Fight or Flight

[Kryos]

((Closed to Lexxum Vordic))

Trees rushed past him as he ran. The red leaves surrounding him melted into a crimson blur, staining his world in blood. Sweat fell from his face, his hair, as he pushed onward, deeper and deeper into the forest. His right hand clenched around his sword, muscles straining with effort as he fought to keep going. His breath was deep as his lungs sucked in precious air that fueled his body as it plunged onward. At the sounds of the bloodthirsty howls of the undead behind him, he glanced over his shoulder, eyes catching a brief glint of the afternoon sun. He urged his legs to run faster.

Flying over a fallen tree, his eyes, mirroring the color of the surrounding forest, searched for something that could aid him. Suddenly, he slowed, then veered his course. He came to a halt in front of a large rowan tree. However, he didn’t get closer than eight feet. For it was the teeth that erupted from it’s base that caught his attention in the first place. Careful not to get any nearer, he jogged around the tree once, before taking off into the forest once again, away from his previous trail. His scent should be enough to guide the undead to his trap. He just hoped that it would be enough.

Kryos grinned a minute later, when the undead flew past the trunk of the Dur’Taigen. The tree appeared to burst apart into at least fifteen wolves, each intent on killing their unlucky victims. Sounds of fighting and roars of pain issued from behind him, yet he did not slow. It would be wise for Kryos to put as much distance between himself, and the fighting monsters.

~ / | \ ~

Dropping his muandrian to the ground, Kryos leaned against a tree, utterly spent. His fingers shook from fatigue, and he dropped to his knees. He had run at least five kilometers from the place where he had first seen the Dur’Taigen, and he hoped it would be enough for a brief pause. He blindly reached for his waterskin, and uncapped the container. Drinking deeply, he paused to take a breath of air, then continued drinking, feeling strength slow flow back into his limbs. He let out his breath, and returned his waterskin to his small pack. He closed his eyes, trying to recover from his arduous trek.

Movement. Something was clumsily moving about twenty feet to his right. Kryos’ head snapped up, surprised that the sun had set, and the moon well on its journey. Time had passed. Quickly, summoning some energy, he activated his Lumneye. Checking the area near him, he confirmed that there was only one presence near. And it was growling. Letting his eyes readjust to their normal appearance, Kryos rose slowly, grabbing his sword. His muscles were stiff and sore from his flight, and he winced as they protested. Slowly, he moved into some shadows. The creature was approaching.

Stumbling into view, the undead raised its head, picking up on his scent. It appeared to be a human male. Or at least, that’s what it was. Its clothes were dirty and bloodstained from combat, and his limbs bore many fresh wound from its encounter with the wolves. Kryos’ eyes narrowed. It looked like at least one undead escaped. Hopefully it was the only one, since the rowan was sizable. The creature snarled, and took a step forward. Kryos noticed that it walked with a limp. The Dur’Taigen must have done a good job. Taking a breath to calm his nerves, Kryos prepared to take the only option that was left to him. He slowly stepped into the moonlight that filtered to the ground.

The undead, upon seeing its target, roared. It rushed forward, intent on killing. Kryos, meanwhile, held his ground, sword raised, ready. As the zombie got closer, it leaped to his left with incredible speed. Kryos tried to dodge the incoming blow, but being as tired as he was, received a powerful strike to his shoulder. He fell back, spinning, landing on his hands and knees. Remarkably, his blade was still clenched in his hand. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the monster rushing forward for the kill. Gritting his teeth, Kryos rose to his feet, swinging his sword in a wide arc. The blade, loaded with centripetal force, whistled through the air, and connected with the creature’s neck. The corpse bulled into him, nonetheless, forcing his breath from his lungs. Throwing the body off him, he rose. But the threat was gone. Separated from its command center, the lifeless body was just that, lifeless. The head, meanwhile, was face down on the leafy ground. It would die, or rather, return to being dead, after a few minutes of an energy devoid system. Kryos wiped his muandrian on some leaves, sheathed it, then turned and left the grotesque scene.

Kryos’ vision was growing dim as he stumbled through the dark forest. Trees became shadows, and the little light there was soon blended into grey. He was aware of dropping to the ground by the trunk of an oak tree, and settling into a giant fold of its roots. Bark obscured him from view, except that of directly in front of him, but he didn’t care. He closed his eyes, and slipped into oblivion.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Meanwhile--

After what happened not too long ago (http://althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=9041), I found myself standing alone at Fort Valinatal. It was a quaint fortress hugging the Red Forest near the outskirts of the area. Somewhere nearby, screams of pedestrians being torn apart by an army of ravaging zombies was carried across the wind to my ears. I decided it was best to part ways with my companion, a man named Typheus who fought alongside me and my men. Scattering into the wind, my former soldiers abandoned me to my own devices. It was probably for the best anyway. I stood up from the site of my enemy's attack against my person.

I have no idea how much time had passed since I was hit by the Atma Fire maneuver. Netha'Tu, an enemy commander working under Xem'Zund's himself, called forth the power of the Eternal Tap. I became as one with the Tap energies even after I ate several powerful Arta warriors. That might not have been the smartest idea ever on my part, but it was an effective method of getting rid of any Arta foolish enough to get in my way. In the process of fighting against the Arta warriors, I lost my buster sword but gained something else, courage and determination. I faced down my enemy, but he proved to be my superior in combat.

I don't know how many hours passed between Netha'Tu's final attack on the city of Valinatal and his attack upon my person. Netha'Tu's attack was meant for Typheus, but I took the maneuver in Typheus' place. It burned me to my very core and essence. Scars were freshly placed upon my body and I could still feel the pain. One more scream into the early evening air wouldn't make much of a different anyway. By now, Netha'Tu's forced had invaded Valinatal and took it over. Then they moved on to Eluriand. They were going to reinforce whatever one of Xem'Zunds' Commanders were present at Eluriand and reaking all sorts of chaos there.

I was tired and defeated. Despite the pain coursing through my body from the archaic scars, I managed to stand. It was a weak stance, but a stand nonetheless. I took a look at the carnage my men and I had caused. Seeing the body of a nearby soldier of Valinatal, I decided it was best to arm myself before heading out. I grabbed one of the Valinatal broadswords, the scabbard, and a shield. The more I fought alongside the humans, the more I lost many of the old ways of my people back home. I would have many stories to tell them. The immediate situation was Valinatal itself. I would have to go and investigate it to ensure that I could rescue any survivors. I also wanted revenge against Netha'Tu.

But revenge would wait. At my current level of power, I stood no chance versus Netha'Tu. Taking up the mantle of a soldier of Valinatal, I prepared myself to face the disaster at hand. I could still see the smoke rising from the impact point where Netha'Tu's meteor spell struck the city and leveled it. Thousands were instantly killed and more left to suffer from the after effects of the impact point. I gathered up my wits, and walked towards the Valinatal Site.

[Kryos]

Nothing existed. There was no sound, no feeling, no smell in the place that Kryos existed. The void completely covered anything that might have been there, smothering everything into emptiness. No emotion could be felt. The terror that might have risen in a man was swept away before it could even be recognized.

Slowly, very slowly, Kryos became more alert. His soul lit up the surrounding nether, pushing back the void. Yet he was alone. There was nothing in his sphere of reality. He set off, searching for others, as well as answers. Kryos constantly looked about him, vainly hoping for some clue. There was none to find. Wandering for hours, Kryos walked, not being able to tell if he was walking in circles, or even moving at all.

Kryos suddenly became aware of a light to his left. Its oncoming was so subtle, he barely noticed it. He paused, hesitating, uncertain of what was to come.

“Well, it has to be better than this eternity of nothing.”

He strode forward, dark clothes rustling against him. As he approached the light, it grew brighter, until he could make out people, walking towards him. The quantity of them astounded him. He approached a man, who was walking with a glazed look to him.

“What is going on here? Who are all of you?”

The man ignored him, pushing onward, softly talking to himself.

“The skies grew dark. . .everything was so peaceful. . .the clouds became rent with fire. . .the terrible meteor descended with might. . .the Second Age of Darkness. . .there was no hope. . .no time. . .

Second Age of Darkness. . .

My Nia. . .

Age of Darkness. . .”

All around him, the people were muttering accounts of the same story. Death, fire, and destruction. And constantly, the shiver of the Second Age of Darkness prevailed. Kryos pushed through the crowds of people, mostly elves, trying to obtain as much information as possible. Then he heard something that chilled his bones.

“Valinatal is no more. . .no more. . .no more. . .”

Kryos swung around to its speaker. The elf was in battle armor. A captain. All at once, the information came together. These were the souls of those who had died at Valinatal. Killed by the impact of a meteor, summoned down from the heavens. Kryos stood there in shock, unbelief in his eyes. If Valinatal had fallen, then the next target was Eluriand. But what could Kryos do.

Slowly, he slipped away from the others, returning to the void. He hopelessly though of a solution to the awful terror that gripped Althanas. Just as he disappeared he wondered.

“What can I do?”

[Lexxum_Vordic]

What can I do? An oppressive feeling filled my heart turning the Blood Lizard's emotion into despair. The moment I felt the terrible devil creeping up inside of me I turned on an emotional front. There were people who needed my help, whatever I could offer them. My walk lasted an eternity but it was a walk that I had made many hundreds of times before. It had become instinctual now so I barely even looked up as I moved towards the former city of Valinatal. It was as terrible as I could have imagined it was. My people were born from strife and conflict, but we had a code of honor. We had a sense of justice and of right and wrong. Netha'Tu and his ilk were evil incarnate to their very core.

Frustration soon came. These demons haunted me as I walked and saw the corpses of the dead. Up ahead, battles were taking place with survivors and elements of Netha'Tu's forces that were too stupid to follow orders. All around, the archaic residue that was my enemy tainted the air with the horrible powers of the Tap. All at once, I came to loathe the Tap and admire its efficient nature. Instinctively, I understood the power of the Tap as I'd come in contact with it for the briefest of moments. It was unnatural power, but it promised to make me stronger. So, another day, I would pursue its secrets and seek to control its power. Then, I would have enough power on hand to take on my enemy, Netha'Tu, and best him in battle.

There, at the center of former Valinatal was a giant crater. Digging into the earth like a gash upon Althanas' surface, the meteor site gave off a distinct and strangely glowing energy. The color of radioactive force was a mysterious green hue that subtly affected everything in its immediate environment. That included people. I felt intrigue when it came to that strange source of energy, but I ignored it for the time being. There were more battles to be fought and a different feeling touched my heart when I saw the destruction of Valinatal. This feeling was all too familiar to me, it was anger and hatred. I allowed those emotions to engulf me, filling me with a newfound purpose. The people of Valinatal needed my help! I could do something!

Marching towards Hell's maw, I started the process of investigating the nearby buildings. There were dead everywhere. Fires from the impact site scorched everything with a thick layer of burnt matter. The entire grounds at Valinatal were inexplicably hot. They reminded me of the sands back home at Fallien, only a hundred fold worse. I unsheathed my swords and started to pick off the bodies of those that were too injured to be helped. There were many who were burnt to a crisp, literally. These were beyond the aide of even the most powerful song-spells of healing. I finished the few off that still clung to life and were an unfit meal even for a zombie. The whole affair made me angry and I embraced it. As I explored the first structure that was once a family home, I marveled at the devastation that Netha'Tu had caused.

It was nearly completely. Charred documents and furniture floated in the air as a breeze created a small twister of objects and debris. Hellfire scorched the wind. Everything was hot to the touch. A part of me rejoiced this matter because Valinatal felt like Fallien felt. For a moment, I allowed myself to reminisce of home. I could see desert dunes and this brought a smile to lips. After that brief moment of thought, I put myself back to the task at hands. Suddenly, something stirred in the building I inspected and I prepared myself for imminent combat...

I knew what I could do. I could fight.

[Kryos]

A cool breeze startled Kryos from his slumber. His silver eyes jerked open, alert for any danger, then relaxed, seeing no threat. The moon was directly above him, disappearing now and again as clouds drifted by. He had slept for three, maybe four hours, during which he had seen that strange scene. He didn’t doubt its truth either, no matter how hard it was to accept that Valinatal was destroyed. The grief and fear that radiated from the souls that he had encountered made him clench his fists in anger. He would ensure that they would not be forgotten. But what could he do by himself?

Another cool breeze wafted past him, and he shed his midnight cloak, and wrapped it around his body. He could feel his sore muscles as they stretched, and knew that it would be at least a day before he could get back to normal movement. Adjusting himself against the giant tree, he tried to obtain a more comfortable position. All around him, the trees of the Red Forest swayed, leaves softly rustling in the night, hiding the dangers that lurked within. As Kryos closed his eyes, he tried to remain alert for any danger that might sneak up on him while he slept. After all, Dur’Taigen wasn’t the worst thing out there. He hoped that he could sleep undisturbed, and be ready to move the following morning. He would head west, closer to Valinatal, to see for himself, the horrible battlefield where so many perished.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Indeed there were many dead and many who suffered. Everyone had lost someone during Netha'Tu's horrible attack. I, Lexxum Vordic, touched death myself. But my Lord Mitra intervened on my behalf and petitioned for my revival. The blood of my people was powerful, well structured, capable of surviving many traumas. I adjusted the grip of my clockwork hand around the handle of my newly acquired sword.

Blood already dripped from the weapon thanks to the suffering that I dispatched. The shield felt heavy against my own body weight, but I lifted it with ease. I'd stolen a sword and a shield from the warriors of Valinatal, as well as a cloak. It bore the embroidered markings of the Soldiers of Valinatal. Shattered glass from broken windows littered the floor around me. Everything was scorched. I saw a metal table and heard the source of the noise.

It was a whimpering sound. I sighed as I prepared myself for the inevitable task that I needed to complete. Moving the table, I saw something that shocked me! A survivor! She was a young Elf wearing a tattered pink dress. She was dirty, but otherwise in good form. She was clearly under an incredible sense of trauma. Looking up at me, she let out another loud shriek that could potentially draw enemy units to our position. I shook my head at the little girl and reached out with a hand.

"Don't hurt me! Momma and poppa are gone! Brother and Sister too! Don't hurt me, please don't hurt me!" She started to cry. I extended my hand towards her, unsure what to do. "Come with me if you want to live." I suddenly found myself saying without realizing why I said the ancient phrase. Traumatized, the little girl could sense that I meant her no harm. She took my hand and I easily lifted her up on top of my powerful trapezius muscle. "The bad men ate my family." She said in a strangely calm voice. "Were there many bad men? These things are called Arta in the tongues of my people." I responded to the little girl acting as her caretaker. "There were a lot. At least twenty of them." Lord Mitra be blessed. A survivor. The little girl was strong and I could teach her the ways of my people. "We shall have to be careful then. Let's go." As I prepared to leave the house, I heard a barking sound nearby. "It's Alk! Alk is still alive. Please, scaley Mr. Can you save Alk also?" I could tell that this was going to be a very long day.

"I shall try to."

[Kryos]

Dawn.

A red sun rose over the great trees of the forest, casting amber light on the already crimson leaves. Yet no bird chirped its greeting to the sun. No wildlife stirred within the forest’s depths. Silence endured.

Rising from his resting place, grimacing due to his sore body, Kryos put on his sword and pack, readjusted his cloak, and set off at a brisk pace through the radiant glow of the branches about him. If he was lucky, he would be able to get to Valinatal tomorrow by sundown. That is, if he didn’t run into any inconveniences.

As he wove between trunks, he wondered why everything was happening like this. Why did Xem'Zund want Raiaera in the first place? Especially if he killed its entire population. Fury at the destruction of Valinatal slowly bloomed in his heart. He needed to do something to help. But what exactly that was, Kryos was at a loss.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Right now, Valinatal was the situation at hand. I heard no field reports from any other Commanders currently fighting Xem'Zund's forces elsewhere in Raiaera. I feared the worse. If Valinatal had suffered such a fate what about the rest of Raiaera's ancient cities? Were they fairing any better or simply much, much worse? I didn't want to think about such a dread outcome

Instead, I focused on the situation at hand. Survivors. Anybody I could rescue and get hell out of dodge was in immediate need of assistance by my scale covered form. I kicked open a door that held the barking noise and was surprised to see a single golden retriever fending off four unarmed Arta. It didn't look like the dog was bitten anywhere on its form. So I took the opportunity to prepare my sword and dive into combat, making sure that the little girl was safe the whole time.

The safest place for her to be was on my person. She shrieked out Alk's name catching the attention of the Arta. With the Arta's vessel still floating in my blood stream, I knew biting them was out of the question unless absolutely necessary. I remembered what happened the last time. I didn't want to put any of the survivors at risk in case I transformed into the black scale form once more.

Evading to the side, one of the nearest zombies went straight for me seeing a much larger meal approaching the room. I brought my sword up at the slow moving creature. Even though they knew that they stood no chance against me, the Arta warriors fought anyway. Without fear, without remorse of any sort. I respected the strength that the Arta possessed. As it moved, I swung my weapon to counter its movement on instinct. My killer instincts were sharp and I moved with purpose. A moment later, I heard the satisfying sound as the head of the creature was severed from its body. It was rolling on the floor a moment later. The other Arta warriors moved upon me, but one stayed attempting to attack Alk. The fearless canine warrior roared as it instinctively knew that its strong maw was out of the question for this battle. It took deadly swipes at the nearest Arta, keeping it at bay. He growled and revealed his sharp fangs whilst he fought to keep the Arta at arm's bay. I respected the courage of the dog. A moment later I took down another zombie by severing its upper body.

I was already used to the tactics of these savage creatures. I saw them battle first hand in the Fortress at Valinatal. So I knew what to do, I knew that their weak spot was their head from experience. So I went to work on this small group of Arta warriors with swift tactics and strategy. Soon, they were all dead. I removed the little girl from my shoulders and placed her on the back of the powerful golden retriever named Alk. The dog licked my hand in gratitude for saving him. I nodded to the fellow predator and continued to go on my way.

"My name is Anne Mr. Thank you for saving Alk."

"All right Anne. I'm trying to see if there are anymore people needing rescue. Then we can get the hell out of here understand? Raiaera is not safe anymore."

"The bad men are everywhere. I didn't see many other people."

"Me either, but it doesn't hurt to look. You Elves are a clever lot indeed."

After I said that, I heard a loud explosion erupt outside. Immediately, I moved with a mission outside and saw the fire bursting upward from the explosion. Several Elves were fending off a large group of Arta that gathered around a smaller group of pedestrians. There were screams. But apparently there were some people who could be saved as well. I moved forward and Alk followed me keeping a swift pace. It was a wise choice on my part to put Anne on the back of the huge dog, it was an ideal riding beast for someone so small.

"Hang on tight, Anne!"

Several burnt corpses of the dead rested upon the ground near where the explosion took place. I heard shouts in Elven as they saw my approach against the Arta warriors. My sword dripped with Arta blood and they immediately saw me as an ally. I wore the cloak of a Valinatal Warrior and a few of them recognized me from earlier encounters. I went to quickly dispatch this group of Arta warriors and rescue any survivors that were present at this battle site. There were ten all together. But with the support of the Elves on the rooftops, I was able to take the Arta warriors down much faster. Arrows backed up with Elven skill hit some of the Arta and within moments, the slaughter was over. Four more people were there fending off the Arta, but one of them had an injury on his arm. Once I was done getting rid of the Arta I walked over to the four survivors. The Elves on the rooftop descended to the street level, ten of them all together. They walked over to me and the rest of the survivors. The Captain of the Elves was a man I recognized from earlier encounters with the Valinatal military.

"Report Soldier."

"Hail Captain. Fort Valinatal has fallen. There are few survivors from the brigade, most of them managed to escape. Commander Typheus and I parted ways when we realized it was too dangerous to for us to stick together. I don't know where he is. The name of the enemy Commander was a Necromancer calling himself Netha'Tu. He commanded the powers of the Eternal Tap. It was he who leveled Valinatal with the meteor spell. I've been looking for survivors ever since and found you all. He is injured."

I pointed to the one with the injury on his arm. "He could be infected with Arta blood. Do you have the cure?" The Elves had long ago developed a cure for the Arta's bite. I didn't bother stating that I was infected because the Arta's infection affected my people in a slightly more positive way. I didn't want the cure. The Arta's blood would be my curse. I would carry it as an unwanted guest. It turned out that they did have the cure on them and implemented it immediately. The lad who was bitten was saved.

"Commander Vordic. Take them to a safe location outside of Valinatal. Our field reports suggests that Eluriand still stands. But your Netha'Tu may be heading there next. Take them outside, to Corone or Alerar. You've earned the mantle of a hero of Raiaera and are always welcome here Lexxum Vordic, son of Vexxum Vordic."

"What about the crash site?"

"It's too dangerous right now. There's an energy substance it's giving off. We are calling it Reiko energy for the time being. We have no idea how it interacts with the living and have ordered everyone to keep away from the site. Its a quarantined zone."

"And what will you be doing?"

"There are Arta warriors left in the city. We're going to pick off the remaining zombies and clean up this mess. Try to rebuild. Netha'Tu didn't completely wipe us off the map. Many buildings still stand. We can move Valinatal to a secondary site. We're also going to ask the House of Sora for help." I nodded to him. I heard that the House of Sora was famous for being able to help with humanitarian causes.

"May Lady Suravani bless your endeavors and watch over you. May Lord Mitra give you the strength to strike your enemies down with all the hate of the Elves."

"Be safe brother Vordic. Tell people what happened here."

By the time we parted ways, I was a Soldier First Class of Valinatal's militia. I was given a spare sword as a reward for high heroics against a formidable enemy and a ring with a sigillium of my rankings. It was close to Midnight by the time I left to head towards the Red Forest once more. I was heading away from Valinatal. I'd gotten together a size able group of survivors and lead them as if they were an army. There were two women and two men. They'd immediately developed a fond respect for me. I walked with my sword drawn and kept my eyes on the road. Who knows what dangers lay ahead.

Little did I know I was walking in the the general direction of another survivor...

[Kryos]

It had already been a day since Valinatal had been destroyed.

As Kryos walked through the never-ending trees of the Red Forest, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would be too late. By now, any survivors would most likely be evacuated, or the remains of the undead army would have taken control of the ruins. There seemed like no hope was left concerning one of the great elfin cities. Nonetheless, he pushed onward. He had to see for himself the great devastation that had scarred the earth. He needed to see it, because it could hold a clue to why everything was happening. If he had something in which he might act upon, he would do so, and gain all the more power along the way. The power that defied the evil and corrupt. It was with this reasoning, that Kryos wove through the forest.

His legs and arms were almost back to their normal movement. A full day of walking had seen to that. During the day, he had passed several streams, but all of them unfit to drink from, until an hour ago. Pure, cool water bubbled up from the ground, and Kryos replenished his water supplies. But the forest, overall, was different from all other forests. The silence that enveloped its depths was unnerving. No birds flittered about. No wild animals were ever seen or heard. It was just like the vision Kryos had. The emptiness was absolute.

When the sun began nearing the tops of the Mountains of Dusk, Kryos began angling his course more northward, and out of the forest. He wouldn’t get out for another few hours, due to the angle of his approach, and the distance that he had gone into the forest, but by the time he emerged, he would be more-or-less south of Valinatal. He hoped that something had survived.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

I knew a resupply despot. So I headed over there first, before leaving the great city of Valinatal. Currently a site of mass destruction. Survivors existed here and there. I'd managed to rescue a few of them. A little girl named Anne who was a Half-Elf, her dog, Alk. Alk was a brave golden retriever. There were two others, a man named James Stormdusk, and a woman named Allaria who was an Elf. There were Ellers and Lucas were the two others. At the supply despot, I kicked the door open. There was no sign of life anywhere in the area and so I was hoping to get to the supplies before there could be any looters to these holy grounds.

Stepping into the dark room, I saw that the glow balls, still held up. I grabbed one of the nearest ones and used them as a makeshift lantern. My compatriots walked silently behind me only speaking every so often. I explained to them that we were gathering supplies. They agreed it was for the best. Moving into the despot, I saw many crates and no guards. With such a heavily fortified area, one would think that the area was heavily fortified. There were several bodies near the entrance. I dispatched three more zombies on the way in without incident. Getting over to the supplies, I ordered Ellers and Allaria to procure foodstuffs and fresh water. I procured a fresh tent made of thick hide and other supplies to ready us for the trip ahead. There was an area marked "Spares." This happened to be a convenient weapon storage area. I made sure to grab an extra sword, some repairing equipment, and other necessary supplies for the journey ahead. I gave Anne a sturdy looking dagger made of iron with a scabbard. She happily took the weapon and gave a few practice swings with it.

When everyone gathered their supplies and was ready for the trip ahead, I nodded to them. "Good. Well done. Let's get out of here now, I don't want to stay longer than necessary." They nodded in agreement. "Agreed." James said for the rest of the group. I started the trip out of the warehouse and was well on my way. Leaving Valinatal, they started their trip forward to the Red Forest. Everyone had gathered themselves suitable weapons, fresh water, food, and other crucial supplies for the trip ahead. I knew how to repair damaged equipment so I made sure to grab the proper tools for the job. We walked. It was already becoming late by the time we left Valinatal and started on our way towards the Red Forest. We walked forward and encountered several more zombies on the way to the Red Forest. After several hours of walking, it was close to Midnight. By that time, we'd covered a great deal of distance from the site at Valinatal to the Red Forest. We were heading in the general direction that another was approaching us in...

[Kryos]

Through the gloom, Kryos began to notice that the trees were beginning to be more spread out. He was nearing the border of the Red Forest, and he would be glad to get out into the open plains of Raiaera. Hopefully, he would be able to clearly look upon the moon within the hour. However, he couldn’t allow that small comfort to lower his guard. He could end up in a fight at any moment, and slow reactions would be fatal.

Yet his journey to the border was smooth. He paused about a hundred feet from the end of the trees, giving his muscles a quick rest. While he did so, he studied what he could of the plains beyond the trees. The ground rose and fell in gentle rises, clustered here and there by an occasional tree, whose leaves were still red, but not at vibrant. He took a drink of spring water to quench his slight thirst, and gazed through the light canopy at the stars. Some shone brightly, yet spaces of black moved across them, clouds stealing their light. His own silver eyes mirrored them, and he wondered again what lay ahead of him at Valinatal.

Suddenly, a cool breeze whispered from the direction of the plains. It wasn’t the wind that startled Kryos, but the quick words that it carried. He snapped his head toward the source, eyes narrowing in concentration. But he could make out nothing. Quickly, he activated Moon Gaze, and widened his field of vision to its extreme. There, at the end of his vision, moved a small group, heading his way. He couldn’t pick up any words at that range, but the group was most likely silent anyway. They were coming at a good pace, and, if their path remained the same once they entered the forest, would pass right by him. He strode to a spot that would intercept them, and waited in the shadows to see if they were friend or foe. He slid his muandrian from its sheath, wincing as it rasped against it. He did, however, leave his eyes stained with silver, incase others joined the small group, as well as to monitor the current group’s approach. His eyes glowed softly as he prayed that they were allies.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Not certain if the Red Forest was the safest place to get at, I kept my weapon at the ready in case we encountered more zombies within. I saw that the Forest was many yards ahead of us. Alk and Anne walked alongside me as I took the lead position of the group. My tail swished back and forth lazily rubbing the ground beneath me as I walked. My muscles were powerful and knotted, and I was ready to leap at a moment's notice like a spring. With my sword pointed down, I let it occasionally scrape dirt up so I could hear some noise.

The world had grown quiet. My nerves were extremely tensed as I walked forward. From time to time, I stole a glance back at the site of Valinatal trying to see where the center of destruction was located. I kept my senses attuned to the area around me so that I might detect it should a group of Arta warriors attempt to catch me off guard. By now I'd grown weary of combat from all of the recent fighting. I wanted to get some rest but the very notion was out of the question.

"What's wrong Mr. Lizard? Are you all right?"

She'd taken to calling me "Mr. Lizard". That was Anne's voice. I'd grown used to her strange line of questioning. She was unusually intelligent for a girl that age. She talked to me a lot about various concepts that were rather mature for such a child. It seemed that Elves had an incredible education system and were at the top of the world in that department. Anne had many questions about Fallien, my homeland, and my people. I tried to answer what I was at liberty to answer. The others remained quiet. Mostly they were still extremely traumatized from the ordeals they'd just faced.

"I'm just tired Anne, that's all. We've been going at this for a while now. We should find a place to rest soon."

"Yeah I think Alk is tired too."

The beautiful dog barked in agreement. It put a smile on my lips to have such companions with me. Everybody proved useful in their own right. By now, Ellers had her injuries covered by thick layers of bandaging. The Arta's infections was contagious but they'd managed to catch it before it could completely incubate within her. We walked forward, not following any particular path, but heading in the general direction of Kryos. Seeing a suitable site for setting up an encampment up ahead, I decided that it was time for some rest.

"We'll rest when we get to that spot over there."

And little did I realize in my exhausted state that Kryos was hiding in the trees in that area. We would soon be upon him...

[Kryos]

“We’ll rest when we get to that spot over there.”

Kryos caught his breath when he saw that the group of seven intended to rest in a clearing not five feet from his hiding spot. His eyes narrowed that fate would play out like this, that they would be forced to meet. He wasn’t too worried, though. They certainly weren’t part of Xem'Zund’s army, so he was sure that he could get by without fighting. But, it was no guarantee of safety. The leader, even in the dim light, would be a tough opponent. He appeared to be an enormous lizard, standing about eight feet tall, and bearing a sword before him. The others though, looked fairly harmless. A girl, a canine, and four other adults, either human or elf. He tightened his grip on his weapon as they got closer. Not wanting to scare them, he inhaled, and took a half step forward, out of the shadows that he had hidden himself in. The moonlight filtered through the trees, and reflected off his blade. It faintly gleamed silver, complimenting his eyes. He stood, and waited for the response of the lizard-man.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

I expected many things but a bandit was not one of them. There were many ways to react, but in my tired and weary state I did what I knew best to do. I readied my weapon and moved into a combat stance. I raised my fist for my companions to halt and I addressed the bandit before he attempted to waylay us. My cloak flapped in the wind and he would immediately recognized the cloak of a Soldier of Valinatal. I kept myself on a guarded position, with my weapon in a defensive stance in case the would-be bandit attempted to accost us. My team ceased walking and drew weapons instinctively. I addressed the bandit before us.

"You'll get nothing from us if you're a bandit. We'll defend our wares! State your business hoodlum."

[Kryos]

“Stand down, soldier. I am no bandit, nor a hoodlum for that matter. I’m making my way to Valinatal, to see the destruction for myself, as well as try to pick up any clues that might help us.”

To try to reassure the group, Kryos sheathed his sword. Maybe they knew something that could help him, so it would be wise for them to join forces.

“I’m Kryos. I think it would be best to join forces for the meantime. But where have you come from? Do you have any news from one of the other cities?”

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Wind came in from the southwest at approximately 20MPH. i felt a chill in the breeze that made me think of Salvar. Bringing my cloak up a little tighter to myself, I petted Anne's head momentarily. A moment later, I lowered my weapon to show that I wasn't in an aggressive state any longer. Hearing the man's words convinced me that he wasn't a threat. I decided on sheathing my sword a minute later to show the youth that I'd heard him. Joining forces? Where did I come from? Wasn't it obvious?

I looked back towards Valinatal and could still see the smoke rising from the terrible gash that the meteor spell caused in that once noble city. Looking back towards Kryos I narrowed my eyes to thin reptilian slits. I kept my fists clenched as I looked upon the youth for a moment.

"It won't serve Valinatal any good to go back there. right now we must move forward. To Eluriand or off this continent. Xem'Zund's forces are about and can attack again at any moment. I fought one of his commanders, a Necromancer calling himself Netha'Tu. A small brigade of Valinatal's soldiers are still looking for survivors of the attack. I think it would be all right to join up forces since we're on our ways out of Raiaera anyway. We could combine resources."

The youth looked hungry and thirsty. Taking out a spare waterskin and ration pack from his own travel packs, i removed one of each. I tossed the rations towards Kryos so he could catch them on his own. The food pack contained fresh jerky and fresh fruits, not a hearty meal...but better than nothing.

"Some extra food and water in case you're hungry and thirsty."

I explained. After all, my training at Valinatal made me a soldier first. It was my duty to help civilians...

[Kryos]

Kryos deftly caught the water and food rations as they sailed through the air. A quick scan of the contents revealed jerky and fruit, which was a definite improvement. He slid his pack off, and placed the new rations inside, after taking a quick drink of newly obtained water.

He analyzed the information presented to him, and concluded that it would indeed be wise to skip his visit to Valinatal. At most, he would be able to help a few survivors, but if others were already there doing just that, it wouldn’t really help in the overall picture.

Suddenly, a wave of fatigue flowed through his body. He hadn’t realized that his eyes were still activated, softly glowing silver. He concentrated, and they slowly returned to normal. He really needed to build up his endurance when it came to Fargazing.

“Is this all in your party?” Kryos wanted to make sure that everyone was accounted for. However, the girl suddenly slumped to the ground by the lizard. Upon further examination, he could see exhaustion radiating from the entire group. Kryos shook his head to stall an answer to the previous question.

“Never mind. You are most certainly tired. Let’s move farther in about fifty more feet. There’s a clearing there that I saw before we ran into each other. We’ll talk there.”

Not waiting for a response, he shouldered his pack, turned, and made his way toward a possible sanctuary.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Seeing my reflection in Alk's eyes, I could see a cloud of exhaustion within the dog. I too, was tired but could hold out for a while longer if needed. I picked up Anne's form and placed her in my arms after sheathing my weapon with a quick flick of the wrist. Walking forward I signaled to my companions that it was okay to move forward. We kept a few paces behind the rogue as he guided us to the clearing. Soon, we arrived at the clearing.

It was indeed a short walk but it felt like an eternity in exhaustion. My red scales burned with the feeling of being tired, over pushed and overworked. All of my muscles ached with the recent traumas that Valinatal had endured. I was still angry and bitter about the failure against Netha'Tu. It seemed that my early soldiering career was still wrought with defeats. It was all right though, I'd learned from my mistakes and vowed not to make them again.

Entering the clearing, I immediately saw that Kryos was right. I took out supplies from the recent trip to the supply despot and prepared to set up a well sized tent. Going immediately to work, I was helped by the others as they figured it was more important to keep busy. I dug fire pit for the whole group. Once the tent was ready, I proceeded to hunt for some fire wood since I wanted to keep myself busy. I let the others stay with Kyros, he seemed like a good enough lad. I kept Anne with me, not wanting to loose sight of the innocent child. She'd already seen much already.

Finding some firewood relatively nearby to the camp, my senses caught something stirring in the far distance. My hand went to the hilt of my weapon almost immediately. When it was clear that they were just forest critters stirring, I relaxed my stance a little bit and grabbed the fire wood that I needed for the pit. Returning to the camp I saw that the other had already set up their supplies and a secondary tent. The gang was already relaxing. I walked over to Kryos and nodded to him sitting down upon a rock.

"We can talk here. The others will be resting. Everybody is tired." I put Anne down in the tent and went back to Kryos' position. "My name is Lexxum Vordic. We just finished coming from Valinatal like I said earlier. I'm a soldier from Valinatal but I hail from Fallien." [i]I extended my well built arm towards Kryos so that he might shake my hand in greeting.

[Kryos]

Kryos extended his right hand to accept the gesture. The creature’s grip was strong, muscles tight under his scarred flesh.

“Well met, Lexxum. It’s good to be surrounded by allies.”

As Lexxum stepped back, Kryos rose from his seat, and went to his pack. Digging through the contents, he quickly found what he was looking for. A worn, wooden box, about four inches in length, two inches wide, and one inch deep. Opening it, he took out his flint and steel, and approached the fire pit. The wood that Lexxum had gathered was dry, excellent for burning. Ripping some bark off a branch, he twisted it until it resembled a ball of brown wires. Setting that into the heart of fire, he placed the other branches around the nest. Positioning the flint so that sparks would travel directly into the kindling, Kryos struck. It took three times until it caught, and within a minute, the wood was burning merrily. Kryos sighed with satisfaction, and returned to the smooth stone that served as his chair.

“So, nothing is left of Valinatal then?” Kryos meant the question to go unanswered. “I can’t believe it.” The flames of the fire cast light throughout the camp, and into his eyes. He felt sadness at such a loss, and his gaze reflected that sorrow. Shadows from his hair danced across his face. “Well, I guess all that matters now is, what will you do now?”

[Lexxum_Vordic]

I nodded in an attempt to confirm his question. Valinatal was in a state of utter ruin and destruction thanks to Netha'Tu. It hurt to think about it but it was all I could think about. I had a chance to possibly prevent the destruction at hand, but I couldn't! I wasn't strong enough to. But I vowed to Lord Mitra that I would one day have revenge on Netha'Tu and properly avenge those that were killed on that day. I was silent for a long time as I pondered the situation at hand. Many good things had come out of such loss and devastation. I'd met Anne and the other survivors. I'd met Alk, and now I met Kyros. The rogue seemed like a good enough lad. I turned to look at the fire and I could almost see the ruined city of Valinatal.

"My last orders were to take these survivors to a safe place. The Valinatal Guard is taking care of the rest. I don't know what I'm going to do afterwards. I haven't planned that far ahead. I just want to get these people to a safe location."

[Kryos]

Kryos nodded in agreement. The number one priority here was to ensure that the survivors were protected. Everything else could wait. Besides, they were only a day’s walk from the Twilight Peaks. Once there, they could just stick to the mountains until they reached the pass that bridged Raiaera and Alerar. Hopefully, they wouldn’t run into any stray undead from Valinatal, since they would pass rather close to it.

“Very well. I suggest we travel west until we run into the mountains, then turn north and escape into Alerar. We should probably find a small village to take refuge in, since most of Alerar hates anything to do with Raiaera.” Kryos stretched. “You should probably get some sleep. I’ll keep watch for now, and wake someone up after a couple of hours to replace me.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Sleep huh? There's a comfort...I doubt it'll come. I haven't slept comfortably in a long time since I started on this path. Thoughts raced through my troubled mind. I listened to Kryos suggestions. Infiltrating Alerar sounded good but there were flaws to the plan. We had Elves in our party and they would probably be attacked on sight, if not, they would certainly experience hostilities towards with the Dunmer. I wanted to sleep but the plan wasn't well established yet. Protecting the survivors was the priority for all of us.

"Heading into Alerar is a bad idea. The Dunmer show hostilities towards the Altmer. We have Altmer in our party right now. Alerar is a no go. We'll have to come up with a better plan. I was going to head to the nearest port city and get a ship for them to go to Corone or Scara Brae. Anne will stay with me."

I turned my attention towards the little form of Anne who was sleeping in the tent along with the rest of the group. Tired sounds filled the air as they slept with exhaustion. The Altmer in our group meditated in silence. They needed to meditate for at least two hours. I felt my powerful tail swishing back and forth as I sat on the rock. Yawning greatly, I began to feel my exhaustion but I fought sleep for a little while longer. I longed for the sandy dunes of my homeland, Fallien. Shaking my head for a moment, I closed my glowing red eyes for a brief moment and reopened them a minute later.

"We'll probably meet resistance along the way. We should get as much rest as we can while we're here. I heard a rumor that there are more Commanders about besides Netha'Tu. Xem'Zund gathered himself a grand army and there is fighting all over Raiaera. I am surprised you managed to stay alive so long without an escort."

[Kryos]

“I may still be alive, but I’ve seen my share of zombies so far. I ran into a small contingent of about twenty on my way out of Eluriand. They chased me into the forest, where I got them caught up with some of the shape-shifting wolves. That mostly took care of the problem.”

He let the rest go unfinished as he pondered the beast’s words. Yes, Alerar was probably a poor choice. These people need a more permanent sanctuary. Their best bet was probably Scara Brae. Kryos groaned internally. That would mean going back the way he had just come, as well as passing right by the Obsidian Spire. They would either have to go deep into the forest, dangerous, but more likely to avoid detection by the undead, or pass by the ruins of Carnelost. Both choices didn’t appeal to Kryos that much, but he would leave that matter until later.

“Heading to Anebrilith on the east coast would probably be the best choice. Once there, I suggest we get to Scara Brae. The island nation will most likely remain free of such horrors of war the longest, which is what these people need.” He paused, eying the lizard’s great form. It was visible that he was approaching his limit. An idea sparked in Kryos’ mind. He rose and approached Lexxum.

“We should set out a little after sunrise. That should give be plenty of time for everyone to rest.” He reached out his hand to help Lexxum up, summoning subtle, white flames around his hand and fingers. The Charity spell would hopefully help Lexxum rest, and gain back his strength, besides the guaranteed effect of calming his mind and soul. “I’ll take the first watch.”

[Lexxum_Vordic]

((All bunnies approved))

For a moment, I felt discomfort as the shorter lad's hands came up touch my scaly hide. I pulled away from him, jerking at my powerful neck for a brief moment but then allowing myself to relax. I knew that if he wanted to harm us, he would have done so already. So I allowed him to place his magics upon my person. Immediately, fresh memories of the recent battle at Valinatal came to the surface of my thoughts.

I remembered the huge saurian creature that Netha'Tu had summoned up during the middle of the battle. The beast made me remember my saurian nature and I pondered helping the creature level Valinatal for a moment. It was a guilty thought, but it was part of what fractured my psyche and made me who I was. Images of Typheus quickly appeared in my thoughts as we both fought together and shed blood together. I developed a profound respect for the alien. My thoughts lashed forward like a rabid beast from some ancient ocean. Pulling the tide forward was like releasing the floodgates from within.

No creatures stirred in the area of the Red Forest we were in. We'd chosen a spot that was ideal for hiding. The fire danced about in its pit casting shadows that moved hauntingly about the clearing. The folds of material in our tents rippled like water reminding me of the dune sea back home. The battle of Valinatal made me immediately think of wanting to take vengeance against Netha'Tu. Pushing those troubling thoughts aside, I made a movement to gently push Kryos' hands away. The thoughts surfaced quickly like a storm and raged like the fires that kept us warm.

I pulled my cloak tighter about myself feeling a cold chill in my blood. It was likely produced by the sudden thoughts of the battle I'd just endured. I nodded towards Kyros as he suggested taking first watch. At that moment, I realized how exhausted I felt. Standing up off the rock, I moved towards Anne silently. Curling up towards her, I kept her warm with my hot saurian blood. I curled up much like a pet my curl up against his master. Closing my eyes softly, I went to sleep without saying another word.

[Kryos]

Kryos moved his position. The place he was earlier was too comfortable. He selected a spot next to a big oak tree, with three, uneven rocks at the base, that was to the left of the tents. He dropped to the ground, landing squarely on the rocks, and leaned against the rough bark. Sure, it was uncomfortable, close even to painful, but at least it would keep him awake through the night. He was tired, but in comparison to the others, he was bursting with energy. He’d gotten good sleep the previous night, and would do fine until the next evening, as long as they didn’t get involved with a full-scale assault on the way.

Crossing his legs, and folding his scarred arms around him, he prepared to become the eyes and ears of the group, and nothing more. He sat still, resting his tired legs and arms. His breathing came deep and regularly. The dark clothes that covered his body were motionless, ready to become part of the night when the fire died. His eyes, though, reflected the orange and yellow light the flames gave off. They bounced around the camp, slowly taking in every detail so as to notice any odd changes that might signal danger. They were tireless in their rounds, knowing that failing this duty could very well end up in death. He wished that he could sustain Moon Gaze for longer, that way he could sense the presence of others coming close all night long. Instead, he had to keep watch with only his normal senses. Time measured out itself with the height of the dying fire.

~ / | \ ~

A small strand of smoke lazily rose from the ashes of the fire, through the red trees, and into the light of the morning sun. Here and there, birds whistled, safe in the closeness of the border of the forest. The leaves that filled the trees and littered the ground were cast in shadows and brilliant light, becoming pleasant gemstones of garnets and rubies. Their own reflected light danced throughout the woods, placing small glimmers of light on the trunks of trees and the dulled rocks and stones. They even cast light into the twin pools of blood beneath a great oak that gazed at the hidden sky.

Kryos took a deep breath, and let it out while he rose from his vigil. The night had been quiet and cool, with no signs of danger. Rising to his toes in a stretch, he could feel his limbs unwinding and gaining strength. He walked over to his pack, and took a large swig from one of his water skins. The cool fluid raced down his throat, reviving the muscles that had become dry during the moon’s reign. Then, he took out the food ration kit that Lexxum had given him the night before. He opened it, and retrieved an apple half, and a piece of jerky. He bit into the apple, surprised when juices burst into his mouth. He loved the taste of apples, especially in the fall. The trees of the red forest were a close imitation of autumn, but there couldn’t simulate the real thing. But, the apple did taste a little better than one usually did.

He made his way to a softer spot on the ground to finish his meal, and wait for the others to wake. They should be rising anytime now, since they had all slept soundly and restfully for the entire night. His heart went out to them. Especially the girl that Lexxum was curled up against. Her face was that of innocence. But not pure innocence. It was the kind of innocence that found itself in a vast and alien world, its survival dependent on how quickly it could learn the ways of the world and adapt. It reminded him of how he was when he left his home after the incident with his friend, Lorin. He wished the girl didn’t have to go through such a change as this. It could destroy her, as it almost destroyed himself. He hoped that the girl would survive.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Wisps of smoke rose from the fire pit like dragons chasing hawks. The trees of the Red Forest danced ever so subtly with the strong breeze that developed.

Animals that were brave enough to come near the destruction site at Valinatal came close and stirred with the sun rising in the East. A great disc in the autumn sky, colors of fire decorated the atmosphere. Adding a distinct orange glow as the sun rose, signaling a triumphant end to the realm of the dark mother. The shadows receded to their hiding places, and angled themselves at different positions than normal with the rising sun.

Beasts of the wild poked out of their nocturnal hiding spots and instinctively followed their dance anew. Morning dew dripped down blades of leaves and grass. Insects stirred buzzing about the camp. The two Altmer in the group, Allaria and Ellers were related to one another as distant cousins. They soon stirred from their meditative state. They were both women and sat within relatively close proximity to one another. They meditated outside of the tent preferring to be within close proximity of nature itself.

Even through their meditative state, expressions of worry touched both of their faces. Ellers was the younger of the two, a woman in her mid twenties, at least the Altmer equivalent of aging. Altmers aged much slower than humans did and were able to live longer lives. With the sun shining brightly on their faces, a mysterious glow seemed to surround the two beautiful women creating a halo effect about them. As the two meditated, they chanted below their breaths in their natural High Elven tongue. It flowed like a song of bubbly water cascading within a stream. As the two women woke up, the sun was beginning to rise. They'd gone into their deep meditation last in the group deciding to converse amongst themselves. From the Altmer perspective, the loss of Valinatal was a huge blow to the social consciousness of the Elves.

Ellers was a tall woman with long legs, a shapely, muscular figure, and deep amber colored eyes. Her hair was long, braided, and ended at the region of her lower back. She had many rune-like symbols etched upon various portions of her body, many visible but many more hidden by her Vlince attire. She wore a green Elven cloak with a dress that covered her bodice and was colored in a light blue color. She was dressed in the traditional attire of the Altmer. A brilliantly shining amulet heirloom necklace rested upon her chest. Earrings dangled from their positions and danced in the breeze ever so gently. She yawned as she stirred keeping a sharp gaze on her companion, Allaria.

In contract to Ellers, Allaria was a shorter Altmer. She stood in the average height for an Elf woman. Her hair was blond in color, almost to the point of being platinum in nature. Her hair was wild and ended at her shoulders, there were braided locks in various positions of her hairdo. Contrasting the amber colors of her cousin, Ellers had sky blue eyes that matched her blond hair well. It made her round features seem that much more attractive. She wore gold jewelry all over her person and had the same strange eldritch symbols upon her person, but there were considerably less non Ellers. It was clear that Ellers was a much younger Altmer than her cousin.

"Did you see?" Ellers asked.

"I saw it. The forgotten Thayne amongst us once more. The moon of Althanas no more. Fallen upon Valinatal's former glory it has."

"So then you shared the same vision I had. Interesting. We must tell this information to the others for the Dark Mother, N'Jal is amongst us once more. There has been much death and suffering already, but I fear it will only get worse and worse. The second age of darkness is upon us."

"As the prophecy has foreseen."

"What will happen to us now?"

"Now we must rise and now we must face the challenging times ahead of us. Xem'Zund isn't our only enemy we face."

"Sadly, that is the truth."

************************************************** ****

"Search over there, we got more bodies!"

Soldiers at Valinatal worked to recover the bodies of fallen citizens. By now if there were any survivors, they were already accounted for. As the hours passed by, it looked less and less likely that any more survivors would be accounted for. They'd managed to find dozens more that somehow survived the terrible attack from that villain, Netha'Tu. A huge hole lurked in the center of former Valinatal where Althanas' moon struck the earth. Used as a meteor, Netha'Tu's spell back fired and caused wanton destruction in its stead. But the job was done. Valinatal fell.

Smoke and the mysterious glowing energy still radiated from the crash site as soldiers worked to recover the scorched bodies. It was a gory task, but one that needed closure. Nobody dared to come close to the crash site because it gave off intense heat. The heat of a thousand furnaces. The energy that flowed from the impact zone scorched the earth dry. And somewhere within the crash site, lurked N'Jal in her hibernation state...

The soldiers worked while N'Jal slept. A harbinger from the sky...

************************************************** ***************

I had a dream that night. I'm not sure if its what you would call any normal dream, the Elders of my tribe called these dreams spirit visions in the tongue of the lizards. They say that the house of your ancestors talked to you in your sleep when you weren't aware of it. Was it true? I didn't know, I didn't have much faith in the old ways. All I had faith in was my strength and the will of Lord Mitra. I had something else to believe in and it was Anne and the rest of the group. Yawning in my sleep, I felt her hands curling upon my fingers as she played with them. I felt the familiar feeling of the sun on the sails on my back and this made me rise from my position. I stirred, and finally awoke. Sitting up in a relatively comfortable stance, I rubbed Anne's head gently so she could awaken. She yawned and stretched before me giving me a brilliant smile. I couldn't help but to smile back, a toothy grin.

I looked over to Kryos' person. The rest of the team was waking up casually. I looked over to the tent and saw James and Lucas, two humans from Valinatal, rising from their slumber. They were preparing themselves for a hearty breakfast. I nodded to them and turned my attention back to Kryos.

"We'll take over from here. Your turn at sleeping."

[Kryos]

“That’s unnecessary Lexxum. The safety of this company is priority, and the longer that we terry here, the greater the chance we’ll be discovered.”

Kryos paused as the camp fell silent. The humans and elves, and even the dog, paused in their morning activities to gaze at him. He felt unease ripple through his heart, and he thought that he may have broken the mood. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“What I mean is, it would be best to head out soon, no later than an hour from now. I’ll be fine until this evening, and then I’ll take a turn at sleep. But, these woods can often turn into our enemies, so it would be wise to change our location frequently.”

Kryos stopped talking. He didn’t feel the need to continue. He just focused on finishing up his jerky. The tough meat worked his jaw, but lit up his tongue with the spices that were buried in the jerky’s rough folds. Finished, he retrieved his water for another drink. The meat had left his mouth hot, but the water soon soothed the feeling. He approached Lexxum, and gazed into the lizards red eyes.

“I’ve just come from the way that we’re headed,” Kryos began, keeping his voice low. “So I should be able to lead us through the forest well. However, on the way to Anebrilith, there is the Obsidian Spire. We’ll need to pass that cursed place, hopefully without running into a large group of enemies. So, you are the leader of these people. Do we go deep into the forest, and pass south of the Spire, or do we go north of it, and pass by what’s left of Carnelost? I don’t really care, but the choice needs to be made now. It’s up to you.”

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Kryos presented me with a unique problem. I narrowed my eyes in deep thought for a moment. Rumor had it that the Obsidian Spire was perpetually abandoned, but with Xem'Zund's activities its possible that he left a garrison of warriors near the Obsidian Spire. It was possible. Rumors spread through the front front lines that a fierce battle was being waged somewhere near Carnelost. Or at the Carnelost site. I didn't want to expose Anne to any further destruction, but she was a capable child on her own. I folded my arms across my chest staring back into Kryos' dark eyes. I matched his gaze with my own glowing red eyes for a long moment without breaking away. I thought about the safest pass towards Anebrilith. The Obsidian Spire was a huge risk, but it was an eventuality that we needed to prepare for. Plus there were rewards with potentially venturing back into the Obsidian Spire once we ensure that the company was well underway to Scara Brae. I had my answer.

"We shall head near the Obsidian Spire. I have a favor to ask of you, by the way, Kryos. Regardless of what challenges we might face in the near future, I want an opportunity to go back to the Obsidian Spire with you and explore the interior a bit. I've heard great treasures are there for the taking. We can leave Anne in a safe place, or with these people. I am trying to figure out what's in her best interest she lost her parents. "

As a soldier, I was deeply concerned with the safety of the child. I could keep Alk if the need arose, but I doubted that Anne would part with her. She slept a little while longer for I didn't want to wake her. I looked at the trees around me for a long moment breaking the intense stare. Low branches hung from the bark to snag at stranger's clothing. Some of the lower branches came near to the tent that we'd erected. A part of me wanted to stay here in this temporary sanctuary, but the warrior within me knew that a battle could break out at any moment. Raiaera was no longer a safe place for these people. One by one its grand cities were falling...

"We're being exterminated." I said out loud to nobody in particular.

[Kryos]

Kryos was taken aback with the request that Lexxum asked of him. The Obsidian Spire was a place of death, with the undead once billowing from its belly. Sure, there was probably treasure, but what else lurked in its dead and evil halls. There was most likely a reason why the High Bard Council restricted access to it, but then again, there could be some clues still resting there about why Xem’zund vanished after the Second Alerian Assault. Such information could help them defeat Xem’zund this time as well. The danger was high, but the possibility was even greater as well.

“Exterminated.” The word bounced around his mind like an echo would bounce around a deep canyon. He reached forward and placed his hand on the Lexxum’s shoulder.

“Have hope, friend. Sure, we have suffered many losses, but things will turn out all right. Our races will survive this. It’s instinct.” He dropped his hand, standing up. “As for your request, there is much danger in it, but I’ll come with you. There is much buried there that could aid us.”

He walked a little way from camp, and did a quick check around the border, looking for any signs of intelligent life that could have passed by earlier. He came upon nothing. Satisfied, he returned to the others, got his things together, and waited for the others to get ready to set out.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Putting down the tent was a chore of a process. James and Lucas woke up an hour after Allaria and Ellers did. It took approximately that long for Kryos to finish his quick scouting of that area. Once the tents were rolled up and everybody had breakfast, I decided that it was high time we were all well on our way. Once Kryos returned I nodded towards him. With the exception of Allaria and Ellers, everyone was in a quiet and somber mood. I woke up Anne a short time later as she slept near Alk's position. The dog was a loyal companion and eternal friend. I was quickly developing rapport with the canine. I hoped to get to know the beautiful animal much more since the canine was quite similar to us Saurians in many respects.

Preparing myself for the long road ahead, I knew that the trip to Anebrilith would be very dangerous indeed. I looked up. The sun was reaching a zenith in the sky as the morning hours reached a peak. It was a somewhat chilly afternoon with a breeze coming in from the south. The wind flowed at about ten miles per hour. I checked the direction of the wind casually and smelled it to see if death was coming our way. From the general direction of the South, Carnelost and the Obsidian Spire. With Kryos in agreement of the side mission, I knew that I needed to be mentally prepared to face the challenges at the Obsidian Spire. Allaria and Ellers confronted me.

"Mister Vordic, we have some information for you that I think will be interesting for you to hear." Allaria was speaking. The other one simply nodded calmly with respect to her Elders. "Speak." I responded casually. "We've had a shared vision. A dream of our ancestors while we were meditating. The Red Forest warned us that a new threat is upon Althanas. We noticed on the prior eves that darkness filled the night sky. No moon shines brightly to guide people through the night anymore. We believe that it is the moon itself that has crashed into Valinatal thanks to that bastard Necromancer Netha'Tu. Legend has it that the dark mother, N'Jal, was banished upon the moon many aeons ago by the other Thaynes in the Thaynehood. We believe that N'Jal has returned to Althanas. Eventually someone will have to go back to Valinatal and confront N'Jal before things get out of hand. Without a moon to guide us, I fear what will happen to our world's natural patterns and cycles."

So my feelings were right. N'Jal had indeed returned. I nodded towards Allaria with profound respect for being able to commune with the earth mother. It was an important trait that would come in useful later on. As I listened to her story, I knew the obviousness of the truth. I'd shared a vision from Lord Mitra himself! I thought carefully about this revelation and looked towards Kryos' position with a serious expression on my face. "Kryos we have a serious problem on our hands. As if things couldn't get any worse, we have a new threat that eventually must be dealt with. N'Jal. I know little about the Thaynes except for Khal'jaren the Sage of the Black Desert. And I only know of him from my time in Valinatal. My fellow soldiers spoke fondly of him. They say that N'Jal was banished to the moon for unspeakable atrocities against men. But the Altmer would know more than I would."

"The Thaynes are a buggard lot if you ask me." James suddenly spoke, and walked towards the group whilst he ate a fair sized apple. "I did some studying on them when I was much younger and a bit of a rebel. There was a cult of N'Jal in Valinatal recruiting. Lord knows what happened to them, maybe they done survived the crash and fled. Who knows. Anyways, that's besides the point. Khal'Jaren is some sort of Sage. There's a library in the black desert if you would care to find it with all kinds of mysterious books to be found there. I believe you could obtain more knowledge about the Thayne there. Insofar as N'Jal goes...if she is back, we're screwed. The old legends stated that she would bring about a Second Age of Darkness."

"That term feels familiar to me. I believe I've heard it before."

[Kryos]

Kryos rose and walked forward, arm outstretched to forestall any more discussion. His eyes, as red as freshly spilt blood, gleamed.

“Friends. It is time we leave. The problem with this N’Jal must be dealt with later, for she seems like a formidable enemy. However, we can do nothing by ourselves. We must get word out to the High Bard Council, and then something may be done. But first, we need to get you all to safety.”

He paused, and reached down to grab his sword. He swung it over his shoulder to its normal position, then donned his pack over that. With a little adjusting, he got it situated just right so he could grab his blade at an instant’s notice.

“Lexxum and I can get word out once your safety has been secured. But for now, we need to head out. Lexxum, as the leader of your group, has chosen to stick to the forest, rather than brave the open plains. As it is, I will take lead, for I have traveled these woods just recently, and am more familiar with them. We’ll travel in a loose formation, with everyone insight at all times. Be on the lookout for any shape-shifting wolves, soul blossoms, and other such horrors. It will take several days to travel the entire width of Raiaera. Hopefully, we’ll pass through without incident.”

He stopped there, and waited for the others to get ready for travel. Striding across the clearing, he passed Lexxum and gave a quick nod. At the edge of their camp, he stopped again, and looked over his shoulder. The two humans were just finishing getting ready. Kryos gave a quick smile.

“Let’s go.”

He strode out into the ever-crimson woods, the others falling in place behind him. He angled his course so that they would gradually go deeper into the Red Forest, so as to pass south of the Obsidian Spire, and the road that lead to it from the plains. His gaze was constantly scanning the foliage, alert for any danger that might make itself known to them. He would be ready.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

I nodded back towards Kryos after his words of encouragement. Though I secretly felt disheartened by the news of this...N'Jal. The word somehow sounded very familiar to me despite the fact that I was from Fallien. I didn't understand the North man's deities just as they equally didn't understand my own. The Thaynehood was just one of many cults that lurked in the lands of the North. I began to miss my simpler days as a lizard pup back home not forced to face armies of Necromancers or the terrors of the dark.


The grass crunched underneath me. Already, we'd put away our supplies and other things. Sealing the fire pit was a chore that took a bit of time, but within moments all evidence of our stay there was removed. Carefully did we back track and remove our footsteps from the ground to ensure that we were not being followed by any agents of evil. These were the ways of the Rangers and the Altmer were common with them.

My boots crunched against the grass beneath me. I tried to move as quietly as I could, but my bulky form snapped twigs and crunched blades of grass, as well as gravely earth. I sighed at all the noise that my huge form was making, it was a dead give away to any stalkers in the dark. The breeze carried with it a distinct scent of war on other battlefronts to the South, East, and North of our positions. Raiaera was not safe. Suddenly, it became clear that the entire continent itself had become our enemy. I stood alongside Kryos with Alk and Anne not far behind me. My tail swished about, providing me with a sense of balance as I walked completely upright. The dog occasionally sniffed at the air providing us with an extra asset. He could sense danger in ways that the rest of us might not be able to. Allaria and Ellers were busy with their Altmer meditation techniques. They were prepared to cast their spell songs at a moment's notice. James and Lucas had weapons drawn and at the ready.

Lucas was a short stout human with gray hair that ended at his trapezius muscle. He wore the fashion of the Altmer tailored with some human motifs for a rather strange sense of fashion. Both humans wore cloaks, the Altmer did not preferring the feel of the wind against bare flesh. I'd come to know my companions well. Lucas carried a crossbow and a short sword with him, whilst James carried a longsword and several daggers on his person. He even had a longbow. The entire outfit was as prepared as they could be, despite the fact that they appeared like a motley crew to me. The company of strangers wasn't an ideal fighting force, but it would hopefully be enough to secure passage to Anebrilith. Which was several days traveling on foot.


"Approximately where did you say you encountered those Arta warriors, Kryos? How far off is their position?"

I remembered Kryos saying he encountered some of the zombies on his way to a chance meeting with us. If there were Arta ready and waiting, not too far off from our position, I wanted to know about it.

[Kryos]

“I ran into them out in the plains. They chased me into the forest a kilometer or so. Then, I got them stuck with a whole bunch of those shape-shifting wolves. I only met one after that, so I presumed that the wolves took care of the rest. But don’t worry. The course that I’m taking now will have us pass at least ten kilometers south of there, so we shouldn’t run into any lucky survivors.”

He kept his pace strong as he led the way through the forest. They were far from the edge of the trees, and no sound was made this deep in the scarlet woods, except for them. The night was fast approaching, the sun nearing the tops of the Twilight Peaks. Yet Kryos had no intention of stopping with nightfall. He could journey at least a few hours into the night before he would become too tired to continue on safely.

Glancing over his shoulder, he checked on the rest of the group. The two elves glided through the forest, silent as the trees around them. Their eyes were half shut, apparently on the ready to use offensive and defensive spells at any moment. The humans weren’t as stealthy. Their well-used boots snapped twigs and rustled bushes on their way past. It was clear that they didn’t have the same sense of awareness as the elves did. But they too, were ready for action, one with a sword and crossbow drawn, and the other with a longbow ready.

Immediately behind Kryos, followed the girl, Anne, and her dog, Alk. Anne did her best to keep up, though sometimes she had to jog to make up any lost distance. But Kryos didn’t slow down his course because of that. The slower they went, the longer they would be in danger. They could rest all they wanted once they got into Scara Brae.

Lastly, was Lexxum, walking a little to Kryos’ left, and a little back a bit. The tall beast wasn’t the best companion to travel around with when stealth was important, but Kryos was sure that he could hold his own and more in battle. The creature’s scales were deep red and black, letting him blend into the surrounding forest perfectly. Indeed, one of the only clues that he was there was the constant rusting of leaves that his tail made, as it swished across the ground.

Soon, the forest was cast in the shadow of the mountains. The sun was quickly disappearing. But there was still light in the forest, reflected from the clouds that filled the evening sky. But as time passed, Kryos knew when the sun did set. His vision lessened as his eyes began to change. Bringing up his arm, he stopped and turned around to face the group.

“We’ll take a brief pause here before continuing on. It would be great if we could travel for two or three more hours tonight, before setting up camp. Be warned though. I do not think a fire would be wise tonight. We’ll have to make due.”

One of the humans began muttering to his companion. Growing angry, his voice started to carry across the trees.

“How can he see in the dark pitch that the night now brings? It’s folly to continue on blind. I wont budge from this spot.” To emphasize that, he swung off his supplies and dropped heavily to the ground. Kryos narrowed his grey eyes in annoyance.

“I am able to see better than you in the dark. It is part of what separates me from humans. I will be able to guide us through the forest, but your concerns do bring up a problem. It is all well and good that I can see, but that might be a problem for you all. We’ll need a way to keep us together in the darkness. If anyone has rope, we could use that, and link ourselves together. Or, if anyone has glowing material, we could place marks on ourselves.” He paused, thinking of other solutions. “Lexxum, what do you think?”

[Lexxum_Vordic]

I grew greatly displeased with James as he attempted to usurp command of the group. I shook my head immediately as the journey was put to an abrupt pause. I took out the rope in my possession after listening to what Kryos and James said. I decided to intervene.

"It will not be easy but we have to continue forward until we find a safer place to camp. James, there are enemies about this entire area this is not a safe location. We should continue onwards until we find a safer place to rest. I have a rope, we can use the rope as a guide. It won't give away our location except for the noise that we make."

I was upset that we had to stop moving, any precious time we wasted put Anne and the rest of the group in danger. Alk constantly sniffed at the air and was prepared to face the dangers of the fores. The Altmer in our company were better suited to the harsh conditions of the Red Forest than the rest of us were with the exception of myself and Kryos. I was trained for harsh survival conditions in the deep bosom of Lady Suravani. Ellers suddenly stopped her state of concentration and walked over to James, placing a hand upon his shoulder.

"Sir Vordic is right. This is not a safe place. Even Kryos said earlier we're not more than a few Kilometers from those shape shifting wolves. Wouldn't that be a nightmare if the wolves caught is in our sleep?"

[i]Allaria chimed in just then.

"The trees are not friendly in this neck of the woods. I hear Xem'Zund's forces commands the trees as their allies. They are horrible monsters that can snatch up the living into their roots, never to be heard from again."

Lucas checked his crossbow to make sure a bolt was firmly secured into its position. A moment later, he quickly aimed off somewhere in the dark and let the bolt fly off towards a hidden target. There was the sound of a moan in the distance and something heavy fell to the ground. Their position was no longer secret as the woods started to come alive to attempt to consume the travelers. Xem'Zund's forces were about.

"Bugger. All this lingering attracted more monsters. Thanks, James. We need to be ready for a fight. If there was one zombie, there will be legions more of them. Kryos, we should get a move on, leave James if you have to. He can guard himself."

"L-leave me? You fellows put up a good argument. Fine, I'll keep going with you until we find a safe location to put up camp." James quipped finally giving in to the argument. I shook my head at this as I personally assisted James with picking his things back up. James nodded. "I apologize for my apparent mutiny I did not mean any harm."

I heard a click as Lucas was reloading his crossbow. His eyes were darting into the darkness as they searched for hidden foes in the shadows. Ready to leap out at a moment's notice. Once I set up the rope, we were all holding on to it in a single line. I took up position behind Kryos and we were ready to start again.

"Let's go everyone."

I began to walk once more. My sharp senses aware, with accuracy, withing my sensory globe.

"Stay close and keep up with Kryos and myself. Anne, ride on Alk."

She nodded and quickly mounted on top of the big dog. Her smaller form was easily able to ride upon the majestic beast. The dog barked once and seemed to be studying something just beyond their sensory range. He kept sniffing at the darkness and growling on occasion. I drew my weapon and prepared myself for battle.

[Kryos]

Kryos’ now silver eyes glimmered as they finished making their appearance. Suddenly, trees jumped out of the gloom, and he could make out the individual shapes that resided in the forest. Now that he could safely pick out his path, he picked up his pace a little, legs reaching out to their fullest extent. The length of rope that he held in his left hand pulled tight as he placed more distance between himself and Lexxum. Nevertheless, he didn’t slow down. He didn’t expect that they would run into enemies at this point, but it didn’t help them to worry about it. If the trees were even against them, then the priority now was to find a safe haven where they could rest for the night. Kryos wouldn’t be picky either. He’d take what he was given, even if it was just ten feet in front of him.

His eyes were fully open as he led the way through the dark forest. After going between two great trees, he slowed abruptly. A figure was crouched in the shadows to his right. It was quivering, and then it turned its head to look right at Kryos. The pasty skin clung to the creature’s face, threatening to fall off at any time. The eyes were sunken in, and from its throat, an eerie sound softly flew. Kryos dropped the rope and leapt forward, drawing his muandrian from his back. Hoping to stop it from calling others, he quickly closed the distance, and thrust his blade through its head. The creature wildly clawed at its face, as if it could draw the blade out and restore the damage. But soon the zombie quit its efforts. It returned to being a corpse.

Turning back, he returned to where the others were. He grabbed the rope and continued on, not bothering to sheath his sword. He picked up the pace.

Time blurred into a simple pattern. Making their way through the forest, to the occasional incidents with zombies, and an occasional undead animal. Then, back to walking. Sometimes they ran, but Kryos couldn’t really tell the difference. All that mattered was keeping the company together, and alive. Alk was extremely helpful. He alerted them several times before an opponent came. And each time, they emerged victorious, before resuming their flight. By now, Kryos was exhausted. His arm that carried his muandrian shook with fatigue, and his breathing came in large gulps. They needed to find a safe place to rest, and soon.

He pulled up short. In front of him, several large, thick blood vines blocked his path. They traveled across several trees, their red, thorny skin draping across the gaps like blankets. Each vine was about twenty feet in length, but at the end of a specific vine, another was taking its place. It appeared to be a wall of blood vines. He changed course to attempt to skirt the wall.

“Careful. Don’t touch the vines.” Kryos managed to get out. As they walked, he saw that the wall was actually curving. He continued onward, until he was at the other side. As he was about to continue west, he paused. He dropped the rope he was holding.

“Wait here.”

He continued around the wall of vines, hoping that he was correct. After two minutes, he found himself back at where they first encountered the wall. It was a complete circle, which spanned at least fifty meters across, and was at least twenty feet high. Now, if only the inside of the circle was free of blood vines, and they could get into it, they would have a sanctuary. Kryos dropped to his knees, and closed his eyes. He activated Moon Gaze, and searched for anything that dwelt in the circle. Plants had faint souls, even though most didn’t believe it. It’s true that they aren’t as vibrant as his own soul, but he was able to see them.

“Yes!” Kryos exclaimed. The blood vines appeared to him as faint smudges of light. But beyond the barrier, there was nothing but bushes here and there. The blood vines that were in front of Kryos must have killed anything in the circle. It was a clearing, with no trees in it. The vines must be working their way outward, destroying everything in their path. If Lexxum could cut a way through the barrier, a small way of passage, then they would be protected.

He stood, and warily, but quickly, made his way to the others. They were still there where he left them, on guard for anything that could prove threatening.

“Lexxum, I need you to cut a way through these blood vines.” He said. “Make it small, and almost unpassable. We just need it wide and tall enough so that we can get through it. On the other side is a clearing that these vines completely encase. So if we can get in, we’ll be protected.”

[Lexxum_Vordic]

The journey remained difficult. We ran into several more zombies, and both James and Lucas shot off missiles from their longbow and crossbow. These, in turn, hit deadly targets in the darkness with impressive amounts of accuracy. I admired their skill with their weapon. When zombies came too close for comfort, I hacked at them with my sword, easily mauling the zombies that came well within range. I was already an experienced zombie fighter coming from the site at Valinatal. Valinatal was oft in my thoughts now. I was grateful that I was able to assemble the company of survivors.

The trees loomed around us in every direction. Twisted barks and gnarled branches reached out like giant, deformed hands. We left a wake of corpses where we traveled, satiating the need for violence. The darkness made the forms appear like bizarre monsters instead of locale plant life. As I gazed in the general direction of the trees and foliage, I got the feeling that they were watching us with ancient, angry eyes. A hint of a whisper touched the wind which was foreign to my knowledge of tongues. I immediately theorized that it might be the trees themselves talking to one another, scheming our demise.

Locale legends suggested that the trees would sometimes come alive to snatch up unsuspecting traveler to a pitiful end. Crunched in carnivorous roots, they would suffer intensely for their final moments and be put to a forgotten fate. Casualties of the Red Forest. Already blood stained with Arta blood, my sword dripped with sanguine sustenance. Blood from my weapon stained the grass underneath me as I walked and suddenly, Kryos proceeded to drop the rope and journey on his own, scouting ahead of the party. He often did that. I admired the lad's skills as a survivor.

When Kryos finally returned he gave me the next set of instructions. I could see the blood vines ahead, even in the darkness, and they appeared as a blight upon the natural trees of the Red Forest. They had an archaic glow about them suggesting that their original was magical in nature. I made sure to take my weapon in my hand, tie the rope to my belt, and continue forward until I was well within hacking range of the blood vines. The sentient organism throbbed and thrived with movement. Pulsing organically and giving off a palpable heat. I could see spikes jutting out from pores equipped with natural suction cups. The trees that the blood vines were attached to bled with sap as the creature sucked upon the natural life fluids. A different scent of death touched my nostrils. This was the death of plant life. Smelling like burned leaves from some wild fire inferno, the smell was repulsive. I wanted to hack the blood vine to pieces. However, tonight, the blood vines would inadvertently serve a different purpose. I nodded towards Kryos and proceeded to go to work.

Almost as soon as I walked over to the creature, the thing writhed in a hungry fashion. It sensed a powerful source of blood ahead of it which was me! I wasn't about to become the predator's next meal. Coming dangerous close to the blood vine, I started to hack at the pulsing beast. A red, rancid smelling substance flowed out of the pieces of vine that I sliced up. I didn't want to even fathom touching that stuff. It smelled like rotten avocados and made me want to throw up. Suddenly, something stung my right leg and I felt an intense burning sensation creep up my thigh. I instinctively hacked at the piece of vine that struck my leg. Thorns buried themselves deeply into the fresh injury and I tried to pull them out with my claws. I only managed to pull out two pieces. I felt a painful substance entering my body and bore its way into my flesh. I grimaced with agony. I clutched the wound at my leg for a long moment. The pain wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but a deep purple bruise developed around the injury site. I was able to adjust to the throbbing pain and go back to the task at hand.

Hacking away at the plant devil, I was able to cut a path into the clearing just beyond the position of the beast. Almost all at once, the creature suddenly moved with wild, erratic movement patterns and started to flay about with its many tentacle like tendrils. I looked over at Kryos, then to Anne as I saw what was happening.

"Run!"

I suddenly commanded to the rest of the group and hauled ass into the newly discovered clearing...the whole while my infection began to grow worse as my bloodstream reacted to the poison.

[Kryos]

Every muscle, every fiber, screamed at Kryos not to follow Lexxum’s order. But he had no choice. The blood vines were withering in retaliation to their assault. He gritted his teeth and growled, face made up in a mask of determination. He willed his legs to move. Fire raced through his veins, burning his limbs till they were nothing but pain. Nonetheless, he pushed on. The rest of the group had already gotten through safely, so he just had to worry about himself making it. Concentrating on not falling, he rushed toward the quickly receding gap. Every step seemed to last forever, an eternity of pain. Two more steps. One more. The opening was almost gone. In desperation, he lunged forward, flinging himself through the gateway. Just as he passed, a vine bulged, managing to get a thorn in his arm. However, the momentum of his leap carried him past the deadly plant. The thorn came free with a piece of his skin. He landed with a thud on the hard, forest floor.

He lay there a moment, trying to get a grip on himself. Then, slowly, he raised his head to check on the others. They stood in a semicircle about him. Then, Allaria came forward, and helped him to his feet. Grabbing him around the shoulders, she helped him walk farther into the clearing. He was surprised at her strength, but then again, she was an elf.

Once they were in the center of the clearing, they stopped. No trees blocked the night sky, and the stars gave them what light they had.

“Thank you.” Kryos murmured to Allaria, as he dropped to the ground. He opened his pack, and grabbed a spare piece of cloth. He proceeded to wrap it around his arm, to stop his wound from bleeding. That done, he looked in his bag once more, and pulled out a furry leaf. It was native to his home, called the Lorinith Plant. It was commonly used as a small help to antidotes for poison, as well as numbing pain. He tore the leaf in half, and place one of the pieces back in his bag. He gave the other half to Allaria.

“Lexxum should eat this. It will help with the wound he received from the blood vine.”

He pulled his sheath from his back, replaced his sword, swung his cloak around so it covered his front, and lay down to recover with much needed rest. He was asleep before his eyes had fully closed.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Ellers took the strange plant life and prepared it so that it might be made a proper medicinal substance. She handed it over to me. I could see that the plant had an archaic glow about it, sending its residue into the night. It seemed to pulse with some hidden heartbeat. My eyes narrowed and I grimaced with pain as I felt a fever rush quickly through my system. Pain throbbed intensely from where the blood vine bit me. I looked down and saw an infection growing from the wound. Perhaps it was fate that we should have two fully trained Elves in our company. I closed my eyes as Ellers treated the wound. The poison worked fast.



My body shook intensely. Muscles bulged with the tension from the fever and I thought of my blood mixing with the Arta's vessel as well as this poison. I was developing quite the collection of infections. For a moment, I pondered going back to the blood vine and hacking it to pieces so that it wouldn't cause anymore adventurers trouble again. But I couldn't, at least not until the Elves healed my injuries.


Bonding with the poison, my blood started to feel like it was on fire. As an antidote, the solvent contained a powerful counteractive materials that worked just as quickly to assist my powerful white blood cells. Red scales seemed to change to a slightly darker color as the taint of the poison forced my immune system to go into hyper drive mode. My eyes narrowed and I let out moans of agony. Tasting horrid, I quickly consumed the solvent. I didn't want to spend any second longer than necessary chewing on that horrible substance.


"Look at me." Ellerz said calmly. Her voice sounded unusually loud in the current state of suffering I found myself in. My muzzle was clenched tightly as I swallowed the solvent and tried to stare at her. They say that my people rarely cried. The desert dried our tear ducts out. But at that moment stinging tears of fire streaked down my face, and I felt sweat pouring down my forehead, back, and chest. It felt cold. I wanted to just go to sleep and let the antidote run its course, but Ellers placed a strong, steel cord like hand underneath my maxilla. I felt her fingers squeeze ever so tightly so that my attention could be focused upon her. I felt the liquid fires of the antidote course through my system and then I finally passed out.

[Kryos]

When Kryos awoke, he found himself in a brightly lit clearing. Sunlight poured through the treeless place, and he had to squint his eyes against the rising sun. Yet he let the warmth dance across his face. It had been a long time since he had been able to see the sun without the constant obstruction of leaves and branches in the way.

He sat up, taking check of his current status. He had slept restfully and dreamlessly, and overall, felt rather well. Checking the bandage that he had placed on his left forearm, he saw that the wound had begun to heal. It wasn’t a major wound, but it had apparently bled quite a bit. The piece of cloth was deeply stained with blood. Digging into his bag, he replaced the soiled bandage with a new one. He winced as he tightened it over the wound.

He took a closer look at the rest of the group. Anne and her dog were sleeping on the forest floor to his right, curled next to each other for warmth in the cold night. Apparently, no one had the energy to set up the tent. But that didn’t concern most of them. The two humans, Lucas and James, had used their belongings as pillows and blankets, just as Kryos had, and were deep in slumber about ten feet in front of him. Actually, it seemed that the only ones who were awake were himself and the two elves, who were quietly conversing amongst themselves to his left. He slowly rose and readjusted his cloak. Turning to the elves, he approached them.

“. . . safe for the time being. The blood vines will be a good protection, but I think that we should move on soon.” Allaria was saying.

“But how much time do you think it will take Sir Vordic to recover? I’ve heard of the blood vines killing people through draining their blood, but I was unaware that they were so poisonous.” Ellers replied.

Kryos interrupted then. “How’s he fairing. I didn’t think the wound was too bad.”

“Only time will tell.” Answered Allaria. “The poison seems to be incredibly strong. However, his is a strong race, but unfamiliar to me. He could already be healed and ready to go, or it might take a few days. But I hope that it is the first. These woods are not safe anymore.”

“True. But, the others are most surly tired. It may be wise to remain here for the rest of the day, and leave tomorrow morning.” He suggested. “I estimate that we’re about due south of the Obsidian Spire. So, we have about two or three more days of hard journeying ahead of us before we reach Anebrilith. We’ll need all the strength we can get.”

Suddenly, he remembered the promise he had made to Lexxum, that they would return to the Obsidian Spire after they had seen the others to safety. Now would be a perfect opportunity to get familiar with the area around the Spire.

“Allaria, what do you know about the Obsidian Spire?”

“Not much. Only that it was the Necromancer's home, and that after the war it became deserted. Not even the undead go there.”

He smiled. He shouldn’t run into any problems then. He would wait a bit to see if Lexxum was up to the hike, and then set out, with Lexxum or alone. He didn’t plan on staying long, just long enough to get a feel for the place. He should be back well before the sun set, so he wouldn’t be in too much danger. He thanked the elves, advised them to get some rest, and returned to his bag to eat the other half of his apple.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Allaria nodded towards Kryos' as he gave his instructions. The two Elves already meditated more than once, for several hours. Their refreshing rate was different than those of humans and thusly, required less sleep. Or more adequately stated, lest time resting. They sat near Lexxum's person generally conversing amongst themselves about the berserker's condition. At some point earlier in the evening, the saurian passed out clearly deeply affected by the poison. From time to time, the women worked their archaic healing arts upon the saurian warrior. They laid glowing hands upon Lexxum's body to assist him in the natural healing process. It took sometime, but it became clearly evidenced that his body was rejecting the poison.

Saurian DNA was extremely advanced. They worked their archaic powers easily upon the blood lizard as his body worked to reject the poisons. He slept with a restless sleep, moving about constantly the entire night. They kept their distance when the saurian started to thrash about too violently, for they didn't want to suffer any injuries of their own. Whenever the saurian
thrashed about too violently, they leaped backwards to avoid his sharp claws.

Crimson trees surrounded them the entire time provided them with their only companions. The trees gave off a mournful sound. Althanas was dying. The earth mother was suffering greatly at the hands of her children. Disaster was already happening. The trees seemed to lean towards the group of would be heroes as they ventured deeply into the fold of the Red Forest. The trees in this neck of the woods had a slightly darker colour of crimson to their barks. These tones seemed to be mourning the loss of their brethren at the hands of the blood vine.

Allaria and Ellers rested whilst they allowed Lexxum to recover from his injuries. All they could do was pray to the Goddess that the Saurian could recover on his own at this point on. Now it was up to the Fates...

******************************************
((Note: This is a dream Lexxum is having and it takes place in The Wild, a place that the Saurian subconscious mind can access from time to time))


I am dreaming.

Was I dead? It felt like I was dead. I can no longer tell the difference between life and death anymore. All I know is I've been running from myself for a long time. What was the last thing I remembered? Oh yeah. Traveling from my homeland in Fallien and ending up in Raiaera. I barely remember all of it now. The war in Valinatal, the destruction of that fair city at the hands of Netha'Tu, and now, leaving the city with the survivors. It was all coming back to me. I'd found the survivors at the site in Valinatal and we're supposed to travel through the Red Forest towards Anebrilith. I remember the Blood Vine. Yes. That bastard creation...that's why I was here after all staring at the wild lands of my people. I'd come to this place a few times in my life before but never as strongly as this. Before, they were quick trips into the wild, like a human addicted to heavy narcotics. There one moment, gone the next. This must be what a bad trip felt like. All around me, the sense of pain bombarded my body. It was an intense sort of pain that made me think less of the blood vine and more about survival.

Surrounding me was an oasis. I looked about and saw that the sands around me bore fruit of the earth mother. I looked up and saw the familiar sun above Fallien. Our own little world isolated away from the rest of the cruel world that was Althanas. Lord Mitra. His beauty shone upon the land adding light to the world beneath him for all eternity. Several desert trees grew around the single nourishing lake. I looked upon the crystal clear blue waters and drank of its comforting substance. I felt refreshed. Symbols floated in the water that were archaic nature, the symbols of my ancestors in the ancient tongue. It was a dialect of blood lizards I was unfamiliar with in my studies so far. The symbols floated about like fish, dancing amongst one another and sometimes combining together to form more complex symbols.

I looked up and saw that the clouds were pink. Within the clouds were faces that wore eternal smiles. A similar such face was upon the physical manifestation of Lord Mitra. And wouldn't you know it? I could've sworn that those eyes winked at me just now. A girl appeared before him, scale clad and beautiful. She was a woman from my tribe, one I had never seen before and she called for me to give chase with predatory pheromones. And so I find myself running through the sands after her.

She was a pretty girl. A complicated series of horns on the back of her head formed an almost dread lock hair style. The horns were long and proud. I followed her person through the dune sea, chasing her for an eternity it seemed. He scales were orange coloured and her eyes shone a bright red just like my own. Her tail was long and well muscled. There were many tribal markings upon her. Finally, after ages of running after her, she stopped and I leaped upon her person, pinning her to the ground. She wore a grin.

"Son of Vexxum Vordic. We meet at last."

"Who are you?"

"I am whoever you want me to be. Let us make love."

"Is that what you want?"

"It is my decree."

And so I took her. The dune sea had similar symbols to the symbols that appeared in the water, but of a different syntax. I was too busy to notice that the earth beneath me moved with the wind. Suddenly, as I made love to the girl the sands all around erupted upwards. A large, titan form appeared from beneath the earth. It was a creature made out of solidified sand. It wore an eternal scowl on his face. I noticed even more archaic markings that were giving me a headache. I picked up the woman beneath me and held her tightly to my arms, still penetrating her sexuality. Drawing Tap Reaver, I prepared myself to do battle against this new monstrosity. The creature stared at me and I stared at it, until everything became a blur...



It was mid afternoon three days after the initial time that the blood vine struck me. I felt fever passing through my body as I woke up, my strength recovering. I had no idea how long I was out, it was just instinct that estimated the three day time period. Ellers and Allaria confirmed the rest of the details for me, they'd taken care of me the entire time. With my injury dressed, I looked down upon it and knew that my scales would regenerate slowly on their own. I sat up bringing my knees close to my chest.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the Red Forest in Raiaera. Welcome back to us Lexxum Vordic. You have some strength in you lad. The poisons of the blood vine are very dangerous."

[Kryos]

Two Days Previously

Kryos took a large drink from his water supply, preparing for the quick journey ahead. He wiped his mouth to clean up any stray droplets, and replaced his water back in his pack. He then grabbed his sword, and swung it over his shoulder. Looking around camp, he studied the rest of the group.

Anne was sitting by the elves, taking a silent vigil over Lexxum. Her dog, Alk, was curled up next to her, watching their wounded companion with sorrow-filled eyes. The elves themselves were kneeling next to Lexxum, carefully watching him and keeping his symptoms in check. Occasionally, they would lay their hands on him, and try to help the healing process. Then there was Lexxum himself, currently lying motionless on the ground. Often though, he would thrash about, threatening to injure anyone too close. Then, there were the two humans. Once they woke, they had just been relaxing. They had eaten a quick meal, then got to setting up the tents. Now, they were lying on their backs, watching the occasional cloud float by. Kryos wished he could have their carefree attitude once in a while.

He approached the elves slowly, not wanting to break their concentration. Yet somehow, when he stooped down next to them, studying the wounded lizard, Ellers looked up.

“How’s he fairing?” He asked.

“Not well. The fever has gone up slightly. The poison is a treacherous one, and seems to possess a mind of its own. But Sir Lexxum will make it though this. With your antidote, and our constant healing, he’ll recover. But what takes time is the actual destruction of the alien substance that flows in his veins.”

“I understand.” He said. He had hoped that Lexxum would have been recovered by now. But since when did things like this turn out the way you wanted them to? “Ellers, can you summon fire by any chance? I heard once that Blood Vines will flee from fire. I was too exhausted last night to remember.”

“Yes, but not for very long. I haven’t gotten very far in dealing with fire in my studies.”

“Great. Come with me for a moment.”

He and Ellers rose, and he led her near the northern edge of their clearing. The Blood Vines could sense their approach, and began moving slightly. “I need you to scare the vines away so I can get through. I’ve some business to see to, and I’ll be back around sunset.” He glanced at the sun. It was just approaching its zenith for the day. “Be alert for me shouting at you to reopen the vines at that time.”

She nodded, and walked forward, Kryos following right behind her. She held her hands in front of her, palms facing each other, about a foot apart. The blood vines were now moving this way and that, eager for an easy catch. But when Ellers started murmuring words of power under her breath, and an orb of fire appeared between her hands, the vines thrashed about, racing to get away from the small inferno. Still uttering words under her breath, the ball of fire enlarged, chasing the vines away. By now, a good opening had appeared in the way. Kryos rushed through it, and out into the rest of the Red Forest. Once he had cleared the danger area, he turned. Ellers was standing there, flames gone, watching him. The vines were hastily reclaiming their positions around the clearing, closing the gap with astonishing speed. Kryos nodded to Ellers, and waved a farewell for the time being.

~ / | \ ~

He had been walking northward at a good clip for about two hours. He had run into no signs of intelligence, living or dead. He had, however, passed by two corpses. One belonged to a deer, and the other to an elf. They looked to be dead for a while now, the decomposition process well under way. He held his breath and passed on though the forest. The trees were still evenly spread out through the surrounding area, masking the rest of the forest from his eyes. He must be getting close. If it was too much farther, he would need to turn around and set out earlier the next day. Still, distance was always hard to tell in the red gloom of the forest.

Suddenly, he stepped out of the forest. He hadn’t noticed the edge of trees because he was watching his footsteps, in between of watching the surroundings. And there before him, loomed the Obsidian Spire. Its black walls and towers could only be described as mountainous. The spire rose to an enormous height. Even from where Kryos was standing, a good two hundred yards from the base, Kryos felt like he was falling backwards when he gazed at the top. This ebony structure rose from the earth, a terrible monument to Xem’Zund's power. The dark windows that were embedded in its sides seemed to glare down at him, as if he were an intruder. He shuddered to think that later, he would have to enter those desolate halls.

Not wanting to waste time, he stuck to the perimeter that the forest made around the jet-black monument. His eyes scanned the surface of the tower, getting familiar with its structure and layout. Yet it was so big, that after a half an hour of walking around it, he had only gotten to the east side of the giant clearing which housed the Spire. The darkness of the eastern side, cast in shadow by the slowly setting sun, made it extremely difficult to make out any details. But there, in the middle of the eastern facing side, were two large, onyx doors. That would be how they would penetrate the structure. Still, they would have to be careful not to get lost once inside. The Spire must be a maze of corridors and rooms from its size.

The sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon by now. He needed to leave immediately to get back to the safety of their clearing before sunset. He jogged back around the perimeter to make sure not to get off course, and then started making his way due south, back to camp. On his journey back, he ran into no trouble. He did, however, run into something that worried him. When he passed by the place where the two corpses were, he found that there was nothing there. There wasn’t even a sign of the bodies being dragged away. It just seemed like they had vanished off the earth. He looked over his shoulder, and around the clearing, looking for anything unusual. There was nothing but endless trees. Cautiously, he continued on.

He reached the camp just as the sun began to disappear. Ellers was waiting near the vines, watching for his return. He called out to her, and like before, the vines raced away from the magical fire. Kryos walked through the portal, and immediately went to Lexxum’s side. The entire company was gathered about him. He was thrashing violently, as if engaged in a terrible battle. Lucas was whispering to James, wishing there was something he could do to help. Anne sat next to Allaria, tears leaking out of her eyes to see the saurian in such pain. Alk was worriedly looking up at her, whimpering now and again. Lexxum’s tail beat the ground in a loud thud. Something needs to be done. He thought.

Kryos let his eyes blossom with crimson color. In the twilight, they softly glowed, and Kryos dived into the Fluenta, the realm of souls. He was shocked to see what was happening with Lexxum’s soul. It was a soft red color. But an angry shade of purple was flowing through it, fighting to survive. Kryos had never seen anything like it in his years traveling the land. It was as if the poison in the saurian’s blood had a soul of its own, and it was acting as a plague would.

Kryos pulled back into the normal realm, and rushed around Lexxum’s body. He summoned the white flames that belonged to the Charity Spell to his hands, and increased its potency to maximum. Waiting for the right moment where he could get past his claws, he rushed forward when it was clear. He laid his flaming hands on Lexxum’s head and neck, sending soul power into him, aiding the battle. He was surprised by Lexxum’s strength, as he jerked on the ground. But after a moment, he slowly settled. When he was motionless, Kryos took his hands off him. Too much aid to the soul from an external source was sometimes a cause of more damage, and that was always a terrible thing.

Kryos took a de