Vivien and the Scoria

Chapter 10: The peculiarity of half memories and dreams

3rd night hour

Twister's Shop

Aernir City Centre

4th Year of Lord Tante's rule

"...why am I always the one doing stitches on wounds caused by you and your friends fighting people you shouldn't? It was bad enough when it was you and Will, but now you're bringing Vivien into this? She's like a daughter to me. I don't want to have to be stitching her up every week. If you are going to be bringing her into this, and might I say, it's about time, then the least you can do is make sure she doesn't go picking fights like this in the foreseeable future."

"With all due respect sir, she didn't exactly pick this fight. She saved us both from being decapitated."

"I still don't get how she even killed the Fellan. They're damn near impossible to win a fight against, let alone kill. Even Scar doesn't like fighting them, and you know how she is."

"Yes, we are all aware of Scar's...tendencies, no need for the reminder."

"I didn't really see how she did it. They were both moving too fast for me to tell what was going on, then the Fellan just stopped – stopped and fell over, dead."

"Hush now boys. We can ask Vivien all the questions we need to when she regains consciousness. For now, let her rest. I believe you both have work to do?"

"I'd better get back to the barracks before they notice I'm gone. I'll be back at first light though. Don't let her leave. I have some questions she needs to answer."

"Blaze, I believe Janna is waiting for you And Rael left the books for transport over on the table."

"Thanks Twister. I'll get out of your hair now. I'll come back when it's light to see how she is. Hopefully before Rowan gets here to interrogate her."

"Good luck with that."

"Yeah..."

The sound of voices broke intermittently through the foggy haze that I felt like I was swimming in. Distantly, I knew that I was unconscious, but in this state, I paid that no heed. Instead, I waved my arms around in the thick, soupy mess that I found myself in, and then, on a whim, decided to start swimming through it. As I swam, I noticed that it was thinning out gradually. I could feel myself sinking towards the ground, then through it, then –

Bang! I fell into the middle of a memory. Internally, I began shouting, "NO, NO, NO, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" But it was no use. I was stuck being forced to relive one of the worst days of my life. All I could do was watch from afar as the action of the day played out exactly as they had, months before.

The day had started off beautifully. The sunrise over the peak of Mount Udarah was just stunning from the workshops of Mount Api. The day had dawned cool yet in only an hour had warmed to a perfect temperature. I had promised Will that I would help him in the forges finishing a special present for his girlfriend, Annabelle. We had started as soon as the sun had peaked over the horizon, and finished sooner than anticipated.

The result of our work was a beautiful bracelet which I had painstakingly embedded precious gemstones into, using knowledge from my new apprenticeship with the famous jeweler Solomon. Will was absolutely thrilled with the result, and I was too. It was a thing of real beauty, and I knew Annabelle would love it.

I can't remember the reason for us making the bracelet, other than it was a special present to the special person in Will's life. Maybe it was her birthday?

Regardless of the reason for the present, Will intended to give it to Annabelle that very day. So we both raced home to get changed out of our dirty clothes, and into nicer ones in order to impress Annabelle when she received her gift. Sure, it would be Will giving her the actual gift, but there was no way I wasn't going to be there to watch! And Annabelle was always a stickler for me looking more presentable than my usual attire so I knew she would appreciate the effort.

I finished getting changed then went to wait by the fountain at the crossroads in a quiet section of the city that sprawled across the mountain. Will, once he was changed, went to get Annabelle and bring her to the fountain to give her the gift. I had intended to wait for them to arrive, but was soon distracted. In my defense, the distraction was a totally legitimate distraction! Someone was screaming in pain!

As I watched the events of this memory unfold, I cringed at my younger self and light she still had in life. That would all soon change...

The screaming was coming from a few houses to the right of where I had been standing at the fountain, and I followed the sound to the source. There, to my horror, I discovered a Scoria clan dragging two men out of the house and down the street, clamping chains around their wrists and ankles in the process. The screams were coming from a young woman who was holding her intestines into her stomach with her hand.

My stomach roiled at the sight, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Then, from inside the house emerged another Scoria, this time with a young boy clasped in his arms. The boy was screaming as well, though not in pain but fear. The Scoria with the boy, I soon noticed, was mad with bloodlust, and had been left behind by the rest of its clan who were focused on getting the men they had arrested back to Aernir for imprisonment.

Several people had also come to the sound of the screaming, amongst them Annabelle and Will. Annabelle, who was training to be a physician, immediately rushed to the screaming woman and tried to help her lie down. The woman wouldn't listen however, and continued to scream. The bloodlust Scoria, angered by the screaming of the woman, tossed the boy to the side and stalked back towards the house where Annabelle was trying to help the woman.

Both Will and I screamed in unison for her to get out of the way, but she didn't hear us in time. The Scoria pulled a bloodstained sword from its belt and sliced Annabelle and the woman in half with one blow.

Silence fell. Then everything fell into chaos.

Will immediately rushed to Annabelle, hoping against hope that somehow she could be saved. I, on the other hand, let out a scream of anger and rushed at the Scoria, tackling it to the ground. We squabbled for moments, then I got the upper hand and stole its sword to start slashing it to pieces.

The Scoria, in its bloodlust, didn't care that I was slashing it with its own sword. It had lost all rational thought and came at me with its bare hands. We fought for minutes, all over the street, smashing into chairs out the front of houses, and trampling gardens under our feet and rolling bodies.

Finally, I finished it off. With one swing, I cut off the Scoria's head. The sword had been so sharp that it sliced through the bone of the Scoria's neck like it was water, and both pieces of the body fell lifeless at my feet.

Around me, the street was wrecked. There was a path of destruction between the house where the Scoria had emerged, and where I had finally killed it. I dropped the sword beside its body and stumbled on weary feet over to where Will was holding Annabelle's body, tears running in rivers down both our cheeks.

That day, four things were killed: the woman, Annabelle, the Scoria, and my innocence. Before that day, I had trained with various weapons and had sparred with others, but I had never killed anyone or seen anyone killed in front of me.

Will and I returned home that night two very different people. The bracelet was placed with loving care inside Annabelle's clothing chest with the rest of her jewelry and stored out of sight in the basement. Will and I never spoke of that day again.

My mind from the present watched me of the past with sadness. This day ranked in the top five of the worst days of my life, and had shaped me into the person I was today. As the day faded into night, the memory faded as well, leaving me in the endless fog that had encased me in my unconsciousness. It didn't look like I would be leaving here any time soon.