Chapter Three
The whisper of a thousand voices emanated from the ritual, Skyla covered her ears as the whispers quickly turned to deafening screams. Thousands of tormented ghostly faces coursed around the ritual before her. The screams grew inaudible, all that was left was the absence of sound. Lowering her hands Skyla felt herself being pulled towards the void in front of her. Incorporeal arms reached towards the terrified girl, falling over herself she hastily exited the temple, stumbling down the steps as she struggled to breath. Despair still hung in the air, weighing heavy on the shoulders of all who witnessed the ritual. Hundreds of eyes watched the temple, lurking in the shadows, the trees and anywhere the light did not reach. Suddenly Skyla became aware of their presence, not quite human, not anymore at least. Now creatures of evil, forsaken by the world.
Terracles' screams could be heard from the temple. A beam of crimsom began to pierce the sky, the ground began to shake as the earth supporting the ancient building rose, raising them up like a pedestal. Stone by stone the roof broke apart, then after a few moments, it was over.
"It is done. Join me Terracles and you will have your revenge. We will rip the evil roots from our lands and restore our provinces to their former glory. Our enemies will whimper when they hear our names. And when they hear us approach, they will hang themselves by their own ropes."
The mountain of a man stood, towering over Elequin. Slowly he stepped back and began to jab at the air, followed by the snap of a few kicks as he tested his combat ability in his current state.
"How am I able to see?" he cracked his neck as he looked at her. Moments ago he was unable to see; now he could- but unlike before. Now he saw something else, Elequin burned a bright red in his vision. Perhaps a sign of her great power. The rest of the room seemed dull in comparison, coloured in various shades of grey. Towards the door Terracles strode with determination and a burning desire for vengeance.
"You no longer see with your eyes, but your mind. This is my gift to you. Hopefully your body has retained most of its strength. We must prepare for this coming war. The gods themselves will tremble in our wake. Leave me now, while I finish the ritual."
With a nod Terracles left the temple. All around the village, dull green auras could be seen. He leapt down from the raised platform and looked towards Skyla. No aura surrounded her, he could see nothing, just the void of her form.
Elequin took a small blade from her waist. Gripping it firmly she ran the blade across her palm, letting the blood trickle to the floor. She would need to draw the rune to bind the contract of the magic. Using her blood like paint she began to draw the symbol. The stone hissed as the blood corroded its surface, seeping deep within the rock. When she had finished she placed her hand on the rune, it blazed with a brilliant light. She winced, blood dripping from where her eye had been. Even her magic had a price. This time it had cost her an eye, but to have such a strong warrior under her command weighed in her favour. A final trickle of blood seeped from the wound, without a second thought she wiped the blood from her face and fashioned a bandage from her cloak.
With a breath Skyla stepped towards the eyes, she always hated waiting for the enemy to strike. Fingers traced the fletchings of her arrows gingerly, with a quick yet careful action she drew two arrows from the quiver, bringing them to rest on her bow.
I pray the Gods find your wanting souls.
Strength and technique allow Skyla to draw the bow back with ease. Focused now, eyes closed, she listens. Waiting for that sound; the snapping of the twig, the rustle of leaves, that will leave her target with an arrow in the chest. There it is, a heavy foot gives away their position. Exhaling, she released the bow string. Two arrows flew into the darkness with a whir, piercing the veil of silence. Before the thud of the body hitting the ground could be heard another arrow was nocked in her bow. The aggressors in the treeline respond in kind, letting out hellish screams as hundreds of human-like creatures pour from the maw of the night.
Demon spawn. Once the proud people of the Bonecrusher clan, now nothing more than husks. Husks wishing for death and destruction. Their bodies were broken and crooked, mouths replaced with maws, hands with claws. Hundreds of dead eyes closing in on her. Soon they would surround her; she was good with a bow, but not good enough. No matter how many arrows she loosed, and demon spawn she fell, two would quickly replace them. Luckily for her, Terracles had wasted no time leaping from the temple.
"Fall back to the temple," he yelled as he charged towards her. Skyla had turned to see him closing in, terrible timing on her part as one of the demons was lunging in her direction. Running flat out, Terracles lowered his stance and pushed off the ground with his legs, launching himself into the air. A high pitch screech filled the air from the demon as Terracles descended from the sky, crushing his skull under foot.
Back to back they stood, fighting the undead. With fist and foot Terracles dispensed his foes with bone crunching force, decapitating with a kick, crushing skulls with a strike. The two pirouetted, using each other for balance and protection. Still the demons came, their number seemed to be unending.
Together they waltzed to the sound of death with unfaltering step. Flowing with the tide of battle like the black bile gushing from their enemies. Left foot forward, strike fast. Right foot back. parry the blow and retaliate. Turn, to face the next partner for this wicked dance. Inch by inch they were pushed back. Soon they would be at the temple wall. Still they fought on best they could, slashing and striking any thing in reach.
"Enough," came a voice from the temple. It echoed in an inhuman way, scratching at the ears of any who would hear.
The creatures froze, immediately their heads turned towards the temple.
"You are a long way from your master," Elequin raised her hand towards them as she spoke.
The earth began to tremble at their feet as the demons rose from the ground, hoisted up on puppet strings.
"And you will obey," She clenched her hand into fist. The noise that followed this was the sound of a thousand different bones cracking. Cries of pain rang out as the monsters contorted and twisted and broke. All but one. It hung there, in the air on its invisible puppet strings. With fractured movements its head looked between them.
"We are but the flies pestering the meat. The blood will flow. The hungry shall feed. You will cower in its shadow"
In the distance, far beyond the eye could see, a bone chilling screech could be heard, followed by the beating of wings.
