"Only the good die young. That is why immortality is reserved for the greatest of evils."
- unknown
Tripping and stumbling, running as fast as he could past the bones of previous victims Logan ran. Blind in the dark of the empty stone cavern with the thumping of his comrade's footfalls trailing behind him. Hideous cackles echoed through the inky blackness that encased them, That creature wasn't far behind, but none could see it, none really wanted to see it. They were terrified, grown men reduced to mere babes, crying for fear of what lurked in the dark, all those years that he had told Aia that monsters weren't real, oh how he had been wrong. He found himself shivering in a corner, back pressed into hard stone, the faintly shimmering purple barrier both his salvation and his downfall, his men huddled in fast, at least those that made it in time. Others were dragged off, their screams remained, taunting the one's who yet lived, a reminder that to step beyond the boundary of their meager light was to tempt certain death. Even so a few dared the dark to take them, being unable to stand the fear that it would get them eventually, they gave in, standing up and walking into the darkness.
Eventually the screams stopped and Logan's tired mind found refuge in his dreams, Vibrant fields of flowers from his homeland filled his vision, the light rush of a gentle breeze brushing by his cheek, ruffling his hair and bringing about the floral scent of roses. Staring up into the bright blue of the sky Logan let a smile take hold of his face. Light laughter sung out around him and Logan perked up, turning to try to see their source but meeting with air. The flowers around him moved as though someone were walking through them, and he felt a small hand grab his own, a body pressing into his side. He heard her voice, speaking to him as though nothing were wrong, as though she was not absent from his sight, recounting the tales of her day with Jasper in the marketplace, laughing at how he had stumbled on a wicker basket and caused an avalanche of tomatoes to roll down the street. Logan stared down to her, where her voice was coming from, feeling the soft fabric of her dress sleeves rub against his bare chest. This stroke him as odd, more so than not being able to see her, looking down he saw that his shirt had been removed and he stood in only his mud caked pants, small hand prints disturbing the dirt that had caked about his forearms and smearing the gritty substance about his cold skin. He shivered as he turned to look back to the field of flowers. Still bright and beautiful, he knew he was dreaming but he decided that he would enjoy it while he could, closing his eyes he listened to her voice, rambling on and on, but he could never tire of her stories. He sat down, welcoming the sensation of the flower tips tickling his lower back as they swayed in the wind.
Clouds had begun to move in, not an obscene amount but enough to block the sun from their view, the heat of midday beginning to boil down as he layed back in the flowers, still trying to listen to her but realizing that in truth she had stopped talking a long while ago, hands still holding his arm, but no voice making it's way to his ears. Again he looked down, hoping to see her but again being left with no sight but the flowers. He sighed, bringing up his free hand to lay across his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose before sitting up and dropping his hand into his lap, barely noticing the smear of crimson that laced his fingertips, confusion capturing him he looked down, examining his own hand, wet and sticky with blood he quickly wiped it against his pant leg before looking back down to Aia who still had hold of his arm. He reeled quickly, bloody prints coating his arm and no wound upon his flesh, his eyes widened, chocolate brown orbs flicking about the entire field, the clouds were growing dense and the sky had begun to turn a dismal grey, the color leeching from it's pastel blue depths, the flowers had begun to wither as well, leaves and petals wilting as their color drained. Night was fast approaching and all Logan wanted to do was run away, to the safety of his castle but he found himself stuck in place, watching the world around him drain of all color. The edges of his vision darkened until he was stuck within the last remaining circle of light, darkness had closed in on him, and that's when the screams returned. And the laughs, echoing within his head this time, surrounding him as he heard that ghastly voice begin to speak again. Taunting only him this time.
"You will never see her again, The children will devour her." It laughed, glass pulling across his skin, cutting deep and leaving him to bleed, Logan trembled. "She will wither and die, her light will snuff out, she will cry for her brother." It's voice broke into a trembling whimper, "BROTHER?! Help me! Please!" The wailing cries and screams returned in her voice, images of her enshrouded in a thick black goo, her bright eyes wide open and dimming into a dull grey, her screams turning into gurgles before finally fading into silence. Tears flowed freely from Logan's eyes now, his hands reaching out towards her decaying form even as the creature continued it's taunts. "Save her. She's asking you to save her, begging you for help, But you can't help. You left her for dead Big brother, left her for us, we will tear off her layers like a gift, savor her light, eat it away."
"No" Logan cried, curling up and covering his ears with his hands, the voice simply continued, agonizing verse after verse of broken speech revolving around her death, "no" he repeated, again and again he cried out in vain, "no no no no no no" His body shivered, a cold wind hitting him and bringing a chill to consume him, even still he cried, louder and louder until his whimpers became screams, drowning out the creature with his defiance, "NO! NO! NO! NOT HER!" Suddenly he stood, unwilling to hear anymore, unwilling to play the victim and lose his mind within the depths of his own dreams, his mouth opened to scream out against the creature but the air was sucked from his lungs. There before him stood a foul being, beige skin that stretched over hideous tentacles that hung from it's faces, black orbs stared deep within his own and Logan could feel himself become faint, the world darkening as the creature laughed, his faces and hands twitching about uncontrollably as the inky depths of his eyes seared themselves into Logan's mind.
Logan woke with a start, hands clutching at his eyes and chest heaving as his ragged breathing permeated the dead silence around him. Wide orbs scanning the darkness frantically, cobbled stone walls and an empty corridor bathed in purple light met him. And a nagging tone in the back of his mind took hold. Dead, they were all dead. He had killed them. Whispers floated by his ears, a child's laughter, and red eyes broke up the darkness before him. 'The children will devour her' he shuddered, these were the children, they were pure darkness, evil incarnate, and closing in fast. He scrambled away, nails scrabbling for purchase in the barrier, heartbeat racing to dangerous heights as he tried desperately to escape their grasp. Small hands closing in, grabbing at his shirt, tearing the sleeves off. He yelled, begging for some help before turning back to face his attackers, a glinting edge came rushing forward, just as the barrier behind him broke, and he fell backwards through the gap. The sword that was aimed for his head sliced through his lips and left a nasty gash upon his chest, somewhere in the recesses of his mind he registered that he should be feeling some kind of pain, but his panic was too great, he stood, turning on his heel and running as far away as he could with those creatures not far behind. Trails of crimson pain flowed down his face, dripping off of his pale skin onto the mottled cobblestone floor of the dilapidated halls he ran through.
His chest heaving, lungs burning with the force of his labored breaths, clammy blood caking his shirt to his chest, Logan managed to stumble out of the darkness and into the searing light of the Auroran desert. He stood blinded by the piercing light, the clouds from before were gone, how long had he been running? He couldn't recall, the past few days were filled with nothing but terror, seeing his sister torn apart, being hounded day and night by that creature with seemingly no end in sight. He never did see his crew mates again, they would be forever lost within that labyrinth of endless black, a ruin, now made tomb, a forbidden area, only he didn't know it. He could not know what had been reeking havoc here for so long, he could not possibly fathom the lives lost to the darkness, the ones being eaten away, the ones ending themselves in fear of it's return. Their strength was waning, but so was his own. He continued trudging through the vast fields of sand, being pelted with burning flecks of grit that caught upon the dry wind. He was so tired, but sleep meant death, both in the cave and out here. He didn't know if that thing would follow him, he couldn't risk it, he had so much to lose, so much to protect. His steps faltered, tired legs coming into contact with a patch of loose sand, sending him toppling down a dune and landing in a small pit of shade. Dark eyes slowly closed, seeking the reprieve of a sleep denied.
Aia walked down the hall to her daily class with Walter, Elliot trailing beside her with a handful of grapes in his hand. They laughed and joked, having become quite close in the months that his family had stayed in her castle, even if she did not think of him as anything but a friend she was glad that he was there. The time they spent together helped to further distract her from her brother's absence, a nagging fear that Logan too would never return just as her father had fallen to the land.
"-So my mom smacks his hand and tells him to wait for dinner" Elliot's jovial laugh breaks her from her thoughts, green orbs lock on brown and they fall into a fit of laughter, in truth she had missed most of what he had said but the look on his face as he popped another grape into his mouth had been hilarious. She would take laughter where she could get it, it was so rare. She spent all of her time studying and training with Walter. She was so proud of her progress, she could now be considered a fair fighter, noone close to her brother of course but she could train to the end of days and never be prepared enough to beat him. Returning her gaze to Elliot and raising a hand to wipe the tears from her eyes she smiles as he threads his arm through hers and escorts her to the training room where Walter awaited.
"So did you ever ask your mom if you could train with me?" Aia asks as she leans close enough to steal a grape from his hand and pop it into her mouth before he can protest, his lips scrunched up as he watched her bob her head from side to side, enjoying the juicy fruit as he sighed.
"She said yes but father overruled her, 'A noble need not take up arms like common rabble' " He said in a mocking tone, straightening his posture and walking with airs as though he were the most important man in all of Albion before sinking back down into his awkward gait, "I was really looking forward to it too, guess all i get to do is watch." Aia looked down to her feet in thought for a moment before perking up and nudging him with her elbow.
"At least you have snacks! You can wrestle Fenrir, he needs a partner too." She laughed, looking down at her overgrown mutt, he looked up with his bright eyes, thick tail thumping against the wall as he wagged it while happily trotting along beside them.
"Are you kidding me? He's the size of a horse I don't stand a chance!" Elliot exclaimed as he hurriedly popped the last grape into his mouth before looking over at the large dog that followed beside his friend. He had grown tremendously in the past few months, now being large enough to tower above him when raised on his hind legs.
"You should try giving him a bath." She rolls her eyes when Fenrir shrinks back away from her and goes to walk beside Elliot. "Big baby, you still smell like the chicken you stole from the kitchen a week ago." At which Elliot sputtered, grasping his stomach as he began to double over, she grinned, his laugh was so silly, a mixture of snorts and wheezes but it was just so him. Fenrir barked along with him, howling randomly, likely alerting the entire castle as to their position. Shaking her head she walked ahead of the two, determined not to be late to her training. She mentally checked over everything she should have needed, comfortable pants, a modest top that didn't have alot of sentimentality, she had learned to stop wearing nice garments to train in, as either the swords destroyed them or she ended up getting frustrated with the frilly fabric and ripped off arms or in one case the entire top. Walter had been so glad that she wore slips underneath her clothes that day, constantly reminding her that her father was the same way, making the palace tailors earn their keep. Smiling yet again she rested her hand upon her hip, feeling the metal handle of her dulled blade, she had finally moved past the sticks that Walter had insisted that she used while dueling. If only Logan could see her now.
He vaguely recognized the feeling of being dragged through the sand, trying to open his eyes and seeing nothing but a blinding white light until a wet rag was placed above them, he heard voices talking about him with strange accents and lilting vocals. He groaned, alerting them to his consciousness and he immediately felt the shift in treatment, being hoisted up by two people and carried into what he could only assume was a city. Startled gasps and confused voices flooded the air around him as one strong voice commanded that everyone let them through.
"Is he alive?"
"Did he come from the temple?"
"How did he get away?"
Voices and questioned blocked out the sound of the stairs he knew they were climbing, he could feel everything all at once, his lips, his chest, his arms and legs, his aching back, his bloodied hands, every little injury he sustained coming in full force and he moaned out in pain, even his throat hurt, his eyes...his eyes. He couldn't see anything before, was he blind? He shuddered in fear, hands trying to reach for the cloth covering his eyes and being restrained by calloused hands, a woman was beside him telling him not to move, that he'd only make it worse. Make what worse? He just wanted to know if he was blind, no wound he sustained should have been enough to cause this much pain, his entire body filled to the brim in agony, his cup wasn't just running over it was shattering, and he was pouring pain. Every gentle movement was worse than the last, and even when he was placed on a bed of straw and soft fabrics he couldn't escape it.
"Drink this, it will help." he heard the voice of an elderly woman tell him as a hand held onto the back of his head gently, to lift him to the clay cup she held so he could drink the acrid medicine she had concocted from roots and dried berried. He sputtered, almost heaving when the liquid hit his empty stomach, each rocking motion sending shots of lightning coursing through his body.
"Where am i?" He tried to ask, his voice coming out as near mindless babble and his lips, long since crusted over with blood, begging to split apart again, allowing for more trickles to flow down his grimy cheek.
"shh shh, sleep child, it will be easier to mend you once you are asleep." The voice once again ushered, hand grasping his own as she ran her palm against his head and hummed an off key lullaby to him, even with as many questions as he had Logan could not deny that he was very tired, wanting for nothing more than a nice long sleep. So he relaxed as best he could, even as each pulse of his heart reignited the flames of the numbing pain that coursed through him. At least the medicine seemed to have helped a little he mentally noted before drifting off.