Chapter 2

Roan 's mind raced as he fell towards the ground at an alarming speed. He cursed until he had no breath left and knew he had one chance…he would have to rely on the trees below and pray he didn't break his neck. He spread his arms and legs out to slow his fall, and tried to rid his mind of an image of a body print in the ground. As he neared the treeline, he gripped his sword tightly and hoped he could use it to stop his fall.

Roan touched the very top branches as he tensed up his body, waiting for the hit. Roan curled into a ball as he crashed through the branches. He hit several large branches, and crashed through the rest. As he neared the ground, Roan twisted in midair and dug his sword into a tree, hoping it would stop him. It didn't. His left arm twisted and broke as his momentum carried his towards the ground. He crashed in to ground, feeling something in his chest crack. He tumbled for about a minute before he came to a stop against a tree trunk.

Roan came to a few hours later. He swore as pain wracked his body, especially his arm and chest. He sat there with pain coursing through him, trying to remembered what happened. It all cam rushing back to him, when he glanced at a distant tree and saw his sword stuck in it. Despite being injured and stuck in the idle of nowhere with no food or water, Roan couldn't help but laugh. His chest burned as he did so, but he didn't care! Valter had tried to kill him, but failed!

Ha! Valter, you made the biggest mistake of your life! Because when I find you, I will make sure that I kill you! Roan though savagely. He slowly got to his feet, careful not to move his broken arm. He found a medium sized piece of wood, and broke it until it was arms length. He then tore a long piece of fabric from his now destroyed coat, as well as a much smaller one. He sat down against the tree his sword was stuff in and stuffed the cloth into his mouth. He griped his broken arm, which was hanging at an odd angle, took a deep breath, and pulled. His scream of pain was muffled by the cloth in his mouth as his arm moved back to where it should be. He quickly tied the piece of wood to his arm to act as a makeshift splint, and in a few minutes he was done. He took several deep breathes as pain still wracked his arm, though not nearly as badly.

Roan grinned as he remembered his friend teaching this to him. Reilan, finally I can thank you for showing me this…I would be in a lot of trouble if it weren't for you. Roan thought as he got to his feet. He looked up at his sword that was still stuck in the tree and decided to forget about it. There was no way that he was climbing up there with a broken arm. He reached for his spare short sword and found it was missing. He cursed his luck as he realized that it must have been ripped off his belt during his fall through the trees. Roan pulled out his dagger and made his way through the woods. He didn't have a particular location he wanted to go to, just that he needed to find water so he could camp for the night.

Roan trekked through the darkening woods , hoping he would find some kind of water before it got too dark. He was about to plop himself next to a tree when he spotted what appeared to be a small pond. He eagerly ran to the pond and knelt down, using his hand as a cup for the water. As he drank, Roan noticed the water tasted weird. He peered down into the water searching for the source, and at the very bottom, he could make out a form. Was it… a human body?

Roan moved his face closer to the water trying to see in the waning light what the object was . It was indeed a body, and as Roan was examining it, the body …moved! Before Roan could pull his face back, the body leapt toward him, and the next thing he knew, Roan felt razor sharp claws rake the side of his face, causing him to fall backward. Stifling groans of pain, he looked up at his attacker and felt a chill creep through his body…one he hadn't felt since the day his friend died.

The body was that of a long dead man, flesh rotting in many places, and its face…Roan shuddered. It was like something out those ancient texts about monsters…. Roan rolled to his feet, being careful of his arm. He circled the creature trying to provoke it into making the first move. Roan felt the blood pouring down his face and was beginning to feel lightheaded, so he knew he had to finish this quickly. He creature lunged toward Roan, giving him the chance he needed. Roan dodge to the side and stabbed the thing in the back. He kicked it a few time, pushing it back towards the water, then spun the apparently dazed zombie thing around and stabbed it in the forehead. The creature swayed for a moment, the fell into the pond with an echoing splash.

Roan watched the body for a moment to make sure it was dead, then pushed a hand against his face, trying to stem the bleeding. It was too much, and Roan collapsed to the ground, gritting his teeth as his vision faded. I will not die…I will not die…I will not…. His mind went blank as he passed out.

Roan awoke to find himself in a house. He was dressed in clean clothes that were oddly comfortable, and he notice his long sword was leaning against the wall next to him. He was sore, that was for sure. He examined his chest and found that it barely hurt, and was wrapped heavily in bandages.. His left arm was also wrapped in a much more sturdy splint. His face was also bandaged, all three deep cuts bandaged. Who the hell had done this? Roan slowly got to his feet, wincing when his chest hurt. He decided to wait until his mysterious savior appeared before he left. It was a mercenary's honor that dictated that he must thank whoever saved his life.

Roan wandered to a small bookshelf and checked out the titles, trying to keep himself busy until the owner returned. One book caught his eye. He pulled it out and flipped through, realizing that it was a book about ancient demons. He sat down on the bed and searched, looking for the thing that had attacked him last night. He stopped on a picture of a similar looking zombie creature. "The Revenant, vanguard of the Demon king. It is an undead abomination that served the Demon King during the great war many years ago."

So that thing…was a revenant? How could that be? Those demons are supposed to be long gone, thanks to the Sacred Stones…had something happened to them? Roan was thinking about all this when someone walked in the door, hood and cloak soaked by the pouring rain outside. Roan moved his hand toward his dagger, in case this person was hostile. The person shut the door and removed her hood, revealing indigo hair. Roan's jaw dropped when the person removed her cloak revealing a girl with…dragon wings?

Roan watched as the girl hung her hood and cloak on a hook on the wall and walked over to him, stopping in front of him. "Hello. I'm glad to see that your alright. My name is Myrrh. What is yours?" The girl asked.

Roan released his grip on the dagger as he realized that the girl meant him no harm, but was still cautious nonetheless. This girl had dragon wings , so that meant she wasn't normal. "I'm Roan. How did I get here? And where am I?" Roan asked. If he could find out where he was, he could formulate a plan of action to get back at Valter. He knew that he had been hired to protect Seth and Eirika, but they were on the other side of the continent. That couldn't be helped.

He was taken by surprise as Myrrh began checking his bandages and his splint, and nearly swore as Myrrh moved his arm the wrong way. He stopped himself, trying to keep his temper under control for the sake of the girl kind enough to treat his wounds. She finished up and sat down next to Roan on the bed. "Well, you are in Darkling woods, next to the theocracy of Rausten. I found you while I was out gathering food. You were badly hurt, and brought you back here. I even got your sword from out of the tree it was stuck in. I thought that you had fallen out of the sky, the way your sword was stuck there!" Myrrh said, smiling.

Roan smirked as he thought about it. "Well, you could say that…." Roan said quietly. He got to his feet and belted on his sword, and Myrrh grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going? You can't leave! It dark and stormy out there, and your hurt too. You'll die out there!" Myrrh said shocked. "Besides, I want you to come with me." She said solemnly, catching Roan by surprise.

"And what would you need me for?" Roan asked, suspicious. If this girl indeed was a dragon, there was no need to protect her. She could rip apart anything that stood in her way.

" There is an evil power flowing out of the South. I…I need to stop it." She said quietly. Roan thought about it. He had to repay her somehow. Roan had thrown a fit earlier when he realized his money was missing along with his sword, as he knew that no money meant no food. Roan decided to go with her, at least until they got out of the forest. Then he could hunt down that snake Valter.

" I guess I can escort you out of the forest. Then I have to go my own way. Understand?" Roan asked, not wanting to make her turn into a dragon and eat him.

"Ok then. Tomorrow we will leave when my friend gets here. Good night."Myrrh said before blowing out a candle and walking towards a doorway.

"Hey Myrrh?" Roan asked, causing her to stop.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Are you…a dragon?" He asked.

"Yes. Is there something wrong?" Myrrh asked, sounding nervous.

"No, not at all. Good night Myrrh." Roan rolled over and thought about the last few days. He'd fought Valter, fell out of the sky, survived it, fought a revenant with a knife and survived it, then met a dragon, who saved his life. He wasn't sure whether to consider himself lucky or cursed .