ALSIN'S POV
He strolled through the woods deep in thought. The morning sun beamed her summer's light through the green trees. He halted at the top of a decline soaking in the serenity. His father would have enjoyed this fresh air and this feeling of freedom if he was still alive. The gods must hate him for sure.
"What have I done?" he asked the forest. Birds flapped by above singing with not a care in the world of the troubled knight below.
His eyes burnt prepared to drain the flood of tears swelling within them. He sniffled, took a deep breath, and forced his thoughts to another topic. He had learned so much yesterday that a new worry invaded him. The Illusion Spell was obviously powerful for the people of his kingdom to praise and love King Edrich, the man who has terrorized the Mystic Realm for years. If they knew how many people he had killed to get where he was they would not be cursing Galasia but rather their own ruthless king and his daughter.
No, he shook his head, his mistress. His heart tightened realizing how much he had actually loved Javana. She was beautiful and witty. He could not picture her as the evil Galiathan, Kit, and even Galasia had described. However, he remembered the small memory he had extracted from Galasia's empty mind. Javana's blood red hair and bright green eyes raging with fury told him they were right.
"How could you trick me, you devil," he whispered still feeling uncomfortable for his sudden change of heart for the woman.
He traced a finger over the hilt of his sword. It was a Terran Knight's sword, but definitely not his. He unshielded it and rolled out the kinks in his shoulders.
"A little practice with you won't hurt no one," he muttered and began doing the normal strokes, changing hand positions and foot position from time to time.
Beads of sweat slid down his temple and his golden hair flopped into his eyes, but the familiarity of the sword in his hand pumped his adrenaline to ignore them. He pictured himself in the Terran Arena fighting someone as good as the late Sir Nileon or the stiff Athenian Naveen. His adrenaline spewed through his veins as his pace quicken, his sensory opened wide and aware of his surroundings, all that troubled him bundled together and ignited into rage.
He spun and sliced the air with the rage of a wild boar. He imagined Stein and Beo standing before him wanting to spill his blood, but he did a quick side step and did an underhand stroke. He imagined the Mad Mist that claimed Sir Nileon's life, which he had to unfortunately end. He saw Sir Demetri choking on his own blood as he slept beside him. He thought of the screaming souls of his quest companions as they were plucked from the ground by cravers. His horse Rome... His mother and father who faced a dreadful death leaving him behind. So many times, he had faced death's sword-edge but somehow for some apparent reason his life was more precious to the gods than he thought. Unless they were punishing him...but for what?
A stick snapped behind him. He swung his sword around and aimed it at the creeper who dare disturb his moment of ventilation. He glared into those gold eyes narrowed with a dare or maybe disgust. He could never tell with this woman. He sharply inhaled for the fresh oxygen to rest his heart thudding wild in his ears.
He lowered his sword. "What do you want?" He wiped an arm across his sweaty forehead and wished Galasia had not disturbed him.
Kaahiss and Casper are not here, she said. Something is not right.
"Nothing is ever right these days," he said flipping the sword's hilt in his hand.
What if they have them, she said cutting her gold eyes into the forest as if Edrich and Javana had suddenly appeared.
"Can't you use your power or something to locate them?"
I tried, but they're blocked... she trailed off, the white rings in her eyes glowing for a split second.
Alsindad's heart skipped a beat and he swallowed a clump of mucus that halted at the back of his throat. His disobedient eyes wouldn't stop glancing at her long chocolate neck. The collar along her dress had torn and trailed down to her now exposed bodice. Although, they've been at Galiathan's cabin for a few days they hadn't had the time to find new clothing. His shirt still held Beo's blood now dark and dried.
He scratched the side of his neck, slick with sticky sweat and shifted feet to face the direction she was looking. "Are they that way?"
She tilted her head and her gaze slid to her right and his left. Do you feel that? She said and though he couldn't hear her voice he immediately sensed her discomfort.
"Feel what?" he said holding his breath so his sensory could catch what she caught.
A gentle whistle met his ears from the breeze. "Do you hear that?"
She nodded. At the very moment the warm breeze passed by them with an unusual chill. A too much familiar chill. The hairs along his arms stood. His heart skipped beats but for a different reason.
"Mad Mist," he said with uncertainty although his sensory was assuring him he was right.
Are you sure? Galasia asked. How do you know when it's Mad Mist?
The invisible breeze made the tree leaves do their last wave before coming to a still. The clouds above darkened gray claimed the sun's warm rays. Galasia looked around fear claiming her eyes.
"Yeah, it's Mad Mist," he said feeling his heart drop into his stomach.
Screams arose somewhere in the village. Both of them sprinted back towards the cabin. From afar, villagers along the high road ran in panic. Kit jumped frantically on the porch waving for them to hurry. Alsin gulped in a lung full of icy air that cut through this airway like tiny splinters. He remembered how close he was to dying to Mad Mist when he was in the Doom. Now they were out in the open and he had his doubts about the security of a cabin.
"Where's Galiathan and Grutsha?" Alsindad shouted the best he could as they approached the porch.
"I don't know. Grutsha had left for the village and I don't know about Galiathan," the boy frantically shouted.
The whistling grew louder coming from the north. The three of them turned in that direction and Alsin knew their hearts were now on the ground. Moving fast within the trees afar was fog white and thick as snow, clinging onto whatever was in its path. Its height reached up into the blackening clouds. Doomsday was coming for them all.
"What in the hell is that," Kit asked the question swimming in Alsin's head. Indeed if this was Mad Mist, this was a triple large one.
"No shelter is going to keep us from that," Alsin said his mind searching for a new plan.
Galasia grabbed his arm, Is there a basement under this cabin?
"I don't know if it has a basement," he said seeing his breath come out white and blue. His chest constricted. "We can't stay here. We have to find-,"
"Alsindad! Alsindad!"
They turned to the huntsman running towards them. Behind him was a family of six, the man of the household led them carrying a little girl in his arms.
"Where should we go?" he shouted only for it to jump into a raging cough.
He wiped a hand across his mouth and had to hold a scream seeing a blood smear. Kit grabbed his small chest, skin paled and highlighting in blue.
"Follow me," Galiathan said running pass them. Alsin grabbed the coughing boy and swung him over a shoulder. Galasia stumbled onto the porch rail her glowing brown skin pale as the day he had met her.
They ran south, without saying a single word. The whistling grew louder and the icy breeze sliced pass and through their aching bodies. The women in the man's family wailed in fear trying their best to keep up. They winded their way eastward towards the graveyard where his father was buried. The trees and nature around them had already begun to frozen still with white frost coating their forms.
Alsindad strained for air, his throat closing and opening from the poisoned air. Blood ran from a nostril. He wiped it and grabbed hold onto Galasia who ran wearily into a tree trunk. Her nose also ran blood and her gold eyes were diluted. Every muscle in his body ached and screamed for him to give up to Edrich and Javana's poisoned spell.
Finally, they rounded a curled over bluff's edge, to an area of scattered rock and boulders. Galiathan fell down at a grassy area, felt for a latch, and pulled open a hidden underground passage. The village screamed just a yard or so away catching Alsin's attention. While the man climbed down first followed by his family, Alsin sat the shivering Kit down and went to investigate.
He stumbled into a boulder and slid around to look up the hill at the village. Through the dense frosting trees and the low black gate, he saw people running for their lives. He blinked a few times to rid the blur in his eyes, clinging onto his chest as if it would clear his airway. Then he spotted them, frostbiters running wild within and around the village. Movement caught his eyes from the thick mist swiftly approaching them from the north.
Frostbiters who looked to have died years ago with visible white bones, torn ragged clothing, missing body parts, frosted and peeling dead skin, and bulging red eyes were heading their way. Alsin slid away from his spot and stumbled back to the group where Galasia was in the process of descending.
He fell into Galiathan and choked out, "Frostbiters."
The smell of death whiffed under his nostrils. Galiathan pushed him to the side and unsheathed his sword. Galasia halted in mid-descend gasping in disbelief.
"Go get in now. I'll lure them away," Galiathan shouted.
"No but the mist is coming. Leave them. Let's go," Alsin shouted knowing for a fact his voice was blending into the ear-piercing whistle.
The frostbiters' hungry growl rose louder as they entered the boulder area. "Get down there now!"
Alsin went to grab Galiathan, but he sprinted away instantly catching the flesh-eaters' attention. "You're gonna die-,"
Alsin gave a terrible cough that cracked his throat. The muscles in his legs caved in and he fell to the ground. He shivered uncontrollably feeling his the poisoned cold air claim his legs. Galasia grabbed him and though he wanted to yell at her for exiting the passageway, he let her lift him onto his feet. They wobbled to the opening where the man was shouting for them to hurry.
Galasia climbed down first and halted fast. She raised a hand and he saw for a second the flash of her white mist. Joy seeped into his heart thankful for the fact that her magic had somehow returned. He spun around just in time to see the frostbiter so close to grabbing him fly backwards into another swiftly approaching. The white mist of hell now was upon them frosting the boulders and the nature around them dead white.
"Go," he shouted at Galasia who continued to descend. He followed behind her taking note of the feeling in his hands, feet, and head numbing away. He grabbed the loose latch and with all of his strength pulled it down. The ground connected to the ladder frosted pure white spreading downward like spilled water.
There was no time to climb the rest of the way down. So he let go.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
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