Walk Me Through Death
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Old Kingdom Trilogy, they belong to Garth Nix. I merely borrow all information to create a short story for your amusement.
Hi guys, hope you enjoy this. I've wrote for FanFiction before but under a different name and a while ago so I may need a little getting use to. R&R please, to help me write a better story.
Chapter One
Prologue
Death isn't as daunting as people claim it to be, it's surprisingly calming to be honest. But what I'm about to tell you is my experience with Death.
*
I am Mareyn. I am… was one of the Royal Guard, I was one of the more adept Charter Mages in the group of guards. We, my fellow comrades and I, were of high rank in the Royal Guard; we were King Touchstone's personal Guard from Robble's Town to escort him to the Wall for unknown business.
My death was due to lack of awareness on our return journey from the Wall, all our deaths were.
Dead wrapped in dilapidated blue clothing swarmed over the hills which separated the Red Lake from the road, it happened so fast. It was horrible; although they were only Dead Hands they overcame the first few of our group with shear numbers before they had time to unsheathe their swords, they were clawed at and battered until they lay broken and lifeless on the dusty road.
Me and two others, Ryal and Ivon, fought back the first wave of the ghoulish creatures but that was a struggle; we were all practiced Charter Mages which gave us a slight advantage but as the last of the Dead fell we all felt something much worst draw closer with every gut wrenching second. Sweat appeared on my forehead, my heart was in my mouth as I stared towards the muddy mound before us.
"What is that?!" Ivon whimpered. I understood his fear; we all had the same dread of unknown just behind that silent mount.
Steam merged with the metallic stench of Free Magic rose from behind the muddy slope; I had the sudden urge to wretch and throw up as the devastating reek collided with my nostrils. Ryal and Ivon slowly backed away but I was rooted to the spot, by fear or curiosity I will never know.
A figure emerged at the crest of the hill, what I saw was a person engulfed in flame and darkness; this figure sent a violent shiver down my spine. This must be one of the Greater Dead if it was not for the bandoleer strung across its chest. This Necromancer, this reanimater of the dead, stood at the top of the hill, sword in one hand bell in the other, surrounded by Dead Hands.
This figure of darkness stood there with a deformed sneer playing across what I though was left of its lips, its fiery eyes bore into mine as if it were a simple battle of the minds, just seeing who would crack first.
It did.
To its surprise and to mine, its misshapen face crumpled into a distorted sort of frown but it recoiled with a grimace. The anger was clear in its face and it let out a harsh growl as it raised its sword.
"You fight well; it's a shame that you have to die. I am Hedge, fear me!" And with a flat monotone of a battle cry the Dead surged forward.
Even with Hedge's leadership the Dead were still a disorganized rabble, this was the slight advantage we had but it wasn't enough. Ivon was overwhelmed by the amount of Dead; he was pulled down and pummeled before he really registered what was happening. Ryal was a powerful Charter Mage but that gave her a false sense of security, her focus was completely on the Charter not on defending herself. When the Dead attacked her sword was knocked out of her hand, but that left her both of her hands free making her a deadly weapon. She pulled up a Charter spell and unleashed it upon the Dead, blinding and destroying most of the decaying Dead.
I cut down the last of the sprawling Dead, I breathed a sigh of relief but that was short lived. The anger in Hedge's face had now turned to pure hostility; he said a few words of Free Magic, flicked his hand in Ryal's direction and burnt a hole straight through her torso. My mouth dropped to the floor, tears streamed down my cheeks as I watched the last friend I had fall to the ground clutching her now hollow chest.
My blood boiled in my veins, I looked up to see Hedge standing a few meters in front of me; his face was covered by a malevolent grin, I ran straight at him my sword raised in a last attempt at crushing this commander of the Dead and avenging all who had died by his hand.
But it was all in vain. As I drew in close he grabbed my surcoat and swung me round till I was close enough to his warped face to feel his scorching breath upon my face, he glared at me for what felt was an age then he threw me up into the air and fired another Free Magic spell at me; but when he threw me up into the air I twisted putting leaving me in an awkward position, so the Free Magic spell only very slightly caught my mail hauberk however the power of the spell still tore it to shreds.
Although I had a near escape from Hedge's spell I still hit the ground hard; I lifted my head but saw nothing at first, the fall had completely disorientated me, but then thunder clouds came into focus. The clouds had the same stench of Free Magic as Hedge; they were also as black as his heart. The lightning struck first but was quickly followed by the guttural roar of the unnatural thunder; the storm looked typical except that the lightning continually struck the exact same spot every time.
Then I saw it, the giant silver hemispheres. Hundreds of Dead were hauling the giant hemispheres towards the Red Lake. What the hell are they for? It was a simple question but I would never know the answer. The stench of Free Magic was brutal from where I was lying, whatever they are, they look like bad news. Even as I was asking myself those very questions another one of the Dead was decimated by some lightning. There are too many Dead for me to be able to get out alive. I knew this was true but it still filled me with dread.
A vicious kick to my stomach sent me flying back over the ridge onto the road, Hedge's figure just stood on top of the hill staring down at the carnage on the road. His head jerked back over the ridge to a silent summons and with that he vanished from sight leaving me to die slowly.
I can't die here! I made up my mind, I had to move; it was more for security reasons I didn't want Hedge to come back and finish me off. With no more thought I propped myself up on my elbows and dragged myself towards the woods, the pain in my legs flared as I crawled away from the massacre behind me, comrades and friends alike, all dead now.
After I had dragged myself, what I thought was, a suitable distance away I just lay my battered body against a large tree. I must of sat there for days, just sat there mourning the losses of friends. After a while I realized my legs had gone completely numb with the cold coming from the rain, how long had it been raining? , I had no idea but I knew if I didn't warm up soon I would die of hypothermia. I started to bring up the Charter Marks for warmth in my mind but as they became clearer so did the impending feeling of death closing in, I fumbled for my sword, bent and blunted as it was, and pulled it closer. I let the Charter Marks float away and embraced the growing feeling of death.
As I let my spirit cross the border between life and death I saw one thing before my sight of life failed me, a big black dog.
*
So that's the start of a new story, erm new chapters will be added but they will be added randomly when I have time. Thanks for reading. ^^