Hello to all of my readers. So, in honor of my completed Darksiders story, 'A Caged Bird's Faith' becoming a year old this month, I had this little drabble written down. (This is what happens when this author has access to her own material and keeps reading the same chapter over and over again. Oh and also when she has music and space to think available to her.) So, for those of you who read 'A Caged Bird's Faith' -and those of you who didn't, I highly recommend it, as this drabble not only has massive spoilers for the end of the fic, but for the ending of the game, as well- I noticed that a fraction of the reviewers wanted some more romance. The problem I had with that when I was writing it was that I was really trying to stay true to the original plot and tone of the game, and I had an extremely hard time seeing War (or honestly any of the Four) being amorous in nature, so I didn't do anything really until the last chapter. I realize that they really kind of left off on a bittersweet note, and that's where this kind of comes into play. In any case, I hope that you enjoy it and I apologize in advance if it seems very OOC or Mary-Suish or mushy or whatnot. This, like chapter fifteen of 'A Caged Bird's Faith', was pretty heavy on the improvisation- and I had to keep going back and forth to fix little things here and there, but in any case, please enjoy. ^^
Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Darksiders universe, save for Sariele and the two angel OCs that appear in this fic. The rest belongs to the original creators and developers of these wonderful games.
'I Safe Keep Our United Souls'
She was exonerated when she returned with the Hellguard, even given a Captain's commission in light of her brave acts in the battle against the Destroyer. Such high honors didn't stop the suspicious stares or the probing interrogations. As far as they were concerned, the young former scout Sariele carried a black stain of shame on her at all times from her actions in the ruined Kingdom of Man. She had defected from the Hellguard, aided the disgraced Horseman War in freeing the Demon Lord Samael, and had even attacked her own kind in order to further the Horseman's unspeakable actions. She was nothing but a traitor and the former student of a traitor. There were even rumors that she had become the Nephilim's demoralized lover.
Lover? What did they know? None of them had been there to see the horror she had. How many times had she had to hold back tears of helplessness as the humans were picked off like great beasts in a herd? How could they know the renewed hope that had spread through her when he appeared back on the shattered Earth alive? She had witnessed the ruthlessness the Four were infamous for and she had felt the same paralyzing fear that countless others had experienced without a doubt; yet also in her travels with the warrior, she witnessed his dauntless courage and honor.
At first, she knew, she had only been a burden to him and his guarded nature made her naturally suspicious of her. She was a novelty he had allowed to come along because he had need of her impressive aim and then later on for the knowledge she had gained while stranded with only one working wing in the ruined World of Man. Only after she had nearly sacrificed herself, facing against Uriel to buy him time to move forward, did he begin to see her as a true ally, one who wanted to help him and probably the first to want to do so without asking for anything in return.
When her body began failing her, up until the point where she was on the brink of death, he had fought for her- even when he hadn't had to. He fought to bring her back from the razor's edge- and that was when she realized that she could not continue to be without him. Yet even so, it was not for them to continue at each other's side. War was a traitor now to the Charred Council; they would not relent until he and his brothers were punished to the extreme. Sariele, although exonerated, was now wanted by the demons for reasons she still did not fully understand.
She found more than often that her gaze was fixed on the horizon line, her thoughts wandering after him. Where was he now? She had heard nothing of him since their shared kiss on that ruined battlefield. Had he forgotten all about her now that he had reunited with his brothers? It would stand to reason, she thought with a bitter lump in her throat. They had been his brethren from the very beginning- long before she was born and she... She had just been a silly little angel who had been good at been getting herself into trouble. Yet she still tried and risked everything for her faith in him, even her very life. True, her flight had been restored to her and she was back with the Hellguard, where she belonged, but that only left her miserable.
Sariele sighed from her place in the tree that dangled over the edge, overlooking the endless abyss of Lostlight. As Earth was no longer safe for her, this was as far as she could manage to go from the Hellguard's new outpost when she longed to be alone- which these days proved to be often. That had been Uriel's deemed order, for her safety. The younger 'sister' understood this and was grateful that the new Commander had even allowed this much, given the timing was not exactly ideal. In her hand, she rotated a circlet of wooden beads. In between her sighing and troubled thoughts, she mouthed her prayers. One was for the countless souls of the Kingdom of Man, that their suffering and wandering finally come to an end. One was for the Hellguard, that they be watched over and guided by the Light. One was for her former teacher, the Angel of Death Azreal himself, that he find peace in spite of what he had done. Finally came the one for War, that he should hold true to his promise that he would stay alive until the day they could see each other without having to raise their weapons to one another. She could still feel the ghost of his lips upon hers, just barely. She pursed them against the memory, eyes clenched shut.
"Captain," called out a voice overhead. Sariele's eyes snapped open and she stood at attention when she saw the armored soldier.
"What is it?" she questioned.
"I bring urgent news: a host of angels under your command were reported to have illegally trekked into the Ruined City but a few hours ago and have yet to return." The Heavenly soldier paused, giving the young Captain a moment to deliberate. Sariele's delicate brow furrowed and her eyes clenched shut. Somehow, she knew this would happen. The troops that supposedly were meant to serve under her command were new recruits into the Hellguard. They were disrespectful, no better than the others whispering their secrets. Sariele did not let them push her over, but she had also made no move to put them in their place- not yet. She had seen no reason to, until now. For a moment, she chastised herself; she was a leader now. She could not afford to be a lovesick child any longer, not when these soldiers were supposed to be following her. She couldn't look weak and she could not lose her will.
She had waited one hundred years for War to accomplish the impossible- to return from the supposed dead and return to earth to set things right. Surely she could still wait.
She opened her eyes and gazed to the soldier before her.
"Then I suppose I must make haste." she noted flatly, grabbing at the beautifully crafted bow she had left leaning against the tree limb and putting it over her shoulder
"I would advise against it, Captain." the soldier warned. "The Commander has expressly forbidden you to return to the Ruined City."
"I have no choice." she interjected. "They are my troops, and therefore their well-being falls into my hands, foolhardy though they may be. If Uriel finds issue with it, I will happily face her censure." The soldier was silent in his own deliberation for but a moment.
"Then allow me to accompany you."
"Your name?"
"Caphriel, ma'am." he answered with a nod.
Sariele, for what felt like the first time in so long, smirked before letting her wings unfold and hovering. She afforded her ally one last glance. "Keep up." she told him. That was the last thing she said before she took off, cutting through the sky like a shooting star off into the horizon. The Heavenly soldier really had to push himself just to keep up with her which caused her, in turn, to smirk with amusement.
The Ruined City had not changed much since Sariele had rejoined the Hellguard. The streets were still empty save for the enormous crows searching for carrion amongst the rotting corpses littering the cracked pavement. The air still smelt of death and waste, but less so than the day War had begun his rampage on this shattered earth. The Dark Spire of the Destroyer- the destination she and War had faced many dangers to finally arrive at, and the prison for her former teacher- was now an empty ruin, now no longer cutting into the sky above.
Her bow, Dagsbirta* was drawn the moment her feet touched the ground. She signaled for Caphriel to follow by holding up her hand, waving him forward before showing her palm to him, signaling for him to halt his movements. Observant, light blue eyes scanned the area thoroughly, not even daring to breathe.
"Captain," the soldier began, but she held her hand up, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"They're watching us." she murmured softly. In a movement so quick, she pulled back on the bowstring and an arrow of holy energy materialized, appearing for a mere fraction of a second before flying through the air and straight through the skull of a lunging Spiny Prowler. The feral demon fell just at Sariele's feet. That was just one of the pack, however. There were at least five more, but he hadn't the opportunity to pull out his massive glaive in the mere seconds it took for her to draw back arrows and fire them with accuracy unheard of amongst many of the Hellguard's members and finish off the pack.
To say that Caphriel was astounded was more than just an understatement. He had had but a moment to watch her before relaying the news earlier. Surely this was not the same heartsick young angel he had seen such a short time ago. Her eyes were hardened, her lips pulled into a thin line, giving an indication that she was not one to be trifled with. When had this sudden confidence and determination come into play?
Sariele took from a sash tied at her waist a small knife and plunged it into the ground.
"What purpose was that-" Caphriel began, only to be silenced by Sariele as she leaned down, cupping her hands around her ear and closing her eyes in deep concentration. The silence and suspense were making the far more armored angel more and more anxious by the moment. At last, the Captain stood, eyes still fixed on the knife dug into the earth.
"We're in luck." she announced. "They are but a few leagues off and dealing with merely one rather large demon from the sound of it."
"You are sure, Captain?" he asked. She gazed at him as if to silently ask if he doubted her before she took off once more. Feeling a little sheepish, he still took off after her, intent on staying true to his promise. He found automatically that she had been right in saying what had been happening as he heard shots of the Heavenly glaives being fired every now and again, and as they neared, Sariele suddenly folded her wings in and twisted her body so that she was diving downwards, towards the massive demon below.
The missing angels were firing from the cover of the spires protruding from the ground and the ruins of human buildings, yet nothing they seemed to be firing at it was working. The demon took to lashing out its long, club-like, spiny tail at the annoyances being fired upon its hide, only for them to hit stone instead of angel flesh. It was only when there was about a meter between their prey and the diving form of their Captain that they knew she was there. In as little time as it took one to blink, Sariele pulled the frame of Dagsbirta apart. In the dim sunlight, identical blades of fine black metal gleamed indigo just before they were plunged into the hellish beast's throat. She then straightened out her legs and with merely the strength of her arms, she sprang upright. The momentum from both of these moments caused her to flip forward, pulling along with her the blades until they were dislodged from the demon's skull. Long deep lacerations were all that was left of the demon's already hideous face. It swayed for a moment before it succumbed to the fatal wounds on the back of its neck and fell to its side.
She could hear the collective groans of those that supposedly served under her, lamenting the loss of their first independent kill as they came out from beyond their hiding places.
"That is enough." castigated Caphriel. "You all are the ones who disobeyed orders and abandoned your posts."
"What orders?" asked a spry armored warrior, Narcariel- the ring leader of the troublemakers amongst Sariele's subordinates. "I heard no orders; I was under the impression that we were then free to do as we pleased." Narcariel had the tendency to be condescending and more of a know-it-all than Sariele ever thought was possible, but this time there was something about his tone that irritated her right down to the very core of her being and she glared at him. She could not say anything, however, because at this time a massive force slammed into the ground, rocking the small squadron of angels.
To her great relief, it was not a Lord of Hell, but it was still something terrible, a great flying Hellbeast- a kind that she had seen and shot at before when she and War had been making their way to the Twilight Cathedral on the back of an ortho. The angels of her troop gasped, but many of them bravely held their stances, in spite of never having faced something like this before. With identical cries, quite a few of them ran in, in spite of Caphriel's barking orders for them to stand down and retreat.
The Hellbeast sent many of them sprawling with a might blow like that of a bear; the one unfortunate enough to be caught in its grasping claws met the unfortunate fate of having his head and upper torso seperated from the rest of his body by a set of nasty, razor-sharp teeth. What was left was thrown to the side. Sariele bit back her distaste at the situation and with a snarl, she stepped forward. Caphriel reached ahead, grasping her by the shoulder.
"You must flee now, Captain. Please, leave the rest to me." he urged. Sariele's outright refusal came in the form of her jerking her shoulder away from his grasp and then swinging the obsidian blades so that the blood was flung off of them.
"Keep the rest of them at bay." she told him lowly.
"What can you hope to do?" called out Narcariel. She ignored him and continued her gait forward. Her stride never faltered; in fact, it increased in its speed until she was full on sprinting toward the thing. Her wings folded flat against her back. The Hellbeast, sensing another easy kill, reached out with the intent to grab her. Instead, its prey sashayed just out of its closing grasp and then twirled the black blades in her hands until they faced outwards, aligning with her forearms. It swiped again, but Sariele jumped for it, tucking her legs up underneath her. The other arm came straight toward her and would have collided with her upper half had she not bent backwards. This time, though, she managed to slice into the large arm before straightening herself and then crossing her blades in front of herself. The Hellbeast reached for her; rather than dodge it this time, however, Sariele moved in a way so graceful that she might have been dancing. The demon shrieked then and there as it held the stump where three of its fingers had been but moments ago. It was so intent on nursing its wound that she didn't note its anger until it whipped out its other arm, catching her and knocking her to the ground meters away.
"Captain," Caphriel called out as he began to rush toward her.
"Don't!" she hollered before rolling so that she was on her knees, winded and scraped, but otherwise alright. It was not the order that had him stop in his tracks, though- no; it was the unsettling look upon her face. It was one of desperate fury- one, he realized with sudden fear, he likely would have also seen on the Red Rider. "Stay where you are, all of you!" With a light clench in her jaw, she pushed herself onto her feet and faced her foe, rolling her shoulder. This was, after all, what she had been training relentlessly for since she had returned to the Hellguard.
The demon let loose an agitated roar, fire spewing between its lips. Desperate to take this particular prey down, it took to the air once more and once it was hovering above her and the other angels, it reared its head back.
Sariele had also taken to the air as it had distracted itself in order to make its fiery attack and reconnected the two halves of Dagsbirta back into the bow and pulled back on the invisible string. This time, though, rather than let it go almost immediately, she allowed herself a deep, slow inhalation of the fetid air before she finally let go of an arrow that held a charge and a surge of holy energy within. The resulting explosion buckled the demon and it began to plummet towards the earth. Sariele would ensure that this time it would not surprise her again, soaring so that she was just above it before folding in her wings and letting gravity take over. Again did she pull apart her bow in order to sink both blades- which were crossing each other- through the skull and into the brain. The Hellbeast was dead before it hit the ground. She straightened as the dust settled and that incensed glance fell upon the deserting troops and the armored soldier at the head of them all.
"Do you still believe that this is all in good fun?" she asked them quietly, her voice trembling with the tumultuous emotions stirring within her. "I know what is whispered about me; I don't honestly expect anyone to understand just what it was I went through one hundred years ago. What I did, I did for survival. What went on between myself and the Horseman War concerns none amongst you nor anyone else within the outpost.
"What I did has nothing to do with what I intend to do on the road ahead. That is why I will not condone any of you disrespecting me because of my past. If you find fault with this, I cannot stop you from leaving." Not one of the soldiers moved, which she took for a somewhat good sign. "It is a long, hard road, and I cannot promise that you will all come out of the Hellguard alive, but I still ask that you trust me. I am not looking to betray you; once upon another time, I stood in your shoes, eager to prove my worth but I learned the hard way what that meant and the sacrifice that I had to make. To tell the truth, I did not think that I would ever come back to be where I am at now. As it stands, I am still young and still learning, but I would like to believe that I can be a great leader. All I ask is that you have faith in me as your Captain."
"Moving as that pretty speech was, why should we believe you?" asked Narcariel. "What's to stop you from going back to that brute and leaving us to die?" There were a chorus of murmurs.
"Had that been my intent, I would have done it now and left you to deal with that beast on your own."
"We were handling everything fine before you showed up, Captain."
"Indeed. You held your hiding places well." she answered with a laugh. "Do you truly believe that this beast is the worst one out there?"
"What else could there be? The Destroyer is finished and dead, as are his Chosen, no thanks to you and your red friend."
"For which you should be grateful." she answered quietly. "Return to the outpost; I'll decide how to deal with you when I return." There was a chorus of grumbles, but one by one the angels begrudgingly took off in their flock. She turned away from them all in disappointment. They would never learn; none of them would have to go through what she did, for which part of her was grateful. Another part of her just felt drained altogether.
"We should leave, Captain, before another demon appears." Caphriel insisted. Sariele shook her head.
"I don't expect any of great strength to appear here for a while." she answered. "This place looks like it's been swept through recently." She couldn't help but smile at the thought before taking in the area. "I know this place." It was true; she knew it all too well. In dreams and nightmares alike, she returned here. Kicking off the ground, she soared off down the cracked, broken boulevard. The soldier called after her, but she didn't stop to hear what he was telling her. Her mind was too set on one place.
Minutes passed before that one place came into view- a half-dilapidated building with broken, stained-glass windows. After halphazardly scanning the area for nearby demons and finding none, she grounded herself and tugged the doors open. A breeze blew past her face, lightly moving the sweaty whisps of hair from her brow. With a quiet breath of near belief, she stepped inside.
How long had it been since she had left this building, unknowing in what she would find when she stepped out of it? Surely it couldn't have been more than an Earth year. How much she had changed- how much she had grown in such a short period of time. It was a pity that there was no mirror or anything like that here; she didn't think that she looked any different, but there were times when she woke from her slumber and felt like she was a different entity altogether. She felt stronger, far more courageous, even when the future- her future, with War- didn't look certain at all.
Someone had been here recently, she noted, too. Rubble that had once nearly threatened to fall on her had been cleared away to the side. Up on the raised floor, just beyond the steps, though, there laid there a sight that took her breath away and caused her to nearly stumble as she hastily stepped toward it. There laid a group of items- items that while others might've percieved as being junk were items indispensible to this particular angel a lifetime ago: a weathered, wide brown cloth; the bent, broken remains of goggle frames, the lenses long gone and the strap broken; the broken and bent halves of her old bow, Ortus** and a small stack of books. The books were about human healing proceedures and human machinery- subjects that she had been reading about before she had met up with War. Her hand shook as she reached out and touched every object, some of which she thought she would never see again. To see them laid out so carefully was not random; they had been left here to be found- specifically by her. Her jaw trembled; only one being on this earth could have done this, just for her. Her eyes burned and her rapid breaths were soon becoming very heavy. She reached for the book at the top of the small stack, which she noticed had something stuck between the pages. Opening it, she found a flower with a frail-looking stem and three droopy petals surrounding a cup of smaller, more delicate-looking petals- a snowdrop flower.
She remembered; Azreal had called her a bringer of hope when the Tree of Knowledge had opened her eyes and left her with a snowdrop flower in hand. At the time, she had not concerned herself with there that flower might have gone to, and she highly doubted that this was the same one, but the fact that it, too, had been placed here for her to find spoke volumes.
He had admitted that he had cared for her once, and these days she had been searching throughout her memories of him for proof that he still did. She didn't need words; she knew he wouldn't use them, even if he were here. Such a thing was much too hazardous for both of them. This was far more than enough, she mused with a smile, even as tears fell down her cheeks. She didn't reach up to wipe them away, even as her heart was ready to burst with the tempest of emotions coursing through her.
"War..." she murmured. The clarity of this moment allowed her a moment to truly breathe and take a step back from everything after what had felt like an eternity, and she couldn't help but heave a collective exhalation, sweeping her bangs from her forhead as more tears fell from her eyes- not tears of heartache like the ones that she had cried mere days after parting from him but tears of elation and relief.
She left the sanctuary with her treasures in hand, securing the goggles and the halves of the old bow to her person by creating yet another sash around her hips with the brown cloth folded over multiple times. The books were kept close to her, secured in one arm tightly holding them to her person. She had, of course, made sure to dry her face before stepping out into the sunlight again, and there waited Caphriel. If he was puzzled by the strange new additions, he did not mention it, but there was something about his countenance, she noted as she approached.
"I admittedly had my doubts about you," he began, almost completely ruining Sariele's good mood with his authoritative tone. She was not looking forward to a lecture after having felt so much better just moments ago. "However, after viewing your performance today, I must admit that you were wrong." She allowed him the pause for effect, but not without one of her delicate eyebrows arching upward. "You already are a great leader. I believe that, given time, you will become an even greater one."
"Thank you." she replied softly, clutching the human books closer to her chest.
"I was notified that you did not have a second-in-command for your squadron." he pointed out.
"You've seen the individuals in my squadron." she deadpanned. "I thought I would take my chances."
"Then what of me?" he asked. She paused and looked him over.
"If you believe that you are up to the task," she deliberated, "then I won't stop you." At this, he kneeled as if to swear his allegiance.
"Then, by all means, I am honored to serve under you, Captain." he declared. "Where would you like me to begin?" Sariele sighed.
"I believe the best place we can start would be the discipline of those deserters. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Without a doubt." he answered. "And... for what it is worth, Captain, I know not what the Horseman War was like, nor do I know anything of what you have with him, but... I am of the firm belief that if there is something between you two, it may be very well worth saying 'to Hell with everything' for." She stared at him for a moment and then allowed herself to smile slightly. "Do you believe that you will ever see him again?"
"I don't claim to understand anything concerning Fate," she began, "but I more than believe that our bond is sealed. The rest stands to time." With that, she kicked off, soaring until she was again nothing but what resembled a shooting star on the horizon.
So, again, this is what happens when I have time and music on my hands. Like it? Dislike it? Clarifying a few points: This is honestly the most romantic (and I use that term loosely) I can see War being without actual contact with her. He knows these things are important to Sariele, and he'll keep them in a singular place for her. For her, that's just enough. BTW- Caphriel was created mainly to add a little more plot to this story; he is not in love with Sariele. He just wants her to succeed as a leader and is willing to help her out. The title of this fic is taken from one of the songs I had on the playlist for 'A Caged Bird's Faith'. BTW, Brownie points to anyone who can zero in on a line that was recycled from 'A Caged Bird's Faith'. I do so look forward to hearing what you guys think about this- this was my first little drabble, so again I apologize if it wasn't up to scratch with my other two Darksiders stories. Until my next update, I love you all and I look forward to hearing from you.