Darkness Falling
Dream screamed as her arm was tightly grabbed. She squinted one eye open against the dust and the smoke of the battlefield she had wandered onto. It had been a mistake, traveling so close to enemy lines, and now a tingling sensation ran up her arm as her captor pulled her along.
Minutes seemed like hours as Dream blindly stumbled onward Her eyes stung painfully from the smoke, and she knew if she screamed the dust rising around her would only engulf the sound. Finally she made it out of the chaos that was a battle between the kingdoms of Fandaria and Tradnor. She stood near a small brush of trees, the dust and smoke had been passed now, and Dream fervently blinked her lovely brownish-black eyes to rid them of smoke.
"You... You're Gaul's apprentice, correct? The girl looked up to see her captor, the man that had such nerve to pull a bystander along an obvious retreat, and because she didn't recognize the man standing in front of her she noticed that it must have been a retreat on the part of Tradnor. She studied the man that had roughly grabbed her, deciding to wait a second to catch her breath before answering him.
The man's hair was pitch black in shade, and flopped lazily over his left eye. His eyes were gray-red in shade, a very odd color for eyes, and they still squinted from the harsh smoke. She smiled as she saw his eyes, realizing that she did in fact recognize him.
"You're-" She was abruptly cut off.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, we were talking about you" He hesitated before repeating his question as if Dream were a child. The girl frowned. She could see he wasn't going to let her get anything out before she answered his question.
"Yes... I am Gaul's apprentice."
"You go by the name 'Dream' yet that is not your real one, correct?" He asked. Dream looked at him sharply, her name was Dream, she didn't just go by it.
"Yes" She lied.
The man nodded. "You shall be my captive"
'Well of course' Dream wished to say, but kept her mouth shut, remembering who he was.
"My name is Ramda."
Dream sneered, "I know your name, if you think I won't kill you you're wrong. You're the enemy!"
Ramda motioned to his sword "I have protection" Dream continued to sneer, but deep down inside she was riddled with worry. Gaul and Scythe, her guardians, the ones who told her of the apostle of Death, Ramda, would they rescue her? She knew the answer was of course 'no'. She wasn't even a general in the Fandarian army yet, and because she was a woman she was almost nothing to the people of the kingdom. The thoughts swarmed through her head.
Dumbly she watched as Ramda pulled out a length of rope and bound her hands tightly with it, and she still felt that way when he began to calmly pull her along through the small patches of trees.
It was dark when Ramda finally stopped. They had been trudging non-stop all day. "Good" Dream muttered half to herself, in between gasps. "You're going to make camp! It's about time!"
Ramda looked at her, she was beautiful, yes, but he wondered if she had an ounce of sense in that head of hers.
"We're starting out early tomorrow, there's no time to make camp. Hmm, I really would have thought Scythe and Gaul would have told you something about my ways"
Dream became annoyed. She didn't know what he meant, and she became annoyed with things she didn't understand. A low growl erupted from her throat, but Ramda ignored it, and curled up to go to sleep, leaving Dream thinking about home, and where they were headed.
She stood there, standing in that pitch black area, where the darkness seemed like it could swallow you up, and descended on every corner around her. Her body desperately wanted air, but didn't seem to need it. Alone in front of her was a creature that seemed to engulf the light, and whose body shone an unholy crimson.
"The awakening, I can feel it, my blood flows with yours"
The girl heard, no felt, his voice.
"What do you mean!?" She cried.
The darkness took her words.
Yet there was no motion in the creature in front of her.
She felt her body shudder, and she sent out her soul to save herself.
The darkness took it.
Now there was motion, and the creature, no God. Smiled.
Dream awoke with a start; all of her muscles ached violently. Her slim body rested against a large willow tree. A low sigh came for the girl as she vividly recalled the vision given to her as she slept. Looking around the long branches of the tree, the girl could tell that Ramda was already up, even though dawn wouldn't be for a few more hours. Dream lazily closed her eyes again. And was promptly jerked awake by Ramda. Hastily he pulled her to her feet, and gave her no food.
Soon they were on their way, and heading north relatively quickly. Dream watched Ramda, waiting for a weakness, the weakness that she had waited for the day before and hadn't found. She had been captured before, and usually that weakness was shone through rage, and once she saw it, attacking and killing him would be easy.
Dream waited before making her move.
"Fool!" She cried suddenly "Your plan, it's just so easy to figure out!" Of course Dream hadn't actually figured out his plan, but her lie was needed for her to find his weakness.
Ramda was taken aback by this. He had never been called a fool, to his face, or elsewhere. Yet a smile lit his face.
"Gaul's apprentice is brave, isn't she?" Ramda paused, half waiting for an answer. The one he received was certainly not what he had excepted.
"Madruk's cohort is annoying, isn't he?" Dream snidely remarked. Ramda was at loss for words.
"Madruk, the Dark God?! Why the Hell would she think I'm one of his followers?! Did Gaul and Scythe tell her this? Anger flared up inside of him, and without warning he grabbed the rope that bound her, and puled her away, not wanting to listen to her foolish gibberish any more.
"The bastard!" Scythe screeched, from deep within the dungeon walls of Fandaria.
"That's all I know, I swear!" The soldier she had been talking to cried. He had, a minute ago, been searched for evidence by Scythe, to find out where their follower was. Scythe grinned at the soldier, giving him no comfort, she quickly flicked out a dagger, and was please when the fear she saw in her captive's eyes increased dramatically. The soldier couldn't be more then Dream's age of seventeen.
"Please no..." His whispered, but Scythe paid him no heed, slowly she drew the dagger across him flesh, making little lines and cuts. His dark red blood flowed to the floor, and droplets of it stained the stone below him. She cut him in places until she was able to pull pieces of his skin of, and she pulled the flesh from his bones, and muscle, slowly, using her magic to make him live just until she was done. Finally she was, and the boy fell to the ground, his body making an audible 'thud'.
Scythe left the room, her moral greatly improved. She left the dead soldier for the guards to clean up and she started on her way out of the dungeon.
She hadn't made it farther then the dark hallway before the passage out what he appeared. The grotesque form that made up his body would scare the mightiest of warriors. Even Scythe bowed below him, though partly because she had to.
"Gaul? What brings you here?" Scythe asked, brushing a strand or two of her long straight hair from her face.
"Did you find anything out about Dream?" He rasped.
"Ramda has her, so it might be hard to get the bratty child back" Scythe chuckled, she had never liked the girl Dream.
"And DawnDark"
"Hmmm? With her all is going according to plan."
Gaul stiffened at the woman's remark, wondering if she understood what she said.
"She is with Madruk" Scythe continued, and Gaul had to shake his head at her stupidity.
"Part of him." He corrected.
Scythe winced. "Part of him..."
They had been walking north for only three days, and Dream was becoming more and more confused with Ramda's actions. He hadn't spoken to her much at all during her time with him, and it was if he had no weaknesses, she had no opportunity to strike out against him.
They now walked deep in the woods above her beloved kingdom; she had no idea what Ramda was looking for, but he seemed to be trying hard enough to find it.
That's when they came across the clearing, and the woman lying in the center of it. Her skin was tanned, and her eyes bright purple. Rips and tears adorned her tattered clothes.
"Rape?" Dream thought. "No... Something doesn't seem right about this woman" Dream concentrated for a moment. A magic shield had been placed around the woman in the clearing. She penetrated it. "Dragonmen" She muttered. The Dragonmen; a feared race of half dragon half man creatures. Once Scythe had told her 'If you're ever in trouble you can look to the Dragonmen to save you' then Gaul explained that only two Dragonmen had proven to have been evil, Gigg, and Vangal.
Dream hadn't really understood what Scythe had meant, but Gaul's words were clear, stay away from those two Dragonmen. But what were the chances this would be one of them? Why would it choose another form, if it were evil it would be a general of Ramda, right?
Ramda stood and walked to the woman, his sword was drawn. The woman quickly moved from her sitting position to stand in front of Ramda. Then the changed began. Her hair started to disappear, her eyes became larger, and her skin rougher and it changed form tan to purple as scales emerged. Slowly the Dragonmen form appeared.
Ramda's face showed no emotion, though Dream could sense that he was happier then he had been. "Gigg? What are you doing here?"
"Gigg, it really figures." Dream muttered.
The two began their journey with a new addition to the group, the Dragonmen Gigg. They continued in silence, with the exception of a few comments from Gigg, who tried lightening the mood more then once with no luck. They settled down to rest at nightfall, and Dream fell peacefully asleep, though very worried, considering the chances of her escape now were zero.
The woman stood there again, where the darkness covered all. She saw and felt nothing, but the word Tristan flew through her mind. She felt as if she should be proud for hearing the word, and yet a deep emptiness was now apparent inside her and an extreme feeling of confusion and remorse flooded her body. So the woman cried out softly, and felt as if her mind was about to rip in two...
The thief Bastion watched the sleeping trio from a distance. "Nobles" He hissed "Scythe will be happy when she sees that I've disposed of them. The man she says is form the kingdom of Tristan, we're to leave him alone, but are to capture the defect Dragonmen and the woman before they make it to there destination, the Tower of Shadow"
The major next to him nodded, and motioned with his hand for the twenty troops surrounding them to move in.
Ramda lay there, wide awake, but not showing it. Gigg and Dream did the same, each waiting for the troops to move in closer before jumping into battle. They waited until the troops were feet away, and then they attacked, Gigg jumped up, and became a tornado of swiping claws. Ramda jumped up as well, but for a different reason. He grabbed Dream's wrist and pulled her to him, not trusting her to run on her own he flung her light body into his arms and they departed.
Leaving Gigg behind.
Dawn passed, and then midday. Still Ramda protectively help his captive until they were there. The Tower of Shadow. The tower itself was enormous, reaching to the clouds, and yet it couldn't be seen form even a short distance. Ramda let Dream down, and the two silently approached it.
"Are we here?" Dream thought. "Is this where he's going to take me? Why?" Millions of questions ran through her head. Fear and an odd feeling of remembrance echoed through Dream as Ramda pushed open the great mahogany doors. "You'd better hope Frest feels sorry for you and lets you live, apprentice." Ramda hissed as they walked down the hall of the tower. Only a flickering candle Ramda held lit the way.
"Frest?" Dream asked. The name sounded familiar but...
They walked a few feet farther before a man her view.
"Lord Frest." Ramda exclaim with a bow "I've completed my mission.
Frest nodded, his thick curly brown hair, much like Dream's flew around him as he turned to her.
"Welcome Dream, apostle of Death"
Dream screamed as her arm was tightly grabbed. She squinted one eye open against the dust and the smoke of the battlefield she had wandered onto. It had been a mistake, traveling so close to enemy lines, and now a tingling sensation ran up her arm as her captor pulled her along.
Minutes seemed like hours as Dream blindly stumbled onward Her eyes stung painfully from the smoke, and she knew if she screamed the dust rising around her would only engulf the sound. Finally she made it out of the chaos that was a battle between the kingdoms of Fandaria and Tradnor. She stood near a small brush of trees, the dust and smoke had been passed now, and Dream fervently blinked her lovely brownish-black eyes to rid them of smoke.
"You... You're Gaul's apprentice, correct? The girl looked up to see her captor, the man that had such nerve to pull a bystander along an obvious retreat, and because she didn't recognize the man standing in front of her she noticed that it must have been a retreat on the part of Tradnor. She studied the man that had roughly grabbed her, deciding to wait a second to catch her breath before answering him.
The man's hair was pitch black in shade, and flopped lazily over his left eye. His eyes were gray-red in shade, a very odd color for eyes, and they still squinted from the harsh smoke. She smiled as she saw his eyes, realizing that she did in fact recognize him.
"You're-" She was abruptly cut off.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, we were talking about you" He hesitated before repeating his question as if Dream were a child. The girl frowned. She could see he wasn't going to let her get anything out before she answered his question.
"Yes... I am Gaul's apprentice."
"You go by the name 'Dream' yet that is not your real one, correct?" He asked. Dream looked at him sharply, her name was Dream, she didn't just go by it.
"Yes" She lied.
The man nodded. "You shall be my captive"
'Well of course' Dream wished to say, but kept her mouth shut, remembering who he was.
"My name is Ramda."
Dream sneered, "I know your name, if you think I won't kill you you're wrong. You're the enemy!"
Ramda motioned to his sword "I have protection" Dream continued to sneer, but deep down inside she was riddled with worry. Gaul and Scythe, her guardians, the ones who told her of the apostle of Death, Ramda, would they rescue her? She knew the answer was of course 'no'. She wasn't even a general in the Fandarian army yet, and because she was a woman she was almost nothing to the people of the kingdom. The thoughts swarmed through her head.
Dumbly she watched as Ramda pulled out a length of rope and bound her hands tightly with it, and she still felt that way when he began to calmly pull her along through the small patches of trees.
It was dark when Ramda finally stopped. They had been trudging non-stop all day. "Good" Dream muttered half to herself, in between gasps. "You're going to make camp! It's about time!"
Ramda looked at her, she was beautiful, yes, but he wondered if she had an ounce of sense in that head of hers.
"We're starting out early tomorrow, there's no time to make camp. Hmm, I really would have thought Scythe and Gaul would have told you something about my ways"
Dream became annoyed. She didn't know what he meant, and she became annoyed with things she didn't understand. A low growl erupted from her throat, but Ramda ignored it, and curled up to go to sleep, leaving Dream thinking about home, and where they were headed.
She stood there, standing in that pitch black area, where the darkness seemed like it could swallow you up, and descended on every corner around her. Her body desperately wanted air, but didn't seem to need it. Alone in front of her was a creature that seemed to engulf the light, and whose body shone an unholy crimson.
"The awakening, I can feel it, my blood flows with yours"
The girl heard, no felt, his voice.
"What do you mean!?" She cried.
The darkness took her words.
Yet there was no motion in the creature in front of her.
She felt her body shudder, and she sent out her soul to save herself.
The darkness took it.
Now there was motion, and the creature, no God. Smiled.
Dream awoke with a start; all of her muscles ached violently. Her slim body rested against a large willow tree. A low sigh came for the girl as she vividly recalled the vision given to her as she slept. Looking around the long branches of the tree, the girl could tell that Ramda was already up, even though dawn wouldn't be for a few more hours. Dream lazily closed her eyes again. And was promptly jerked awake by Ramda. Hastily he pulled her to her feet, and gave her no food.
Soon they were on their way, and heading north relatively quickly. Dream watched Ramda, waiting for a weakness, the weakness that she had waited for the day before and hadn't found. She had been captured before, and usually that weakness was shone through rage, and once she saw it, attacking and killing him would be easy.
Dream waited before making her move.
"Fool!" She cried suddenly "Your plan, it's just so easy to figure out!" Of course Dream hadn't actually figured out his plan, but her lie was needed for her to find his weakness.
Ramda was taken aback by this. He had never been called a fool, to his face, or elsewhere. Yet a smile lit his face.
"Gaul's apprentice is brave, isn't she?" Ramda paused, half waiting for an answer. The one he received was certainly not what he had excepted.
"Madruk's cohort is annoying, isn't he?" Dream snidely remarked. Ramda was at loss for words.
"Madruk, the Dark God?! Why the Hell would she think I'm one of his followers?! Did Gaul and Scythe tell her this? Anger flared up inside of him, and without warning he grabbed the rope that bound her, and puled her away, not wanting to listen to her foolish gibberish any more.
"The bastard!" Scythe screeched, from deep within the dungeon walls of Fandaria.
"That's all I know, I swear!" The soldier she had been talking to cried. He had, a minute ago, been searched for evidence by Scythe, to find out where their follower was. Scythe grinned at the soldier, giving him no comfort, she quickly flicked out a dagger, and was please when the fear she saw in her captive's eyes increased dramatically. The soldier couldn't be more then Dream's age of seventeen.
"Please no..." His whispered, but Scythe paid him no heed, slowly she drew the dagger across him flesh, making little lines and cuts. His dark red blood flowed to the floor, and droplets of it stained the stone below him. She cut him in places until she was able to pull pieces of his skin of, and she pulled the flesh from his bones, and muscle, slowly, using her magic to make him live just until she was done. Finally she was, and the boy fell to the ground, his body making an audible 'thud'.
Scythe left the room, her moral greatly improved. She left the dead soldier for the guards to clean up and she started on her way out of the dungeon.
She hadn't made it farther then the dark hallway before the passage out what he appeared. The grotesque form that made up his body would scare the mightiest of warriors. Even Scythe bowed below him, though partly because she had to.
"Gaul? What brings you here?" Scythe asked, brushing a strand or two of her long straight hair from her face.
"Did you find anything out about Dream?" He rasped.
"Ramda has her, so it might be hard to get the bratty child back" Scythe chuckled, she had never liked the girl Dream.
"And DawnDark"
"Hmmm? With her all is going according to plan."
Gaul stiffened at the woman's remark, wondering if she understood what she said.
"She is with Madruk" Scythe continued, and Gaul had to shake his head at her stupidity.
"Part of him." He corrected.
Scythe winced. "Part of him..."
They had been walking north for only three days, and Dream was becoming more and more confused with Ramda's actions. He hadn't spoken to her much at all during her time with him, and it was if he had no weaknesses, she had no opportunity to strike out against him.
They now walked deep in the woods above her beloved kingdom; she had no idea what Ramda was looking for, but he seemed to be trying hard enough to find it.
That's when they came across the clearing, and the woman lying in the center of it. Her skin was tanned, and her eyes bright purple. Rips and tears adorned her tattered clothes.
"Rape?" Dream thought. "No... Something doesn't seem right about this woman" Dream concentrated for a moment. A magic shield had been placed around the woman in the clearing. She penetrated it. "Dragonmen" She muttered. The Dragonmen; a feared race of half dragon half man creatures. Once Scythe had told her 'If you're ever in trouble you can look to the Dragonmen to save you' then Gaul explained that only two Dragonmen had proven to have been evil, Gigg, and Vangal.
Dream hadn't really understood what Scythe had meant, but Gaul's words were clear, stay away from those two Dragonmen. But what were the chances this would be one of them? Why would it choose another form, if it were evil it would be a general of Ramda, right?
Ramda stood and walked to the woman, his sword was drawn. The woman quickly moved from her sitting position to stand in front of Ramda. Then the changed began. Her hair started to disappear, her eyes became larger, and her skin rougher and it changed form tan to purple as scales emerged. Slowly the Dragonmen form appeared.
Ramda's face showed no emotion, though Dream could sense that he was happier then he had been. "Gigg? What are you doing here?"
"Gigg, it really figures." Dream muttered.
The two began their journey with a new addition to the group, the Dragonmen Gigg. They continued in silence, with the exception of a few comments from Gigg, who tried lightening the mood more then once with no luck. They settled down to rest at nightfall, and Dream fell peacefully asleep, though very worried, considering the chances of her escape now were zero.
The woman stood there again, where the darkness covered all. She saw and felt nothing, but the word Tristan flew through her mind. She felt as if she should be proud for hearing the word, and yet a deep emptiness was now apparent inside her and an extreme feeling of confusion and remorse flooded her body. So the woman cried out softly, and felt as if her mind was about to rip in two...
The thief Bastion watched the sleeping trio from a distance. "Nobles" He hissed "Scythe will be happy when she sees that I've disposed of them. The man she says is form the kingdom of Tristan, we're to leave him alone, but are to capture the defect Dragonmen and the woman before they make it to there destination, the Tower of Shadow"
The major next to him nodded, and motioned with his hand for the twenty troops surrounding them to move in.
Ramda lay there, wide awake, but not showing it. Gigg and Dream did the same, each waiting for the troops to move in closer before jumping into battle. They waited until the troops were feet away, and then they attacked, Gigg jumped up, and became a tornado of swiping claws. Ramda jumped up as well, but for a different reason. He grabbed Dream's wrist and pulled her to him, not trusting her to run on her own he flung her light body into his arms and they departed.
Leaving Gigg behind.
Dawn passed, and then midday. Still Ramda protectively help his captive until they were there. The Tower of Shadow. The tower itself was enormous, reaching to the clouds, and yet it couldn't be seen form even a short distance. Ramda let Dream down, and the two silently approached it.
"Are we here?" Dream thought. "Is this where he's going to take me? Why?" Millions of questions ran through her head. Fear and an odd feeling of remembrance echoed through Dream as Ramda pushed open the great mahogany doors. "You'd better hope Frest feels sorry for you and lets you live, apprentice." Ramda hissed as they walked down the hall of the tower. Only a flickering candle Ramda held lit the way.
"Frest?" Dream asked. The name sounded familiar but...
They walked a few feet farther before a man her view.
"Lord Frest." Ramda exclaim with a bow "I've completed my mission.
Frest nodded, his thick curly brown hair, much like Dream's flew around him as he turned to her.
"Welcome Dream, apostle of Death"
