Grim Ruination, Birth of a Soul (On Hiatus)

The Harvest

"Quite the killing spree." Tempest ringed in Darris's mind.

"I needed to get stronger quickly. This was my best idea. Not like I could've killed the people in Vanderin." Darris spoke aloud.

"I suppose. Why are you so fixated on gaining strength? Not that it's necessarily a bad thing. I studied the arcane for so long to gain the strength to be a worthwhile member of Fame without any power lent to me by Devils." Tempest explained, his voice suddenly sounding much more distant.
Darris was silent for a moment, thinking of the words he was about to say. All he heard was the crunching of leaves and branches as he walked. "So I have the strength to protect people."

"It wasn't your fault; what happened in the Ziggurat." Tempest said, reading Darris's thoughts. "It doesn't matter how strong any of us had been. Even if Elrik and Trent had stayed with us we all would've fallen to that ice devil."

"It's not about the ziggurat; not completely." Darris corrected. "You were our leader, a great mage; more than any of us had noticed. Trent was also very skilled for his age. Elrik's strength was beyond anything any of us could achieve. Isak's quick mind was always integral in fighting strategically."

"And you?" Tempest asked.

Darris sighed. "I was just a swordsman. I might be quick-footed but I never really did much. I felt useless in the ziggurat. I couldn't fend off the Tanarukk and it killed Elrik. We could all only run as we were chased by manes and I could hardly even shut the door to keep them at bay. And all I did was watch helplessly as Isak was impaled by the ice devil. I couldn't even stop Trent from leaving and getting himself killed by the demons." Darris said, beginning to walk faster, turning his hand to a fists as he trekked through the forest.

"We don't know he's dead. Like you said Trent was a skilled mage. He could-" Tempest's voice suddenly came quiet as Darris shouted aloud.
"Was? You don't even believe he's alive so stop telling me he's not. Trent might've been a skilled mage but he couldn't have made it out of that ziggurat; not with so many demons and devils swarming around it." He shouted. Then he continued walking.

"Darris," Tempest said softly, nearly being washed out by the crunching of leaves under Darris's feet. He sighed. "I'm not sure if Trent is alive or not. Yes, it is possible he could've been killed by demons, but he could've escaped. And if he did he has the blood of an elf. He would only be a third of the way through his lifespan by now. Even if he did die, so did you. And you're back, aren't- " Once again his voice faded as Darris slammed a fist into a nearby tree, tearing the bark from its surface and making a crack within the trunk.

"I'm nothing but a walking corpse now Tempest." Darris said. "Just stop talking for now. I never asked to be brought back."

It was then that Darris spotted something from the corner of his eye. A dim light peaking through the trees; a fire. Fire meant people.

With slightly more haste then before he began toward the firelight. Then a thought crossed his mind. He was still a walking corpse. He sighed and began to trekk forward. He'd just have to take whatever slim chance he had in them not killing him on sight.

As Darris peered through the trees he saw four creatures around the fire, cackling and growling at eachother. They were all humanoid. Crude weapons hung from sheathes at their sides. One of them even had a rusted battleaxe across its back.

"Gnolls." Darris growled, his scimitar apperating into his hands once again. Darris knew gnolls as savage hunters that slaughtered anything in sight. They only lived to feast on the flesh of other creatures.

As Darris krept from the tree line toward the gnolls they turned to face him. They all made various grunts and growls at Darris, confused that a random walking corpse would approach them. The two gnolls closest to Darris held up their weapons. One wielded a scimitar made of sharpened bones. The ones wielded a spear that it held forward, pointed at Darris's chest.