The Lost Soul

by The Simple Writer of Fiction

Wimblegurk Brigade's Challenge; Here I found myself, lost and wandering, seeking my home and self. Who am I? And why do I keep going on? Waking and dreaming, I stumble forward with decision most harsh bequeathed to me to decide, and a challange I must pick and and endure. War is coming, and my time to search for home and self are gone. Hear the tale of a Lost Soul, hear my tale.

HERE I WRITE, FOR NONE BUT MYSELF...

THE LOST SOUL

CHAPTER 1

Why Am I Here?

I awoke weary and laid flat upon a grassy mound as rain began to pour down. My eyes feasted upon a grey sky canvas coloured by flashes of lightning, and my ears entertained by the drumming of thunder. Fear sank into my heart like the fangs of a viper releasing their venom, my eyes darting from one corner to another, taking deep rapid breaths. My throat felt coarse and dry like the scorching rays of yellow touching seas of sand, feeling hard to swallow anything, even my own spit felt like I was swallowing a rock.

I was naked, my rear touching the cold damp ground sending shivers up my spine, and my loins feeling the brunt of the downpour shrunk and shrivelled under the cold air. I had nothing on me, my vessel felt weak and as if a small breeze of wind to topple me over.

Forcing myself up, pain laced over my entire vessel like lightning striking through my veins, starting from my left side. I took my first step, yet quickly I lost my balance and turned into a stumble. I rolled down the hill, tumbling in the rain and fell onto a bed of white flowers.

Pulling myself up once again, I hissed, taking a sharp breath as I felt a sting against my side. I looked down, near about to scream as my eyes showed me a malformed dagger piercing my left side. I gripped the hilt of the dagger, slowly pulling it back yet tears, which the rain would wash away, rolled down my face and I let go, recoiling back as if I were touching fire. I let out a whimper, grabbing the dagger hilt once more, I took quick rapid deep breaths as I yanked the knife out of my side, letting out a scream as I placed my hand over my side. My eyes looked around the entire field, the grassy mound I laid upon was a pound of white within a sea of white, flowers devoid on my hill yet everywhere else flowers grew.

My hearing came to, moving past the booming thunder and fixating on the distant sound of rushing water caught my attention. My fingers twitched, life surging to the ends of my vessel, and with this ember in my chest I began to drag myself forward, and again my steps turned to a stumbling fall to my knees. I crawled myself the rest of the way, my legs betraying me each time I tried to walk.

With each passing minute, I felt the blood leaving my vessel, I could feel the tips of my fingers become numb. I couldn't look at the wound, just the mere thought of it made my stomach churn like the grinding of rusted gears.

As I crawled, chill began to seep into my bones, I shivered greatly as I felt the cold wind brush against my damp nude vessel. Yet I stopped, pushing myself on my knees as my eyes gazed upon another naked man, dead this time, a malformed javelin pinned him to the ground, his blood painted the grass green for where he laid was void of flowers. I crawled up to the corpse, trying to find something on them, yet all it was was that damned javelin. I yelled in frustration, if I were able to speak I cursed at the top of my lungs for still I remained alone, unknown and unknowing to the world entirely. I returned to crawl towards the water source.

Hours, or perhaps seconds for time seemed like an illusion to my dying vessel, passed before I collapsed. I couldn't tell how long I had been crawling, each direction I looked was just rolling hills of grass and white flowers. Eventually, as my vessel betrayed me and my strength fled me, I couldn't move any more. Rolling onto my back I gazed up at the grey coloured sky. If I was crying I couldn't tell, for the rain washed away any such sorrow.

It was at that point I realized, I don't have any memories. Not my name, not my birthday, I didn't even know what I looked like. I felt lamentation not for the fact I was dying, but I didn't know why I was dying. I didn't know anything, everything seemed meaningless, 'Why am I here?' I thought to myself. Still the rain wouldn't grant me the catharsis of crying, for it washed those tears away like crashing waves eroding away the castle of sand.

Yet even through all that, the rain pouring down on me, chilled to the bone, and no memories of my empty vessel, I could still hear that distant sound of rushing water. I don't know why I was so attracted to that source of water, I just know I wanted to get there. For whatever reason, I could feel the touch of blue against my skin, the breath of white brush past green under the warmth of the yellow light, a memory or a dream I knew not which, but I knew I had to get to that running water. I pushed and pulled myself forward, rolling back on my front I dug my fingers deep into the ground, pulling at the roots of the grass as I crawled forward.

With a trail of my own blood left behind as I crawl forward, my strength ever fading with me only relying on a fool's sense of hope. Each passing moment I still felt my life fade, my breathing became difficult several times and the feeling of suffocation gripped me whole. My fingers dug deep, my arms pulled forward threatening to strain my muscles. Gritting my teeth I fell, my vessel falling limp.

As my vision blurred, the rain washing any possible tears, I could see it in the distant horizon and hear it in the wind. The whites of the river's rapids curling forward in a rushing stampede called to my sights. I gritted my teeth, and once more I dug my bleeding numb fingers and dirt covered numb feet into the ground. I pulled with fingers and pushed with my feet, my muscles scream in agony as the warmth of life fades from me.

I made it, to the rapid water of life, the waters calmed before me as if they knew my presence. The whole river calmed, yet still the skies thundered, lightning flashed, and rain poured on my dying vessel. I looked into the waters, there I saw my reflection. My breath halted, my eyes widened and filled with fear, the look of a man frozen in fear.

I looked exactly like the other corpse, the other naked man who laid dead upon the field. My long flowing blonde hair draped down my vessel, my golden yellow eyes reflected back at me the look of a dying man whose world just broke before him. My features were refined, elegant, my physique was slim yet strangely athletic, the vessel of a warrior. Yet something remained off, I clear was a man, looked like a man, I had the main feature of a man, yet I looked like a uncanny version of myself, an oddly perfect blend of feminine features layered on top of masculine features- perfectly androgynous- looking like I didn't quite match either males or females yet paradoxically I could fit both, a look too alien and serene. And my ears, they were long and pointed.

I tried my best to shake my fear down, that sinking in my chest that slowly began to feel like a void. I placed my hands into the calmed river, cupping some water with one free hand before drinking the water in hopes of drowning the fear away. As I satiated my thirst, relief of water blessing my throat with its ever giving gift of life, I cupped more of the water to place on my wound to clean it out as best as I could.

My strength wanned, I fell and rolled on my back. Rain poured on my nude freezing vessel, the creeping feeling of dread seeped my being, drowning the remaining hope away. I voiced out a sound, a mixture of sadness, anger, and madness malformed into a mockery of laughing. That laughter turned to screams as I slammed my first against the wet grassy ground, those screams slowly becoming wails as I began to pull at the roots of my hair. These raging emotions inside me that I couldn't understand, consuming me despite the fact I don't even know who I was or even why I am here. I felt deep emotions of loss and loneliness, mixed with an emotion I cannot describe in one word- a sense of a longing for something beyond, something more, to see the beauty that is just beyond the horizon and mountains.

As I began to close my eyes, my heart almost slowing to a still, I heard it in the wind. The distant sound carried by the wind, the noise of mighty bellows that sound like waves crashing against rocky cliffs. The metallic screams that echoed out from such epic clashes of weapons, it sent an electric response down my spine. I clenched my fist, and I stood, strength returned to me like a blazing flame igniting.

I RAN, leaping across the river in a single bound as my feet raced across the wet grass field. I laughed with joy, I was RUNNING, my legs and feet moved forward at a speed I didn't think was possible. Freedom is the word I could only describe as I ran, the air that blew through my hair, the rain hitting my vessel. Even the feeling of my legs burning didn't dull this sense of joy and freedom.

As I reached the top of a small mound, I leapt forward laughing as I did. My laughter turned to a scream as I failed to realize the mound was in fact a cliff that I had just jumped off of. Reactively I gripped onto the cliff at the last second, managing to hold on as I began to pull myself up. It was there I glanced down, the fall wasn't high, I could jump and roll down the cliff side, but eyes instantly locked onto figure down below.

A foul creature of green skin with an olive undertone, almost like a sickly green with pale red eyes making them look. They were round and chubby but had clear natural muscles under the fat, for they wield large wooden clubs the size of an average man. Large protruding bottom canines overlapped their top lip and made them appear as if they had tusks like that of a pig or a hog. Some of them had no hair, others had long dark brown hair with green greasy undertones. They wore simple light brown tunics over their body.

My eyes gazed upon that creature, I noticed more of them, before finally noticing the entire battlefield. I was atop a rocky cliff overlooking a valley where two forces battled one another, those of the creatures that brought a great anger in me, and those who looked similar to me but clearly not like me. They dressed a bit more than the foul creatures, and they appeared more…. normal? I suppose that is the word that came to my mind. They wielded metal not stone.

The pure sight of that creature, something that was filled with harsh hard emotions, a burning in my chest, a furrowing of my brow, I gritted and barred my teeth as a growl escaped my mouth. I jumped, landing on my feet to slide down the cliff, dust and debris left in my wake as I moved down the entire cliff side.

I tumbled on my front, quickly getting up using my own hands to boost me forward as I ran to the nearest creature. An emotion of red drowned all others, the blood boiled in my veins, my teeth barred like a tiger growling, practically running on all fours. I could only feel the faint familiar emotions, something I haven't felt for what seemed like bygone eras in the far distant past. For a moment as I charged, the emotion of hiraeth left, but only for a moment, as that blazing fire of red took hold of my spirit. And like the flashing of thunder, for the faintest moment, I felt at home and serene, the sounds of war and battle calling me to whatever distant realm my home was before, I felt at peace during my charge before death combat.

With a feral growl I leapt forward, mounting the nearest creature on its back, my legs locking around its neck. I slammed my fist against its head, with all my natural might I dazed and seemingly caught the creature off guard as it swung its large wooden club around. I grabbed around its eyes, and I pierced the eyes of the creature using my index and middle fingers of both hands. I pulled at the edges of the creature's eyes, letting out screams that sounded like the wails of a dying animal. It dropped its wooden club down, trying to pry me off with its brute strength. Having lost its eyesight, wailing and thrashing around, I pulled with all my strength, letting my legs go and planting my feet on the creature's back. Using my feet, I pushed against the creature's back with my feet and pulled at the edge of its eyes with my hands. Its wails became strained as its neck began to stretch out, flesh ripping off, and with a final push the head came off with the entire spine as I fell to the ground. Under the grey sky, the rain pouring and thunder bellowing, I must have looked like a demon of malice ripping and tearing at this foul creature with bare hands.

I stood up, my long blonde hair in front of my face as I looked up, several of the creatures having noticed me clearly. I rushed for the creature's large wooden club, one of the creatures reacting bolt forward slamming its club downward. I pivoted to the left, as I did I slipped around the creature, grabbing the club of the creature I just killed.

With the momentum I've built up, I spun around and slammed the club right into the knee of the creature that just attacked me. Before I could finish it off, two more charged me, one trying to grab me, but I did a quick pivot back. They tumbled to a fall, narrowly hit me with their club. I tried to retaliate, but the creature was faster and slammed its bare fist against my face. The force of the punch felt as if I just got it hit by a boulder.

I stumbled back, the large club, which I could only drag around on the ground, fell out of my hands. The two creatures able to walk charged forward, letting out war cries. I bolted up, dodge back as a club slammed down, parts of the ground breaking away. With a roar of my own I dashed forward, pivoting around the creature as they tried to attack me. My agility was my saving grace, I could take one or maybe at most two hits from their clubs, so I had to keep back yet go in close to attack.

Yet still even knowing this, the feeling of a blazing flame raging at the sight of these creatures told me to throw caution to the wind. I dashed forward, and at the last second I could, I jumped back just in time for one of the creatures to slam their club at me. Ducking under the attack, I leapt forward, grabbing onto their head, and as they tried to use their free hand to grab me, I bit down on one of their fingers and pulled back hard, their finger coming off as I spit it to the ground. The creature roared and slammed, I moved around the creature, pushing off of them on their back and into the club of the other creature. Its club slammed into the other creature's head, turning it into a mush of red.

Turning on a heel, I stepped forward into a dash, pivoting to the side to grab one of the clubs that had fallen down. Before the creature could react, with a spin I slammed the club into its back, the sound of the spine breaking brought a sadistic smile to my lips. Flowing into another slam, and using my legs to lift, I brought the club as high as I could muster, I slammed the club down onto the creature's head. I dropped the club, a chuckle escaping me as I looked at my hands. The strength I possessed shocked me, even if for a moment I could lift such a club in the air, which felt as if it weighed like three trees, still amazed me.

Before I could even react to another one of those creatures charged at me, I noticed at the last second but I couldn't do anything to react. The creature tackled me to the ground, my back slamming into the ground, I let out a growl and slammed my head forward against the creatures, blood dripping down my forehead. I recoiled back, the headbutt hurting me more than the creature. It pinned me down, placing its massive hands around my neck, squeezing down hard. I began to feel light headed, my vision blurring, and my breathing began to stop. I pushed my hands forward, grabbing the back of the creature's head, pulling it down and I bit, I bit as hard as I could, biting its ear off which caused the creature to punch me right across the face as it recoiled back. I spat out blood, I felt as if it nearly dislocated my jaw.

I reached out once more with my hands, grabbing the creature's much larger head. I began to squeeze and I jabbed my fingers into the creature's head. It let out a scream as it still squeezed hard around my neck, I would've screamed but I had no air in my lungs to do so. My strength faltered, my hands fell as I felt life begin to leave me once more. I lost consciousness, my last sight was this foul creature strangling me. I would have died there.

The sound of a whistling sword slashing through the air, the war cries of rabid soldiers charging. My vision came to me and left many times, I could only catch the faintest glimpse of a red blur swinging a sword the size of a man around with herculean might. I laid on the ground, my muscles burning with pain and my neck feeling lifted from abuse, yet something made me boil and heavy with unbridled emotions.
'Battle. Why does that word sound like home, and why do I…. feel this emotion of red and fire when I lay? My vessel screams to rest, but my spirit demands to battle…. Who am I?' I couldn't move, for it felt like five hundred stones pinned me down. Still the music of battle surrounded my hearing, and implored me to dance among the combat.

My sight returned to me, and so did the rest of the agonizing sense. My vessel wailed, every fibre of my bones and muscles cried in the torrent like a thousand venomous needles piercing my nerves. I took a deep breath, catching fresh air that cooled my flaming lungs. Rain still poured down on me, for once I thanked the rain for it mend the pain away albeit only for brief moments. I raised my hand forward, noticing blood had gotten on me, and slowly like molasses I realized the foul creature that was strangling me was cut in half, its guts and blood poured all over me just to be washed away in the rain.

I tried to stand by the wound in my side from the dagger I pulled out and the hits I took from the foul creatures caught up with me. I couldn't move, even if my spirit could still fight my vessel couldn't. Whatever fueled me with that sudden rush of stamina left me, all I could do was watch. My eyes finally saw him, the leader clad in black and red, the banner of a dog head on a red field emblazoned upon his cloak like a mighty banner, and he wields a massive sword the size of a man and thick as metal slabs.

The leader bolted forward, not allowing the creatures to take the initiative. He pivoted back, and spun in place as he swung his sword, in one strike he cut the creature in half. I leapt back, a club slamming where he was, a single after image left in place. A quick dash thrust through the creature killed it, and with swiftness he pulled the sword upward just in time to block an attack from a club that pushed the leader back. Even if his strength was great, the foul creatures clearly were just naturally more strong than him.

Staggering back, he used his sword like a shield, the centre of the blade protecting him from another brutal hit from the creatures club. Yet he wouldn't allow them to surround him, in quick blazes and constant spins with his greatsword, he kept the crowd controlled and dictated the flow of battle. With his mastery of the sword, he sidestepped into a quick slash that turned to a spin that kept the creatures at bay. 'I see, the greatsword he uses allows him to keep constant spins, never does he allow his back to be exposed, that's what the spins are for,' I thought to myself, some small infinitesimal part of me awakened along with old knowledge.

A single club that slammed into his chest, breaking part of his scale mail armour, pushed him back several metres. Falling to one knee, he gasped for breath, and yet he smirked. "Kin, now! Rain fire!" He roared, and on his command several blasts of blazing flames exploded around him. The leader bolted to me, placing his massive sword and cloak around the two of us to cover from the flames. Before the creatures could even realize what had happened, great orbs of fire landed in front of them and exploded in fiery blazes. The sound of the creatures howling in pain from the flames continued for another minute as more sounds of exploding fire blast raged around us.

"Clear!" A voice yelled back to the leader. He stood up, glancing around as he raised his sword, prepared to cut any creature that made their way towards him. As the smoke cleared, all the creatures laid as nothing but charred corpses, smoke rose from them. I got a good solid look at the man, a fellow who stood taller than me, near as tall as half of those foul creatures, he wore a black scalemail armor over a heavy dark brown leather vest, a red pauldron and black gauntlet protects his right side, his left side almost entirely unprotected, a long flowing red cloak is donned over all his clothing and armor. The rest of his clothing is a patchwork of dark brown and red heavy leather clothing with the occasional minor black scalemail protecting vitals.

With a heavy sigh the leader stabbed his sword into the ground. He looked around, more of his men came around him. Observing his group, he nodded his head, "Not a single one dead….. That's impressive! If it hadn't been for this lassie here some of us would have died! She took on several orcs by herself!"

One of the men walked up, wearing an open olive leather jerkin over a bare torso, green trousers and brown boots covering his lower half. His hair is a light brown slicked back, and eyes are also light brown. Around his belt are two short swords of the finest craftsmanship, "Uh captain…. That isn't a girl, that is a man…. Very well endowed one too."

The leader took a double take, something short of disappointment ran through his eyes. "Well colour me intrigued…. Very well," he says as he reaches his hand forward, "Think you can stand?" I shook my head, my vessel began to reel from the pain, almost like something numbed it but after that left it hit me like a bolt of lightning. "Heh, well still impressive you held your own against that many orcs, even took a few punches from them too! I've seen one of their punches turn a common man's head into brain matter," he says as I accept his hand, pulling me up a bit where I stumble around, he catches me as he pats me on the back. "Come, we'll get you a healer so you can rest, and perhaps you can tell us who you are?"

I nodded my head. They took me back to their tents, a bunch of jumbled together leather tarps under trees, makeshift wooden barricades and palisades protecting this camp. Green shrubs and leaves gave it some moderate camouflage. Further into the camp, I could see that many more buildings have slowly become more permanent, as what I assume to be the leader's quarters has slowly been built into a small wooden shack, along with several different other buildings.

They took me into a far more well kept wooden shack, the exterior dressed in wooden idols of some religious make. The interior was far more nice, it smelt of pleasant herbs that soothed my wailing lungs, it had a total of ten silk cots with silk curtains around them but all of them remained unoccupied and clean. The man who had been caring for me dropped me, letting go of me only for me to stumble forward and as I was about to fall I was caught. I looked back at the man, who stood in shock and awe as he took a few steps back with him being unable to mutter a single word at all instead he just screamed.

Several more men ran to the wooden shack, each at a loss for woods and unable to move. Eventually the leader moved forward, pushing a few of his men out of the way, and even him stood in amazement. "The Reincarnation of the Goddess…. what are you doing here?" he asked, almost a stuttering mess as he and the rest of his men got on one knee as they bowed their heads.

I look up, and see a woman who appears very much like me. They have long flowing golden blonde locks of hair, reaching down her entire body, her green eyes reflecting a great amount of wisdom and kindness along with age, her white and gold outfit reveals a lot of her especially around her breast and loins, various gold jewellry adorn her body with a leaf crown on her head, and most striking to me was her long ears very similar to my own. She looked young, mid twenties at the latest. The woman looked down at me, my legs would not allow me to stand but even on my knees I was around her height.

"I wished to see the battle's aftermath, to help and mend any wounds you noble soldiers would have endured," she said, looking down at me as a gentle smile spread across her lips, "Ar cna ven-yr-o mime wer-," she spoke in a tongue I know, those words reverbing in my soul, "And to see the one of my own."

And to her I would have spoken my first words, I would have said something, and just as I were to speak I fell into slumber. My body was weak and my spirit was calmed, nothing kept me up in the waking world. I could not do anything to fight it, for all I could do was accept my rest. The woman they called the Goddess held onto me, her smile never fading from her lips as her green eyes reflected a welcoming nature. My last sight was of her leaning down, and giving me a kiss upon the forehead, whispering, "Celenmar ber-merdi."

"Welcome home."