Lisora:
Death didn't scare me. It never had. What scared me more was the world being destroyed and it being because of me. I had fought the valg king inside of me for too long, it was already winning too much. My magic was no easier to control, it always pained me… Always caused too much destruction. Death was the kindest thing life could now gift me.
My only concern was my brother standing before, screaming at me to stop as I pushed him back with the limited magic I had left. Vaughan had done everything to keep me alive and safe, yet fate had a twisted irony as his sword was going to be the weapon that killed me. His mate stood beside him, tears streaming down her face as she fought with everything she had to try and stop the sword from piercing my neck. I had never known her and yet looking at her now I knew in another life we would have been great friends.
This life had never been truly enjoyable. Probably because I had never had a proper chance at living it. Always hidden away. I was grateful to my brother for his self-sacrifice, but this time it had to be me who had to make the sacrifice. The price; my life on this world, at least the parents I hadn't met would greet me in the next. I looked for the last time at the ocean then to Vaughan the person I had loved through it all, the one I had depended on, the one I hated to leave like this. But it was time. I gave the valg king a final push back taking complete control of my body as I raised the sword. The sword swept through my neck, a blinding flash of pain, before I greeted death with a smile knowing the valg inside me wouldn't live either. Standing at a golden gate was a fae couple, my parents, I walked hand in hand with them through the arch away from Vaughan. I didn't look back.
4 months earlier
I stood at the edge of the coast the wind whipping my face as I stared into the vast ocean. I envied the ocean, its freedom, its power, its control. I was a force of nature and yet destined to live a life hidden in the shadows. I turned to head home when a fleet of ships on the horizon caught my attention. Nobody sailed near here ever, it was an isolated stretch of beach that had become my hidden haven. Not even my brother, Vaughan, knew I came here. I knew it was risky to not tell him, but I needed somewhere free of the boundaries placed on my life. This fleet compromised all that I worked to achieve. Caves I had built to practice my magic, habitats forged for the animals that no longer feared me and best of all peace from my difficult life.
It was of little use to keep standing here waiting for something that might not happen. I set off home wondering the whole way what tomorrow would bring. When I did eventually reach my cabin a short couple of miles away I left my collection of shells next to the left tree then exhausted I fell into my bed and into an uneasy sleep where nightmares plagued.
I got my answer the next morning as shouts reached me as I walked towards the coast. The fleet had indeed docked at my beach. I crept closer even as my brain screamed for me to flee home. I kept walking and to my horror the men were using my caves as storage rooms and sleeping quarters. My anger only grew as I looked at the sea and the reef I had constructed now in ruins. Though my anger was nothing compared to the wrath I felt as I looked upon corpses of demi-fae strewn across the ground. Men laughed and cheered at the victory of ending those lives. My mind went carefully blank as I quickly formed a plan. These men were not getting away with this murder, especially when they were on my land.
I first used my magic of air to starve the crew of oxygen, their lives over too soon. I then sprayed remaining men with ice instantly turning them into frozen corpses. I swept past the men moving deeper into the- my caves. If I hadn't been so consumed with anger I would have noticed the rings around the men's finger, would have noticed that another fleet of ships had just docked, would have noticed the unworldly energy around the place. But anger raged through my blood, through my magic as I killed again and again. No pause to the action, no mercy. When no man was left standing, I blinked and allowed humanity back into my body. I looked at the mangled corpses and still found little remorse. I didn't let myself question if that made me a monster, I just stumbled out of the cave and right into a trap.
"I still had a vast amount of magic left to fight with but iron had encased me too swiftly. I swallowed down screams of panic, I had no time for that; I had to escape now before I lost too much energy. The iron casing held out as I pummelled it, I had never taught myself how to fight without magic. I cursed colourfully for allowing myself to be blind sighted by my magic, my rage. That had always been a danger, when my emotions ran too high I often lost control and no amount of training would ever solve that. Many would see my elemental magic as blessing but it had cursed me from day one. I stopped my punching as bone cracked and I looked down to see my knuckles bleeding and one was no use I was stuck in this iron coffin and with a jolt I realised no-one would come looking for me. I had damned myself for not telling Vaughan about this place but then again I hadn't seen him in a year, it was unlikely in any situation he would find me before I was killed.
For what seemed like days I was locked away in darkness with only my blackening thoughts as company. I had finally accepted I would end up having a slow death of dehydration and starvation when I was flung out onto an iron floor. One solidary candle burned in the middle of the room, not a room I realised but a cave. A cave of iron. One of my caves formed as a prison to keep me contained for what reason I was yet to discover. My eyes narrowed in on a glass and a loaf of stale bread in the middle of the floor next to the candle. I was famished so I hesitated for half a second before draining the glass and devouring the bread, but alas both contained iron and I fell to the floor convulsing.
Once the iron content in my body had lessened I moved my exhausted body into a sitting position then forced my eyes to explore the chamber thoroughly, but found no escape. I had nothing else to do other than sleep, so I fell into an uneasy sleep on the cold unyielding floor. I jolted awake at the sound of a key turning and I was on my feet in an instant ready to fight the person about to walk in. My head span as I got up too fast and fell back to the floor unable to fight the iron in my system. A man walked in a collar around his neck and a similar one clutched in his hand. The door was closed and sealed again before I had staggered once more to my feet.
"Well, well what have we here?" Crowed the man.
My answering hiss just made his eyes gleam in delight as he surveyed me.
"That's quite some magic you have to be able to kill half my men in less than hour. There were, you see, 500 you slaughtered. And yet I wonder how you didn't notice the trap we laid out for you?" When I remained silent he continued with is monologue "You seem to possess more magic than I have ever experienced and I have seen the world, for I am General Norrok." I didn't know who that was but the man had expected some kind of reaction at the revelation of his identity. He received no reaction so yet again carried on. "You will be a great addition to the army we are building. But we can't have you fighting without one of these collars can we? Don't worry the king will be very gentle with you." Ice flooded my entire body as Norrok laughed but a single question still burned through me. What were those collars and what did they do? I didn't get a chance to even ask the question before he advanced on me like a lion does to its prey, collar ready to snap around my neck. I fought with everything I had, it was still not enough. With strength no human should possess he pinned me to the wall. I struggled but there was barely a fight before the cold strap was forced around my neck.
I writhed in agony slumping to the iron floor, my body was no longer just my own. Some unworldly presence advanced to claim me as its own. My screams pierced the silence echoing around me as I fought the thing inside of me. I forced the king into a corner, trapped it, unwilling to give up my body to its cause. I thought that it might be over, that it might have been defeated. How very wrong I was.
Each day was the same eat then drink, it was no longer laced with iron for fear of hurting the king inside of me. My power grew, but I can't unleash it in my iron cave. Every morning I forced the king back into the corner as when I slept it gained strength and started to expand it's presence in my body. Each day it required more energy and more patience. I knew if it ever controlled me the world would be damned so I always won. I didn't have the luxury of ever losing. Some days General Norrok returned to see if the king had managed to beat me yet, he always left disappointed. Hours blurred to days and days blurred to weeks until I had no idea how long I had been imprisoned for. I kept fighting not just for my life but for the whole nations of people unaware that I could destroy them. I tugged my collar often but it still remained around my neck. A part of me knew I had to rip it off with mighty strength; I possessed none after weeks of fighting.
I don't know how much time had passed when a different man entered my cave to check on my progress. There was a brief moment of hope when I thought that it was my brother come to rescue me, but it was not. That day the king gained more space than ever until I no longer had total control of my body. I had let go of the hope I didn't know I was still holding onto. Nevertheless I fought with everything I had but the king never yielded to my attack again. To my immense relief General Norrak never returned again and I knew the days had suddenly blurred into months.
The night before Vaughan and Sandre found Lisora:
I had nothing left. The king held more than 50% of my body I could barely keep the rest of me safe. It was only a matter of when I was defeated. Tonight I was the closest I had ever been to giving up, letting the king control me. Anything to get rid of the pain I felt. However then I felt the Gods urging me to not give up just yet, they had abandoned me for so long and yet now they decided to guide me… why?.
I awoke in the morning with new found energy and my iron cave door being demolished as Vaughan stood in the doorway. The God's answer here at last, my brother who just scooped me up into his muscled arms, removing me from my prison. He placed me down onto soft sand and I gazed at the sea, at the sky and then at my brother. Which is when I knew what had to happen, knew that today would be my last.
I wrote this chapter crying the whole way through. I knew from the beginning that Lisora was going to die but writing it was a whole other experience. I would really appreciate any feedback regarding what you thought of it.
