Sa'an Akay
04-28-15, 01:57 AM
Sa'an sat on a stump, a particularly flat and level stump. It was the perfect stump really, large enough to lay across or use as a table, and situated in a part of the forest where the branches were just sparse enough to let the warm afternoon sun through. Sa'an had set up camp for the past week in this clearing, trying to wrap his head around some new form of meditation he'd been shown. It was less about using meditation to clear one's mind as it was to simply redirect the energies in one's own body. Supposedly it helped heal injuries faster, and made sleeping more restful. With his mediocre and short lived training in the magical arts, Sa'an could tell there was some basis in reality, to the point that even ordinary, non-magic folk would be able to use the technique.
Of course, they'd probably never hear word of it. The real reason Sa'an had set up camp in this particular location was the same reason it would always be; the Church had gotten word. They felt this new form of energy manipulation was against the will of the Ethereal Sway. They would come in a small force to 'protect the public' from the damning practices of these peaceful monks, and wipe them out utterly. It would be the same as the witch hunts Sa'an had known from his time in their ranks.
Fires raged at the center of a small town. Two small boys cried, holding their infant sister. She shrieked mercilessly, the kind of confused anger and sadness only infants could convey, as the witchhunters dragged their mother away. Her crime had been simple, some cantrip that allowed her to scry her children from home. Harmless to anyone else, but the Church claimed that she may use it to spy and convene with demons. Her fate was sealed.
Sa'an shook his head and dropped his stance, allowing his energy to flow freely once more. These flashbacks were like a warning to him, telling him when members of a hunting party were getting close. His head ached and his blood began to boil.
"Anger is a tool, sharp as any sword," he said to himself. He stood and walked to his enormous hammer, Soul Breaker, and picked it up. The massive steel block was heavy, but no more than what Sa'an could handle.
The mother screamed to her children as she was dragged past Sa'an. He stood there, keeping the pyre protected from rowdy townspeople. They wouldn't understand what was happening, they might become violent. Sa'an was a protector, defending them from those that would do them harm, as well as from themselves.
The woman screamed for mercy as she was pulled along the ground by her legs. She managed to wrap one of her hands around Sa'an's ankles. Tears streamed from her eyes as she begged him to protect her children, to take them far away.
"All good people need defending, and all people have a chance to become good." The chant took hold in Sa'an's chest, and a tear streamed down his face. The flashback would be over soon. The hunting party was getting very close now. Sa'an slowly made his way to the trail that wound through the forest, standing in the middle of it. He balanced Soul Breaker's head just behind his right shoulder, lazily holding it with his right hand.
The woman was tied to a wooden pole, arms at her side and legs straight. The hunters flogged her for what seemed an eternity. One of the boys came running towards her, and Sa'an was only barely able to catch him. His eyes turned around to match where the boys were fixated. For the first time since becoming a member of the Church, Sa'an witnessed the slaying of a witch. They did not kill her before they through her body on the pyre, tied to a bit of lumber. They simply added her to the burning pile, smiling like children in a sweets shop.
"Some men cannot be saved from themselves. Some men must be punished. Only the Gods may determine punishments." Sa'an continued his ritual, watching as five men on horseback came around a bend at a trot.
Sa'an heard one of the hunters call for the children, so as to put the whole bloodline out of the world. At first, it sounded like a foreign tongue, words that simply had no meaning. The woman's screams were only now dying out as all the life in her body burned away, and these so-called holy men wanted to put three younglings to the flames as well.
Without further hesitation, Sa'an picked up the boy he'd caught, and ran faster than he ought to be able. He picked up his brother and sister, making a mad dash to the gates of the village. He ran and ran, until the only sounds behind him were the hooves of horses.
And inky blackness clouds the vision in Sa'an's mind. Swords and spears whip around in every direction, only countered by a hammer and a will determined to live. The black fades to white nothingness as the memory finally fades...
Sa'an could hear the horses slowing, the men at the front of the party calling to him. They asked him what his business was, that he was impeding their path. Sa'an smirked, bringing his left hand up to the handle of Soul Breaker.
"The only way to meet the Gods is by death," he spoke, softly enough that he was not yelling, but loud enough for each of the men to hear him. They looked at him as if he were a mad man. Just as they were about to push it from their minds and continued, Sa'an pulled down on the handle of his hammer, levering it off his shoulder. It connected with a sickening crunch into the face of the closest man, who fell off his horse and was dead before he his the ground.
"TELL THEM I SENT YOU!" Sa'an yelled as he pulled the hammer back, swinging it and pivoting to the right. The hammer connected into the chestplate of the second rider, caving it in and knocking him from the reigns. Sa'an made sure the hammer kept all of its inertia, pulling the man from his horse into the ground. He would live for but a few more minutes, coughing up blood.
Sa'an picked his hammer up, crossing it over his chest. He had killed the men responsible for guarding the hunt, the last three might be easier.
Of course, they just as well have been full-fledged members of the priesthood.
Of course, they'd probably never hear word of it. The real reason Sa'an had set up camp in this particular location was the same reason it would always be; the Church had gotten word. They felt this new form of energy manipulation was against the will of the Ethereal Sway. They would come in a small force to 'protect the public' from the damning practices of these peaceful monks, and wipe them out utterly. It would be the same as the witch hunts Sa'an had known from his time in their ranks.
Fires raged at the center of a small town. Two small boys cried, holding their infant sister. She shrieked mercilessly, the kind of confused anger and sadness only infants could convey, as the witchhunters dragged their mother away. Her crime had been simple, some cantrip that allowed her to scry her children from home. Harmless to anyone else, but the Church claimed that she may use it to spy and convene with demons. Her fate was sealed.
Sa'an shook his head and dropped his stance, allowing his energy to flow freely once more. These flashbacks were like a warning to him, telling him when members of a hunting party were getting close. His head ached and his blood began to boil.
"Anger is a tool, sharp as any sword," he said to himself. He stood and walked to his enormous hammer, Soul Breaker, and picked it up. The massive steel block was heavy, but no more than what Sa'an could handle.
The mother screamed to her children as she was dragged past Sa'an. He stood there, keeping the pyre protected from rowdy townspeople. They wouldn't understand what was happening, they might become violent. Sa'an was a protector, defending them from those that would do them harm, as well as from themselves.
The woman screamed for mercy as she was pulled along the ground by her legs. She managed to wrap one of her hands around Sa'an's ankles. Tears streamed from her eyes as she begged him to protect her children, to take them far away.
"All good people need defending, and all people have a chance to become good." The chant took hold in Sa'an's chest, and a tear streamed down his face. The flashback would be over soon. The hunting party was getting very close now. Sa'an slowly made his way to the trail that wound through the forest, standing in the middle of it. He balanced Soul Breaker's head just behind his right shoulder, lazily holding it with his right hand.
The woman was tied to a wooden pole, arms at her side and legs straight. The hunters flogged her for what seemed an eternity. One of the boys came running towards her, and Sa'an was only barely able to catch him. His eyes turned around to match where the boys were fixated. For the first time since becoming a member of the Church, Sa'an witnessed the slaying of a witch. They did not kill her before they through her body on the pyre, tied to a bit of lumber. They simply added her to the burning pile, smiling like children in a sweets shop.
"Some men cannot be saved from themselves. Some men must be punished. Only the Gods may determine punishments." Sa'an continued his ritual, watching as five men on horseback came around a bend at a trot.
Sa'an heard one of the hunters call for the children, so as to put the whole bloodline out of the world. At first, it sounded like a foreign tongue, words that simply had no meaning. The woman's screams were only now dying out as all the life in her body burned away, and these so-called holy men wanted to put three younglings to the flames as well.
Without further hesitation, Sa'an picked up the boy he'd caught, and ran faster than he ought to be able. He picked up his brother and sister, making a mad dash to the gates of the village. He ran and ran, until the only sounds behind him were the hooves of horses.
And inky blackness clouds the vision in Sa'an's mind. Swords and spears whip around in every direction, only countered by a hammer and a will determined to live. The black fades to white nothingness as the memory finally fades...
Sa'an could hear the horses slowing, the men at the front of the party calling to him. They asked him what his business was, that he was impeding their path. Sa'an smirked, bringing his left hand up to the handle of Soul Breaker.
"The only way to meet the Gods is by death," he spoke, softly enough that he was not yelling, but loud enough for each of the men to hear him. They looked at him as if he were a mad man. Just as they were about to push it from their minds and continued, Sa'an pulled down on the handle of his hammer, levering it off his shoulder. It connected with a sickening crunch into the face of the closest man, who fell off his horse and was dead before he his the ground.
"TELL THEM I SENT YOU!" Sa'an yelled as he pulled the hammer back, swinging it and pivoting to the right. The hammer connected into the chestplate of the second rider, caving it in and knocking him from the reigns. Sa'an made sure the hammer kept all of its inertia, pulling the man from his horse into the ground. He would live for but a few more minutes, coughing up blood.
Sa'an picked his hammer up, crossing it over his chest. He had killed the men responsible for guarding the hunt, the last three might be easier.
Of course, they just as well have been full-fledged members of the priesthood.