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Heathen of Darkness ❇ Prologue: Into the Darkness ❇ |
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The snow fell heavy in the dark dense forest. She sat there on the huge rock, waiting for someone, or something. Her long hair, white as the fresh snow that is falling around her, hid her golden-pale face. She seemed to be no older than eight-teen, nor any younger then fourteen, with her small and slender built frame. The girl only worn light grey pelts and leather that she gathered from the hunts with her people. She was shivering still, as the icy wind blew at her softly, making her ball herself up for warmth. She sat there, very still as she could, thinking to herself now. ‘Where is he? He should have been here by now... I feel like beating him for leaving me in the middle of the hunt.’ The snow was about an inch on her, as it continued to fall, making her colder. She heard something in the distance, approaching to her, the heavy footsteps crushing through the fresh snow.
"Silv’ ready?" a quiet, deep voice spoke to her. She looked up at the person and nodded with a slightly angry face. It was her older brother that made her wait after the small hunt. He is different from her, red-black hair that is kissed by the little light they do get. The only thing that makes them related is their facial structure. She is the younger, smaller version of him physically, since she is small built. Yet, he was the tallest, and darker-skin toned out of everyone in their group. He was also the most adored by all the other women in their tribe. Every girl and woman wanted him, but he denies such thoughts, for he is only thinking of his only family he has left. Since she is all he has left of his mother and father. He stood there watching the snow build up on his sister, trying to make out her expression, but she was covered in snow, and under her hair. He chuckled slightly shaking his head at her, knowing she is angry at him. He had a reason though, but he won’t tell.
"Lets’ get moving before it gets darker. Hurry, before we freeze out here from this Ice. We don’t have much light left out here." He then said to her, and darted off into the forest before her, but he wasn’t that far from her. The girl slowly slide off her rock, and fallowed her older brother; slowly behind him in a short distance from him. She didn’t want to run after him, since she was far too cold to move any faster than the pace she was going with. What she didn't know is that she and her brother is going to be given a special task to do; once they return home that is. It was a strange feeling in the air as they walked through the forest. An eerie scent hanged around the frozen petrified trees. She was constantly watching her back as her older brother just jogged ahead of her.
He stopped for a moment to look up at the dark sky as they reached to a cave, their den they hide in. He watched the sky darken up early from its’ light grey-white shades, to a dark eerie almost black, this night isn’t a normal night. He quickly stepped into the cave, after turning to see his sister close enough to continue fourth. They noticed a fire already made, shocked that someone else done their job for them. He just stood in front of a fire in the middle of the area; she entered with him as well only a few steps away from him. She was still shivering when entered the warm cave, then she looked around at the walls of the cave. The walls had many markings for their story telling about Dreams, hunts, and other stories. There was only one huge part of the cave wall that held a great tell of their greatest fear. It was a legend about the White Beast that it has a great endowment of Life and Death. It was said that the dynamism of the White Beast could determine the faith of everyone at the end of time; the immeasurable choice between the mortals and the immortals during its’ final battle. She was looking at that story till she heard a voice finally speaking from the shadows.
"Ah, my dear Soul, you look could, please sit by the fire. We have much to talk about with you and your brother." It was one of the elders speaking warmly to her. Right before sitting down on the ground she removed her thick pelt so it could dry out. She kneeled down on the ground slowly before sitting down completely. She felt the warmth of the flames, making her stop shaking from the cold. She sat by her brother's left side as he remains standing by the flame. The elders looked at each other than nodded to one another. They too sat down by the flames.
The eldest of them all started to speak first. He said in his cold-like tone, "We’re sending you two on a serious mission… We haven’t received any word from our sister tribes for a long time. We must know what have become of them. Also..." the elder paused for a moment choosing his words carefully as he looked at her. His expression changed to something depressing to see. His wrinkles seem to sag lower for his sad look, like he didn’t want to say the next thing that is on his mind. He fought the urged to not say it to her. He only thought ‘Why her?’ it was a long silent moment. Only the crackle of the fire could be heard from the whispering winds outside.
"The shaman wishes to see you dear before you depart from us..." He finally said it. Yet, it wasn’t what he wanted say still. The girl just nodded as she knew what the shaman wanted to talk about. She didn’t think what else the others thought about with her meeting with the Shaman. Only thing she knew that it is an honor to be called upon from him.
"The Eryuu...are acting strange lately, so… watch your back as you travel to him. My dear Soul, we need to hurry there now. Before they all emerge out of the shadows." The Elder warned. She just simply nodded at his advice before she stood up grabbing her cloak pelt, and exiting the cave into the snowy-dark night.
The young Soul walked slowly towards the forest outside of the warm cave. She paced slowly with her walk through the dark forest, as she held her knife close to her side ready for anything to pop out. She froze upon hearing something close by to her.
"Ah, hello my dearest lost Soul, do you know why I've called you out of the others?" an old eerie voice spoken from the darkness. The girl just shook her head slightly, playing confused as she looked towards the source of the voice, but wasn’t really there. It was the Shaman speaking she knew so she wasn’t afraid. He was standing in front of her, and chuckled at her looking all over but her front. Though she knew where he was the entire time. She was only pretending not to notice his curtain scent of herbs.
"Well come now, we must get moving. They will be covering this area soon." He said, as his eyes glow a cyan color through the black dark night. She just nodded to him, as they heard a sudden snap of a branch in the forest. There were heavy steps going through the snow after the snapping of the branch. Stomping its’ way through the thick icy woods.
"Come now..." The old man said in a whisper, he then darted into a large hallow tree. The girl followed him cautiously, side stepping in the snow. Watching her back for the nearby thing; stomping about through the snow. She stopped as she seen a dark figure moved through the bushes. It was a beast, a young grey Eryuu to be exact. She stood still as it walked passed her. Its’ mane wasn’t fully long enough, to hide its face and glowing eyes. It took all her abilities to keep herself from not moving a muscle as the beast strolled by her. She took breather as it finally left the area, for she held her breathe that long moment, which seemed to be forever. Then, the girl quickly went into the large hallow tree before it had closed from the Shaman’s will. She didn’t want to forget her reason on why she is there before the oldest of all elders among her people.
"There you are dear Soul, what have taken you so long dearie? I couldn’t keep that entrance open for long." The old shaman spoke in a soft tone, as he stood up. He was very slim, almost a skeleton-like frame. His hair was also white as snow, and very long, balding on his upper crown. What hair he did have left touched the ground, like his beard, as he sat down on an inner root. The small girl just sat down on the dirt-ground in his hollow tree home, waiting for his reasons why he chose her out of the other six Souls in the group. The reason why she is called ‘Soul’ is another way to call one a motherless child. Which rarely happens in this tribe; that the mothers die before the child is actually born. Meaning; that the child is still alive within the dead mother’s womb. It is seen that it’s a great blessing by the Great Spirits to save the young within the dead mother. Though, she didn’t like being called ‘Soul’ since she was born without a name. Her father had long passed before she was born, so she wasn’t named by the father, like her brother was.
"Heh, well my dear Soul what will it be?" She was pulled out of her own state of mind from the Shaman speaking. He paused for a moment thinking, and stroking his long beard slowly as he done so.
"I've choose you for your special talents in battle, child. I see the way you killed a third formed of Eryuu, just last week wasn’t it? Everyone in all the villages are still shocked about that... It’s amazing to me; no one ever lived to tell the tale of killing a high ranked Eryuu. It’s such a deadly beast-spirit. Also...you heal fast for one with no mother. The others wouldn't be able to heal within less of daylights’ time, like you had."
She looked down at the ground hiding her face with her white hair, smirking of the memory of killing that Eryuu, a supposed to be deadly beast. It was a random meeting with it in her dreams though. She was just minding her own, till it appeared from the shadows, and stood very tall before her. She knew it was an Eryuu by its’ counter clockwise ram horns, and the way the end of the horns sticks out like the Ox’s they once had. She didn't know what kind it was, or how powerful it was. It attacked her first in her sleep, which is all she knows, and needed to know to defend her own from it. It strikes at her waist, the left side, leaving deep wounds on her small frame. The beast roared loud as it tasted her sweet blood with its claws. Trying to make her fear it more, yet it didn’t work, the girl only gotten angry at it.
She wasn't screaming, just was in shock from the random attack mostly, from this most peaceful demon that her people been living with since the dawn of their time. Normally, her kind of beings never could defend themselves against an Eryuu in this situation. The reason was that they never lived after the first attack from these beasts’. Yet, she isn’t a normal person from her tribe. She took out her long stoned knives as the Eryuu stepped closer. That next attack by the creature missed her by a hair; which could have delivered the final kill on her. She strikes at its’ neck by that miss that mad her lucky to live. Killing it instantly, the beasts’ body disappeared into the snow of her dreams.
She only remembered falling to her knees, holding her side, putting pressure on the deep wound that the beast created. But, the Eryuu wasn't dead. It returned behind her, but she turned suddenly, and shot an ice shard at the Eryuus’ heart. She didn’t know how she done it, but her reaction was different as it shattered into dust. From that week on, her people asked how she lived through the deep wound. She never answered, because she doesn’t know how she healed so fast. Her proof of killing the beast was that she woken up with its’ mane in her hand. It’s a sign of death to an Eryuu.
The old Shaman slapped his knee and clapped waking her from the moment of the past. "Dear Soul, answer me. How do you feel about me naming you?" She looked up at him quickly with sharp eyes.
"Hm, was that a yes, or a no? I really can't tell from that blank look dearie..." He looked hard at her. She continued to look at him the same way, not knowing how to answer him. She never thought about a name for her own. The child was used to being called a nameless being in the tribe. So much that she goes by whatever everyone calls her.
"Hmm...Soul dearie, we can’t keep on calling you 'Soul' you know that's a child with no father, nor mother...Right? How about we call you..." The old man began to think for a while.
"What about being named Hetah, or perhaps, Altah?" She thought about the names, they are names of their Great Spirits of Life and Death, which would bring good will to her village. She didn’t like them, so she shook her head at him. There was an awkward silence in the air around them, as he thinks of another name. She didn’t want such names at all. She wanted a deeper meaning of a name, and something that was never been used.
"Hmm, then...we have to call you Spirit for a while till we find a suiting name for you..." She sighed in agreement as she stepped out of the tree. Waving to the old man as she left him there confused on what she is doing. She had forgotten to tell him that her brother was waiting out in the forest. Her brother was hiding in the bushes, trying not to be seen by the wondering beasts’ of this darkness.
"Sis, we got to get moving tonight..." He said, as he tossed a packed bag to her. She just nodded to him as she places the bag on her shoulder once she caught it. She held a slight depressed feeling, not knowing where it came from. She tried to hold it back as she spoke to her brother. Only feeling a slight pain deep inside of her, like she knew something is going to happen soon.
"Lead the way..." she said quietly, knowing if she spoken more; her throat will hurt worse, also the rest of her body. She was suffering still from attacks in her dreams. More Eryuu's was coming at her, but she only had a night of perfect rest. Her brother nodded understanding the fact what's happening to her, then ran towards the main path that was used to travel to the other villages. She fallowed his footsteps in the snow. They traveled all night without stopping, and she was ready to pass out.
"Sis, you want to rest here for a while?" He asked suddenly as he nearly slipped into a hot spring. She nodded to him as she sat down in the snow. The girl looked into the steamy spring, thinking to herself of what the Shaman was offering to her earlier. Then, she seen something shimmering in the spring, but didn't bother to look any further at it, knowing she should have done so. She was too tired out from the travel.
"Sis I'll look around for a shelter." He said, and then walked off leaving her there in the snow alone. She looked around for him as he disappeared, he was gone too long. A few moments later, she heard a loud dyeing scream out of the blue.
She couldn't react fully she was lost in her own mind. "Eh!" the young girl quickly gotten up as fast as she could, and ran towards the sound. As she gotten to the source of the scream, she stopped in pure fear. She had seen her brother in a pool of blood. Her hands was shaking as she took out her daggers, and creped through the snow slowly. It's odd that the Eryuu are showing up in the realm of life.
"B-brother, you're alive still?" she quietly called out to him twice, not even thinking what might be around her. At this moment she wasn't even thinking of the fact that he could be just dead, and that she need to get away from the area. Seeing some signs of life in him still she let her own guard down, as a sudden powerful force sent her flying into the hot spring. She couldn't really tell what had attack her at first. As soon as she could stand up in the shallow end of the spring. She seen a dark shadowy figure, striking deep into her left side, the same side that she was attacked before in her dream.
She felt her blood pouring out as the figure ripped her flesh. Her eyes widen, and began to glow a Cyan color for her hidden anger she held for so long. Oddly she couldn't react like she wanted to.
"Gah!" Her breathing was getting heavy and short as the creature strikes at her shoulder now. She could see the creature clearly now, at its' face. The beast then flinged her body like she is a rag doll, right into the mountain base.
She couldn't move for that moment, but she was still showing signs of life. Her thoughts were still running crazy. Trying to formulate a plan to defend herself, but she failed. The creature stood above her with glowing white eyes. It's the last thing she remember seeing. Before, she was pulled into the darkness, to her own death.
She heard a deep voice of a male. "Awaken Child... You’re not dead yet my pet. I got uses for you..."
 Acel Synklar · Sat Jun 02, 2012 @ 04:13am · 0 Comments |
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