Hi, it's me. Thanks for stumbling upon my story, this is a re-write of the one I dropped a while ago (Demon's Burden) but I want to pick it up again and give it new life. It's not going to be similar to the old one, new ideas and new plans. I especially want to make it a little humorous and flush out an actual arc this time. Get ready for a crazy ride, this one is more OC oriented so if you are not into that stuff sorry, and make sure to leave a review because it not only gives me motivation but it's a very easy way to tell me what i'm doing wrong :D, or give me the courage to write the next chapter which I seem to be short on these days. (Also I am not a romance writer, the T rating is for violence and mild language) Anyway enough of the intro, here we go. Hope you enjoy :3
Double Quotes: Speech
Single Quotes: Thoughts
Italicized: dreams
Sorry if that's weird, i've just gotten used to it.
Enjoy :D
-Adam
The water poured into the dense forest, raindrops slipping through the cracks of trees and forming shallow puddles on the ground. The birds stopped their chirping, settling under branches to stay creatures of the forest were still, waiting out the late winter storm. The warrior panted hard, hand clutching the scabbard at his side as his feet sunk into the mud and onwards. His hands constantly slipped and his cloak did little to keep the rain from soaking to his skin. He kept his eyes at the ground, stepping over rocks and upwards towards the top of the hill.
He was young, face set with determination as he continued his steady march towards his destination. He parted a few low hanging branches and stepped into the small clearing. The clearing was a wide open area where there were no trees, in the center was a small pond. Scattered over the patch of short grass were rocks that made it seem like an altar.
His gut twisted and he frowned, treading further into the clearing. The sky cracked and lightning struck, quickly illumination the gray sky as if in warning. He knelt down and placed the sword on the ground in front of him. Slowly he moved his hands to his folded knees. Finally he bowed his head to the ground and shut his eyes before he started his speech.
"I am not going to ask what you are, or why you are here, only that you leave so my people can live in peace." He kept his head low, his plea almost drowned out by the roar of the raindrops. Cautiously he looked up from his position, dark hair pressed to his head.
In front of him on one of the rocks was another figure. As far as he could see it looked humanoid, it had simple loose fitting black clothes on and a hood on it's head. It had seemed human enough, maybe even a clothed Vastaya. Based on the multitude of warning that he had receiver before his journey this thing was not something that would be on a "simple stroll. The thing was hiding its face was a plain mask of white. Two holes were smooth circles for the eyes and another where the mouth would be. Everything behind the mask was obscured by a black curtain except for the dark red glow.
"My people fear you after what you did, they want me to stop you even when they teach peace. I ask you to simply leave. Spirit please leave this place, leave it so we can sleep without constant worry." There was sincerity and a tinge of pain in his words, what he was doing was the opposite of what the elders told him to do. He used the word spirit instead of demon, showing some respect. The glow behind the mask showed no emotion, two red lights like beacon shining onto the ground. It was in a loose crouching position with its elbows on it's knees. Slowly the head of the figure tilted to the side to look at the warrior from a different perspective.
The air stilled and the warrior's gaze met the two beads of light. They seemed to look into him, as if they could see his very soul. The lights swirled and the rest of the world seemed to fall away as he looked into those lights. The sound of the rain seemed to stop and he only concentrated on holding the stare. To the warrior it felt like an eternity before he dropped his head again and clenched his eyes closed.
"Do you believe in fate?" The sound of the figures voice was hollow and distant, having an eerie echo effect that made the warrior shivir. There was a couple seconds where the hum of the rain drowned out everything else. A couple seconds of loud silence. His eyes were slightly open, watching the droplets fall into a puddle in front of his legs.
"Yes," There was a strain in his voice that tried to mask the fear he had. More time stretched on of only the sound of rain.
"Strange... if everything is decided for us than what is the point of trying, even if fate is decided we can't see it." The figure on the rock talked quickly, the speech was directed more to itself than the warrior at it's feet. "Why do you want me to leave?" Another question spoken with an empty voice.
"Because many of my people think you bring death, they claim that you are to be feared." The warrior kept his eyes shut but raised his back, putting his hands on his knees. "I don't know of the suffering you have caused, I don't know of what you have done, I only ask that you leave." His hands were white from the cold and his breath made small clouds in front of his as he took deep breaths.
"Do you fear death?" The warrior wanted to pick up his sword on impulse but only shut his eyes tighter.
"No," The answer was quiet, a whisper barely audible in the roar. He wanted to stand and move but kept his ground. "Will you leave?" He asked again.
Another stretch of quiet, the figure pondering his question.
"Yes." The warrior looked up quickly. He scanned where the figure had been. The rock now empty, the figure gone. Slowly he picked himself up and reached for his sword.
"Fate and death are one and the same, you can't run from either." The warrior turned to try and find where the voice had come from. Nothing but wet foliage and swinging branches. He pressed his mouth into a line. The stretched conversation had been tense but as long as the strange creature didn't come back he would have done his job. The warrior walked back into the forest to continue his trek back to home. His boots squishing, hands pushing aside low hanging branches. Down the hill back to the warm hearth of his house, where others were waiting for his return.
A pair of glowing eyes watched him as he left the clearing as he retraced his trail. The figure stood on a high branch.
"He would have made your job easier." The voice wrapped around his head and clouded his thoughts. It drove him forwards, he needed to obey.
"Few deserve what I bring." He lifted his head upwards, the hood falling off to reveal a mess of black hair. The water slid off of the mask like tears, the impenetrable clouds kept the sky in its dark grey.
"We wait for night to hunt. Then we return and you will be gone." The figure kept watching the rain cascade down onto his already soaked body.
"As you wish." The other voice held little malice, only a deep hunger evident in it's tone.
"Why the night?" The voice asked.
"I will only hunt the wicked, the wicked do not rest." The branch that the figure was on swayed in the wind, the figure was gone.
"You will get what you want so let me work in quiet." The man stood atop the tower, he looked down as it disappeared in the dark streets. During the night the city of Noxus was forever covered in a veil of complete black, not even a single star could get past the cloud cover.
He was crouched on a high clock tower to get a vantage of low streets, he would be watching the slums. Even though the city was filled to the brim with nasty people but he wanted to limit the commotion. The slums of Noxus had one of the highest mortality rates. A single lamplight penetrated the dark streets.
'Time, oh what time.' The grit his teeth, the hungry voice that was not his own drove him mad.
"I said be quiet."
'The quiet never yielded anything, and as far as you're concerned you are asking youself to be quiet.' The voice said with a hint of humor. The man ignored the taunt and kept watching below.
He disappeared from the clocktower and to the top of one of the larger buildings. The flickering of the candle shone through the window below him. It stood out in the dark, the kind of dark that the starving rats could hide in, devouring anything that crossed in front of their nose. The man placed his hands on the edge of the building. Then in one fluid motion he kicked his legs up so that he was now in a precarious handstand above the multiple story drop.
He lifted one hand and swung his body so he was now facing the opposite direction with his stomach towards the steep drop below. He let himself fall down towards the dark streets and cobbles. His hands gripped the edge of the roof and the momentum swung him cleanly through the open window and into the room. His feet landed quietly, and like a ghost he moved without a sound. In the corner of the room another man sat with his back to the window.
"Faster faster." The voice hissed in his head.
'Patience.' There was the sound of coins hitting each other as they were counted methodically, one after the other. The figure stopped a foot behind the man and waited.
Clink, Clink, each coin falling, one, after, the other.
In a blur of movement the man sitting on the ground stood and drew a dagger, pointing it towards the masked figure. His eyes fell onto the two red lights in the mask and his mouth fell open. A hand reached up from the figures cloak and gripped the man's wrist, the knife clattered to the ground.
The red gaze hypnotized him and he let it consume him.
"Be still." The hollow voice came from the figure. The hand let go of his wrist and moved to his chest. The figure stepped closer to the man so the mask was only a few inches away from the man's face.
The man's mouth opened and closed like a fish, no words coming out. The red light burned holes into his skull. His mind was filled with a dark emptiness. Soon there was nothing but red in his vision. Wisps smoke started to move from the man's mouth and eyes, almost like there was a fire in him and the smoke was escaping through his face. The light faded away and the life within the man's eyes dimmed with it.
The corpse fell to the floor on top of the small pile of stolen gold. The figure turned around and took a few more steps to the window before stopping. There was another presence in the room, someone watching from a dark corner. Quickly the figure turned around and threw his hand up into his face. There was a wet sliding sound as the hilt of the dagger stopped it from going any further into the figure's hand. It had been precisely aimed for his neck.
"I will leave, don't get in my way." The red lights flared behind the mask.
"That was my kill." Another person stepped from the dark corner of the room, a boy in a cloak that could not have been older than eighteen. He had another dagger readied in his hand. The figure reached with his non injured hand and gripped the handle of the dagger, sliding it out of his palm and throwing it onto the ground with a clang. Blood dripped onto the floor and pooled under the wound.
"As far as anyone is concerned, that was your kill. You will not see me again." The figure turned back towards the window and watched the empty street with glowing red eyes.
"What did you do?" Talon asked as he moved closer to the body on the ground. His eyes darted to the gold then back to the figure at the window. He did not answer, before he stepped onto the window cill. Then he tilted forwards and fell down to the street.
Talon quickly stepped to the window and looked down. There was nothing below and he retreated from the open window and back to the body. The man on the ground was dead, he scraped up the coins on the ground and placed them into his pockets. Soon the room was silent, the only thing left was the dead man and the pool of dark blood on the floor.
He sat with his back to the wall, watching the waves crash along the rocky shore. The door to the small cabin and another boy stepped out.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
"Do you know if dad is back from his fishing run yet?"
"No." The boy sat down next to his brother. They watched the gulls circle the rocks, white water spouting from the impact of waves. A large live oak shaded them, the sun of the summer had darkened their skin and stretched the days to shorten the nights.
"How much jerky is left in the pantry?" It had only been two days since their last scavenge for food. Fish, crab, berries, if they were lucky the older brother could peg an unsuspecting animal with his sling.
"Enough for tonight, but we will look again tomorrow." The little brother rested his head on the others shoulder.
"Is this going to go on forever."
"No, but for now it's a circle." The older one lifted himself up, he was wearing a torn brown shirt and dusty sandals. They couldn't afford to try and make a trip to the town, it's not like they had any money anyway.
"When will the circle break."
"When it has too."
The dream fell into darkness and Adam opened his eyes. The dark cabin was musky, he took a deep breath and sat up. The pile of hay that was his bed pricked at his skin. He sat up with a jolt and moved to the bucket of water by the side of his bed. 'Stupid dreams, stupid memories.' He washed his face and took a calming breath, putting his hands over his face. 'Forget the night, it is over for now, forget the night, it's over.' The warm flesh of that man's neck had been under his hand. He looked at it now, all that was left of the deep gash was a thin line. The demon in his head was gone, and back came the pain. He stood and put on simple garb before stepping from the cabin. Living in the middle of nowhere was lonely, but a life of loneliness was meant for someone like him.
The morning had a slight chill to it and he moved to a patch of sun over grass before sitting down. Tucking his feet in the lotus position and taking breaths of the cool air. Listening to the sounds, the birds chirping, and the sway of the trees. He felt every part of his body, acknowledging it and dimming it from his senses. He let the morning calm him down, there was a time of dull silence before the churning in his stomach gumbled.
'Time to get something real to eat.'
Soooo how did you like it, love it? Hate it? Please let me know. I want to continue writing this but getting through school has been tough recently so I will post as much as I can. (but reviews will make me faster :3)
Anyway thanks for reading!
-Adam