Tag: my writing

[!] Loneliness ==>

On By malicoreLeave a comment

Loneliness.

[Mood]

A strong word, isn’t it? A word so bold and so bitterly cold that when used it can shift cities and move mountains if one dared to wield it so strongly. It’s also a word to describe how it has been… locked away in a cell. For days upon end and visitations so sparse that they seemed like the heavens’ light when someone walked through iron cast doors to stand before the reinforced glass.

While a deal had been made between a Scholar and a Demon to free the beast of a Woman and bring her back to them… there was no guarantee that the process would be quick, there was no guarantee that the process would be easy… Yet with all things that our daring Ranger had gone through… this seemed to be the most cruel.

Trapped in a body that was no longer hers, unable to speak words without a snarl and hiss that felt like the feeling and pain of running water through her vocal chords. Her voice was hushed and rasped, garbled and wavy all the while painfully hushed behind her metal skin. Her mind split between her own and that of the Monster’s skin she wore. Blood red claws running their sharpened points along aetherically treated glass again and again before crashing onto the scarred metal floor. Cold sweat trickled down the beaten glass as blazing steam billowed out from iron scales along its body.

The light above in the room flickered, sparking on occasion as claws, like daggers stabbed their way into the fixture to eliminate it. The only light now was from the far side of the glass, where the safety of viewing lingered, and the green ghastly glow of the metal eyes as the beast shifted in the room.

Day after day, sunup to sundown the guards beyond the metal door could hear the scratching, the screeching and screams of the iron beast that the Glass Network’s several parties worked so feverishly to capture and subdue. It was constant, it was painful… The Scholar had guaranteed the eventual return, but had no say on when it would be… And even now, a fortnight later since their Deal had been struck there has been only a little progress.

The regression of her mind, of Bella’s mind had begun. Little things, icons, symbols… and even pictures, she could recognize and even speak their names if but only rarely. A plush doll of a wyvern and bear were laid out by the base of the glass wall to operate as small constant reminders of her beloved pets at the Farm. It worked for a time, but.. even stagnant things such as these could only do so much.

And the Scholar could not stay in the room with the monster forever. The days she spent away or the times she looked elsewhere, the progress seemed to revert in a painful manner. White eyes of recognition flickered to the monstrous green and the woman inside would be lost to the cold loneliness yet again.

Then… One day, the door opened and out from the outside came a familiar yet brief woman. Raven black tresses wrapped in an intricate bun, silvery steel wrapped around her body in woven armor in the style of the ancient Hingashi samurai. She came to stand firmly by the window, the look of regret flashing deeply in her eyes as the soft colors of reflection came to her from the monster behind the thick glass.

Steam permeated the air behind it, seemingly suffocating the containment cell, hiding away the scars of the days gone by, the scratches and scrapes of rage and agony that had built over time. The carvings of small seemingly insignificant hieroglyphs, and intricate circles hidden away behind the veil of wispy white. The green and white glow of eyes drifted quietly through the choking fog before coming to rise and stand before the woman.

“Bella.” The hingan’s voice came up, breaking even now with the mid-age falling before the emotions she carried with her.

“It’s Setsu…”

The monster behind the glass held silent, painfully so as the white turned into tints of green before the clarity fought back in an attempt from within to speak. Yet as it warred only the sounds of rasped growls could come up as metal claws rose to press palms flatly against the wall towards the woman. In her eyes, her sight became far too filled with sadness to stare clearly forward. Bittersweet tears brimmed over the woman’s remaining eye as she resisted the urge to do the same.

“I’m… I-i’m sorry.” Was all Setsuko could say as she quietly lifted her other hand to place a written note to the glass before her. Each letter in Eorzean was made to be large, so that the beast could see it, so that the beast could understand it… Yet
after everything, Belladonna could not. Her metal maw pressed against the glass gently before moving to rub her forehead against the cold beaten glass.

Each word seemed painfully foreign, the lines jumbling yet remaining clear in sight, her mind failed again and again to read the bitter passage. Each word wrought with sadness and teary eyed farewells and ‘I love you’s.

Both beings stood in silence, staring at the written note before Setsuko finally let it go. The paper slipping from the wall to flutter and bitterly float to the cold floor below. As it fell, the Hingan turned away from the monster. Belladonna quick to cry out with a whine as the thumps of her metal being came while she crashed herself against the wall to try and reach for the woman who walked away.

Bella couldn’t understand what happened, or what was going on, but deep down her heart, how so very little and frail felt as if it tore apart just a little more. It send the monster into a frenzy as the whines and screeches of the metal beast came louder and louder, only muffled by the secure glass.  Mayhaps it was the fact she were walking away without saying another word… mayhaps it wasn’t.

As the note settled on the floor, the monster could see the largest of the words written laid on the bottom of the page in bitter sadness…

Goodbye.

The lonely word sat on its own at the bottom of the page itself… and for that briefest of moments, Bella understood what it meant. And from then on… she felt nothing…

 Nothing but… painful… loneliness.

It had been sometime since then. The guards could hear her continued screeches and lashing outs when unattended. They seemed endless… more desperate… more pained. There has been rumor, floating among the small group tasked with maintaining the room’s security. The rumor of that they could hear, along with the thrashings and screams…. that they could hear…. sobs..

And since then… No one dared touch the note.

Because… after all..

Loneliness is a strong word…

… isn’t it?

The Hunt: Revelation  – RP Event – GM’s Excerpt

On By malicoreLeave a comment
image

Tagging for their participation: 

|| @isuke-ejinn @enambris @lilyverlial @nenet-ffxiv @bride-and-bride @glowinggunmetal @polymorphologist @rukaelf​ ||

|| Thank you very much for playing! ||

[[Warning! The following section of the event contains graphical violence, dismemberment and other mature themes not suited for young or unprepared audiences. You may want to skip this part if you find yourself possibly uneasy. Thank you for reading! ]]

Bits from both Luke and Reina quietly made their way through the denser parts of the fog, disappearing into the mists to spread out further than footfalls could and scout the terrain in hopes of finding their target in far more clarity. The bits themselves shot through tangles of vines silently as something pinged along their sensory arrays.

By some miracle, or perhaps by luck it was in fact; the source of the mist. The fog shifting through the deep jungle here surrounded their target, exuding from it like a never ending well. Of course.. it had been like this for a while, especially without how much of a rain forest this was, steam supported and no doubt fed the continuous swell.

But… just as the bits pinged their organic target…they pinged several others as well.. These were small, cast out, tossed aside, strewn through every part of the immediate area. Along tree branches, hanging from the canopy like supposed vines. Several pings if not many were along the ground, right beneath the party’s very feet.

Through Enambris now, the temperature skyrocketed even further. The heat broiling, pushing away the red tinted mist like a wave of clarity. Pockets of sunshine from the skies above began to thrust themselves down and illuminate the darker jungle they stood in.

Unfortunately though… With Clarity.. came regret. In the flashes of coming sun, the raw nature of this area came to light. The sweat along the trees gleamed red, pools of what was assumed water from the rains that had come and gone and condensation passing through were pools of red and crimson. Muscle and sinew hung from the branches like vines

Patches and chunks of people’s bodies were cast and strewn about, red and pink stained bones and carcasses were laid about, almost as if they were made right where they stood.

While this wasn’t a clearing, it was a thicket, one could still see pockets and places where violence had occurred. Ahead of them were still warm bodies, expressions of fear and agony were forever etched onto their red splattered faces. Two bodies, specifically were beside each other, one having fell right after the other. Their clothes matching that of a lingering pirate band that were noted to hang around more of the mainland rather than the coastline.

A third body was just a few more fulms away… twitching. As eyes were laid upon the young hyurian woman, it was clear she moved not by her own doing. Black and red claws were gripped onto her person, the body of a Red armored beast with green eyes was hunched over it. Partially holding the woman up into its arms while its metal maw was open and around the woman’s bloodied shoulder and neck.. ripping and tearing away flesh.

Audible sounds of the beast gulping and drinking of its food came to light after the silence of shock had settled in…

There it was.

There… She was.

image

Belladonna…

[[At the beginning of the week, I held an event where Belladonna’s comrades moved to capture a rather… Feral Bella! This was one of the bigger reveals of the event and I pleased with the response.]]

On By malicoreLeave a comment

[Reader Warning:]

|| Themes of character mental instability and nightmares are involved || 

[Hence title]

———-

Chittering.
Infestations..
The swarming stings..

The hallowed horrid buzzing, the chomping of maws, the irritable hum of fluttering wings.. the wrapping of tentacles, slinking of flesh and crack of bones as they twisted beyond bend. Sounds of rancor filled her ears as her mind was assaulted with the twisted thoughts and black water. A chiding of voices not belonging to her own in restless slumber caused the woman to toss and turn beneath silken sheets. Slowly her eye pried itself open, her body pulling itself up out of the warmth of the bed to sit on the edge of it.

It was quiet, and yet, her mind in a clamor of disarray, the only other sound in the darkened bed room were the gentle purrs of her partner. Their prosthetic metal tail wrapping around her arm in the gentle silence. A silent calm help for the weary and restless. Bella lay still for but a moment before shifting again, trying to push her thoughts away, to try and fall back asleep.

The cold unpolished wood floor could be felt along the soles of her feet as she pulled away from the safety to linger on into the darkness. Shifting through the shadows, her hand slowly found a door knob. It’s idle kiss of cold metal found itself pressed against her fingertips as she turned it, the lock knocking back as the door were pulled open to an even darker hallway.

Voices echoed through Haven’s halls, unintelligible whispers just out of range. The warmth of their words lingering just behind her ears. Their waves of breath puffing against nervous skin. As the wayward woman seemingly aimlessly crept through the dark hallway, shadows gave way to a bitterly dim silver glow that weaved its way through white drapes behind glass windows.

The further she moved, the longer the hallway seemed to stretch. The windows lining every other space yet still leaving the dim light in their places. Whispers turned to growls, the growls to snarls as puffs of breath at her ears turned to heavy pants that trailed down the back of her neck. Voices every manner of them echoed in different volumes, all a cacophony and ill-boding symphony of one singular word…

“RUN”

“̀R̡un. ͘R͢U̸N.͏ ̸RUN͟ MO̸ŖE͠! Run f͏a͡s͞t̨er͜! I̸t’̡s beh̴in͞d͘ y͜ou.҉ It’s aĺm̀os͝t her̛e͞! It̸’s ́here̴! Įt’̴s ͝h̷er̵e. ͘I’m͏ ̀he͞ré! RUN͡ ̵F͏AST̀ȨR̶.̸ ̀WE’ŖE ͟RIGH͜T ҉BE͘HÌND̶ YOU̕~"͠

"͢Why d͢o͡n’t̀ ̶ýou͘ j́oin u͝s̢?͢!̷ ҉W͘ḩy̢ d͡o͘n͠’̛t y͟ou͘ ̵w̨a҉n̨t us?̧!͠!? We ͡c̕a̛n ͘b҉e w̵h҉ol͜e̛ ̀a̡g͜a͟in!!҉!!!!̡!͢!"͞

The voices were yelling, screeching, cascading behind her as she raced down the hall. Beads of sweat rolling down her face as her heart thundered in her chest. The heat of their breath was ever relentless as it brushed down her back. Claws and fleshy tendrils thumped and chased after her, scratching and thudding just only moments behind. Hurried footsteps clamored down the elongating hallway as the elezen finally let out a panicked cry.

With every blink of her eye, wipe of sweat from her brow, things around her changed. The wood and stone walls turned to metal sheets. The silver ghost lights from the windows turned to hues of red and blue as the bubbling of the ocean floor surrounded her. Haven… safe and warm was now Whisper Ridge… cold and dark… alone. The only thing left were the door at the far end of the hall.

As she reached out with a leap ahead her fingertips just out of reach of the door knob to her home, the black claws and flesh of death wrapped around her sight, holding her there as it started to eat away, to cover her body up and pull her into the open dark that lingered behind her.

Bella could only muster up a choked up scream as her hand frantically reached out for the low iridescent light. The echoing laughter and whispered rushing… assaulting her mind as the colors of this dim existence grew black and dark till suddenly a breath of air hits her lungs. Her eye shoots open as she sits up in a panic, heart racing at breakneck pace.

There was a cold sweat along her body, silken bed sheets covering up her and her partner still some. Trembling and on the brink of weeping, she sat there, a face in hand, trying to force herself quiet again. It wasn’t working. Slowly now, her partner reached over, it were different, a hingan’s hand placing it atop of Bella’s and squeezing firmly.

The elezen turned some to see her, the woman of raven black and snow white locks laying in the bed next to her. An ageless smile coming to the sleepy hyur’s lips as she whispered something in her foreign tongue.

"Another one?”

With a saddened gulp, Bella sniffled before gently lowering herself back down, the warmth of her partner reaching her against the cold mattress and sheets in the late, late evening. This wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last. Nightmares… whispers… horrid thoughts plagued her every night, endlessly, and relentlessly, yet no one knew save for those who shared her bed. From one heart to the next, one lost, another found, they would know she suffered but never knew the cause.

Slowly she drifted back to sleep. Another long set of nights pass, and through it all, the nightmares never ceased. The weeks go by, and then night terrors continue, the whispers getting louder, the thoughts getting worse… fear of loss turned to outrage and possession… The dream whispers get harder to differentiate from reality as the days change…

————————————–

One night, and with a low growl, the elezen huffed in her sleep.

“̨Th͢ey̵ ̨çan͢’̡t͡ h͠av͜e i̧t͝. ̵The͟y͡ w͢o̧n’t̶ ͟h̨a͝ve it. Ǹo ͏on̶e̴ wil̴l h̸av͘e ̕it͠.́ It’s ͝m̀in̵e͝.͘ ̴I͝t̢’̷s mi͡n͢e̡..͟. It̸’s͠ MI̢NE҉,̷ ͟it̴’s ͘ALW̡A͢YS̕ b͜ee̕n͘ ̀miǹe.̵ Not͢hinģ w̢ill ̧b̵e ̵t͡ak̨en͢.͢ T̕hey҉ w̶on’́t ͜t҉a̢ke it.͢ ͞T̀hey ́CAN̸’T take̛ ̧i͡t.҉.͡. ̷"̸ Whispers in the dark turned to yells as they cascaded across the dreamscape.

Their voices raising higher and higher as her heart raced again. The elezen’s eye shooting open once again, just as the nights before now. She were in bed with her partner again, her face buried in raven and snow white locks. It was quiet again, the idle crackle of a hearth filling the air solely. Bella moved to press a soft kiss to the woman’s head beside her before pulling away gently. Slowly she scooted herself to the edge of the bed, sitting up right.

The cold unpolished wood floor could be felt along the soles of her feet as she pulled away from the safety to linger on into the darkness. Shifting through the shadows, her hand slowly found a door knob. It’s idle kiss of cold metal found itself pressed against her fingertips as she turned it, the lock knocking back as the door were pulled open to an even darker hallway.  

Voices echoed through Haven’s halls, unintelligible whispers just out of range. The warmth of their words lingering just behind her ears. Their waves of breath puffing against nervous skin. As the wayward woman seemingly aimlessly crept through the dark hallway, shadows gave way to a bitterly dim silver glow that weaved its way through white drapes behind glass windows.

”Mine.. Run… It’s mine. RUN FASTER..! It’s always been mine. Run away with it… Hide it! They can’t take it. No. NO. They won’t take it… We can become whole with it…“

As she reached the door at the end of the hall, her hand pressed against it’s knob before reaching for a secondary panel on the side. Red numbers and sigils glowing on the combination dial as she turned it quietly to the left, the right, and left again. Those symbols pulsing blue as she moved to the knob and pushed.

Walking through the dark entry way, she found herself no longer in the safety of Haven, but out at sea now. The washing of The Bounty’s waves below echoed out against the large metal foundation of the platform she stood upon. It was dark out, the sky filled with millions upon billions of twinkling lights that reflected on the shimmering ocean.

This was her lab, a place just for herself. Few knew of it, fewer knew how to reach it. Through metal door after metal door, she walked through the empty facility, going lower and lower till she reached a small lift. The elevator lowering itself past the deepest point of the facility to go even further below… The Ocean floor.

Blips of light dotted the sandy sea bed, indicating where small buildings were, connected by hallway tubes. The trip itself was quick, even for such a long distance between the surface and here. The lift stopped at a welcoming station, the facility still ever empty. Empty… save for one voice.

"Greetings User Belladonna! It is I, S-1-E-R-A, Siera. It has been approximately four days, twelve bells and thirty-two ticks since you last visited this outpost. Would you like an status update on containment?”

The elezen stepped forward with a small frown, her head giving a firm nod.

“Very well. Your ‘gift’ is still in containment. All systems nominal. Would you like to see it?”

As the Allagan node poised its question, the door leading onward into the rest of her facility opened up to reveal the singular hallway that connected to containment. Without hesitation, Bella raced through the entryway. The voices still lingering in her mind and in the hallway now too… Her voice coarse and growling.

“They won’t take it. They can’t have it. It’s mine. Run… Running.. It’s MINE. My tek… my home.. mine. ALL OF IT…. Mine.”

Slowly her voice went silent as she reached the next room. It was a medium sized metal room, spotlights gently washing over a center table, and on the table sat a small opened parcel, it’s wrappings of black still housing the box.

There, on satin cushions sat a small glass bottle. Within the box itself, in crisp and perfect detail, sits a little scene. Wide expanses of rolling farmlands nestle a house, and around it the tiny movements of magicked farm animals grazing and running and playing can be seen all frolicking around a picturesque little farm, a home Bella knew ever so intimately that the details within it were impossibly accurate.

Belladonna’s voice was nothing now, her hurried and panicked expressions from before were muted to a smile as she rested against a railing that overlooked the table and bottle.

“…No one will take it..”

“No one.”

On By malicoreLeave a comment

its-morphin-time-xiv:

The Thunder Rolls

——————-

“… t’would.. seem that the past never ceases to catch up to me…”

– “What happened?”

“I.. i-it’s… i- I’ll tell when it ends… I promise.”

——————-

| There can be no Victory… The Darkness always returns… |

Those words echoed in our elezen’s mind as she stood still, her body on the very verge of collapsing. Shaking as waves of fear rushed at her heart before sputtering out to sounds of seething behind clenched teeth. Her one eye glaring daggers at the man who stood only yards away from her. A man clad in black and draped in red. His eyes practically glowing a gilded gold before those shining colors faded to reveal hazel and honey colored hues in the flashes of lightning that streaked across the skies overhead.

Pain, something that she had never grown used to, even as she lied to her comrades about it. It was always something she felt, the emotional strain… the physical reluctance to feel it again as it were always amplified to her. The smugness that lingered along the man’s face pulled hard at her heart’s strings. A look that she remembered all too well.

Thunder cascaded in a veritable symphony of rancor overhead, the storm over the La Noscean isles taking its hold firmly. The boom and roar of the clouds sent violent shudders through her bones, contesting with the quivering fear that rolled down her spines.

León.

Keep reading

On By malicoreLeave a comment

The Thunder Rolls

——————-

“… t’would.. seem that the past never ceases to catch up to me…”

– “What happened?”

“I.. i-it’s… i- I’ll tell when it ends… I promise.”

——————-

| There can be no Victory… The Darkness always returns… |

Those words echoed in our elezen’s mind as she stood still, her body on the very verge of collapsing. Shaking as waves of fear rushed at her heart before sputtering out to sounds of seething behind clenched teeth. Her one eye glaring daggers at the man who stood only yards away from her. A man clad in black and draped in red. His eyes practically glowing a gilded gold before those shining colors faded to reveal hazel and honey colored hues in the flashes of lightning that streaked across the skies overhead.

Pain, something that she had never grown used to, even as she lied to her comrades about it. It was always something she felt, the emotional strain… the physical reluctance to feel it again as it were always amplified to her. The smugness that lingered along the man’s face pulled hard at her heart’s strings. A look that she remembered all too well.

Thunder cascaded in a veritable symphony of rancor overhead, the storm over the La Noscean isles taking its hold firmly. The boom and roar of the clouds sent violent shudders through her bones, contesting with the quivering fear that rolled down her spines.

León.

As the levin lights flashed and danced across grey and otherwise dark clouds in the evening, more and more of his face were revealed. A sharp and squared jaw that were ever scarred on the left side,traces of fangs and claws that had caught him in ages past remained. A deep scar across the bridge of his nose and a light skinned spot on his forehead, right where she had shot him once… many… many moons ago.

Yet even with that mark, he still stands here before her. Alive as ever, a small laugh escaping him as he stared back. His voice rising above the thunder to speak. The voice was gruff, a low existence that drew with a hushed honey tinge that she loved once… many cycles ago.

“Surprised you still remember me.” A scoff. “I was hoping you wouldn’t. It’d make this meeting a whole lot easier, babydoll –”

– “Don’t call me that.” –

“Awwwh… Baby Slater’s all grown up now?” His voice cooed with a bordering chuckle. “I mean… you sure like you’ve grown up now. Taller, a look that could kill. Pointed ears too? Shite, baby you went far beyond what I expected to see all these years later.”

– “… Shut up.” –

“And she’s got some spunk! Good… Good, I like that. I like that you’re still the woman I knew. Even if you are a bit taller now.”

– “S-shut up! Why are you here. Answer me.” – The elezen hissed now, her words a bark against the cascades of booming thunder overhead. Bella stood with a jaw tightened and fists clenched at her sides, balling tight enough that they’d break bones and skin if it went any further.

“I’m here, baby, to make sure you don’t go any further. This… plan of yours? These ideas you got going on?” He smirked, gesturing to the device that wrapped around Bella’s right wrist. “These new things? You gotta stop darlin’… Cause if you don’t.”

“I’m gonna have to ki–.”

– “Then do it, coward.” –

León

seemed to pause a moment, the words, how curt, how dangerous they were. Even as he loved these moments, she caught him off guard but he never showed it.

“How do we find ourselves in these little… standoffs, darlin’? It’s gotta stop… Or we’re gonna go back to familiar ground.” He spoke light, his and her mind traveling back years to when they were younger. Of how he always would tread the dangerous line with the darkness that threatened to swallow any Ranger foolish enough to look over the edge…

Of how when he did step over that everything went black, and the skies over their home rained with the blood of their allies, and the cacophony of thunder that turned to the screams of their loved ones.

The skies above the two shattered souls were churning, bolts of lightning scattering across the skies as thunder quaked the grounds below enough to rival that of Titan. The waters of upper la noscea rippled with each boom as boots now slowly waded through, circling each other in a slow fashion.

Both Bella and

León

were locked, their eyes centering on the other as all the jokes, jests and smiles left the man’s face to be taken away by a cold yet subtly solemn gaze onward.

Slowly, beneath the rushing rain that puddled and pooled into the waters that surrounded the lost city of Nym nearby,

León’s voice rose in an eerily calm start, his voice low yet carrying a tune with it as he started to sing out the first few lyrics of a song.

—
| Song Link |
—

“Three thirty in the morning…
Not a soul in sight
The city’s lookin’ like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night…”

As he continued, his voice soon became modulated, masked behind magitek speakers as red colors rushed along his body. The growl of a wolf echoes throughout the air as Red armor covered his person, chasing after the coursing colors. | Embrace the Danger | Betrayer | E v o l v e d | growled out the device on his own wrist as the eyes of his helmet flashed violent colors.

“Raindrops on the windshield
There’s a storm moving in
He’s heading back from somewhere
That he never should have been…

And the thunder rolls..
And the thunder rolls…”

Quickly, between the flashes of levin overhead, his clawed gauntlets rose up, flaring out iron nails as he closed the long distance before him. Splashes against the water came as his metal boots rushed through. The snarls of a hungry and near rabid would followed behind his voice as the words continued.

“Every light is bruning
In a house across town
She’s pacing by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown…”

Bella slowly shifted her footing, as her own fists came to bear. The rain soaking into her clothes. Shoes soaking beneath the surface of the rippling waters, digging slightly into the gravely bank below. Even with one eye she could see him clearly, rain dripping down her bangs slightly skewing her already broken vision.

The device on her wrist did not activate yet, no. She remained in her soaking clothes, letting the wind and rain have their way against her dark and scarred skin. Bella waited longer, his words echoing into the storm filled evening.

“Asking for a miracle..
Hoping she’s not right
Praying it’s the weather
That’s kept him out all night..

And the thunder rolls..”

León’s footsteps hardened as he rushed forward still, his boots coming down into the water one final time to leap skyward, his claws reaching to his sides to pull free blood-red daggers from their sheathes. Fingers spinning the blades between them before catching and gripping them firmly as he flew past the apex of his leap, coming down to bear them first onto Belladonna.

“And the thunder rolls…”

Yet as he descended Bella’s one eye pulsed a icey blue color that washed over the dark green hues she had. Her voice escaping through her parting lips high and mighty, weighted with a defiant rage against the man she once loved so long ago. The crash of metal and colors of blue and gold rushed along the elezen’s left arm as she raced it higher firing her fist toward the oncoming daggers with all the burning strength she could muster from her quivering heart.

“The thunder rolls”

An armored fist rose to crash against the sharpened edges of the daggers, creating a washing wave of sparks that careened and collided with the pouring rain. The colors of gold and blue course over the elezen’s body, armor appearing in the wake of the wave as the device on her wrist explained out between the beats of their song | Heed the call |  Ranger | S A V I O R |

“And the lightning strikes
Another love grows cold..
On a sleepless night…”

Bella’s voice grew modulated in the chorus as she pushed back against the oncoming blades. Try of a hawk coming to bear as her force shoved the daggers to the ground, sending

León

back a few feet away. With a snarl, he rears his head up to see the blue warrior before him. As he did, the memories of ages past, their love, their loss and his betrayal rush to him before he could rise properly to his feet.

Without the mercy of waiting, Bella charged forward. Her right hand palm coming forward to crash like a wave of wind against his helmet, sending him upwards away. The red armor colliding with ancient stonework behind him with a metallic crunch.

“As the Storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The Thunder rolls…”

The elezen’s voice carried the chorus onward as the man slowly got his bearings straight.

León

reaching for his daggers on either side of him before pushing himself up with an audible smirk in his lyrics as the daggers rose to level with Bella’s visage. He’d shake his head as a shoulder rolled, stretching his reach just a moment.

Bella remained light on her feet as she shifted to a more ready stance, one hand tucked to her side as the other extended forward with her arm. With a low exhale between words and the rumble of verse on the tip of

León’s tongue, the most subtle of beckons came with the quick curl of four fingers.

“She’s waiting by the window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he’s alive…”

León’s voice carried out again, unshaken, unwavering even after being sent reeling against the stone pillar. His grip freshens itself along the daggers’ handles, his smile still ever audible as the lyrics came forth. The memories of them together, on a stage, or off of it, hand in hand… years ago they were but still remained fresh in his mind as they day they were made.

Why was he here… what brought him to this point… to drive all of this love away, to drive that blackened knife in to the heart of his home that one fate filled night. Their Darkest night..

“But on the wind and rain
A dangerous new perfume blows…
And the lightning flashes in her eyes
And he knows that she knows…”

It didn’t matter anymore. The whispers of the lingering black rushed to his ears and drove themselves further in as he watched Bella beckon him forth. The rain pelted their armor, painting their figures in the dark moonless night easily as the faint lights of the camps of Bronze lake and elsewhere lit the evening skies albeit barely. The only other light that reached them were the frequent flashes of lightning with their rumbling thunder.

León

rushed forward, his daggers tucked to either side of him as he raced towards Belladonna. Closer and closer he raced as his voice reached the chorus again. In their warring song, Belladonna and

León

had shared this moment of fate once before. And history simply repeated itself again and again.

In a lead to the chorus, the man lets out a snarl as he plunges himself forward, pushing himself as the Bloodied Mongrel opened it’s maw to unleash the voice it held within.

“And the thunder rolls..
And the thunder rolls…”

The red armor thrusts their dagger forward, pressuring the one of blue to strike back as it came. Yet, it didn’t. Bella shifted, her right foot pulling back to make

León

miss his target by only inches.

It was here that Belladonna’s voice took the chorus, her voice strong as her left hand rushed from its tucked position, her mailed fist crashing against the temple of the red helmet. The crash rang loud as thunder rolled overhead. The elezen shifted again as

León

was knocked off-kilter, her right hand knocking his forearm upward while he raced for her.

She had a year to dwell on his last appearance, his last grasp at her from the past that only lingered. It was true, she had been moving forward. It were an attempt to make something that made up for those she left behind, and for those that could still be yet saved.

She was tired of this… this past coming back to hurt her. She needed to hurt it back… there was no other way.

“The thunder rolls
And the lightning strikes
Another love grows cold…
On a sleepless night.”

As Bella pulled the man close, her hand reaches to take a hold of his collar and yank him even more off his feet. As his body reeled back, she stepped forth with her right foot before sending her left knee into his back, the sound of a metal plate crashing against the soft of a man’s spine crunched beneath the thunderous cacophony that roared above.

The flashes of lightning grew ever more violent as she pushed him into the air with the force from the blow. While he were airborne, his voice went silent. A quiet surrender of the song to the woman he had once betrayed, the woman who now hated him for it… for everything and beyond.

Belladonna shifted on her right heel, spinning to land her left leg down and send her right spiraling out to roundhouse kick

León

away and into the waters ahead. As her leg careened through the air, a shriek of wind exploded from the space cut in two. Sigils on her right leg pulsed a golden sheen beneath the flashing lightning before expelling themselves through bolts of electricity that chased after the red armor’s frame.

“As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in my heart…”

The elezen remained tall, her breath held while she sang out to see the song to its end. Her right hand open and spread at her side as the left came to rest near the helmet. The crash of lightning and thunder to her seemed something akin to the rancor of an audience before a stage. Slowly now, Bella in her armor proceeded to bend, offering nature’s audience a respective bow while the lightning flashed again and again. The center of the storm hanging overhead now.

León

stirred only slightly between the flashes of levin before outright vanishing. The shadows that lingered behind the light having been creeping over his form before enveloping him and pulling him back into the abyss of nothingness.

As Bella stood from her bow, she turned to see her defeated opponent. Except he wasn’t there, laying still in the flooding waters, no. His red armor was tough to miss, even in the walls of rain. Off in the distance, she could see the figure of blood red standing on a cliff’s edge where the shadows stopped and showed him, watching her.

“Deep in my heart..”

“The Thunder Rolls…”

On By malicoreLeave a comment

I’m back to (Rise!)
I’m back to (Glow!)
I’m back to (Fly!)
I’m back to (Soar!)
I’m back to (War!)
Let the truth be (Told!)
I feel on fire when my passion (Flow!)

|Ranger… Passions Burning! | Flames Scorching!| Fired Up!| Powered Up!| 

“Oh you bet yer’ arse I am..”

[A possibly okay story drabble under the cut!]

[It’s less impressive than the screenshots imo]

[Time: Sometime Saturday evening]

|| Proximity Alert: Sector 5, Voidal Incursion ||

| Hazard Level: Extreme. |

| Recommended Party: 3-8 |

[[Gods’ View Alert]] User Belladonna Slater has sustained multiple injuries, and one critical injury.

A thrum of thunder rolled overhead as lightning flashed in the distant skies over the once clear blue expanse that were now cloudy beyond belief. Rain fell like thin needles from the iron sky, pricking and poking at bare skin and cloth. The crackle of eerily warm fires spurred senses as they licked at what remained of a smoldering gap in several story high walls.

A battle… no… a war was raged here. A war that lasted only minutes. Between blue and the darkness that lingered on the island world beyond Stone and Iron walls. Yet even as this war had only ended, another waged, one that had waged longer than any other.

image

Here, in Gisana. The city of lost dreams, was a war that lasted has lasted untouched and unending since time began. Unrecorded by those beyond the veil of the unending maelstrom. A war best forgotten than remembered, much like the heroes that lived and died here. The young heroes that had barely yet to even reach adulthood that were laid low by the cold grasp of this dark war.

Here was a war that constantly brought our elezen back home, back to fight it, Alone. Just as how she supposedly ended it, Alone. Her comrades could only offer so much, a shared blade here, a storied word there, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. And it was evident, whenever the old girl set foot onto this weathered battlefield, alone, again.

The hauntingly familiar yet sickening scent and stain of black blood permeated from small puddles and pools that collected beneath muddy metal blue boots. A corpse or two of scaled voidlings lay scattered about, their claws still clutching their abominations of weapons. Flesh covered scythes and axes were buried in the rubble, the metal edges stained with still dripping crimson.

Our blue armored elezen stood before the partially broken wall, her fists curled as they rose up, her boots shuffling along the muddy dirt. Her stance ever so akin to the monks that she watched in Ala Mhigo train daily. Bella’s smirk was bloody, the stain of a crimson trail came along the corner of her lips and down her jaw to soak into the fabric along her neck. Her breathing was an audible strain, coughing with every attempted deep breathe to ease her heart as the bones in her chest remained fractured and cracked. Bloody purple bruises lined her skin over the tattoos and old scars.

The Blue helmet she wore was damaged, her working eye glimmering in the light of the fire. Occasional sparks flicked past her unmarred sight as the helmet she wore still surged with energy. Crimson leaked from punctures along scuffed and dirtied blue armor.

image

Re̡śil̛i͟en̢t̕ a̴s ̷éver.̶..
̀
C̛a͡n̕ yoù ̵n͝ot҉ s҉imp̡l͠y͡ ̛ju͞s͜t ̵give ͞u̕p?
͝
I͜t̀ ̸w̧o͠ul̡d́ ̕m̧a̵k̵e t͜h̀e͞se ̶l͢i̸tt̢ĺe ̶m͏ȩet̸in̵gs̕ ́ǫf͞ ours s̨o m̛uc͏h̀ e͝asi͘e̵r o҉n͜ o͢u̴r ͏s̕oúls.͠.
͏
Yo̷u’r͡e̶ ev̷e͜n͢ swàying͝.̸..̀ ͏s̸o ͜cl̛ose̡ t͟o f͟al͜li͡n͝ǵ..̀. ̀j҉us҉t̛…̡ L̕e͘t͠ it͢ hap҉p͡en̛.

̡Gi̷v͞e ̛up̧, ҉old g҉ir̛l.̵
̧
͠J̵u̸s͘t͘.̸ G͞ive͡. I̸n.
͞
̢Le͞t th́e ͢D͘a̵rk̡nes̴s͞ h͞av̕è yo͝u͡.͠

“… No.”

W̧ha͏t?͢ ͠Ẃh̵y̸ ̡do̢ yoư ͟insist on standin̡g͘?͟ ̀Yơur ̨ti̴me͟ i̵s at ̵an̵ end͢.

҉D̵o͞n’͞t͡ ͞yo̧u҉ ͡s͏ee ̧t͏hat?

“I said /No/. It’s… It’s not happening.” The elezen barked, groaning as she tightened her fists.

G̨ive. Up̧.͏

̴Y͟o͟u ̷àr̢e͠ ̷bu̢t ͜on͏è.͏

̢A҉nd ͠w͝e͞?
͟
҉B̨il͜li̶ons.̨

W͞e ͢a̛rȩ…̶ ͝Unen̕din͝g.͢

image

“No…” Bella hacked, her teeth clenching as the rain pricked against exposed flesh along her torso, arms and head. The rain poured hard, the street muddy and blackened, raindrops continued to fall like needles. 

“They expect nothing from me… No one here expects much from me anymore. They think an Old Ranger won’t be much help anymore. Old and beaten and.. tired…  They don’t expect the Rangers to come and save them anymore… Not after the years that had gone by. Not after the deaths of us… Of all of us!”

“I’m old… Yeah… I get it. I’ve been doing this for too long… this body can feel it, my mind, can feel it. I don’t need to be reminded again and again about how my chances of being able to walk home grow slimmer and slimmer with every moment passing here. I already know that! My fate’s already bloody sealed!”

“But I’ve gotta try. I’ve gotta stand up and fight… again and again… and again!”

The elezen’s voice broke as she roared beyond the veil of magitek masks, the projection barely able to modulate her voice anymore as she yelled.

“It’s not about winning or losing! Not about the fame or glory! It’s about every time you come back! Every time you rear your ugly face! Every time I’ll protect everyone behind that wall!”

“And I plan on doing it again and again! For the next Rangers, for a woman I’ll give my heart and soul to!”

“Regardless of if I win or if I lose this night…”

“I’m taking you right here, RIGHT NOW.”

image

As she roared out once more, the spouts of blue and red flame snaked their way from the gem housed along her belt to collect by her tattered gloves. The red gem pulsing a violent shade of purple and then green shortly after. Sigils and signs began to form along her arms and torso, their colors all blinding and glimmering gold. The heat of an inferno that dared to rival that of Ifrit pulsed and raged along curled fists as blue horns and a maw began to take shape over her knuckles.

The iron grip of soul and raging fire of heart came to life in her hands as the woman’s suit echoed out.

| Ranger… Passions Burning! | Flames Scorching! | Fired Up! | Powered Up! | 

“Oh… Guess I’m back in it… huh?”

The ghost of a smile flashed across her face as she freshened her grip on her burning soul’s weapons. The bloodied smile of hers flashing beneath beneath her broken mask. The roll and cascade of thunder drummed overhead as the bolts of lightning shot across the evening sky. The shadows as the light came and went expanded to reveal in the darkness…

e͙̙y̰̟͈̲ͅe̠͖̳s̖̙̜͙…

s̼͈̙̳̰o̺̤̞͈ͅͅ ̰̩̠̼m̙̝̟̰̲̪a̰͙͎̤͙̺͎n̟̥̠y͇̻͓ ̰̭̣͍͓̻̰e̻͇̼y͕͕͉̰̥̤̺e͍̠͔͕͎͙̳s̟͓̥̳̗..̭̟̟͙̺̞̭.̱̫̳̱̻ͅ

“It’s getting awfully late…”

“So… Can I have the Last dance of the night…?”

image
On By malicoreLeave a comment

Don’t leave me lost here forever…

Tell me… please
just tell me to stay… (say something)..
I’ll turn..
I won’t look away..
I’ll stay here..

Farewell..
Farewell and godspeed…
Light years (now)..
between you and me..
I’m fading..

At night the earth will rise..
and I’ll think of you each time I watch from distant skies…

Whenever stars go down and galaxies ignite
I’ll think of you each time they wash me in their light
And I’d fall in love with you again…
I will find you..

A thousand armies won’t stop me I’d break through…
I’d soar the endless skies for only one sight of your starlight..

Don’t leave me lost here forever…

Show me your starlight and pull me through
Don’t leave me lost here forever…
I needed your starlight to pull me through…

Please… Don’t leave me lost here forever…

The rain came as but a mere dreary drizzle along the late night’s air. Idle crickets and cold breezes brushing through the trees were all that accompanied the whimpers and claw etches of her chocobo.


Not a soul nor light to be seen save for the distant starlight and the horizon’s glow of blue aetheryte many miles down the road… It was a lonely road. Lonelier still as she were left alone now…


Just as she always had been….


“Farewell… and goodbye… my Starlight.”

| @lilyverlial | 

[RP – Excerpt]

On By malicoreLeave a comment
image

<== Di Amore Sanguinoso ==> [RP – Excerpt]

(Yes it’s power rangers)

The two Rangers had no words to speak in return to the man as he made his intentions plain and clear, yet threats to ‘carve’ them made no impression on them. This wouldn’t have been the first time one of their own was threatened by a tertiary force seemingly hellbent on following through with their work. Whether it be political moves of assassination or underground shifts in the shadows for trafficking or worse, it made no budge in the two standing between Lily and the man.

Slowly now, they traded places, Bella stepping forward, her grasp holding onto Lily’s hand as long as she could before The Creator’s own armored hand slid along, replacing Bella’s own flawlessly. With firm steps the armored woman stepped forward, while the midlander guided Lily backwards, still holding onto her with the goal to put as much space as they could between them and the aggressor.

Along Bella’s right arm and belt, the shape of the morpher’s gem began to glow along her armor as the machinery inside activated, pulsing with a seemingly violent red energy. With a burning rage buried deep beneath its voice, the Morpher spoke out, it’s tone lingering on a longing excitement that brought a pounding heart to bear.

|Seal: Di Amore Sanguinoso…. Are you Ready?!|

The Elezen’s helmet flicked upward gently to stare at the man, blackened visor reflecting the moon and lamp light off in the distance.

|Three…. Two…. One!!!!!|

“… Henshin.”

image

Her voice was calm, yet even as it were, the tone was filled with the taint of rage, one that had only been seen so rarely. Any spirit that had been present during the night she lost her eye would remember it well… A blackened rage spattered with crimson fury that could fell legions of men with a single glare, one that belonged to that of a Demon rather than of any man.

|Huaaaaaa….|

As the Morpher spoke it’s vocal incantation, the blue hawk’s armor pulsed a brilliant gold and blue as the accents of once aged glory flashed hues of gold and red. The form of the armor turning heavier, the shoulders bulking with pauldrons, feather-light boots crunching against graveled roads and rocky grass turning to plated greaves and gold colors accenting a darker hued set of  metal sabatons.

Black lined magitek hose began to be covered by ornate and magick engraved cuisse, leather tassets and mail chausses covered such elegant designs. Plumes of blue and gold colored flames and sparks licked at the woman’s metal breastplate while lines of a pulsing blue ran beneath grooves of designed metal.

Slowly, piece by piece the blue hawk vanished, disappearing in the wake of raging fires only to be replaced by that of a Guardian. A wall of protection against any foe, so rare to be seen yet so keenly documented in Ranger history as forms or even Rangers themselves dedicating to the first lines of defense for their ill-fated city. Rangers sworn to life and to death, young and powerful, bold and brave men and women. Silent wardens of life till death do them part from their lifelong duty.

|Wha-wha-watch out… Blue Sentinel!!!!|

In the billowing wake of the blue fire’s smoke approached a gilded bastion, glimmering white blade in hand, the shield of a tower along the other. Gold embers gently licked at  the tattered edges what came to be fine-lined wrappings of a would-be cowl that covered one’s pauldrons and helmet. The tone of the early beginnings of this… this.. threat were met with a cruel response that no man could ever take lightly.

“If you wanted easy…”

image

“You should’ve took up another job…”

On By malicoreLeave a comment
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|| Mentions / Involvement: @damoclesffxiv , @enambris , @lilyverlial||

The late night colors of silver and glimmering violets blanketed the royal streets of the desert jewel, Ul’dah. Gentle sways of warm summer night air brushed along brazen and dusty tanned skin. Gentle simpers and light chuckles filled the air around the city balcony, the beats of the city’s nightlife music came in waves through the evening air. 

A hand brushes along a sandy stone railing followed by a sister’s chuckle. Blonde hair and burning crimson eyes gaze about the vast open expanse of Thanalan from one of the high balcony ways in the mid-section of the city. The pureblood shifts a bit, their other hand passing through a wavy length of her hair.

“Are you sure about this?” Her voice was reasonable, a curious tone taking through as her eyes turn to her now elezen of a sister. 

Bella blinked a bit, resting her back to the railing, shifting along it slightly as if she were like a bear, taking care of an itch. Her spines were antsy underneath her shirt, unable to stretch and breathe properly. A moment passes as she takes a deep breath, exhaling it sharply between pursed lips.

The thousand upon thousand different possibilities of her answer bounced around her mind, sparking like wildfire before shattering into embers of the million, billion stars above in the night sky. Bittersweet thoughts drifted to and fro as she dwelled on her words as carefully as she could. Her heart beat weakly, pumping and beating in her chest as much as it could in its condition. 

Slowly now, so slowly. Bella gave herself a solemn nod, the graces of a smile slipping onto the distant yet so welcoming corners of her lips. Her teeth chattered gently behind a partially open lip before parting fully as she spoke.

image

“… To be honest, Sis…” The elezen slowly brings her scarred gaze over to meet the pureblood with a gentle smile. “I… I’ve been thinking about it… a lot. Whether or not I am to go this way… Ever since and before Our chat… But… I do know that… She makes me happy. The happiest I could ever be, in a long… long time.”

There was a slight and albeit nervous chuckle as Bella brought a hand to rub at her neck, pausing her words only briefly. “She’s had my heart in knots, ever since she walked into Headquarters that one day. Like… something straight out of a storybook, Dawn. Ever since she first asked to join us, to be an engineer, and then to be My apprentice… and… then My partner.” Her voice lowers somewhat, a tinge of red could be seen brushing along her cheeks briefly before turning up to her pointed ears.

With that, she cracked a toothy smile, shaking her head. “I know I’ve said some of that before… but… I mean it. There’s… A certain part of me that longs to be at her side, to see her safe, to support her beyond anything and through everything like… I’m just… drawn to her. It’s Inescapable and undeniable. D-… Does that make sense?”

Dawn did all but try to hide that smirk she wore, resting on an elbow atop the railing, there was a nod. “I’d think so.” The woman’s other hand moved to find a place along Bella’s shoulder, giving a firm and reassuring squeeze to calm her sister down. "Just do what you feel is right, go with your heart, and not your mind.“

"Some words of guidance. The Creator said that to us one time, remember?”

The elezen bit back a small grin, nodding at that. “Aye, I do… Somehow, anyways.” Blinking a moment, she looks around again. A passing glance through the night sky to the nightlife’s filled streets and then to the inner city behind them, beyond the balcony. Her lips pursed just slightly as she watched the people pass by with mild interest. Slowly she moved to cross her arms, folding them beneath her chest, resting her back against the railing again.

image

“What’d you think of that one jeweler’s shop?  You know the one on the second floor, with all the steel?” Dawn’s voice came, her head tilting as she crossed her arms to do the same, index and thumb stretching to cup her own chin.

“That one? I… don’t think those were rings, Sis.” Bell smirked, looking over a bit, elbowing the woman with a small laugh. “There were bracelets maybe. Bangles and I’m pretty sure that was a weapon and sex-shop.”

A snort came from the pureblood, shaking her head. “Guess that explained why we had to take a side-alley to get there.” 

“Oh shut-up.” Belladonna sneered, her elbow jabbed at Dawn’s side once more, a light laugh following after.

“Hey, you know where it is now though. If it was that, I mean. They really didn’t give us a sign or shop name; just we saw they sold… That stuff. I know that I’m keeping it noted for later.”

“Eugh, Really?”

“What? Bell, we’re like thirty-six year old, sort-of adopted sisters. Talk like this is going to happen… probably. It’s better than having this chat with our brothers’ right?”

The elezen deadpanned just a moment, fighting back a smirk.

“Well we are. I’m in my late thirties and then you’re fifty who’s sort of in their late thirties too because ‘things happened’.” The pureblood brought up her hands to air quote all the while sneering from ear to ear. A moment passed before she let out a light ‘pop’ from her lips with a chuckle, her hand moved to sweep up a small twine bound booklet, passing it over after flipping it open. 

Sliding over, she bumped into Bella, thumping her head against the taller elezen’s shoulder. “Here, let’s take a look at a few of these from that shop on the fourth floor. Evidently this catalogue applies to all shops on the norther section of the city. Handy.”

“So we just find one here that I think would be nice and we just… what, ask?”
Dawn’s expression flipped in an instant from curiosity killing the cat to utter perplexity as she shrugged her shoulders heavily. “That’s what they said, I guess.”

image

With a tilt of her own head, the elezen brought her thumb to her lips, giving it a single stick of her tongue to flip through the worn pages of the booklet. Each page was some variation of tattered or stained, filled from header to footer with actual pictures, scrawls and scribbles of specifically just rings.

The nearly hundreds upon hundreds of designed all varied from the most simplest of etchings with flowers buried beneath golden linings to the most complex designs of dragons and monsters carrying the jewels their homes were burdened with carrying. The sheer amount of it all made Bella’s head spin just enough to make her cast her gaze elsewhere for a time. 

“Gods… Just one ring, that’s all I need! Something that will look good on her, that’s it.” She grit her teeth tightly, grinding them in some tinge of frustration while her other hand moved to wipe her forehead clean of the midnight dust from the passing stray winds along the city balcony. 

“Easy, sis, easy… There’s bound to be at least one you’ll find here. And honestly, I don’t think we’re gonna go anywhere else tonight, which I’m perfectly fine with, by the way. We’re in the mid-city, just low enough to still catch business from the lower streets and just high enough to see the more… rich people get it on.”

“Still gotta see if Nam likes any of these too, y’know.”

With a snort, Dawn moved to sit down on the corner of the bench beside them, pulling the binder onto her lap, flipping through the pages one by one. “There’s a few here already I think you’d like. But… If you’re really serious about this, Bella, then we’ve got about say… four hundred or so more pages in this old book.”
The moonlight cast its silver graces over the gentle and still warm dunes and mesas that surrounded the Desert Jewel. A warm breeze danced through the night, flowing through the hallowed halls of the sunstone city as it brushed past the Slater Sisters. 

“Guess that means it’s going to be a long night, huh?”

The minutes turned long and the hours seemed forever, but even so, the laughter of both women could be heard as they pored over the aged pages of jewels and gold, knowing full well by the end of the night they’d have one.
“Yeah, but we’ve got drinks.”

image

“… Oh yeah we do.”

… Eventually.

On By malicoreLeave a comment

~~== Where Dark Souls Go pt. 2 ==~~

((thought I’d continue this one since I never did.))

[Part 1]

The fading laughter of the elderly hag still rung in my ears as fresh as it was hours ago. At least… I would want to think it was hours. My boots soggy, mud-caked and cold trudged through the ere’long puddles of brown dirt. The heavy gloom of the clouds above hadn’t ceased and the color grey seemed to overtake all that lay before me in this dark and infinite forest.

Every now and again the flash of lightning illuminated the otherwise pitch black shadows and crevices that lay strewn about. The shifting darkness and visages I paid no mind to between the flashes. And every now and again I would wait while I walked, trying to count out loud the passing seconds before the roll of thunder came and made the earth below me tremble with it’s mighty bellow.

“Thirteen…”

“… Twenty…”

“Thirty…”

At last the rumble came, a rolling rumble that made even the dead trees tremble in its wake. Ceaseless in my wadding through the long dead underbrush caused a shift in the earth. My mind toiling with the numbers that came and went took priority. So much so I hadn’t seen the dip in the earth that lead to a ditch far below.

With a CHINK and CRACK one last branch holding the dirtied outcropping gave way, no thanks to my added weight. The last thing I could remember was the sky turning sideways as my sense of balance turned lost and the dull thud and slosh of my ragged clothed body tumbling into the muddy below.

I tried to let out a cry but all that came was a hoarse and blank groan could escape. Even if I could make a sound, it would’ve been covered by a flash of lighting and a quicker roll of thunder than the last.

The laughter of that hag soon disappeared proper now as I lay there. The rain soaking into already soggy clothes. And soon enough the noise of another came to be. I remember during my seemingly endless trek through the grime, of looking back towards the warmly lit cabin, And the words of the elderly there. I remember my gaze turning about to peer through the dimly lit horizon to see torch lights, and the screaming of the dead and dying near and far.

Then I remembered her ill fated words of some warning.

“But tread carefully.. the locals here.. can get a bit.. Mmm… bitey.”

Another flash of lightning came in a series of rapid pulses, disorientating me even as i lay there, the rumble of thunder threatened to beat my chest with how much might it possessed. The screams began to mix with the already present cacophony of pouring rain and quaking thunder from somewhere off to my left. Following the already sideways horizon, I turned my head to see the flicker of a warm torch near me. Beyond that, one… three… no six figures look to come at one another.

Two of them wielded swords, one carried a short sword, the other… a broken bastard. The blade was longer, yet visibly fractured, a jagged slant along the flat of it showing there once it had been whole. The other four were unarmed, yet that didn’t seem to bother them.

The odds were stacked, yet they encroached on the other two. They were all dressed in rags, some cleaner, some not, much like mine. Both swords were back to back, shouting something in a tongue I couldn’t understand. The one with a short-sword carried a torch, waving it before him trying to ward off their assailants and yet to no avail.

Even as one of them caught the flames on the hem of their cowl, they lurched forward onto them. Another set of flashing lightning raced through the world followed quickly by it’s sisterly thunder, barely hiding the bloodied screams of one of the swords as the short failed to do well with that torch and sword either hand.

A third scream came from a bit further as the one fell. A woman, distinct and panicked. I could see the shifting of her shadows, hidden behind one of the further dead trees. Were they protecting her from these… bandits? Bandits… I don’t know If I was allowed to call what these… men were. Without a thought in my head, I found myself slinking through the mud. Crawling my way slowly through the dirt and muddy grime to find this woman. I thought… I could help.

Each movement was a struggle, my arms slow. My legs refusing to shift beyond a bend and back to push myself forward, forcing my already sluggish progress to be even slower. As I dragged myself through the rain, I turn my head past the torch lights to see only the man with the broken bastard standing at odds now with three, rather than six. Just beside him, his companion lay dead. A torch in hand, barely breathing its life before the rain soaked its embers, his sword piercing through one of his earlier assailants. Bite marks along his now visible and scruffy face.

The marks themselves were not just bites, but tears. Rends of flesh by forced teeth. The look of horror and agony etched forever on his colorless skin. I felt a pit in my stomach as my eyes gazed off, wondering on his life before this. A life not of my own. But then my thoughts drifted to my own life, how it was nothing but pitch blackness beyond the hours I have been in this pitiful forest.

I didn’t want to die here…

A renewed flame in my heart began to burn enough to push my body more. Crawling inch by inch towards that woman. Her dress of green and blue silks, muddied at the lower hem by the dirt of this blackened forest. I was closer now, closer than I could ever be. She was beautiful, a woman of divinity.

My cold and rag clothed hand reached out from the mud below to her dress. It was all I could grab from how high she sat, hidden away from the conflict. I just needed to get her attention. It was all I needed, and maybe… Maybe she could help me.

But it was not to be.

As my fingers grasped what they could of her dress and pulled. Her gaze turned from the conflict and down to me, her expression of worry and sadness turned to that of fear. The screamed out, louder now as she moved to kick my head, knocking my hand loose of her dress. My heart hurt then… That wasn’t what I wanted, that wasn’t… No.

I tried to speak, my hand reaching for her again in an instant response. But all that came from my throat was yet another hoarse moan and whine before falling dry and silent. The woman kicked again, the light from another passing lighting strike through the forest caught the glint of my eyes. Illuminating the sorrow that I had from her reaction.

In a single moment, I saw her react again. The fear turning to a somber and apologetic kind of mix, yet she kicked me away still. The heel of her boot connecting with my right temple, knocking me back into the mud with a small splash.

My hands move to plant themselves firmly in the mud and dirt to try and push upward. Maybe I could get up, show her I wasn’t one to harm.

But of course… It was not to be.

The cold kiss of steel sinking deep through my back brought me down onto the mud once again. The yell of the broken bastard wielder filled my ears as my hand reached out for the woman once more before falling limp into the mud once more. I could feel the jagged point of his sword pierce my front from the back before being yanked out with his boot on my shoulder. A growl came from the man as he kicked my already limp hand away from the woman’s direction.

I could see him offer his hand to her, the reluctance in her reaction while she affixed and glued her eyes to me. The darkness around my sight, I saw it creeping in. Slow to drain the light and color away from what little I could already see.

The fading light of one of the torches was the last glimmer of warmth before disappearing into the sideways horizon. And just like that… It was gone.

I don’t know how much time had passed… Before I awoke again. A straining groan was first of me as I tried to breathe once again. The rain had stopped long since I could figure. My eyes throwing themselves open to see the gray world. The storm had passed but the clouds of dark and gray still lingered. It was brighter now at least.

From where I would’ve expected pain, I felt nothing. Even as I turned my head to see my clothes, they were lightly soaked in both rain and a tinge of darker colors. I had bled… at least… I did once. Turning my head back to where my hand lay, the mud and dirt were dry, caked and nearly solid now. But not enough to stop me from pulling free. Though I could hear and faintly feel the pop and bend of my bones as I pulled away.

Slowly now, so very dreadfully slowly I pulled myself up to my knees. My head rearing up as a hand went to peel away my hood and cowl for unfiltered fresh air. With a strained moan and hoarse yell, I remembered myself crying out towards the gray and unmoving skies.

A hand moved and ran along my front to where there would’ve been a mark, a puncture from the outside in from the sword… but there was none on my body. Yet my clothes showed exactly where the blade would’ve gone through. As I slipped a soft and dirtied finger along where the scar should’ve been, I felt the memory of how I got it flash through my mind.

I winced out of fear and agony before pulling myself back up to my feet so very slowly. My eyes track through the horizon of endless forest to see what and where I could go. Just beyond the tree line, I could see the fog begin to dissipate and reveal mountains, deeply tucked in the tall trees there I could spot a black tower and castle. To the right of the mountains I could see broken and sea sunken buildings. Yet there, I could see the faint lights of bonfires burning.

Glancing back to the immediate forest, I could see a path leading to a beaten and old road stretching beyond both ways to either side of the horizon. The trail of both the woman and broken bastard led towards the towers of sunken cities and black mountains. At least… their direction pointed that way.

The nearby whine and moan of another pulled my attention from the path and back towards where the scene from earlier took place. There, stuck, buried and caked in mud I could see the short-sword wielding man moving. The bite marks along his face where torn and rend flesh be were now blackened corruption. His eyes hollow and dark. I saw his hand try to reach for me but it was buried beneath one of his earlier dead assailants.

With his sword still buried in one of them, the hold Hag’s words from before ring into my mind. A grimace slowly slipped onto my face as I found myself walking towards the bodies. My hand reaching down to the unturned bodies and flipping them over to retrieve the sword. As I moved them, their faces were scarcely of the same. Bites.. scars.. and hollowed blackened eyes. Their faces old and decrepit, looking as if life had long left them and they were nothing but hollow husks.

I felt my fingers wrap around the grip of the blade, my boot planting itself firmly on the dead one’s chest as I pulled the sword free with a weak grunt. It was stained an old red and black along the edges and tip of where the metal kissed hollowed skin. I was too busy inspecting it, I hadn’t realized the man still moving.

Tired eyes moved to stare deep into pitch nothingness.

Surprised leaped into my heart as I wordlessly recoiled, the man moving forward to take the ground I had lost. His hands outstretched towards me, grabbing my shoulders and arm in an attempt to pull close and sink his teeth in.

Thinking in a slight panic, My hand moved to push him back. His fingers dragging along my dirtied cloaks. Quickly, fingers freshened their hold on the blade. Just in time as the man lurched forward again to try and bite. With a high swing, the blade pressed against his neck and shoulders before pushing forward. The kiss and sing of skin being freed and cracking of crust snapped through the air.

The hollowed man’s bodied struggled to move before collapsing to the ground and onto it’s side. The head tumbling to the ground, utterly lifeless and devoid of anything now. Not a sound nor movement… He was dead… again. Properly… at least I hoped.

I stood there, still and tall as my heart pounded in my chest… I didn’t want to die here…

I was alive.

Slipping the sword haphazardly along side a small slot along my belt I cast my gaze back towards the horizon where the signs of civilization once stood. I still had no recollection of anything other than my name… But still.. I had hoped someone… something.. anyone.. anything could tell me where I was or what happened…

I still do.

A deepening breath came from me as I brought the hood of my cowl back up and pulled up my cover once more. A hand moving to smooth the mask once before looking around once more.

With slow steps, my boots began to tread on forward ground once more and I still ask myself questions… the simple ones…

Where am I…?