Ascend Into Darkness

Chapter 1

Mora's body plummeted towards the ground. Her wings beat rapidly, desperate to stay in the air. She couldn't stop it. Pain flared down her back as she clutched the backpack to her chest. Curling her wings around herself, she smashed against the ground. Mora panted as she pushed herself to her knees. Glancing around, she spotted the small cottage. I made it.

Letting out a breath of relief, Mora stood up and stretched her wings. She winced, feeling her wing throb in pain. Looking up, Mora noticed a long gash across the top of her wing. The cut went deep, tearing into the flesh. Even she wasn't fast enough to evade a ballista.

The cottage was old, its door was bent to one side. Vines crawled up the stone structure, twisting around the house. The windows were dark, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Mora trudged to the house. She stopped. Staring at the door, Mora sighed. I should really know better.

Rolling her sleeve back, she revealed the intricate tattoo on her wrist. The pattern was small, consisting of several lines intertwining forming a knot. She held it out in front of her.

Whispering a few words, the design began to glow blue. It sparked and the area around her glitched. A line of blue energy circled the perimeter of the house. It surged up creating a protective shield around the cottage.

Pushing her hand forward, Mora watched as the symbol cut through the forcefield. She opened her palm as a rift in the wall began to form. There we go. It expanded, giving Mora enough room to slip past.

Turning the doorknob, Mora pushed the door open. She stepped inside, groaning as her wings folded back.

The illusion did its job. Giant bookshelves sat unevenly around the room, the books wedged randomly throughout the shelves. A long staircase spiraled upwards with several doors connected to it. Mora could hear the familiar shuffling of her mentor echo through the tower.

Adjusting the bag over her shoulder, she began to walk up the stairs. Mora froze when she saw the pool of blood. Sitting in the middle of it was a finger. Crouching down, she examined it. The trail of blood continued upward from there. Pulling her sword, Mora rushed up the steps. "Talo!"

Mora stopped as the blood trail lead her to the last room in the tower. Gently, she pushed the door open. It creaked, making her pause. When nothing happened, she slowly wandered into the room.

The smell of incense flooded her senses. Her nose scrunched up as she tried to hold back a sneeze. The man was standing in the back of the room. Mora rolled the bag off her shoulder and gently placed it on the floor. She watched as he mumbled to himself, hunching over a table. Mora crept closer. Tightening her grip on the sword, she called out, "Talo?"

"It didn't work," he whispered, scanning over the book as he flipped through the pages.

"What happened?" Mora asked.

"It didn't work," Talo growled as he shoved his bloody hand in Mora's face. A makeshift cloth was wrapped around the torn flesh. Talo looked down at the sword in her hand. "Put that away," he said.

"What did you do?"

"I told you, it didn't work. The ritual failed and I got too close," Talo grumbled as he shifted away from the cage.

Mora walked towards the table and tried to peek behind the maroon cloth.

"Did you get what I asked?"

Snapping her hand back, her gaze slid back to Talo. Her mentor raised an eyebrow.

Leaving the table, Mora went over and grabbed the bag. "Yeah, yeah," pulling small jars out her bag, Mora continued, "Charcoal, some herbs, and whatever those round squishy things were." Finding the closest chair, Mora plopped down, groaning in pain.