Seeping Corruption

Chapter 1

Standing in a clearing, Remas stood over the corpses of a pack of wolves. He had awoken to the feeling of something sniffing him. When he moved, the wolf leapt back, seemingly in shock. Once it recovered, it rushed Remas, who was already on his feet, and had a dagger in hand. It tried to leap on him but he shoulder checked it mid air, causing it to spin. He quickly pierced it's skull with his dagger. Then the rest showed up. He looked over the remains of the pack. They were wolves alright, their size accounted for that. Despite what many think, wolves are giant compared to dogs. A husky is like a adolescent wolf. The wolves easily rose up past his hips, and were nearly shoulder height. A normal person might have been intimidated by such size, but Remas had fought monsters the size of houses. Turning at the snap of a twig, he found a smaller looking wolf. It was not as large as it's brothers and seemed much younger. It approached him slowly, seemingly curious. Remas never lowered his guard. He could hear more things in the brush, hiding just out of sight. Dropping to his knees, he let another wolf sail over him. He quickly got to his feet and saw the larger wolf protecting the smaller one. A pup perhaps? Remas slowly straightened his stance, making himself appear less poised to attack. Looking at the two, they looked as if they had not eaten in a while. In fact, as Remas looked over the corpses of the pack, he couldn't help but notice that they were quite skinny. He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out some dried meat, tossing it to the wolves, who eyed him warily. Turning back towards the corpses, Remas set to work moving them to one area, so that he could burn them. Leaving corpses behind is a way to get tracked, and that is not what Remas wants. He finished his task and lit the bodies on fire, saying a quick prayer for the souls of the wolves. Turning back to the two wolves, they had not moved since he last saw them, however the meat had seemingly disappeared. Walking closer, the larger wolf let out a low growl, causing Remas to stop. He crouched down and held out a hand, letting the wolf sniff his hand. Slowly, he reached up and rubbed it's head. A growl behind him made him turn while shooting up. Standing there was a wolf, but it looked half rotten and it's eyes hung from their sockets. The wolf behind him growled, and he couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. This thing was ugly. The bloated form of the wolf rushed forward, only to be stopped as Remas Impaled the beast on his sword. The wolf spewed green gas from pustules on its back, and something happened. Remas could not explain it, but he felt a force pull him back, out of reach of the gas just in time. His hands and legs felt like they were on fire, and his chest felt like something was writhing underneath its skin. But just as fast as it had came, these feelings stopped. Remas took in the sight of the green gas settling. The grass it touched withered and died, and suddenly, the fire underneath his skin returned, only this time, it forced his arm up to block a second bloated wolf that tried to sneak up on him. He grabbed this one and threw it across the clearing, simultaneously drawing his rifle. He fired three times, watching the wolf pop like a balloon. Turning, he found the two wolves were still there, both looking at him. Taking out another piece of dried meat, he lowered it to the lead wolf, who took it gently before eating it.

Remas turned to walk away, but the wolves followed him. Not that he minded the company. They walked for about two hours before coming to a stream, where Remas stopped to fill up a canteen. He felt a fire in his hand and pulled it back, just in time to avoid losing it to a large fish he had never seen before. Finally, Remas decided to investigate the strange feeling. He removed his right glove, revealing something that had not been there previously. There was a tattoo of a serpents eye on the back of his hand. There were more of the same tattoo running up his arm, from what he could see on his wrist. Looking into the eye, he watched it glow a vibrant purple before returning to normal. Remas knew about Daemonic sigils and how they worked, but this was strange. Instead of a sigil, which required many different symbols, this was just one. Remas ran through his memories, thinking hard about where these tattoos could have come from, when suddenly, he remembered the Daemon that had forced him down. Suddenly, everything made sense. The Daemon his brothers had killed, had been trying to possess his body, but before it could finish the process, it was killed. For humans, their power and souls are intertwined, inseparable. But for Daemons, their power was separate from their soul, so to possess something, they had to force their power into the being, and then their soul. But the Daemon had failed, and instead had given him Daemon Magicka, which would be a problem for normal people, since their souls were not hardened. Remas re-gloved his hand and stood up, turning to the wolf companions he had.