Eli was afraid.
They were well protected. The curse and blessing that was his light, the power he kept to himself would have been more than enough to take down the average group of raiders...
Hell, even kill a seasoned Warlord.
But these people travelled in a group, which made him pitifully outnumbered.
They were no normal risen.
"More like bloodthirsty wolves." he snarled.
The villagers who had taken him in were good people. They were strong people. They could probably defend themselves from a bandit raid with ease.
But as he sensed the warlords' light, the ever approaching danger grew nearer and nearer, and as the options he had to protect or hide his newfound family began to dwindle, Eli felt dread. Eli felt fear.
They had followed him, hadn't they?
Eli considered his options.
He was the reason his family were involved in this mess, and he would be damned if he didn't try to get them out of it.
…Seven years ago…
…A gust of warmth blew over him.
He woke up with a start. He looked up at the sky. It was grey and thick with smog. The sun practically filtered out by this depressing blanket of dust and frost.
He looked around. Nothing but snow and cold.
He felt a burning sensation in his lungs. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak. His vision was slowly but surely fading.
He fell to the ground. He couldn't move.
He could see a small, white luminous object floating in front of his face.
"So this is what they mean by 'seeing stars'." He thought.
He heard the star speaking to him, but he couldn't make out the words. He assumed he had fallen into a state of delirium. It was strange, the star was glowing brighter now.
The star bathed him in light. He gasped for air. The restrictive, burning sensation in his lungs had gone. He could breathe again. He opened his eyes. Then closed them. Then opened them again.
The "star" was shouting now, its tone a state of panic, if he had ever recognised one.
He could move again. The star saw this and calmed down.
"How? How am I alive?" Eli asked in a croaking voice.
"Thank the Light, it worked. You're alive!" the star exclaimed.
"Wh-what are you?"
"I'm your Ghost. My mother, The Traveller sent me to bring you back."
"And you are my chosen."
The Ghost disappeared, but Eli could feel its presence was still there with him.
"Don't worry. I'm still here."
"You're… in my head?"
"In a nutshell, yes."
Eli laughed, "Heh, I like you already."
"Good. We're going to get along fine." it replied.
"Ghost? Do you… do you have a name?" he questioned.
The Ghost was touched, "You may call me Artemis."
Ever since his rebirth, he had been searching for shelter, a sign, or even a sound, just… something. Anything.
It was several years now.
He kept to himself and confided in only his Ghost, the only sentient being on this planet who kept him company: The only one he would trust. He had a few run ins with the Warlords: other risen like himself who would "compete" with each other, killing each other just to prove who was better, who was more powerful. They were barbaric. They were practically animals.
He told Artemis to hide when they showed up, to keep his light a secret so they would leave him alone once they struck him down.
He just focused on trying not to starve. The light could only heal his wounds, not sate his hunger. You ever get so hungry you keeled over? That happened a lot during the Dark Age. Dying of starvation only to be brought back by Artemis, still hungry. Really pissed him off. The pain he felt was unbearable. He would curse the Traveller for giving him this "gift", because when his pain became severe and he begged to die?
It said hell no.
He was stuck living that cycle for three years.
But then there was a glimmer of hope.
One day, after he collapsed into the snow once more, a small child had found him. The girl told him she was a scout, and that she had spotted him face-down in the snow. She then offered to take him back to her village.
Eli took one look at the girl and cried tears of joy.
But he would keep his light a secret. For now, at least.