared...But it is not i you should be yelling at..I gave you a gift. A gift non will understand..."

Talia closed her eyes in fear as the woman got closer to her, She could feel the woman's lips near her ear and it was electrifying.

"Your bitterness, is towards those who hurt you..not I..Your moust inner thoughts are not of me burning, but of them...Admit it, the moment you emerged from the ashes of the inn and they came to you.
Your heart wished for every one of them to have burned along with those abominations..."

Talia felt herself swallow hard, she shook her head at the goddess and sputtered out a raspy no.

But in all truth, the woman's words hit hard, because the were true.
As soon as Talia's heart accepted this fact, the goddess smiled and touched Talia's cheeks.
This action surprised Talia since instead of feeling claws or cold from the touch,she was filled with warmth.

The silver haired woman opened her eyes to see the goddess back to her regular body, Talias eyes drifted all around the woman's features,confusion and relief washing over her.
The goddess looked with amusement as the girl traced her being and loved it.
The goddess then pulled the girls chin up so she could lock gazes.

"Never deny your true self...for you will be supreme"
Talia nodded and like that the goddess was gone.

It took the silverhaired woman a few tries to get up from the floor, but she did.
She walked over to the bed were she had left the backpack and took it with her.
Silently she walked downstairs and towards the kitchen, She picked up a few dried meats and some glassed beverages.

After filling up her backpack Talia walked over to the living room, raw emotion creeping over her, then a bit of anger as she looked at all the symbols.
"How dare they...I can only judge me.."

Talia then walked to the fireplace and taking in some wood and a flint she lit a fire.
after a few momments she watched as it started to consume the wood and a smile creeped over her face.
"If i am to leave...and never come back. it will be as if my family nor i existed"

She took a log of wood from a stack and lit it.
Talia walked with the log to the upstairs and lit the beds on fire, she then ran downstairs and started to lit curtains and rugs, anything that could catch fire.

Talia then swinged her backpack over her shoulder and smiled while brushing tears out of her eyes.
"Goodbye"

Talia snapped out of her memory to see that everyone was starting to set up camp.
The silver haired woman was grateful that the mercs have decided to escort them to the city.

She could tell that Darius was a good man and wished to help them, and that Ragnvald really did not want them along.
But in a way she cared for none, she knew that after they reached the city,they would all part ways.

"maybe..ill just stick with aliana when we get to the city..poor girl is all by herself"
this was not true thou, for Nox had not left the girls side since the group parted, and knew that he would not part ways even in the city.

Talia then looked at Darius then Lucrezia and Grundus.
In a way she felt bad for them all, but wondered idly if they had not gone up the mountain, and were not haunted by visions...would they have kicked her out as well?.

Talia shook her head and deemed these thoughts illogical.
Instead she tried to become useful and started to help people unpack.
Her mind wandering to the past days and her grueling training with Ragni.

Why she had picked Ragni instead of Darius was easy, this man was not about raw strength but of Speed.
Talia knew she could never match a man in power, so she opted to try and learn to be quicker than them.
It was mostly going as planned, except she knew that ragni had little patience with them.

"i wonder..will i ever be as good as these two"
A voice and a thud was heard and it made Talia jump, she turned to were the sound emerged and found a man lying on the floor.

Talia ran to him and flipped him over to see it was Rotan.
A confused and worried look came about Talia's face and she idly wondered why he was here.When it hit her."He went up to the mountains with us.." Talia cocked her head to the side to assess him and noted he was not hurt but exhausted.

"So..they kicked your sorry a** out too huh?..."
She was slightly amazed that the man was able to catch up to them, she then turned her head to Lucrezia.
"Yo Lu!...come help me here its Rotan!"
She smiled and added.
"He joined the misfit club"

The night air stung his face as another spasm struck his stomach, a pile of vomit already around the base of the tree he hung to. His breathing was heavy, and although he felt the urge to vomit come with this latest spasm he held it in, not wanting to show any more weakness. He knew that he was far enough away from the camp that none of the other bandits would have seen, nor would they have heard his coughing or the splashing of the substance hit the ground, but there was still the chance they'd come by. He could easily explain what was already on the ground, but they'd still laugh at him. Only the strongest escape the bandits humor, and Sebastian was not the strongest. He was, though, the smartest, and best looking, and so he escaped most of their torment for their fear of his pranks. They've been through enough of them to know that, while not deadly, they could cause some serious pain. Especially after what happened with Rat. Sebastian tried to warn Rat to leave his hair alone, but of course the bandit was to stupid to heed the warning. It wasn't his fault that Rat woke up with a badger attacking his more private areas.

Sebastian stood up straight, looking at the tree and focusing on it to slow his breathing down. He wasn't sick from any sort of disease, nor did he have food poisoning. It was something else entirely, something that seemed more sinister and deadly than whatever any disease could throw at him. It was visions. Visions of blood, pools of blood, death, more than the eye could see, and the most recurring vision was that of the people. They weren't normal people. They were faceless, no eyes, no nose, no mouth, they were just things that haunted him. It wouldn't bother him if they would just wander around him, but they seemed to be attracted to the pools of blood. Not to mention their sudden outrages. One second they'd be playing in the blood, the next they'd be tearing him to shreds. Ripping him apart. It hurt like no other for one second, then the next he'd be back in reality, laying on the ground. That's when the stomach spasms would come. Forcing him to vomit.

What scared him the most was the fact that he was the only one who could see them. None of the other bandits were bothered by these visions. Nor could he really go to them. They'd either call him crazy or they'd begin to think he was having visions of the future, which would make him important, which would mean they'd watch him more closely. Which, of course, would mean his plans of escaping these bandits would be impossible. Of course, one would think that if they let him go this far away from camp they wouldn't care if he ran away, the fact was that they did, and they were decent enough trackers that every early attempt to escape led to his capture. So he contented himself with staying with the bandits, allowing them to feed, clothe, and house him until he could find a way to escape.

With the spasms gone Sebastian turned away from the tree, looking at the dim glow of his camp. Well, their camp, the very people he despised the most lived there, and once again he walked back to them. Once a bandit, always a bandit was their motto. Even if they captured you, forced you to work with them, and then slowly saw you as the younger brother of all of them you were still their property. Oh, it wasn't to bad being with them. Raid a group of travelers here and there, witness the deaths of innocents, make a few coin and get a few interesting items, and then eat the next few days off of actual decent food instead of the s**t that the bandits cooked. Not to bad at all. Not exactly the life that Sebastian wanted to live, but someday he wouldn't have to. Someday he'd leave the place.

As he walked back in camp a few of the men gave him awkward looks, a few more gave him a hearty smile, well....With a few of their teeth missing it was hard to give a hearty smile, Sebastian just waved at these ones. One may have taken his full set of teeth as an insult. While still, the rest of the bandits just ignored him, not caring enough to smile at him while caring enough to not give him any looks. Just the way he liked it. With his back straight, and eyes set he walked to his camp, the vomit he just took out of his mind, and not a sign of it on his body. He couldn't show any pain. No. Only the strongest survived here.