Luctatur et dolor. Mortalitatis veritas.
Its cold.
Very cold.
And wet.
A mere second later, my eyes snap open.
Wheres my roof?
The unfamiliar motion of my lips curling down follows, and I sit up.
I hold out my right hand, palm open, facing the sky.
A droplet of water splatters against it, seeping into my callouses.
I look up.
There is no white plastered roof.
There is open sky, filled with dark clouds, with a bright moon peeking through.
Wrong.
This is wrong
I school my expression, bracing my hands beneath me, my fingers sink into wet grass and mud as I push myself to my feet.
The stiff collar of my favourite coat rubs against my chin, I pull at it, my muddy fingers leaving an annoying residue.
Someone changed me
My eyes scan the night horizon, idly working my jaw as I survey my more immediate surroundings.
They are completely unfamiliar. And there is no-one around.
How?
I narrow my eyes, patting down my damp coat, rubbing my hands on my trousers to remove the last of the mud. I glance at my boots.
The socks underneath are soaked, both the socks and boots are my favourites.
Any delusion of this being a dream was exactly that, a delusion. Made sure due to the far to real feelings and sense of this situation.
I tug my beanie over my left eye, rubbing my right as I let out a soft sigh.
Familiarize
My lone uncovered eye glances up at the moon.
Rises from East, sets at West.
Time... Most likely around midnight. Halfway, slight hanging on... East? Abit earlier than midnight.
If facing East, left is North, right is South
I turn North, and move my focus to surveying my surroundings again, taking note of the bundle of slow rising hills to the north, a tight knitting of relatively tall trees to the east, and a small lake between them
I turn the opposite way.
Vast plains and grassfields, stretching for miles, from South to West and North, something akin to a path snakes through it.
I pull my beanie off of my left eye, flicking aside some wet brown hair and rubbing my nose.
This is wrong
But theres nothing to do, but walk.
No answers to be found here
My fingers twitch and curl, I stuff my clenched fists into my coats pockets and hunch forward.
I start South-West at a brisk pace.
/-
When I get closer to the path, I realize that the path is less a path and more a trail, well worn, the grass pushed into the ground, with dirt — now mud — ontop and trodden down by thousands of travelers.
Unimportant
I follow along.
Its still raining, infact its grown worse, although only by a small amount. My coat is thourougly soaked, my dark grey dress shirt is made darker by the amount of water in it, the T-shirt underneath is no better either.
My lips twitch down for a moment as I tug at my two shirts collars.
I glance up at the sky, my eyes roam along the clouds until I see the end of them. An end thats far away.
My lips twitch again, and I keep moving.
Minutes turn to an hour, there is no visible change in geography.
An hour stretches to another, there is still no change.
By the third I pause, my legs ache and Im soaked entirely, I hold back the shivers but not for much longer, I glance up at the moon, a rough estimate of time...
0200. 0300?
I click my tongue, my eyes flicking towards a nearby tree. A short debate runs through my mind, and a minute later I find myself sat underneath its abundant foliage.
Its far from perfect coverage, but it works well enough.
I recline against its hardy trunk, pulling my beanie over my eyes.
Risky. Chance of dangerous Wildlife?
With a sigh I pull my beanie up from my right eye, keeping my left covered.
Stay awake, but rest
Water drips from my hair, trailing down my face, down my chin, down my chest.
I cant stop myself from shivering.
My eyes grow unnaturally heavy suddenly, I struggle to keep them open, I try to move but I cant.
My limbs are like lead, a smell well of panic swells in my throat, I push it down.
Before I can try to move again, my eyes shut, and sleep claims me.
/-
Six eyes. All red.
They stare at me.
Teeth, Impossibly big.
They snap at me.
Claws, scales, a body so immense, so impossible-
And very familiar.
The six eyes that glow red fade, and in their place is a sigil, upon a cloak.
An insignia based upon those malicious and frankly, evil eyes.
Six eyes, lines intersecting each and coalescing into a twisting narrow spiral.
I shudder, something unfamiliar to me.
A voice, loud yet quiet, echoes in my mind, their words light and heavy;
"The Fell Dragon stirs"
Before I can even think to speak, I-
.
.
-Wake up.
My eyes flutter open, and my right twitches, I shake my head, trying to quicken the loss of grogginess.
I slowly push myself up, my back braced against the tree I slept against.
What was that?
I shake my head again, a sharp pain stabbing through my mind as I remember that strange dream.
Red eyes. Six. Teeth, Scales, Claws
Dangerous, yet impossible, a fantasty.
Yet that fear was real
Irrelevant. Such an occurence is not rare.
For others
I pull my beanie up over my hair, opening my left eye. I glance up at the sunny, clear sky.
"Too long"
The sun is almost halfway through the sky.
I look back at the trail, still wet and muddy, my clothes are the same.
I step back onto the trail and start to walk.
My mind wanders back to the dream.
Those eyes are familiar.
That sigil was too.
And the voice, the words spoken, the title said...
"Fell... Dragon..."
An epiphany is close, yet it remains just out of reach, I grasp at it again and again, and fail to grab hold each time.
I shake my head and focus on walking, I fall into a light jog.
Minutes go by.
My neck and back aches, most likely from my choice of bed and the sleeping position used.
Minutes turn into a half hour, and then an hour.
My pants have dried by a miniscule amount, as have the front of my dress shirt, my coat still drips however, and my first shirt still clings to my chest. My socks remain wet aswell, and it is an unpleasant feeling.
Another hour passes, the trail has not changed much, nor have my surroundings, I sigh and-
Smoke
I smell it. Smoke.
I tear my eyse from the ground, my head snapping up with speed and my eyes locking onto a massive plume of dark smoke that arches high into the sky.
Too large for a mere campfire, a bonfire?
My eyes narrow as I quicken my pace.
No. A forest fire?
I fall into a sprint.
Unlikely, too much rain
... Than what?
I hear the first scream as I stop atop a small hill.
My eyes lock onto the burning village.
From where I stand, I hold a perfect view of the blazing disaster. And more than that, I can see death, caused not by the wild flames...
But by man.
Axe, sword, spear, weapons of old bared against other.
My hands shake as I withdraw them from my pockets, my breath hitches as I catch sight of something-
Horrific
At the edge of the villages perimetre, body curled, legs drawn up, and bleeding, bleeding bleeding bleeding-
Is a child
The debate in my mind is cut short, wiped away in an instant.
My legs move, move before I can think again, my arms pump back and forth as I lean forward, sprinting, running, faster, faster faster, be faster-
I see the killer, I see him.
Standing over her.
My eyes flash, gold lines form over my fists and forearms, flames the same brilliant shine ignite, as an axe is brought higher, higher- no, god! Im to slow...!
The axe arcs down.
My arms snap up...
.
.
Its happening again
Outrealmer
Prologue
.
Disclaimer: I own only my OC(s), Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo
Aaron Dawn: Not a normal man. Thats for sure. He- Ive, got some baggage in this story, and some powers.
What a surprise.
Review if you want, follow if you want, favourite if you want. Farewell.
Edit, 30/06/2024, 12:55 UTC +12: Reworked end of Chapter.