The sky was dark and the air was still upon the silent battlefield that was filled with the bodies of the fallen, their blood flooding the earth until the once parched hard baked ground could no longer greedily soak up the precious liquid that so drenched its craggy lips, turning the field into a blood soaked marsh. the casual observer would never believe that this was once the seat of a mighty kingdom of towers and walls. the blood of the kingdoms soldiers nigh indistinguishable from the red of their cloaks and the crimson of their banners, but it was all to vibrant upon the snow white tunics that obscured the front and back of the armor of the invaders that brought this kingdom to its knees, save for the crimson cross that emblazoned across the chest of their long mantles that fell well past the knees, the crosses stem rooted to the hem.
Hours before these two titans clashed, the sound of men dying, the twang of a bow string,the whistle of and arrow in flight, and the cacophony of metal slamming into metal as ballista bolts and boulders flew overhead all attributed in the symphony of carnage that is war. yet now the air is silent, birds do not sing nor do vultures feast upon the flesh of the dead, for they are afraid. the battlefield was once the streets of the great city itself but now it lies flat like a great plain like the city never existed.
nothing moves on the battlefield with the exception of two.
One was tiered,battered, and broken, the other inexhaustible,pristine, and whole.
one was mortal covered in grime and sweat, the other immortal shining with golden light that came from within. the mortal was a man, his armor torn and his body sore and his face covered in grime and his hair clinging to it. he starred up at the womanly figure who floated inches above the ground covered in golden light, her body seemed to be made of molten gold that flowed in an endless cycle around her body. her head was tilted in a curious manner allowing her long golden locks to fall in graceful waves down her shoulder near to her shapely hips. her face held no features save for a pair white pupil less eyes that gazed down at the man in silence. Her right arm was in the form of a long and thin sword that she used to casually defend her self from the mans attacks before they found themselves in this silent standstill as she peered into the mans pain filled heart. It intrigued her to no end that someone filled with so much pain fought so valiantly in the name of a cause he did not truly had watched from her seat on high as the two armies fought and she quickly lost interest and was soon to turn away from the battle until she heard the mans heart call out to her, speaking words of pain and sorrow to its master urging him to seek a valiant death as he carved his way onto the battlefield.
The question was why? why did he wish to die? From from what she knew of his order it had no laws that required redemption through death on the battlefield. And he was young, in his prime, so he should be seeking glory and not the end of an old warrior of many triumphs. And most of all why did he hold within him so much pain. A man his age should have bright eyes and a cocky grin, but his eyes where tired and his smile false as he picked himself up from the dirt and looked towards the goddess that had descended from the heavens to ask of him his woes.
"why do you fight,dear child?" And ask she did in a voice like the call of a thousand angels at choir, bringing bliss and peace to the ears of all who heard it, such a pity there was only one alive to hear such a voice.
"Don't call me a child." he replied hoarsely, his throat dry and his lips cracked."In my world I am a man."
He finished indignantly to which the woman giggled.
"Ah, but in my world you are nothing more than a child, barely weaned from his mother. Yet you hold within you such sorrow. Why?" Her voice kind as she asked him once more as he kneeled in the dust of the city, his white mantle soaking up the excess blood like a sponge turning its snowy background red.
"Its because I wasn't man enough." He said solemnly, to which the goddess perked her non existent eyebrow.
"Man enough? For what?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter anymore!" he roared as he stood to his feet, his armored plated rattling in protest to his sudden movements."Just kill me and be done with it!"
the goddess giggled once more a sound which, in any other setting, The man would have found quite enjoyable and erotic.
"Dear child I do not plan to kill you. What ever made you think that ?" she chided as the man growled in annoyance.
"Why else would you descend upon the earth, killing thousand in an instant. Why them and not me? What makes my life more precious than theirs." He pointed at the many bodies that littered the ground around them. The goddess didn't bother to even look at them as she said without hesitation nor remorse.
"Simple, you interest me they do not." she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Oh, and what makes me so interesting? Wait don't tell me its 'your prowess in battle.' or 'your beauty astounded me .'." he mocked in a strange falsetto which made the goddess throw back her head and laugh fully, like the clear and pristine ringing of bells her musical laugh rang through out the silent ruins.
"No, nothing so absurd as that. war bores me and so does outward beauty." she said when her fit of laughter finally subsided.
"Then why?" Said the man in a somber tone, the jovial mood gone.
The goddess looked at him with such kindness in her eyes that he could imagine a matching smile on her golden mirror-like face. "Your heart." she said."It speaks to me, something that has not happened in a very long time." she said which confused the mortal.
"what do you mean?" He asked the goddess who,for the first time, looked out over the sea of bodies and spoke with a gentle nostalgia.
"I wasn't always a goddess of war worshipped by the masses. I was once the goddess of the guarded heart and of spoken promise. I protected those who the world threw away and those who fought to stay in the light. I kept their secrets,spoken in whispers to me in the dead of night listening when no one else would. This city was founded by those deemed lost, those who only I cared for. but over the years the whispers ceased and they needed me no more, then along came a priest who wielded visions of his own, he exalted me as a bloodthirsty tyrant who protected those who sought glory, while the rest where cast aside to die in the name of the warped my purpose to suit their own, and so I cast my gaze elsewhere. until one day this city was met in battle by a force that it could not conquer and they sought my protection once more, and just as I was about to turn away once more your heart called out to mine." She turned her gaze directly to him."That has never happened before."
"What do you mean? you just said that peoples hearts used to speak to you, now your saying its never happened before. Make up you mind woman because your not making any sense." The man scolded the goddess unafraid of the consequences. luckily for him she found this amusing as she just looked at him and said.
"Many a man would kill to be in your position right now, you know." she admonished gently which made the man laugh, a sound akin to a dying mans rasping breath.
"well apparently I'm not like most men." He reminded her at which she hummed.
"yes that is true, not many men would have the gall to speak to me as you do,but that is neither here nor there. In answer to your question, Never has their been a heart, aside from my sister's, that could speak directly to mine. Most sound just like a faint whispering in my ears, but to be spoken to directly is quite the abnormal feeling to be honest, a pleasant feeling,yes, but a queer one." the goddess said thoughtfully.
"What does it mean?" the mortal asked her.
"To tell you the truth I have no idea." she answered.
"Well I guess it doesn't matter now." the man said as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and stood tall."Because the order dictates that only one of us leave here alive." he finished lowering himself into a stance preparing to goddess looked at him sadly as, she to prepared to attack.
"Its a pity that our talk must end this way, Id hate to forever silence that wondrous melody that sings to me from your chest. Though it sings of sorrow and pain, I do so enjoy its tune." She said regretfully as she formed both her arms into long needle like blades."If its any conciliation I did also enjoy the sound of your voice as well. It was a pleasure talking to you..." she paused not knowing his name which he supplied.
"Grey...Knight commander Grey." He said.
"No first name." She said.
"I'm sure my hearts already told you." Grey mocked, at which the goddess giggled once more.
"That is true. And what a fitting name it is." She said joyfully through her giggles,making the man smile as he asked if she could give him hers.
"why certainly, I believe you have earned that much dear child, My name is..."
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Aaaaaand done, I hope you all enjoyed this little prologue I popped out. It for an idea I've had rattling around in my mind for quite a while now and I just decided to try it out a little. And for those of you that are fans of my other fanfic "Shifting Shadows." I do still plan to update that one as soon as possible, I've done a lot more planing on this one than I've done on that one so please bare with me.
On my other one I simply make it up as I go along, with little planning and organization. Id like to remedy that with this one.
Any way please drop me a review if you can,I enjoy hearing feedback from my readers. thank you for reading so far, and I hoped you enjoyed it. Oh and there is one spot in which I cant decide whether or not to have Najenda or Leone fill, either or could work but since I already have Najenda for one story I was wondering what you guys think. she would have something to do with the reason Grey is like the way he is. And for what I have planned Leone's personality works but I could work with Najenda as well since both are around the same age and we don't know much about Najenda's personal life. so please tell me in your reviews since I Have no idea how to set up a poll.