Author Games: Dawn of Nameless Desires

Semi Finals Entry: Quinlan Amanzi

In the end, there is only silence.

Silence so profound that the last, few, shallow breaths are swallowed until only light and memories carry one to the next life.

In the silence of the snow-covered drifts, of the mountains that sang of desolation and misery, there was only one word that could be heard echoing through the air. Death. It sang through the valleys, over the ice, rushing through the world in ways that showed it would never be the same again.

Because one could never truly recover from taking another's life.

Death haunted Quin in her dreams, settled into her memories, constant, but just out of reach. She could still see Golgerth's life as it dripped down his neck, draining away to nothing. She could feel the blood on her hands, the tears in her eyes as she ran, fearing and never forgetting.

This silence was promising, but not in the way that the future was usually hopeful. It promised death, guilt, a thousand different paths converging to one, bloody, end. It was her greatest fear come to pass, that of knowing the future, but being powerless to change it.

Quinlan had never felt so small in her entire life. She never wished to become a killer, and yet she was. Standing in the middle of a snowy field, where so many would never leave to see the sunrise.

She hated King Bhodror the Glorious, almost as much as she hated the king of Ghairia. Both were stupid men, whose lust for power sent them down the darkest of paths. Quin knew that though she was destined to fall after the tournament, she had not given up. Yet now, as she stood amongst the group of twenty-four, she called all of her choices into question.

Was her life worth any more than the others who stood around her? The boy who loves painting. The girl who became a healer. Should they not live as much as she? If only the living knew what lay beneath, in the beating of each other's tempered hearts. Maybe then, those who walked the cruel world would not be so apt to cause pain.

But try as she might, she knew that mindset was one shared by few, even as the snowy fae reached a hand out, sending shards of ice blasting in all directions. It was the beginning of the end, an action that spurred everyone out of their stupor--the worst in humanity realized as all their life narrowed down into one single point.

"What are you doing? Move!" Josepheline shoved Quinlan forward, and she stumbled, falling to her knees, Jo following close behind as an arrow whizzed over her head.

The world was a blaze of chaos and fear. Cries and screams bombarded Quin from every direction, stealing the breath from her lungs and bringing her back to reality. She tugged her cloak around her, the stinging cold against her knees uncomfortable as the snow melted against her warm clothing.

"Get up!" It was Anterra this time, a roar of fury echoing against the great expanse of the landscape. "Use your powers, Quin. Help us."

Quinlan scrambled to her feet, hair blowing free from her braid as the chilling wind picked up. "I can't."

"Why?" It was Twyla who spoke, her voice almost drowned out in the chaos.

"I can't do this. I can't change forms of water. Fog was one thing, because I can manipulate the water in the air but--" Quin ducked once more as a shard of ice flew over her head. "I can't change this. And... and I won't kill anyone."

"Now is really not the time for you to get on your high horse Quin, not after what you've done." Josepheline snarled, with more than a little venom in her voice.

"After what I've done?" Quinlan hissed, ducking under another arrow. Luckily, the group had only been hit with long-ranged attacks, a good thing as Quin still did not have her dagger. "Tell me, dear jester, what have I done?"