Old Valendian Calendar (?)~~
He was on the ground, it was cold and wet, and smelled of sweet honey suckle and basil.
He grunted, pulling his sword out from underneath his body, and gauging his surroundings.
This was not the training arena, was his first panicked thought.
The other panicked thought was not his own.
Leave this place, lest fate fall apart around you!
The echo alerted him to the throbbing headache that he suddenly was very acutely aware of; it hurt like hell.
He tried to focus, but the headache made it hard, he still heard the voices in his head, going on about fate, ties, white? He didn't care, he needed to get out of here that he was sure of, and he would rather trust some mystery voice than his poor luck.
He stood despite the pain that rocked him and made him wish he was dead. Think.
Ah yes, he had a potion on him.
He clumsily searched his armor, his hands feeling heavier than he remembered. Finally he grasped the blue vial tightly between his palm. He wasted no time in downing the soft liquid, the aftertaste forgotten with the instant relief that it brought to his senses.
Finally he looked around with clear eyes, the trees around him were thick, and tall, possibly stretching back to thousands of years if he cut one down and counted its rings. He placed his hand on one of the trunks and then his ear, he listened.
He could hear scurrying the soft pads of violent and peaceful creatures alike moving through the dense forest.
Ffamran then kneeled to the ground and analyzed the plant life, mandragora seeds as well as a dried malboro vine lay underneath the underbrush.
Ffamran pieced together his findings with a sense of dread; he was in the Golmore jungle, a right danger to humes of all kinds. Archadians were less than welcome compared to others, his people had needed the trees here and had deforested many parts of the jungle in its earlier years before the local Viera had become more militant and began to hunt the humes in turn.
Marvelous. If he didn't find a way out he was most certainly going to be treant fodder.
He went over the materials and weapons he had with him, he was grateful he had the sword; the twin pistols he carried were also recently loaded. He had libra; and first aid technicks he had finally managed to master; he knew the spell for fire fairly well and could cure a bit if he tried; he counted three potions and one ether, an extra round of bullets; and a small dagger attached to his thigh.
He sighed, it wasn't much but it was something at least, He analyzed the ring, it had grown dull for the moment, the light finally subsiding. He was close to a gate crystal; the ring must have been a faulty tele-stone how else could he have gotten into this mess? Shale would probably laugh at the predicament he was in.
He pressed the ring to the gate crystal "Archadia"
Neither the ring nor the crystal responded, he tried several more times before giving in.
He sighed, well he was roughing it then.
Ffamran began to walk the nearest path he could find, maybe Judge Drace wouldn't blame him entirely if he told her his mother had accidentally given him a teleport stone that had malfunctioned and set him all the way to the bloody Golmore jungle.
He shook his head; she'd sooner believe him to be a Viera than buy that garbage.
Ffamran left the safety zone of the red crystal and followed the path west deeper into the jungle, and what he hoped to be nearer to an exit.
The jungle was thick with the wet dew of morning, the heat suffocated Ffmaran and his armor groaned with each step he took, it was already beginning to rust, wonderful.
Ffamran was ill at ease, the foliage around him was confusing and misleading, and the jungle far too quiet for his liking. He had heard tales of the beasts that lie within the twisted trees, besides the Viera, sinister creatures walked the paths here on the daily, he was far too lucky if he wasn't on the receiving end of something by now.
Then he felt it. The creeping sensation ran down his spine and caused his neck to break out in a cold sweat.
He was being hunted. What was within the darkness, he didn't know, but he began to move faster.
The natural landscape around him shifted ominously, following his every step with calculated measure, waiting and watching for him to—
Ffamran's metal cleavers caught on a nearby low hanging vine and pulled him down to the ground. Shit.
The creature was serpentine in nature and struck from the shadows with alarming accuracy and speed.
Ffamran's sword was up in time for the serpents fangs to be caught on the blade, but its jaws were stronger than the metal, and were beginning to bite through the small defenses he had mustered.
Weakness, weakness what was its bloody weakness?!
His eyes tried to pinpoint it, as he activated libra to his greatest ability while still trying to stave of the beast with his sword.
Lightning? "Shit." He had yet to learn thunder.
The Serpent wasted no time in his distraction, whipping its menacing tail around Ffamran, and squeezing the air from his lungs.
His sword dropped to the forest floor with a soft thump.
This was it? Eaten here by a worm of a snake after only fifteen years of living? "What a lackluster way to go" he managed to squeak out.
The beast seemed to be treasuring him as a treat, maybe trying to figure out a way to pry him from his armored shell.
In that time Ffamran thought of his Shale, he would probably become a Judge, he always said he hated the idea but he would be good at it, his brothers would continue on through the ranks of the imperial guard and bring pride to the family, his father would continue his research and forget another birthday or two, and his mother. What of her? He wanted to see if she got better, to see her lively like when he was a boy, would she wither away and die at the prospect of his death? And the most alarming thought, he would never get the chance to fly an airship.
Ffamran couldn't bear that. He couldn't die here. No, that was not an option.
He squirmed against the beasts coil enough to reach the knife that was braced against his thigh, he cursed as the beast tightened its grip on him further. He would have to use something more at hand.
Something clicked.
He would have to use himself.
Or use his armor anyway. Fframran began chanting, trying to pick up the words that spelled flame through his fingertips, he directed them instead to the working of his armor. He was not nearly as close to being efficient at it as Judge Drace, but he could feel himself beginning to get hot.
Well if this failed at least he could give the snake a well roasted version of himself he thought sinisterly.
He chanted faster laying each flame spell on top of the other. The heat emanating, burning his under armor and part of his arm in the process, but it worked.
The serpent flailed as the flames licked at its skin and melted it duly, Ffamran took the opportunity to break free of its hold, ripping off his burning armor to keep himself from facing the same fate.
The Snake writhed as the flames continued their campaign, the remains of the hot armor sticking to it like a second skin.
He wasn't finished.
Ffamran pried the dagger from its attachment at his thigh and plunged the sharp metal into the beast as well.
The creature seemed to break out of the spell of pain and directed its attention back at him, it struck again, this time successfully crunching into his unprotected arm.
Ffamran let out a guttural scream; he could hear the ire dripping from its fangs as it held on tightly to his left side.
It wanted to take him down with it.
Ffamran felt the pain all too acutely, his legs could no longer support the rest of him and he collapsed duly onto the forest floor, the snake followed, it too on its last legs—so to speak.
He had tried, he had tried and it hadn't been enough. He laughed bitterly at the cruelty of it all, what kind of future judge would get himself in such a mess in the first place.
He closed his eyes to stave off the pain.
He heard the whoosh of wind scatter the silence.
He opened his eyes to see an arrow had pierced the base of the serpent's skull.
Almost immediately its jaw relaxed and freed Ffamran from its death grip, before meeting death's doors itself.
Ffamran did not relax however, his wound was still severe, and if he knew any better he would have to guess that arrow belonged to a Viera hunter. Soon she would emerge and claim his life as she had done to the dead creature beside him.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
He heard the rustling of tree foliage shift and the almost nimble drop of a figure; almost because she nearly fell over.
She was no warrior Viera, she was a small, lanky thing, with uncharacteristic bare feet, and eyes burning with fear.
She was just a girl.
He was but a boy. A small hume whose young blood was now staining the forest floor.
And he had ruined everything.
"Clumsy, foolish, negligent hume, do you not realized what you've done!"
The boy struggled to his feet, and attempted to staunch his bleeding with his hand, not seeming to mind her belligerent words at the moment.
"Quite the attitude you have there, but I would expect nothing less from a jungle savage such as yourself."
Before the boy could even blink, she was in his face, her sharp nails at his throat.
"And I would expect nothing more from a hume whose life, I've just spared, the whole lot of you ungrateful and disgusting just as my people have seen time and time again."
The boy dared not move as Fran tightened her grip on his bare throat. Perhaps the wood would forgive her if she killed the hume instead?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a deadly growl and the stench of molded leaves and ivy.
The hume's eyes widened "Shit"
Fran's quarry entered the small clearing, two marlbaro following close behind.
She let go of her grip on the hume and bared her fangs at the marlbaro, bow and arrow taut.
The boy started muttering some semblance of a cure spell, its effects were less than impressive, but she didn't expect much in his condition.
"This is my quarry! Fight, or flee, hume!"
The boy seemed to be calculating his chances.
"Let's make a deal shall we?" he finally coughed out.
The fiends drew closer, and Fran had little choice but to acquiesce.
"The terms?" she hissed.
"I help you kill this jungle fodder, and you lead me out of here safely, understood?"
Fran's ears twitched, her mind buzzed, she was not experienced enough in wood-warding, how the boy knew this she could only guess-a lack of proper footwear probably being the first hint-she nodded sternly, having little room for disagreement.
She loved her sisters more than her reputation, and that was past tarnished anyway…
The boy seemed to let out a breath of relief; he probably had not expected her to be so accommodating.
She would not be for long.
"Draw your blade hume! They come!"
The boy almost stumbled over his sword, but managed to scoop it up in the nick of time.
The vines of the two underling marlbaro whipped out in a frenzy at the two, the Viera girl jumped out of range, and with little bodily strength left, Ffamran had no choice but to duck, and block with his sword.
The vines sprawled near his body, the poison barely missing him by millimeters.
He could hear the Viera shooting and distracting the head great Marlbaro, and forced himself to action, not wanting to be left behind.
Before the underlings could retract their vines and attack again, he grabbed his dagger and struck it through the vines, effectively pinning one of the marlbaro to the forest floor.
The beast howled in pain and Ffamran jumped out of dodge as their poisonous gases began spreading.
The Viera nimbly took to the trees, her bare feet making the climb all the easier.
She aimed at the pinned marlbaro quickly, letting loose an arrow in a sloppy shot that only further enraged the creature
"What's the matter I thought shooting with your primitive bows was all your kind was good for!"
He could see her visible scowl before she started chanting, the blinding force of a wind spell sent Ffamran flying into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Her eyes betrayed no emotion, but he could see… amusement was it?
Her spell did seem to do the job, as the other two Marlbaro lie dead beside him.
Ffamran had little time to rest as the Great Marlbaro grew enraged over his comrades untimely deaths; it began to fervently spit liquid acid from its mouth in every which direction.
The deadly substance ate through the forest floor and even through the trunks of trees.
Ffamran's hair was partially singed as it whizzed past his head.
They had to end this quickly, else the forest collapse beneath their feet.
Ffamran focused on his sword as he chanted a flame spell, mimicking the Judge Drace once again.
The hilt was hot in his hand but Ffamran tried his very best to ignore the pain, his adrenaline pushing him on, he dashed out from behind the undergrowth and charged toward the beast with reckless abandon.
The creature turned and let loose its poisonous vines as soon as he got within range. This time he was not so lucky, as the vines bit into his already exposed flesh from his previous encounter.
Ffamran screamed out in pain and fell unceremoniously to the floor, still gripping tightly to his sword.
He could feel the poison begin to seep through his system, and pain seared through him as he forced his head up.
The Viera provided distraction, jumping from tree to tree, firing her arrows; albeit haphazardly.
The fiend had ignored Ffamran for the moment, and was aiming its acidic poison at every branch the Viera jumped from.
She gained enough time in between dodging to cast another wind spell in the creatures direction, the wind whipped and slashed, but didn't have the same effect as it did before, the creatures berserk keeping it lively.
The Viera seemed to visibly flinch as her bare feet landed badly on the next branch. She fell ungracefully, to the forest floor, with a deafening thump.
The Great Marlbaro spat out another volley of acid, hitting the base of the tree and barely missing her falling body.
She tried to rise but she fell almost instantly, the fall must have broken bones.
The creature seemed content with its work and began to descend upon what it thought to be finished prey.
A sickening crack broke through the clearing, as the creature drew near.
The Viera looked up in thinly-veiled fear.
The tree trunk was overcome by the creatures acid and began to fall.
The Viera attempted to scramble out of the way, but her fall had cost her both her speed and strength.
The tree crushed the right side of her body, and the beast in one fell swoop.
"Shit." He was saying that a lot as of late.
Fran went in and out of consciousness, the fervent shouts of the boy keeping her awake.
What had happened?
She tried moving.
Her mind resisted, and she felt an icy pain splash through her right side.
She screamed out, the pain jump-starting her awake.
The right side of her was in a chilled state due to the loss of blood, her tendons felt as though they were being unsewn, and the very act of breathing was difficult.
"No, no, this can't be right." she whispered,
The blood, the tree, and the noisy hume were all real.
And with all this blood, the hounds would be here soon.
She was going to die here with the corpses of fiends and hume alike, how embarrassing.
The boy came into focus as he approached her left side, crawling, and in his own pain.
"Are you alright?"
She gave him as level a look as she could without causing herself more pain.
He flinched "Right sorry, I mean I'm not in too right a state either, I've been poisoned rather badly."
Fran closed her eyes "Then the hounds will kill us both I suppose." She kept her voice level despite the pain, delirium began to set in.
The boy blanched "Not the way I pictured myself going out…"
There was a comfortable silence; the boy seemed to be coming to terms with things.
It's not like there were many other outcomes for either of them, but…she had been so close.
"The Great Marlbaro is dead?" she forced out.
The boy nodded "The tree finished it off."
He moved on his side despite the pain to fully face her "By the way, why did you save me before?"
Fran blinked once, eyes tracing his paled face "I did not want the Midgardsormr to get sick from eating such a thing."
Ffamran laughed before it was broken off by a painful cough "You're really something aren't you er…Viera?"
Her eyes danced "Fran."
"Fran eh? Well considering I'm dying I don't see why giving a Viera my name would be the worst idea." He tried smiling but it came off as more of a grimace "I'm Ffamran, the hume too ill-suited for a jungle snakes lunch."
Fran smiled the slightest of smiles that she reserved for her kin.
The boy didn't seem to notice, and if he did he said nothing.
"So, Fran, since we're dying and sharing all of our little secrets…why were you trying to kill that fiend?"
Her ears twitched, she could hear his breathing become more and more labored, neither of them had much time.
"I had to risk killing it, and bringing back the remains; else I would have been exiled by the wood."
Ffamran's eyebrows furrowed, in both pain and confusion "Isn't the 'wood', or what have you, supposed to be your guardian? Why would it ask for such a thing?"
"We do not question, we merely follow." Fran couldn't keep the creed from spilling from her lips, and it left a bad taste in her mouth. Did she truly believe that after everything that had happened?
"Sounds pretty sanctimonious to me…"
"As if you would understand… your kind kill and plunder from every strip of land you touch, the wood was born out of the need for us to be protected from those like you." Although it was barely above a whisper her voice in the silent clearing may as well have been shouted.
The boy did not answer, instead he began crawling away, Fran ignored him.
If he wished to die somewhere away from her, she couldn't care less. She heard snapping and a whispered curse before his body came back into her line of sight.
He edged closer than before, as she watched warily.
Finally he opened her hand and placed the vine of the Great Marlbaro betwixt her palm, before closing it tightly.
He met her eyes, and her curiosity was sparked anew. "I-"
They broke eye contact when Fran's ears heard the approach of footsteps. Footsteps, and not claws.
A group of wood-warders entered the clearing.
The adult Viera swarmed around the tree, and pushed Ffamran away from Fran's body; making sure to restrain him quickly.
There was a soft chant that filled the air as two of the Viera worked their magicks, and when the final words of the spell were finally spoken, a float spell lifted the tree off of Fran's body and placed it to the side deftly.
Ffamran could only look on in amazement as they worked their magicks, providing Fran with as much first aid as they could before gently lifting her.
She still held the marlbaro vine tightly in her palm.
"What of the hume?" one asked.
The group of armored Viera looked on cautiously before one responded.
"Take him for questioning; the elder will know what to do."
Before Ffamran could react a sleep spell was cast and darkness fell over him.