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-The Darkness seeks the Light-
This land is ruled with fear. The lord of this land once kind and just, went mad. An unknown disease ravaged his mind making him paranoid, he would see illusions of people who are not there and believed his own subjects conspired to dethrone him with death. He responded in a fearful and swift manner to resolve the matter he believed existed. He killed his own wife with a hunters gutting knife as she slept in soundly in their bed, his logic; adultery with one of her handmaids, next he proceeded to kill his only son in the same fashion only to ensure he cannot usurp him; he was at the tender age of five. After he killed his family he turned his attention to his people. His people suffered under his mad rein as he sent his elite guards to pillage their homes allowing them to rape and murder as they pleased, sell young children into servitude of the harshest treatment where many have died, young girls who turned four-teen were sold into the sex trade; along with a few young boys, the elderly were of no use anymore and were killed immediately. As the guards took care of the mad kings' villagers he worried that his closets allies will turn against him and take what was his away from him.
He remembered a report he received from one of the squires about how an entire convoy filled with trading goods protected by a small grouping of foot soldiers had gone missing. He recalls sending a search party to find the missing convoy, only caring about his missing wares, the search party managed to find the missing convoy in the middle of a popular trading route with all of the wares inside and untouched; but no sign of the foot soldiers. The mad king thought nothing of it until the same thing happened again the next week this time one soul survivor came back to report what his group encountered on the dirt road.
'My Lord, we came across one man standing alone in the middle of the road. Our captain told him to step aside but he did not comply to the demand, he just stood there. The captain later asked him if he was from our kingdom or from the neighboring ones, but he did not comply.'
'What happened afterwards, little runt?'
'The captain proceeded to approach the man and arrest him for resistance the man continued to stand where he was, then I saw it, those piercing golden eyes they shone like two suns. Our captain, brave as he was, did not waver from the wild intimidation I saw in those eyes. The next moment I knew our captain started to arrest the man but only seconds later his hands were sliced clean off from his wrists and fell before him. I remember hearing him scream m' Lord, that agonizing scream still rings in my ears.'
'I care not for the lose of such a pathetic man such as your captain! He still has his feet and head he could've fought with.'
'I beg pardon Sire, but he could not. After that man robbed him of his hands he grabbed our once proud captain and nearly ripped his head off of his neck, using nothing but his bare hands. I felt the trepidation in the group rise when we witnessed this, how could a man be strong enough to rip anothers' head nearly off of their shoulders? What proceeded next horrified us all.'
'And what would that be little runt? Did this man eat your precious worthless captain?'
'He might as well have m' Lord, he drank his blood from his exposed neck. He savored his blood as if it were the richest and finest of wine.'
He continued to tell him after the man drunk his fill he came after for the rest of the group, killing his comrades except for himself. This 'man' killed at such a speed his eyes would have no chance to keep track of and once he was done he took a body sliced in half and drank from an exposed liver. When the organs juices dried he dropped it and simply left disappearing into the thicket of the forest the trading route divides. The king became intrigued by the knowledge of such a being. He ordered a trap to be placed at the same trading route where his soldiers encountered the entity at night. To the kings surprise his soldiers came back with the man in only a few hours, he noticed his men keeping themselves at a good distance from him in fear of their very lives. The king did not harbor such a fear and left the safety of his throne to converse with the man who so boldly murdered his men. He stood a few inches away from the man and noticed he is not a very tall man at all, the king also noticed his hair is the deepest of red and is so long the need to tie it up high is deemed necessary. The man wore a dirty worn out cloak that concealed his body hiding any weapon he might have underneath.
"So, you are the one that has killed my soldiers. I can see how anyone can easily accomplish that, they were inexperience. But the way I heard you kill them is worthy of applause," he clapped his hands giving the stranger praise,"very inventive."
The stranger stood there and listened to the ramblings of the king.
"I have never in all my years heard such a way to kill a person! Maybe I should try what you have done and find out for myself if your method, my friend, is something I should permanently adopt. Yes, that'll teach my enemies to stop betraying me and make the ghosts I see everyday obey my command and finally tell me the secret to avoid such a death my poor wife and son had dealt with."
He came closer to the silent red headed stranger becoming increasingly more comfortable with him.
"Bah! They had what was needed to be done to them. My beloved wife, nothing more but an adulteress whore simply showing her cunt to anyone who asks; like a cat in heat. And my little son, he might have been only at a tender age but I knew about the poison he kept in his room. That white liquid he constantly drank, when he offered it to me my stomach became unsettled and, I knew, he wanted to kill me. I took care of it before he gave me the hand of a slow painful death."
Still no response from the stranger.
"You're a quite one aren't you? That's good, I have been hearing from my Crench, the young man with an arrow in his eye, that my allies are going to kill me and declare war! Trying to take my beautiful kingdom from me!" He laid a hand on the strangers shoulder, "That is why you are here my dear fellow, I want you to spy and kill my friends in their kingdom and feel free to not stop. Kill EVERYONE in their kingdom, from what I've heard you are more than capable of doing this."
"You have heard right my crazed Sire." The kings' eyes widened at the sound of the strangers voice. Why, he sounded like a young lad but the edge of adulthood molded into his voice. The king then noticed how young the strangers face looked; but with an untamed wildness to it.
"The skills I posses can do that and more, but none of this interests me in the slightest."
"Then what price-"
"Price? Money does not interest me, and neither does alcohol or any whore you give me. None of that will sway me to do what wish of me."
"I AM KING! Name anything you want and I will gladly give it to you."
The stranger remained unfazed by the kings' deceleration. What he seeks is not the kings' to give, but there is something the stranger can take from the king.
"I will not ask anything from you crazed king."
"There has-"
The king, once kind and just but went mad due to an unknown disease now has an arm through his chest where his heart used to lay. Now it pumps softly in the hands of the red headed stranger.
"I will take what I want from you and what you so desperately needed." He yanked his arm out of the kings chest letting him fall to the ground in a dull thump. The guards drew their weapons readying themselves to avenge their fallen king. They heard the beating of his royal heart come to a stop and watched as the stranger clenched it hard enough for it to pop letting the dark blood fall freely from the newly formed opening.
"His blood was corrupt," he turned to the guards trying to hide their fear from behind their weapons and armor, "and so are his men."
The last thing the guards saw was the golden eyes of the stranger and the wildness they held.
The stranger is not satisfied with the death of the crazed king of his small grouping of guards. He knew of this kings' new erratic behavior from his travels but had no idea it was this bad. Being escorted through the village he saw the corruption the crazed king inspired and cradled. His guards did as they pleased in the village and no one dared to stop them in fear of being arrested or put into the same treatment; he could smell the desperation the villagers gave off. What he seeks is in this filth induced village and he took what he needed to make sure he can obtain it. The rest of the kings' royal guard came flooding into the throne room with their weapons at the ready. He can sense the ones that have darkness within them apart from the ones that don't, at his break neck speed he killed the ones that were corrupt leaving the more decent ones to cower where they stand.
"You have been spared, don't neglect this gift I gave you. I will take it back if you do."
He went into the village and repeated what he did back at the castles' throne room. His speed made it impossible for anyone to see him kill the corrupted guards, screams of panic and confusion echoed throughout his onslaught. By the time he was done he returned to the castle covered in blood from head to toe. The servants that witnessed the killing of the king and some of the guards now quiver in more fear then before. The king killed his one and only son, no bastard child to claim the throne, or even a nephew. Which meant...anyone can take the throne once the king is dead.
The bloodied stranger made his way to the throne, slightly stoking the arm rest admiring the martial of the cushion. His thoughts were distracted by the wafting smell of lavender, this smell plagued his senses and dreams for well over three-hundred years. This elegant fragrance belonged to one person and he knows she's in this village. His instincts screamed at him to go and find her, to claim her, to make her his; but he knew better. Someone like her needs to be convinced with tender words and gentle touches, in time with his efforts she'll open up to him.
The red headed stranger took what he needed now he must work on getting what he wants.
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