Fallen Haven [Baneful] Book 1

Take Your Notes

"And Ein is the counter to her abilities? Like he's able to stop her?" Charles chimes in.

"Only if he can control his full potential and become the full entity of life, her true counter, and cast a protection over those William intends to turn into puppets." Jason gets up and leaves the room, returning a few minutes with a long rectangular case bigger than a guitar case. He holds it out to Ein to take. Ein carefully takes it, hesitant to open it. "Go on," Jason says encouragingly. Ein looks at him and takes a deep breath, removing the top of the case, his expression turning to one of shock.

Inside the casing was a staff, but not just any staff. It was one made from the wood of the yggdrasil tree. Ein carefully picks it up, holding the staff in his hands, taking in every carving detail. He notices Old Norse characters carved into the staff. "Uh, Mr. Voye? What does this say?" Jason takes the staff carefully, reading it out loud.

"To the descendant of life, we, the light elves, grant you this staff made from the very life of the tree. May it guide you and protect you from those who wish to darken your faith." He carefully hands the staff back to Ein.

"The light elves?"

"It seems Life themself requested this be made by the light elves for her descendants as a counter to the scythe." This catches Ein's attention.

"The scythe?" Jason nods.

"The scythe was created by death herself and the dark elves and is made from the very same tree but with a very different purpose. It is meant to serve her descendants and is most likely in Nyx's hands as I imagine she would be very familiar with it." The staff was curved at the top, almost winding with feathers and leaves bound to it by small vines. He thought to himself for a moment before making his veins glow white. As his veins glow white, the staff's carvings also glow white, and the others stare in awe.

Ein can't help but smile. "It's like this thing was made for me." He stands up, goes out the backdoor into the garden, and takes a deep breath before tapping the staff on the ground once and chanting. The wind outside becomes heavy, and the leaves and grass sway. His hair begins to blow in the wind along with his jacket, but he keeps going. Jason watches nervously from the doorway, watching in case something goes wrong. Ein tightens his grip on the staff and chants louder. Clouds begin clouding the sky and hiding the sun from view.

"Ein perhaps call it a day!?" Charles yells out, but it's like Ein can't him. His eyes have gone full white as the plants around him begin to double in size. Charles rushes outside and grabs the staff, trying to rip it out of Ein's hands. "Ein come on! Snap out of it!" Jason notices the situation getting out of hand and takes out a light, setting some of the nearby plants on fire, causing Ein to wince in pain and snap out of it as he holds himself, staring at the plants on fire.

"What the hell was that..." Ein is horrified by what he just experienced.

"That," Jason says, "was you being in tune with both nature's core and the staff, and obviously, it's too overwhelming at the moment."

"So why did you burn the plants!? That fucking hurt!?" Jason holds his hands up in surrender.

"Because it was the only way to snap you out of it."

~Russia~

Nyx holds the scythe in her hands and is brought by guards to a large building filled with wooden dummies and different targets. "Oh ho, this is gonna be really fun and far too easy," Nyx says with a smirk. "Back up, boys, or you might get caught up in the crossfire, and we wouldn't want that to happen now, would we~" she threatens teasingly. The guards exchange looks and step back, allowing Nyx her space. "Alright, scythe, it's just me and you. It's been far too long since I've been able to hold you again. Nyx closes her eyes, and her veins glow red. The carvings in the scythe also glow red, symbolizing their connection.

Waves are sent out like echolocation as the guards shut the lights off, and Nyx is able to picture the room in her mind. "Let's do this," she grips onto the scythe tightly and starts to chant. The floor beneath her feet begins to crap as she puts all her weight down and charges forward, swinging the scythe forward and cutting one of the dummy heads clean off with the blade or the scythe. As she runs, she pulls the scythe staff apart, and the other half becomes a second, more miniature scythe. She throws them forward like boomerangs.

Quickly, they cut through the necks and torsos of some of the dummies. She leaps up, catches the scythes in his hands, and aims for the biggest dummy in the room, sinking the points of the scythes right into the eyes and twisting and ripping them right out. She laughs joyfully, feeling the adrenaline coursing through her veins and focusing her attention on the last few dummies. She chants again, forming a chain that connects the two miniature scythes, and she uses all the strength in her arms to throw them forward and manipulate them with the chain.

Once again, the scythes easily slice the dummies into pieces, and she pulls them back to her, reconnecting them into one large scythe again as she hugs it. "To do something as simple as this makes me nostalgic." William watches from behind a glass wall with Darren assessing her abilities.

"It seems she has the hang of the normal use of the scythe." Darren points out.

"Of course she does, but the question is, can she bond with the scythe again and use it to its full magical extent," William asks. Nicolette notices the glass wall that looks pitch black to her, and a grin forms on her lips. She takes the scythe and throws it with all her might towards the glass wall the blade of the scythe breaking through the glass and resting there inches away from William's face. Outside, Nyx is laughing to herself, finding glee in the startled expression on Williams's face.

"Omg, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you just about pissed yourself!" She continues to laugh, having a ball as William glares at her, not enjoying her comment.

"Yes, yes, very hilarious, Nyx," William says sarcastically as he carefully moves away from the scythe and has a guard pull it out of the broken glass.

"Aww lighten up. You wanted to be involved with me, an ancient entity, and think it will be easy? I can read you like a book, William." Nyx says as she turns into a large shadow-like figure with claws and sharp teeth and slowly approaches William, wrapping around him and whispering in his ear. "I'm not afraid of you. If anything, you should be afraid of me." She giggles and moves away, returning to human form. "Remember who you're dealing with here. I'm not Nicolette, who can hardly keep herself from crying at the tiniest inconvenience."

"Hey!" Nicolette yells in hers, and Nyx's mind is offended by the comment about her sensitivity.

"Sorry, babydoll, but it's true, and you know it." William's eyes narrowed, not liking how giddy Nyx was and how she could threaten him so easily.

"Darren get the chamber ready. It's clear Nyx is going to need a reminder of who is in charge." Darren gives Nyx a worried look and leaves with a couple guards to set up the chamber as William requested.

"Torture? Bring it on." Nyx says confidently. "You wouldn't be the first bastard to torture me, and I want to see how easily you think you'll break me," she says in a cold tone. "What are you afraid of, William? Does working with me in person finally open your eyes to the reality of the monster I am? Oh, I bet it does." They stand there glaring at each other, neither one backing down.