the Lake
Irillian limped down the path, sun beating down on his neck. He knew tomorrow he would have a pink mark on his skin. A wolf had earlier snapped at his leg, leaving a large tooth mark in his shin, where it bled uncontrollably. The lake beside him sparkled a deep, peacock blue. It was incredibly hot inside his pitch-black armour. His brain seemed fuzzy, he could not focus on the task ahead of him, what with the sun's heat and light making him almost faint.
The area around him was familiar, and it seemed as though his feet were guiding him along the path, allowing his brain to wander away. It was as if the sun was baking his brain, making it hard to realize where he was going. He could not exactly recall why he was sent to this area, as soon as he started to hang on to a memory, it would slip away, as he was distracted by something else.
A swallow flew close by his head, its wings fanning him for a moment, before it left and the sun shone back down upon him. How could he get away from this heat? There was something that would let him cool down… He knew it, but thinking of it seemed impossible on this incredibly hot day. He was quite sure it had something to do with trees. The word was right there, dancing joyfully in front of him, he was trying to grab hold of it, but it always slipped out of his grasp.
Bemused, Irillian drifted off, wondering how strange it would be to have a solid word, bouncing around just out of his reach. No… he thought. I need to know how to get rid of the heat. Trees, something to do with trees… He stopped, trying his hardest to focus. He turned to stare at one of the many trees surrounding the path on which he stood.
Shade… said his brain to him. Irillian smiled, glad that he finally worked something out on that day, and walked to the shade of an old oak tree. A wave of fresh air seemed to wash over him as he stepped into the shadow. What relief, he could just forget about his contract, simply lie down and sleep forever, the Dark Brotherhood would never know. He strolled towards the tree, forgetting of the pain in his leg, and leaned against the trunk, sliding down it into a sitting position.
How wonderfully comfortably it was sitting there, the blue lake reflecting the cloudless sky, the sun beaming down on him, as a small breeze played happily on his cheek. He closed his eyes, wishing that he could forget everything. Slowly, his brain seemed to drift off again, and he started to wonder why he was there.
Irillian's eyes snapped open and he stared at the lake, frowning. Something had caught his eye, yet he couldn't figure out what it was. He stood up and headed towards the water, out towards the middle of the lake, it wasn't blue at all, but a deep, dark red. The red seemed to be taking over the blue, spreading from the middle of the lake outwards, within minutes it had reached the edge of all the sides, and the whole of the lake was that same, dark red.
Irillian crouched down, confused. Once again the sun was beating down on him, he snarled, it seemed to hurt quite a lot, as if its heat had amplified by ten since he had last been in its light. It stung at his neck, and seemed to head down his throat, making his voice raspy and dry. He continued to stare at the red water. He seemed to long to drink it, but didn't know why. Then it hit him. No water was red. This was not water.
Blood.
Licking his lips, he plunged his hands into its depths, and pulled back out a reasonable amount of the red liquid. He hurriedly dipped his mouth into the blood in his hands, gulping it down in mouthfuls. His craving seemed to grow, and he put his hands back into the blood. But something was wrong. As the sun continued to weaken him rapidly, he did not just pull blood out of the lake. A cold, white arm came out of the drink, clinging onto his arm with extreme strength. Irillian gasped, pulling his arm away from the other, which quickly let go, but not before more arms seemed to appear from the blood.
'No,' Irillian muttered weakly. 'No, please. Stop! STOP!'
But the arms would not listen to him. As they moved more and more out of the lake, pale white faces of woman emerged, followed by torsos draped in stained togas, then came the legs and feet. More and more bodies came out towards Irillian, as he crawled backwards hopelessly on the ground. The woman bared their fangs, smirking, as the grabbed hold of Irillian and pulled him back into the lake.
Irillian could do nothing to stop them, the sung was making him almost faint with pain, he could not stand it anymore. They had reached the edge, and his feet dropped into the lake. There was nothing that could stop the bodies from taking him. They were holding onto him so tight he could barely move his arms. There was no way he could reach the blade at his side. The sun was blinding him, it was too much, too much.
A distant scream issued from all around him, and he woke up in his cold bed, drenched in sweat, shaking, as he realised the scream was coming from him. His voice broke, and the scream was no more. He could not get the terrifying visions of the bodies out of his head, and was confused about where he was for a few moments, before he looked around, and found he was safe in his bed in the living quarters of the Cheydinhal Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. Someone was leaning over his bed, grinning.
'Welcome back.' Said Vicente Valtieri. 'Enjoyed your sleep?'