Blooddrayne
Chapter 3: The Hopeless Fight
The drums had stopped. Like on a signal their column halted it's advance. Warm, stinking rain poured down their faces as if it wanted to drown them and the dark mud sucked at their boots. This land had been eating at them since they had first set foot on it; it drained their bodies, spirits and mind. The land of Urgath gulped them down like a hideous toad, only to spit the remains out across the ocean whence they had come. Where they belonged. Lightning shot across the sky and lit up the line of trees ahead of them. There lay the wood like a breathing tumor, its sweet, foul stench filling their nostrils and sticking to their bodies and clothing, while the rain filled their mouths. The drums had stopped, the wood was silent. Everyone waited for battle. Again, lightning flashed and she looked around to her comrades, saw their faces in the pale light, numb with pain and exhaustion. As the thunder began to roll, darkness enveloped them once more, leaving only the sound of their heavy breathing and the perpetual noise of rain. The wood around them remained silent. For the blink of an eye, as the next bolt of lightning lit up the sky, she made out a huge, hideous form between the trees; she saw the bloated body, the long, gnarly arms, the ugly skull and the enormous club the creature held in its claw. Then blackness returned. Trolls.
Like a curse the word spread through their ranks. None of the officers uttered a word, there were no calls to order. They were no more than a crowded pile of fear, fully aware that the wood would likely become their grave this night. The mud trembled under the onrush, only slightly at first, then like a quickened heartbeat. She did not know if the first row had even lowered their spears, but it would have made no difference - the short shafts were no match for what awaited them. They were soldiers of the sea, not land warriors. Then the beasts arrived like a thunderclap of deliverance. With an ear-splitting noise the trolls broke through their lines, the power of their attack crowding their bodies together like sheep at a gate. Stars danced before her eyes as her comrade's helmet threatened to crush her face. Desperately she fought against the wet iron and struggled for air. Ahead of them in the darkness she heard the ungodly sounds of battle, the cracking of the trolls' clubs and the death screams of her comrades. Like cattle they stood there, screaming, wedged together, waiting to die. Another bolt of lightning shot overhead and revealed their foes. There were not many trolls, but they passed through their ranks like a scythe through crops. The leaders with their leathery, scarred faces drove the others into our wall of spears, unrelenting with their tree-long chain whips. Again and again, the trolls' clubs mashed into the mass of men, crushing weapon and soldier alike, hurling them through the night like dolls. One of the others flew over their heads, then it was dark again. She rammed the shaft of her spear into the mud so as to not be buried beneath the waves of corpses. The sounds of battle came ever closer in the darkness, she could hear the roaring of the trolls, their primal screams full of pleasure and thirst for blood. Then her comrade's helmet was torn from in front her face, and she stood unprotected in the darkness. Blind and shaking with fear she raised her spear, its tip meeting resistance. She thrust it forward. The ensuing roar almost knocked her off her feet, and in the short light of another flash she saw what her spear had struck. Like a tower he loomed over her. His grey chest was wrapped in coarsely sewn leather, his dripping body pierced by broken spears. By all counts he should have been long dead, even before her spear had stuck into his breast, but the troll's roars where only full of rage, for the beasts knew neither pain nor fear of death. For a fleeting instant of light, they stared at each other, and he roared all his anger and wildness into her face before darkness fell. His club struck her, tossing her aside and sending her flying through the night. For a moment, she felt the wind around her, could not tell up from down, before the stinking mud finally engulfed her and with it the merciful darkness of unconsciousness. She woke surrounded by a dull sound like thunder, a sound that shook the mud under her broken body. A new day was dawning in Urgath, the stormclouds on the horizon were glowing in the crimson light of sunrise, highlighting the silhouette of the wood like a demonic aura. The tangly trees ensnared in rampant vines and the thousands of eyes that sough shelter there were lit up by an unholy glow, as though the land itself was satisfied with the bloody meal it had been served the night before. In the green ponds that night's rain had created lay the distorted corpses of her fallen comrades. She was alone, with only the omnipresent thunder as company. Painfully, she raised her head from the mud, seeking the origin of the sound. At that instant, they broke out of the undergrowth around her, grotesque shapes in the light of the rising sun. There were hundreds of them, hundreds and hundreds storming past her, an army of trolls at full march, and their onrush made the earth quake. Silent and paralysed she lay there, as growling shape after growling shape passed her in the morning fog, heading west. The fort was lost, their journey to this cursed land over once and for all. Then something huge, something disgusting broke out of the forest, the sight of which she could not describe, but which forced her broken legs to flee, away from this creature and the horrors of that place. But as she fled blindly through the undergrowth, something was always with her, mocking and taunting her like a foul breath on her neck.
Ginny woke up, tears streaming down her face. She had never seen something that horrible. She never had a dream that felt so real, caused her so much pain. Pulling her knees up to her chin, she rocked back and fort, silently crying. After an hour of crying, Ginny wiped her eyes and got out of the bed, padding over to the bathroom. She knew the girl would be waiting there, but she wasn't afraid. She needed to know.
Entering the dark bathroom, she looked over at the mirror, seeing nothing but her own reflection. Bending down, she opened the tap of the sink and sipped at the water. Wiping her mouth she looked up. With a yelp, she jumped back. Surrounded by hellfire, stood the little eyeless dead girl.
Ginny! The girl giggled, oblivious to the fire lapping at her skin. Ginny!
"Y-yes?"
Find her, Ginny! She's calling them. The Red Horde! Find her, Akasha Blooddrayne!
"Who is Akasha Blooddrayne?"
The girl giggled and winked at Ginny. Don't you know?
"No, I don't.. Tell me. Please?"
Hirin knows, Ginny. Hirin knows. You're a Seer, didn't you know?
"Stop with the riddles!" Ginny was getting angry. "Tell me, who is Akasha Blooddrayne!"
Didn't you know? Hirin knows! Find her, Akasha Blooddrayne. Oh, you found her!
"I..I did?" she said, confusion replacing anger. She saw the girl nod and bare her sharp, bloodied teeth.
Hirin knows. Go to Mor Duine. Hirin knows!
"I've already been to Mor Duine. Hirin saved me from those souls!"
He did, did he? He doesn't want a flood. Hirin knows!
And with those last words, the girl disappeared, waving at Ginny. She sat down on the bathtub, in thought. Hirin knows? But how do I get back to Hirin? To Mor Duine? And what did she mean, he doesn't want a flood? A flood of what? A flood of Mor Duine? And.. The Red Horde. In her first dream, the Red Horde was crawling up the pit. To her, to Akasha Blooddrayne. She was calling them, the girl had said. She had also said that she had found Akasha. But why didn't she know where Akasha was?
As Ginny walked out of the bathroom, she lifted up her head. While her head was filled with confusion, she did know one thing. She had to go. She had to leave Hogwarts.
*
A/N: Now we know more. I laugh because I know who Akasha Blooddrayne is, and you don't. And didn't I tell you, Hirin will come sooner or later. Well, I hope this was fun.
Caipirinha the Piranha
Chapter 3: The Hopeless Fight
The drums had stopped. Like on a signal their column halted it's advance. Warm, stinking rain poured down their faces as if it wanted to drown them and the dark mud sucked at their boots. This land had been eating at them since they had first set foot on it; it drained their bodies, spirits and mind. The land of Urgath gulped them down like a hideous toad, only to spit the remains out across the ocean whence they had come. Where they belonged. Lightning shot across the sky and lit up the line of trees ahead of them. There lay the wood like a breathing tumor, its sweet, foul stench filling their nostrils and sticking to their bodies and clothing, while the rain filled their mouths. The drums had stopped, the wood was silent. Everyone waited for battle. Again, lightning flashed and she looked around to her comrades, saw their faces in the pale light, numb with pain and exhaustion. As the thunder began to roll, darkness enveloped them once more, leaving only the sound of their heavy breathing and the perpetual noise of rain. The wood around them remained silent. For the blink of an eye, as the next bolt of lightning lit up the sky, she made out a huge, hideous form between the trees; she saw the bloated body, the long, gnarly arms, the ugly skull and the enormous club the creature held in its claw. Then blackness returned. Trolls.
Like a curse the word spread through their ranks. None of the officers uttered a word, there were no calls to order. They were no more than a crowded pile of fear, fully aware that the wood would likely become their grave this night. The mud trembled under the onrush, only slightly at first, then like a quickened heartbeat. She did not know if the first row had even lowered their spears, but it would have made no difference - the short shafts were no match for what awaited them. They were soldiers of the sea, not land warriors. Then the beasts arrived like a thunderclap of deliverance. With an ear-splitting noise the trolls broke through their lines, the power of their attack crowding their bodies together like sheep at a gate. Stars danced before her eyes as her comrade's helmet threatened to crush her face. Desperately she fought against the wet iron and struggled for air. Ahead of them in the darkness she heard the ungodly sounds of battle, the cracking of the trolls' clubs and the death screams of her comrades. Like cattle they stood there, screaming, wedged together, waiting to die. Another bolt of lightning shot overhead and revealed their foes. There were not many trolls, but they passed through their ranks like a scythe through crops. The leaders with their leathery, scarred faces drove the others into our wall of spears, unrelenting with their tree-long chain whips. Again and again, the trolls' clubs mashed into the mass of men, crushing weapon and soldier alike, hurling them through the night like dolls. One of the others flew over their heads, then it was dark again. She rammed the shaft of her spear into the mud so as to not be buried beneath the waves of corpses. The sounds of battle came ever closer in the darkness, she could hear the roaring of the trolls, their primal screams full of pleasure and thirst for blood. Then her comrade's helmet was torn from in front her face, and she stood unprotected in the darkness. Blind and shaking with fear she raised her spear, its tip meeting resistance. She thrust it forward. The ensuing roar almost knocked her off her feet, and in the short light of another flash she saw what her spear had struck. Like a tower he loomed over her. His grey chest was wrapped in coarsely sewn leather, his dripping body pierced by broken spears. By all counts he should have been long dead, even before her spear had stuck into his breast, but the troll's roars where only full of rage, for the beasts knew neither pain nor fear of death. For a fleeting instant of light, they stared at each other, and he roared all his anger and wildness into her face before darkness fell. His club struck her, tossing her aside and sending her flying through the night. For a moment, she felt the wind around her, could not tell up from down, before the stinking mud finally engulfed her and with it the merciful darkness of unconsciousness. She woke surrounded by a dull sound like thunder, a sound that shook the mud under her broken body. A new day was dawning in Urgath, the stormclouds on the horizon were glowing in the crimson light of sunrise, highlighting the silhouette of the wood like a demonic aura. The tangly trees ensnared in rampant vines and the thousands of eyes that sough shelter there were lit up by an unholy glow, as though the land itself was satisfied with the bloody meal it had been served the night before. In the green ponds that night's rain had created lay the distorted corpses of her fallen comrades. She was alone, with only the omnipresent thunder as company. Painfully, she raised her head from the mud, seeking the origin of the sound. At that instant, they broke out of the undergrowth around her, grotesque shapes in the light of the rising sun. There were hundreds of them, hundreds and hundreds storming past her, an army of trolls at full march, and their onrush made the earth quake. Silent and paralysed she lay there, as growling shape after growling shape passed her in the morning fog, heading west. The fort was lost, their journey to this cursed land over once and for all. Then something huge, something disgusting broke out of the forest, the sight of which she could not describe, but which forced her broken legs to flee, away from this creature and the horrors of that place. But as she fled blindly through the undergrowth, something was always with her, mocking and taunting her like a foul breath on her neck.
Ginny woke up, tears streaming down her face. She had never seen something that horrible. She never had a dream that felt so real, caused her so much pain. Pulling her knees up to her chin, she rocked back and fort, silently crying. After an hour of crying, Ginny wiped her eyes and got out of the bed, padding over to the bathroom. She knew the girl would be waiting there, but she wasn't afraid. She needed to know.
Entering the dark bathroom, she looked over at the mirror, seeing nothing but her own reflection. Bending down, she opened the tap of the sink and sipped at the water. Wiping her mouth she looked up. With a yelp, she jumped back. Surrounded by hellfire, stood the little eyeless dead girl.
Ginny! The girl giggled, oblivious to the fire lapping at her skin. Ginny!
"Y-yes?"
Find her, Ginny! She's calling them. The Red Horde! Find her, Akasha Blooddrayne!
"Who is Akasha Blooddrayne?"
The girl giggled and winked at Ginny. Don't you know?
"No, I don't.. Tell me. Please?"
Hirin knows, Ginny. Hirin knows. You're a Seer, didn't you know?
"Stop with the riddles!" Ginny was getting angry. "Tell me, who is Akasha Blooddrayne!"
Didn't you know? Hirin knows! Find her, Akasha Blooddrayne. Oh, you found her!
"I..I did?" she said, confusion replacing anger. She saw the girl nod and bare her sharp, bloodied teeth.
Hirin knows. Go to Mor Duine. Hirin knows!
"I've already been to Mor Duine. Hirin saved me from those souls!"
He did, did he? He doesn't want a flood. Hirin knows!
And with those last words, the girl disappeared, waving at Ginny. She sat down on the bathtub, in thought. Hirin knows? But how do I get back to Hirin? To Mor Duine? And what did she mean, he doesn't want a flood? A flood of what? A flood of Mor Duine? And.. The Red Horde. In her first dream, the Red Horde was crawling up the pit. To her, to Akasha Blooddrayne. She was calling them, the girl had said. She had also said that she had found Akasha. But why didn't she know where Akasha was?
As Ginny walked out of the bathroom, she lifted up her head. While her head was filled with confusion, she did know one thing. She had to go. She had to leave Hogwarts.
*
A/N: Now we know more. I laugh because I know who Akasha Blooddrayne is, and you don't. And didn't I tell you, Hirin will come sooner or later. Well, I hope this was fun.
Caipirinha the Piranha