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 Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2013 3:56 am
Madrach was having a hard time to walk, he rolled his shoulders and turned his head from side to side. "Now you call upon me?" he smirked, he was back in the game, his mind was jumping, racing, already ahead of those in the room. "... And what sort of situation is it that you would have a dog resolve," giving the guard that had insulted him earlier a deathly stare. He would be the first to be taught some respect, but that would have to wait till after his plans were starting to materialise.
Axel shifted uncomfortably. "Keep your arrogance for your team, Madrach! Do not take my mercy for granted. Your life is entirely in my hands. Do you understand?"
Madrach starred forward, standing straight in attention with a clear expression on his face. "Yes Elder Axel, I understand clearly. What is to be my assignment?" he would have to play by the rules, at least until his freedom is secured.
"You will be given five team mates to aid you in your task. You will investigate the theft of, and retrieve the Tome of Death whatever the cost."
"The Tome of Death?" he frowned, remembering that it was one of the few books that he himself could not get access to. "That's unlikely, only a powerful sorcerer would be able to have access to it. I suppose these 'team mates' are to make sure I don't try anything? Fine, but I would like my old equipment back." Over the years he had fashioned himself trinkets, armour and weapons of unparalleled complexity.
"They are awaiting you in your chambers, along with the map of energies. Frugard will take you there," Axel nodded to the guard.
"Understood, Elder Axel" he turned, following Frugard to his chambers. "Should be quite interesting..." he mumbled to himself. His entire room and adjacent office was covered in dust, "Excellent," he exclaimed, ignoring the 5 guards standing awkwardly near the centre of the room, it meant no one tampered with his possessions. They seemed to eye him suspiciously as he removed a band from his neck, it shifted into his mask, taking its true form for the first time in what seemed to be forever. He strapped it onto his shoulder, where it moulded into something more solid completing the set of his pauldrons. "Relax... If I wanted you all dead you would already be," he grabbed for his sword, mockingly flailing it about in their direction before sheaving it on his back. His battle gear consisted mostly dark hardened leather, with a long cloak, embroidered with Th'ardrod's insignia, reaching down to his calves which were protected by black leather boots. His shoulders were covered by two wolf mask shaped pauldrons, one a hard steel counterfeit, the other his mask. Finally his sword, which he had modified himself. He took map of energies, a map of the tribes and dotted with moving lights that indicated life-energies. Faint ones indicated trees and forest-life. The brighter ones indicated humans. With it was a note that the Tome will have some effects on people that should best be resisted and prevented.
[This post is a collaboration of m i s s Rieux and W0LFKING, played out via chat on another site and posted by W0LFKING.]
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Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2013 8:16 am
"Sorry to interrupt your little party, cap'n, but I believe this is the crew I've been appointed to." She leaned against the door-frame, hiding her face in the shadows of her robe. "Madrach, is it?"
Madrach turned, fixing the last piece of his armour, a steel plated belt with straps to carry his utilities. "Fortunately I was told to be assisted by five guards only, any more and I might just would have been forced to trim their ranks my self," he glared at the guards, making them shift uneasily. "So the question remains, who are you?"
"Oh, that's not a problem. I'm no guard. I'll be your healer for this expedition. I already have everything packed that we might need: from bandages to elixirs. Shall we be on our way or would you like to waste a few more precious minutes?"
"Fine, you at least, have a purpose." It wasn't like the Elders to change their plans on, every detail was planned in advance. The arrival of this healer was very suspicious indeed, but it mattered little to Madrach, his plans were malleable. "According to the map there's some disturbance in energies near the river leading away from Th'adrod, an excellent way for someone to try and sneak across the boarder, that's where we will start our search."
"Then we better be off," with an enthusiastic turn on the toes, she exited the room and helped herself to one of the six horses that awaited them outside. "Apparently the Elders think a healer can't handle her own horse. Guess I'm going to have a partner." She glanced at each guard, expectantly, straightening her posture.
"You there, yes you!" Mardrach ordered one of the guards, who was frantically looking behind him hoping there was someone," go to stable master Enoch and request another horse, tell him I sent you, meet up with us along the way, the rest of you, mount up." Madrach hid a grin, Enoch would never give out one of his horses, not after he had lost his precious proper bred stallion in a wager to Madrach.
Sage smirked, satisfied and a little surprised, and set off after the captain.
They reached the river soon enough, the horses were fresh and young, eager to prove themselves. Madrach wished for his own stallion, a beautiful horse, he hope that it was still save and looked after by his faithful house keeper. He and the healer was leading the company, "You have me at a disadvantage, I still don't know your name." he told her, scanning the ground as he slowed down the horse to a jog trot. The other guards followed lead also searching for tracks or traces of the thief.
"What's a name or a face when you have my allegiance and my power?" She smiled a charming half-smile and pulled her hood down over her eyes.
"What's allegiance and power, without trust or companionship," he said with a raised eyebrow, noticing that she was trying to hide her identity.
"Feeling sentimental, Madrach?" She laughed. "Any shortcuts we could take?"
"Sentimental?" he snorted, "You know little of the effectiveness companionship has on morale. Soldiers care not for numbers, they fight not for the strongest in their group, but for those they know and befriended. Of course, we're not going into a battle here, so point taken," he smirked, consulting the map. "Hmm, the river is winding it's way down to the coast, if we head for the coast as the crow flies, then we'll make a up a lot of distance." he thought out loud. "Al right men, change of plan, refill your canteens, we're going for a nice forest stroll."
[This post is a collaboration of m i s s Rieux and W0LFKING, played out via chat on another site and posted by W0LFKING.]
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:05 am
[Reserved for Captain Madrach's interrogation of Tannem and Lavender.]
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:08 am
Leo nodded, looking at the map Stacia had given to him. Just then, Stacia fluttered into a nearly tree and shifted, crouching on a branch.
"There you are. That's the Tome of the Dead, isn't it?" Her voice was calm and controlled.
Stacia crouched lower, animalistic and protective. "Maybe."
"It's corrupting us, Ani. You have to fight it. Leo didn't feel its power. Maybe it would be safer if he carried it?"
Stacia hissed. "No. My book, my burden." Her voice was dark and strange.
"Leo, do something!" Lavender glanced at him, pleading.
He sighed. "Stacia, why don't you come down so we can talk about it," he coaxed. "Come on. We'll just talk."
"You can talk from there."
Leo sighed and looked at lavender pointedly. "As useful ad taking to a wall."
Lavender sighed and closed her eyes, starting up a melody. It was slow at first, and increased in festive tunes and pleasant words that did not quite make sense to the ear. Birds started to chirp and many other woodland creatures and insects gathered around her. The air thickened and the horses became excited, too. Soon, even the rational mammal would be drawn to her, stronger than any could be to an already magnetic minstrel. Her nose started to bleed. The crimson drops were warm and dripped over her parted lips. Yet, she could go further. Her head started to throb and she couldn't stop the tears from streaking her cheeks, but her melody did not falter.
Stacia was beginning to calm.
Leo wasn't prepared for lavender to sing. He felt compassion and warmth flow through him strongly. He dismounted from his horse, taking her horse's reigns and gently making it bow. Leo stretched up and kissed her.
Just like that, the singing stopped and it was broken. He stepped back, dazed and frowning. Stacia's calm evaporated. A terrible rage coursed through her.
A small hand landed a sounding blow across his face. "You idiot!" Lavender shrieked out half in horror and the other half in outrage. Her fuse was short and Kinja had barely stood when she toppled off the saddle and crashed into the forest floor, unconscious with her lips and chin covered in blood.
Leo looked, horrified. He didn't mean to do it; it had just happened.
Stacia jumped to the ground, hissing at him angrily and cradling Lavender in her lap.
"I didn't mean." He trailed off hopelessly.
After a few moments, Lavender came to. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and stared at the blood in terror, giving a little gasp. Her skin was pale as though there were nothing in her veins.
Stacia had tears in her eyes as she brushed Lavender's hair from her face. "Are you okay?"
Leo had been exiled to the far bank where he sat miserably, his face buried in his hands.
"It's driving us apart," she gurgled, swallowed, then she breathed deeply, trying to sit up.
Stacia helped her into sitting position. "We need it," she said, half desperately.
"Ani," she started, wiping her hands together to rid them of the blood, but it only made it worse. "I didn't mean to compell him into doing that. I've increased dopamine and oxytocin levels before, but never to the point of...," she cringed. "The book is powerful. Tannem doesn't seem to be as affected by it as we are. Maybe we should share it; learn from it together. If we are to keep it, we should learn from it what we can before it's taken away from us. And, if we feel about it as we do, we are in danger." She looked into her friend's eyes - her face was earnest, yet tender; strong and determined, yet frightened.
Stacia looked away, unable to stand looking into lavender's big eyes. "This book... I need it. I can't explain it. I just... I have to keep it. For now."
[This post is a collaboration between both members of the roleplay, played out via chat on another site and posted by m i s s Rieux.]
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:10 am
Stacia shook her head. "Not here. Not now. Later." She stood, dusting herself off. "And what do we do about him," she asked, jerking her thumb at Leo, her voice hurt and angry, forcing back tears.
Leo looked up, his face showing his misery and regret, eyes watching Stacia hungrily and desperately.
"It's my fault, Ani. Be mad at me. He didn't mean to..." She stood up and walked towards the river to splash her face.
"He did it," she said coldly. "Anything we had, it's finished. We're done. I will never love him," she said while clenching her fists, more to convince her breaking heart than lavender.
Lavender wanted to hit the water. Dopamine and oxytocin alone wasn't supposed to do this. What else did I tweak? There was nothing else, unless I couldn't sense to control it. Manipulating hormones that would lead to something like that is forbidden. I should be punished. Lavender, you ruined their relationship. Don't be silly, it's not your fault. You would never intentionally hurt anyone. And it's only my fault if the intention to harm was there? Her mind was silent and her heart fell. You've betrayed your only true friend. And now you'll lose everything. All this because of feelings for a book. She took her sweater off, threw it into a tree and dived into the river, disappearing under the pacing surface.
Leo looked on, pleading to Stacia with his eyes, but she refused to look. He folded his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his head on top. Stacia ran her fingers through the soft clover, looking for one with four leaves, wistfully hoping her luck would change.
My first kiss, Lavender laughed inwardly, bitter. She allowed the current to pull her downstream until she had to surface for air. Looking back, Stacia and Tannem were out of sight and Kinja and the other horse were mere specks on the horizon. The forest around her seemed more wild and dangerous, yet delicate at the same time. She lowered herself onto a bed of ferns, trying to come up with solutions.
Toren Thane bit into an apple from the bag of apples and tossed the rest to his horses. As soon as he looked back to the river, a girl broke through the surface. Toren tossed a stone into the water to get her attention. "Oi! What are you doing out here?" He beckoned her to the water's edge as he crouched on the bank.
Fortunately, Lavender's mask was around her ankle in the form of an anklet and, even so, it was hidden by her trousers. Her heart beat franctically. He was a Faerangite. It was obvious. And she was alone and defenseless. "The current carried me here," she said as calmly and disinterestedly as possible, walking out of the water as if she'd been born there. Her black sleeveless top that she wore under the sweater now exposed her belly and matched her soft leather trousers in colour.
Toren looked her over. "Sure it did." He drew his sword and held it loosely at his side, taping the flat of the blade along his leg. "You have a name, or...?"
"Lavender, and would you really slice down a defenseless woman?" She crossed her arms, appearing confident even though she was trembling inside.
"Cut you down? No. Subdue you? That's different." He gave her a cocky, challenging look. "Are you going to give me any trouble, Lavender?"
"Depends on what you're planning on doing," she didn't move a muscle and only eyed him, being cautious.
He grinned at her, sliding his sword back into its sheath. He raised his hands. "See? No harm. Come closer." He let his hands drop.
Lavender took one, small step closer. She didn't disobey that way, but neither did it make much of a difference. She also allowed her hands down to her sides. Her facial features betrayed no emotion. She only stared into his eyes, trying to make out traces of anything that would imply that he was going to attack.
He smirked. "Fine. Allow me." He closed the gap and picked up his shirt from a rock next to her, leaning against it. "So why are you really here?"
She tensed. "We were on our way to Faerang, but got separated. Bandits attacked us." She wasn't lying. She was only making statements of the truth. The relationships between said statements were up for interpretation.
He nodded slowly, thinking. "Bandits. I'll buy it. What's your business in Faerang?" He pulled on his loose white shirt that was cut to show his chest.
"Just passing through and purchasing some supplies," she answered, relaxing somewhat. There was nothing threatening or sudden about his movements, but it could still be a trap.
"And you said 'we'. How many of you?" He crossed his arms and watched her intently, trying to detect any lies.
"Three. Two of us are Imperials, so there shouldn't be a problem. Faerang is allied with the King."
He nodded. "So we are. And the third, if not Imperial?"
Lavender hesitated and started to back away slowly. "That's not need-to-know information." She glanced around. "If you have so many horses to attend to, how many are you?"
He glanced at the horses. "There's only two. Bought the white one from a trader this morning. The gray mare belongs to the border guard I'm working for." He moved closer. "And judging by your retreat, it's you." He drew his sword, advancing slowly. "What are you? This is the last time I ask before I arrest you."
"As'arden and mean you no harm!" She jumped backward, almost slipping on the muddy bank. Her heart hammered in her chest.
Toren dropped his sword and grabbed onto her to steady her; he was standing quite close. "Careful now," he said, his voice low and heavy, his breath warm on her skin.
It felt as though she was going to have a heart attack any time soon. She found herself looking at his lips, almost instinctively, and resting her hands lightly on his arms. She blushed and withdrew. "I have to go," she said, but for some reason did not quite want to leave.
He shook his head. "Take the mare. I'm going with you." He pulled away reluctantly, retrieving his sword. "Hurry up, As'arden. Don't make me carry you."
"Yes, sir." She approached the mare; turning her palm upward and remaining perfectly still until the horse touched it. Taking the gesture as a sign of acceptance, Lavender mounted her swiftly. "Won't your partner be angry when he finds his horse missing?"
"Shouldn't be. He's dead." He nudged the horse into a trot, following the river.
"Dead? How? I'm sorry to hear that," the mare automatically followed after him.
"He met with an unfortunate accident," he said simply. "So where might your companions be?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Something, er, happened and we're not exactly on friendly terms, I think. Then again, they might be over it already." She wasn't sure if this was such a good idea. Were they planning on checking in at the borders or just driving past everything and get their things done? She voted for the latter, but that was before she met Toren. Perhaps an alliance could be formed with him which would make crossing the border so much less troublesome.
"Oh? Quarrel with your lover?" He watched from the corner of his eye, noting her form as she rode.
[This post is a collaboration between both members of the roleplay, played out via chat on another site and posted by m i s s Rieux.]
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:11 am
He stole a quick glance at her. "My common name is Toren Thane. That's all you need."
He refused to tell her his birth name, for birth names hold great power over their bearer.
"Toren," she repeated absent mindedly. Just then, the figure of a horse created a silhouette against the bright midday backdrop and lush greeness of the rainforest. It was Kinja. She froze, cautious, but transitioned into a gallop once she recognised her mistress' figure. She was slightly shorter than the thouroughbred-like pair and fuller in stature, but seemed as enchanting as ever. "Kinja," Lavender whispered as though she was met by a dear old friend. The horse neighed in delight. "I'm sorry for leaving you. Have they been good?" It snorted and then looked Toren straight in the eye. "Oh, he's a friend - don't worry," she turned to him, "Kinja's a little different than your regular horse." The statement was loaded with a mysterious and tragic reality, but Lavender did not elaborate.
He nodded. "Then you will prefer to ride her into our territory." He turned his attention to two figures several yards away who seemed to be arguing - or rather the male was, pleadingly. His female companion was doing her best to give him the cold shoulder. Toren could feel the anger and pain radiating from her.
Lavender sighed. "They're still at it. It wasn't supposed to happen. I've never been that strong before," she was talking to herself, frowning, more than intending for him to hear. "No wonder Kinja was eager to leave. Then again, if I hadn't dragged them out on this quest..." She sighed and forced the gray mare into a canter. Kinja followed closely at her side, stealing jealous glances at the duo. Lavender lifted herself on her hands, straightening her body into the air and arching her feet. She then bent backwards and landed into Kinja's saddle, leaving the gray mare slightly confused and Kinja, satisfied. They drove out ahead, seeming a complete picture, and slid to a dramatic halt near her companions.
Toren frowned but remained silent, listening. Stacia was nearly in tears and looked up at the two. "Who is he," she asked, cutting Leo off mid sentence, her voice thick with emotion.
"Toren Thane, a Faerang guard, I assume. Look," she slid off the horse and held Stacia lightly by the shoulders. "I know you're hurt and the both of you probably hate me, but we have to keep moving. The fate of Craejan might be in our hands." She grew silent, sharing in their sorrow. It was almost tangible. "I wish I could drink your pain or reverse what had happened, but there's nothing any of us can do about the past except work it out and forgive. It wasn't his fault. His actions weren't his own. You know he would never mean to hurt you and he would never love anyone else. Remember when he beat the daylight out of that guy at the bar? Why would he be jealous if he expected you to share him? If you really want to blame someone, blame me, but we have to keep moving. The book..." She trailed off and withdrew as Toren joined them.
Stacia pulled away, cold and distant. "Every man is responsible for his own actions. One cannot make another do anything if there was not already a desire to do it," she said echoing her father. Toren heard this and watched as Leo mounted his horse. A quick assessment led him to offer Stacia the white horse while he mounted the gray mare of the border guards. Stacia took the reigns and thanked him; Leo glared at Toren.
Lavender glanced at Tannem, truly sorry, then reigned in every feeling behind a veil of harmony, as she had been taught, and mounted Kinja once more. The horse whinied with concern and Lavender patted her neck in reassurance. "We should get moving." Her voice was impersonal. It didn't sound like her at all.
Toren led the way toward Faerang, Stacia close behind him as Leo watched the two in angry, jealous silence. His horse felt his aggression and snorted, ready for battle. He stroked its mane soothingly. It relaxed. "If only she was as easy to calm," he sighed wistfully.
"I'm sorry, Tannem," Lavender trailed behind. Kinja's hooves made a steady rhythm that held her focus. She wanted to disappear. She had one hand on her stomach, seeming as though she was going to pass out, and the other hung at her side, holding her sweater.
He frowned, still watching Stacia. "It's not your fault. If I had more control..." He trailed off. "I just want to be her husband, to build a quiet life with her. But she won't have it. Not willingly."
"I took your control away. It is my fault. I should have focused it on her alone, and left dopamine for serotonin instead, I'm sorry. At least it's not the end, yet, because everything will be fine in the end. It always is."
He waved his hand as if to dismiss the idea. "What's done is done. The die has been cast." The sky began to darken to the first twinkling stars of mid afternoon.
"So what's the story with this Toren Thane?"
"He was partners with one of the border guards, but this died due to an accident. I think we can trust him. He might help us get past the border without actually have to sign in. However, if we do, we can't stay long. The Th'ardrodian Guard will soon figure out that we had the book all along and come after us."
"Wouldn't we be fastest in Faerang, then? If he can help us, perhaps we can find protection as well - a place to hide."
"Perhaps, but hasn't it occurred to you that our mission might be of continental importance? If someone is using these ingredients to create some army, whether it be the King or the resistance, they should be stopped. There's a reason why the art is taboo: it's against Nature. What if we're too late? Who will die and who will live, and who will become a slave to their master's will? Even if he gives us protection, which he has no reason to do in the first place, we still have to hurry."
"I didn't say we wouldn't hurry. I'm just thinking of us. What will happen, will happen. But we can't do anything if we didn’t stay alive," he reasoned quietly. "If he can be trusted like you think, he would help us stay alive..."
"Trusted is different from expecting favours, Tannem. You can trust a person not to kill you, but not expect him to protect you." Lavender gave the impression that she undermined Faerang's dangers. "But, would you like me to ask him?"
"I didn't expect favors," he said coldly, producing a heavy pouch of coins. "When money speaks, people listen."
He pulled the reigns and led the horse away.
"Do you have more of those to buy supplies or are we wasting everything on services?" She instantly picked up on his cold demeanor and suddenly allowed it, and Stacia's complicatedness, to be taken personally.
It boiled inside of her. Kinja felt this and became uneasy. Lavender clicked her tongue and forced her to run ahead, full speed. They overtook Toren and Stacia, and didn't stop there. The horse seemed out of control and beside herself with fury, but her rider did not bother to stop her.
"Spoiled child. Last time I checked, my money was my own," he shouted after her. So I'm paying out of my own pocket for you, someone I hardly know and have no obligation to? I came to look after Stacia and this As'arden throws a fit because I want to spend a small amount of my own money on keeping us alive? He hated her, more so than he had hated any other. She ruined his relationship and now was acting like she owned them? His horse took note of his aggression and reared up, kicking his front legs furiously.
[This post is a collaboration between both members of the roleplay, played out via chat on another site and posted by m i s s Rieux.]
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:46 am
"I hate them, Kinja. No, maybe 'hate' is a strong word. I'm very very angry and frustrated with them and never should have given that girl free fruit. Then none of this would have happened." Kinja snorted. They were walking knee-deep in the river now, far away enough from the rest to not see them. "I know, we still need to save the world from a potential undead apocalypse. I'm just tired of trying. There's so much bottled inside that I can never express - no - that I'm not allowed to express. I wish I wasn't a minstrel. I wish everything wasn't as delicate and easily disrupted. Everything is so messed up, but here I am complaining when you're stuck forever. I'm so sorry, Kinja." The horse nuzzled her shoulder. "Thank you for being there and supporting me... What is there to do? They hate me. Tannem thinks I expect him to spend his money on me. I brought my own fruit and enough of my own coins to keep me and Ani alive... No, she's his baby now." Kinja made a sound that could be interpreted as a gasp. "Yes, I'm abandoning them. We don't need them, do we? We don't need anyone." Lavender glanced up, teary-eyed, at the setting sun, appreciating its last rays and the warm glow they left on her skin. 'So alone,' she thought the wind whispered.
Just then, a robed figure appeared in front of her and the scenery started to change.
"You will abandon your friends and your quest to satisfy your emotional outlets?" He asked in a voice, trembling with power.
"No," she countered, feeling guilty and embarrassed. Strangely, she was not alarmed or suspicious of this individual.
"Then you will return to them?"
"Yes."
"Then why have you run away?"
"To seek refuge in solitude as I always have."
"This is not As'arden, Dáire. You are no longer surrounded by people who love and accept and understand. You have to understand the systems of the world and adapt instead of trying to force upon others your own ideals. You cannot be selfish."
Lavender's shoulders slumped; her downcast eyes were remorseful. "Look up into the light." He disappeared and she found herself in a small lake, surrounded by ducks with bone masks clasped upon their heads. They were peaceful and didn't seem to notice her. There was a weight in her hands: the Tome of the Dead.
Finally, she grinned and eagerly flipped it open. In it was strange runes that, after a moment, became legible. It was so much more than she had anticipated and spoke of forbidden magic beyond the art of necromancy. It had monstrous chapters on each form of magic. Lavender urgently paged to the section for minstrels and scanned through it hungrily, trailing her finger along the passages as she did so. There were information about crystals that one could use, after they were magically charged, as lenses to focus magic and draw power from. After that, there was written articles and theories on absorbing emotions and distributing your own while lightening your own heart, without artistic expression, and after that - hypnotism and compelling.
Someone was watching her. She looked up. It was Stacia.
***
There was a whisper in the wind. It was cold and somehow intimidating without being quite audible. Words caught on. "Geneviene," it wafted through Stacia's hair, caressing her exposed cheeks and nipping at her nose. Suddenly, she found herself sitting under a willow. The grass beneath her was soft and fine, and the breeze gently swayed the willow's leaves: this way and that as though they were dancing to some hypnotic rhythm. The gray mare was nowhere to be seen. Leo and Toren were absent as well. Beyond was a bubbling stream that lead towards a pool. There were a few ducks, paddling around. Their brows were crowned with a bone mask, yet they lacked the goal-orientated movement of the rational mammal. They encircled a girl that stood in the exact middle, paging through the Tome of the Dead. It was Lavender. She looked up at Stacia, seeming confused, and tried to make her way towards her, but couldn't seem to move.
"Ani," she started. Her voice seemed otherworldly, as everything else around them. "I thought you had the book..." She didn't know what else to say and imagined her to be quite furious.
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:59 am
* * *
Stacia found herself in a meadow, standing on soft ground underneath a white willow, its branches swaying in the gentle breeze. Her hair caught the wind and she suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable, like a child. She couldn't help feeling as though she had lost something and was searching for it, but she couldn't remember what; she could hardly recall anything at all. She crossed her right arm over her chest, holding on to the upper part of her left arm as she always did as a child when she felt uncomfortable. It was then that she looked up and saw a girl, holding a book. It all came rushing back.
Lavender. The Tome of the Dead. She stole it!! Stacia's anger surfaced. She felt hurt, betrayed, and foolish for allowing it to happen. I thought she was my friend... She wanted to start forward and confront Lavender, but before she could find a way, she found herself surrounded by soldiers without faces. To her, it looked like some sort of grey smoke, giving off it's own (though very faint) glow. She backed away a few steps and noticed a dark, translucent matter with the consistency of smoke, linking her to them. She began to feel sick, even more so than before blacking out. Deep in her core, she felt hollow; it spread through her until it made her nearly numb. She swiped at the smoke, trying to break away, but it merely wrapped around her arms as she made contact. She tried to claw it off, but it kept spreading. She reached for her mask in a panic, but it wasn't there. She only felt something smooth, like bone. She backed away, but tripped and fell.
The Tome? The Tome lay in her lap, feeling heavier than it ever had. Somehow, she felt it held the answers to her questions. She felt that if she opened it, everything would be explained. She looked up, trying to see who had put it there. Now that she looked properly, she saw her friends scattered about, encircled by soldiers, separated from each other. They were trying to fend off the faceless soldiers, but they were fighting a losing battle. They were hopelessly outnumbered.
Her anger evaporated. She stood, trying to get to them, but the faceless blocked her path, forcing her back. Everywhere she turned, they surrounded, pressing in on her. She held the book tightly, afraid. She retreated to a large, mossy rock and stood upon it. She almost wished she hadn't; Lavender was being overtaken. They restrained her limbs with strong, gloved hands to keep her from moving, while another came from behind and covered her mouth so she couldn't sing. A final one shuffled forward, stopping just in front of her. For a moment, it seemed it wouldn't do anything, but then, it raised a fist covered in black light. The air filled with a sort of humming, more felt than heard, and as quick as lightning it plunged its fist deep into her abdomen, just below her rib cage. It took Stacia what felt like an eternity to realize that the screaming was hers and not Lavender's. The faceless soldier went to work, reaching up and cracking each rib bone slowly, one-by-one. Stacia felt helpless as she watched Lavender's head fall forward and her body go limp. She turned to see several others, ones she didn't know with their backs turned to her, meeting the same fate. Her mind continually flitted to the Tome. If I could just open it... I know this can save them! But how? The circle of faceless around her kept closing in slowly. Panic began to rise as the sounds of squishing organs and snapping bones filled the air, mingling with muffled - and sometimes unhindered - screaming. There was nowhere for her to go. In the distance, over the heads of several soldiers, she saw Leon. "Leon!" He didn't notice her. She jumped from the rock, intending to surprise the faceless by rushing them and breaking through their ranks. Two moved closer together caught her easily - one around the stomach and the other around her chest - knocking the wind out of her. The Tome fell to the ground with a heavy thump; she felt as if a part of her had been stolen. "Leon!" She screamed for him again, but had trouble making much noise with the lack of air. As the soldiers got into position to restrain her, she drew in one last breath. "LEON!" Hope evaporated. The world slowed. She fell forward in utter despair as a soldier shuffled forward, his fist glowing with a black light, humming filling her ears and reverberating to her very bones...
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