《Mystic: Mark Of The Demon》 Hangman鈥檚 Noose Part 1 Age Of The Marked: Year 719, 6th month, Day 7 Lavitz looked at himself in the mirror as he began to remove his facial hair, his razor slowly removed his blonde scruff, he was uncharacteristically shaken today and struggled in the simple act, a wave of exhaustion washed over him and he cut himself before plunging forward. Once his vision returned he looked at himself again, at one point he had been handsome, he placed his hand to the left side of his face, three years today, he thought as he moved closer to the mirror, three years since she died. He stared at the hideous scorch mark on his face, burned in such detail that you could see fingerprints, the palm of the hand placed right above his eye and fingers stretching back to the side of his head, he ran his hand across the scar, tracing out the absence of hair stretching across his head, he could have tried to grow his hair out to hide his scar, but showcasing it had proved to be better for him in the long run. Tears escaped his one good eye and he turned away. He placed his eyepatch on, seeming so small in comparison to the scar. He walked naked to his temporary quarters and put on his blues, he slung his crossbow over his shoulder and placed a quiver of bolts on his belt opposite his dagger, denoting the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he placed his gauntlet over his left hand and adjusted the size, he then flung his dark green cloak over him and fastened it to the straps on the uniform, he placed Nicole''s pin on the left shoulder of his cloak and left his room. A crack broke the peaceful outskirts of the woods, where the targeting practice outpost had been built, by the striking of the target 80 yards from the Colonel, followed by a second and third crack, each half a second apart and less than an inch separated them all, he reloaded the tri-chambered crossbow, nearly the heaviest crossbow in the world, but accurate and allowed for three shots before requiring a reload, he released his volley into another target 70 yards from him with the same results. Private Salomao intently watched the marksmanship of Colonel Feld, even with one eye he was still the greatest marksman in the Hunters. Colonel Feld began to reload his crossbow again and saw the private gawking at him, the man was tall and lanky, had a semi-fresh cut above his right eye. In response to the being glared at, a scowl from his colonel appeared that threatened his entire career, he instantly snapped to attention, his left arm bending at the elbow and rising in a fist up to his shoulder, while his right found the dagger at his belt. ¡°SIR!¡± Salomao bellowed, a crack breaking his deep voice, deeper than he would normally use. Feld found the man¡¯s gaze fall to his face, then immediately snap back above his head. Anger filled Lavitz and he strode up to the man, a little taller than himself, but Lavitz¡¯s size wasn¡¯t height alone. He could hear the man shaking literally shaking, the rhythm of his breath erratic from panic, he smelled of sweat and dirt. ¡°Is there something wrong with my face? Private!¡± He growled through his teeth. ¡°Sir, no sir!¡± The man cracked back. ¡°Well then private, Salomao, why were you fucking gawking at it.¡± ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve heard about you sir, I was wondering if it was true, uh, sir!¡± Lavitz remained silent, reveling in the nervous private becoming terrified. He paced around the man until finally allowing the man to decide his own fate. ¡°Well private, what have you heard so that I can set you straight!¡± He shouted into his face. Then Salomao glanced at the Colonel¡¯s face once more, before responding. ¡°I heard you survived the demon¡¯s marking sir, I heard that you are the best of the best sir, I heard that¡­¡± Bells stole the man¡¯s train of thought as well as Lavitz¡¯s attention. War bells Lavitz thought, that could only mean one thing. He looked at his gauntlet, the crystal gauge on it was glowing as it began to hum. No, not another one, not today, I can¡¯t handle it today, first the rock marked last night, now this? He hesitated as his hand began to tremble, he had a duty to perform, and this was it, it was all about hunting the Marked. He shook himself from his thoughts and straightened his posture. Everyone had fallen silent as all eyes had looked to him for leadership. ¡°Listen up!¡± He bellowed, the sound of confidence disguising his uncertain feelings. ¡°We have a Marked on our hands, follow your gauntlets, do not allow it to escape, we need it alive, but if you believe it will escape and have to decide to let it go or kill it, then you kill it with no hesitation, understood!¡± The question was rhetorical of course. He waved with his right hand as he looked to his gauntlet for a general direction and pointed with his right. ¡°Onward!¡± He shouted.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Lavitz ran, the trainees on his heels, trying to keep pace with him, most of them failing to do so. Each step he took he felt was through a mire of sorrow, the day she died weighing him down, his vision tunneling out until his autonomous body reached the fallen building, reality returning him to his body, thrown back with an ample amount of shock. He saw the collapsing building, he saw a woman and a child within, he heard the child crying out, and he saw it, the form of the demon shielding them both. ¡°Mommy! I can¡¯t see, please mommy, are you okay, I can¡¯t see!¡± Tears ran down her empty eyes the color of absolute darkness as her mother held her close. ¡°Trust me darling.¡± She spoke in a strained terror. ¡°That is a godsend.¡± She looked up to see the demon before her, it was blacker than midnight, so dark in fact that all color around it seemed to turn to a drab grey, it seemed to float there, just a head, torso, arms, and a tail, the head seemed to be eyeless and mouthless, but making it even more terrifying, the imagination picturing what could be rather than what couldn¡¯t, its torso broad and menacing with small fins running down what should have been its spine, its¡¯ arms strong and massive ending in claws longer than any finger should be, and the tail stretching into Tsel¡¯s shadow, no, it was her shadow. The shadow had one hand on the ground while its other arm shielded a mass of rubble from the collapsed building from the two of them. He heard his company each stop abruptly when they came upon the Marked child and its demon. So young, so very young, she could not be more than six, and yet she conjured this, this demon into the world, and in broad daylight. He had hunted Shade Marked before, but this, this was so far beyond that, even scrunched up as it was, it was more than five times the size of a man. ¡°Colonel Feld, what do we do?¡± The panicked voice of private Salomao pierced through. Suddenly his wits returned and he looked to the taller man. ¡°We wait, the Marked is on high alert, if we go in now it will demolish us all, wait for it to return and we will go from there, understood?¡± His confidence spilled through his words and he raised his crossbow in a defensive posture. About half of the patchwork company yelled a resounding ¡®Sir¡¯ around him and mimicked his stance, as others returned to their senses they fell in line. It took a few minutes for the stone to finish falling from the demon in the middle of the small town of Doruv, the city of stone and wood seemed to simply stop while the demon remained. As the last bit of rubble rolled off the mother held her daughter to her tightly, the both of them crying together, her mother trying to calm her daughter, unaware of the creature her daughter had become. After several intense minutes the demon began to slowly shrink as it sunk down deep into the child¡¯s shadow, reforming itself into the tiny reflection of the girl. Lavitz approached the pair, signalling his subordinates to follow, but to keep their distance. Once he reached them he knelt down. He could feel the pain in the woman as she realised what her daughter was, she was torn, between the love of her gods and the love for her child, between her fellow man and a mother¡¯s instinct to protect her offspring with all she was. He saw the conflict, in seven years of being a Hunter this was the hardest to deal with, the law was clear that all Marked are inhuman vile beasts, but when the beast was a man fleeing for crimes against all mankind was not the same, at least to Hunters as it was when a child protects herself and her mother from a falling building. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing her and their eyes locked. She broke the stare first to turn to her child. ¡°Sweetie, this man is going to make you better okay, he¡¯s going to fix your eyes and our house and then he¡¯s going to bring you back to me, okay sweetie.¡± The lie stung, and he and her mother both felt it eat into their souls, but the child trusted her mother, and although still sobbing, managed to nod her head in acknowledgement. He picked her up and began to walk back to the Hunter¡¯s steadhold, the other Hunters deadly silent as he walked past them. She would be executed in two days time. Hangman鈥檚 Noose Part 2 Age Of The Marked: Year 719, 6th month, Day 9 The figure reached the top of the wall as Corv began to rise, ducking behind an outcropping as a sentry passed. The figure was wearing a ragged Hunter¡¯s uniform, the hood of the cloak pulled over their face, but missing the accompanying dagger and crossbow, or even a standard issue weapon that many grunts often used if unskilled with ranged tactics. They looked at their gauntlet, a barely noticeable glow surfacing. The figure skulked through the wall until it reached a house built upon it and slid down, the sound of their footfalls negated by the birds beginning to chirp. The figure produced a pack and removed a detailed map of the city, a pocket watch moving backwards, and a rope. They wrapped the rope around their waste, threw it over the house¡¯s chimney and flung that side of the rope to the ground. The figure grasped the side they were tied to and the slack rope and slowly fed themselves more and more rope until they safely reached the bottom. They untied themselves and put the rope away, they checked the pocket watch then began to jog towards the center of the town. ---- Lavitz Feld woke up about a minute before the morning bells begun to ring. He rubbed at his temples in agony. Today was going to be difficult, he thought to himself. The execution would be private instead of public, thankfully, for most the execution of a child tended to ruin their day. Only the city council and Hunters would be present. Man, today will be quite the downer, I could really use a drink right about now he thought to himself. He stood up as his mind began to trail off and begun to ready himself for the day. He walked out to his personal restroom, connected by a door to his room, there it was, one of his subordinates already had his bath ready, and he sunk in, the water was hot, and his skin reddened whenever he pulled it out, it was perfect. He sat there, still, listening to the birds outside the open window and his mind drifted. He thought of what he should have said to Mr. Jol instead of what he did, also of dozens of ways to have handled the major. He thought of the girl, Tsel, she had tan skin, probably from long hours of play during the spring and summer, she had short black hair, shorter even than his own, although that was not saying much. She had scabs over her knees. His thoughts froze as he remembered her eyes, like looking into the void itself, her eyes terrifying to behold, they weren''t black, they were the absence of light. It sent a shiver down his spine, muffled by the heat of the bath. Now her eyes were a milky white, a stark contrast to before. He dunked his head in the water, his face softening at the heat. He could feel the sting of the heat as it reached his scarred half, after all these years, it would still hurt. He pulled his head out, leaned back, and waited there, motionless, for what felt to be years, silent tears washed over his face. He wiped at his face, and looked at his tears, why was he crying? ---- A cold air filled the closed off city hall, it would have felt wonderous, if not for the occasion. The council sat down together in the center of the mostly empty seats and looked at the platform. A little girl, a hood over her face and an inhibitor plate was carried over to the noose. As she grew closer she began to scream and kick the large man. Marcus Grev leaned forward, and listened to the girl as the others attempted to ignore her protests. There was no way she could know about her execution, he thought to himself, perhaps she could feel it in the air. ¡°Bah!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Typical Marked, even when they¡¯re oblivious to their world they¡¯ve got to make a fuss.¡± The Hunters gathered around and filled the seats around the council, with the more decorated soldiers closer to the council. Marcus noticed one hunter who came in with their hood up, they had a more ragged appearance than the others and Marcus readied himself with insults to get the soldier away from him if they approached, but the soldier simply sat in a heavily shaded area. Oh, that¡¯s right, he thought looking up, with this weird chill I forgot how much heat Corv is beating down on us, he looked around and saw several other Hunters who had their hoods drawn up, and he relaxed again. The noose was wrapped around her neck, the hood threatening to suffocate the child before they even began to hang her. Marcus wiped at his brow, when did it get so hot, he looked at his fellow council members, they all looked so tired, no, everyone was exhausted. He looked back to where the hooded Hunter was, they were gone. He was yanked out of his seat and a massive hand was placed over his mouth as the sound of the Hunter¡¯s gauntlets alerted them to the Marked. ¡°Here¡¯s the deal!¡± The massive Hunter yelled out as all the other Hunters aimed their crossbows at the massive man. ¡°This man is going to die.¡± Marcus¡¯s screams were muffled as his face was lit on fire by the bare hand of the giant. Lavitz released the bolt in his weapon, the snap of the bowstring sending it speeding forward. The giant flung the still living man to the side, interposing the council member between himself and the deadly projectile, a deadly half second later the bolt penetrated the man¡¯s skull, a jet of blood streaking out of his left eye. The giant grabbed two more additional members by the necks and easily lifted them out of their seats. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve established the fact that Marcus Grev would die I would like to make a proposition.¡± His voice echoed across the circular platform surrounding city hall as every single crossbow was trained on him, if they had all released at once they most likely would have killed the man, but their fear was rising as the girl¡¯s panicked wails were thrown out to the city limits. All the Hunters had become scared, no one wanted to be the one to kill a council member. The giant¡¯s face tensed, the girl¡¯s fear was touching even him. ¡°What do you want.¡± A strained whisper escaped one of his captive¡¯s mouths. The giant looked at the woman and released a bit of his grasp on her. ¡°You¡¯ll need to be louder councilwoman, please, loud enough so that they can all hear, if you¡¯d please.¡± Pure, explicit rage filled his words, and she felt a bit of that rage, giving her the strength of voice he required. ¡°What do you want, Marked!¡± She yelled across the area. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so glad you asked, it¡¯s quite simple, release her and you live.¡± He felt the tension in her rising, her aggression meeting his own. ¡°I would sooner die than set another of you fucking Marked free upon this world, Fire!¡± As she yelled her last words her throat ignited in fire, smoke billowing out of her mouth and nostrils. He sighed within himself, dammit, his emotions overpowered the little girl¡¯s fear, well, he tried it Lydia¡¯s way, time to do it his way. Several Hunters had built up enough courage from their growing anger to release a disjointed volley at the man. One bolt grazed his right arm, not deep enough to bleed, but enough to pain the man, he blocked his left flank with the soon-to-be corpse of the other council member, and he flung the fried woman at a smaller volley headed towards him. He fell to the floor where 4 other council members, their mouths agape begin to cower on the floorboards. He glanced at each of them individually and placed his hands together. Aggression was his focus, the catalyst to his ability to manifest his mark, anger was enough to cause his touch to torch another, but to truly create he needed pain, emotional pain. His mind drifted to Sol, his friend, cut down as he moved to take his place from the deadly blow, he saw Kitiara, a child of 12 as he failed to save her in time, her limp body swinging from her neck, he saw the boy who he never knew, as he sacrificed himself to save his sister and the monster that tried to protect them, the boy who covered the monster and his sister in muck and rock, he remembered the helplessness of his broken body saved in the muck as the boy was cut down, he remembered when they found the girl, stabbing at the ground until they pierced her heart and left her to bleed next to him, oblivious to his presence.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. They saw the blue eyed man close his eyes, his hands together, sitting still for a single instant in time, they were paralyzed in fear, but when he had closed his eyes they felt hurt, they felt pain, they felt rage, and they gained the strength to attack him, but it was too late. He opened his eyes, the crystal blue replaced by hate, his eyes resembling a raging fire behind milky, smoke filled glass, and the man let out a roar as his arms burst into flames. The man had knelt down and several of the Hunters ran in to kill the man and were instantly obliterated. A wave of superheated gas expelled from the depression in the wooden platform, the men and women who ran toward it were ignited in the explosion, their uniforms ablaze and their skin boiling as they cooked from the outside in. The platform gave way, the wood but ash in his wake, and the man fell down, landing on the ground below, as the torched cadavers of the council fell about him. ¡°Go, now, he cannot repeat that ability while his arms are aflame!¡± The voice of the Colonel pierced through the crackling of the burning platform and screams of the dying. The Hunters nodded and ran to the hole in the area, and descended. His stolen uniform was on fire and as he ran he burned through the key points in the fabric to allow it to fall away from him. He was on the outside of the execution area and he heard them start to pursue him. How long do I have, he thought, before they kill her just to spite me? He looked around, that platform was made of wood set atop stone, he could run across to the other side to the entrance, but that would be expected. He could take his pursuers on, but that would take too long, what to do. ¡°Colonel, what about the girl?¡± Private Salomao asked, terror filling his voice. Colonel Feld shot him an angry glance. ¡°Do you know who that is private? That is the son of Dierlo, that, is Tubal the Pyre Demon! Fuck the girl, he is the target now!¡± He screamed at the private as he tried to overcome the screaming of the girl. An explosion from outside their location echoed through and they heard a loud crash and turned to the source. Fire billowed out from under his now bare feet, he was crouched as smoke escaped his burned arms and swirled around his muscular build as he begun to stand over the now scorched platform, he had jumped, farther and more powerfully than any creature should be capable of. He towered over all of them, nearly seven feet, and what little of the uniform was left, left nothing to the imagination. ¡°I want the girl!¡± His deep, demonic voice reverberated through their bones and he begun to approach them. Lavitz set his crossbow to the hood around the girl¡¯s head. Anger exploded out of Tubal, and he opened his mouth in a roar of white smoke at the group of twelve, spreading like wildfire. Their sight was gone, their eyes and lungs burning from the demonic smoke screen. A hand reached for the noose around Tsel¡¯s neck. Another reached for the hand. Major Gail Patricka gripping his hand tightly, a pair of goggles now firmly on her face. She removed her dagger and went for his neck. He caught her hand in his and she grabbed at her own hand, each of their faces glowing a bright red as they struggled against one another, they were both wielding the knife now she in 2 hands, he in 1, and she was losing. His strength pushed her to her knees as the knife grew closer to her exposed neck. A smirk stretched across the demonic visage of the Pyre Demon. She managed to yell out ¡°Colonel¡± before the knife slid easily into her throat. Tubal removed the knife from the dying woman and hacked through the rope in a single blow. Tsel was terrified, she didn¡¯t know what was going on, she had heard shots, burning, all while having something over her head and and something tight around her neck, her esophagus was burning and she was about to pass out, then she was whisked away, headed gods know where, so she screamed. ¡°Silence!¡± A heavy voice told her as she was jerked by his frantic running. ¡°Gail, hold on just a little longer. Anders! Get your ass back here!¡± Corporal Anders came back with a burning plank and handed it to the Colonel, then Anders looked around, the other nine were on their way to kill the man, he was glad he was commanded to stay. ¡°This is going to hurt Gail, bite down on this.¡± He put a large splinter into her mouth and brought the burning poker to her neck. ¡°Anders, hold her down, make sure she does not move her neck, understood?¡± The corporal put his knee on her chest and grabbed her head with both hands and nodded to Lavitz. Her eyes pupils dilated and she began to convulse as he brought the flaming stick to her wound. Slowly he brought it to her flesh, then pressed it hard into her, Anders was struggling to keep the injured woman as still as possible, no matter what training you had, this was pure instinctual, overriding the logic centers of her brain. He released her and she calmed. He checked the area again, still bleeding. ¡°Only once more Gail, just hold on, alright.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for acknowledgement, and went straight back to cauterizing the wound, he counted to three again and released. She coughed up blood and it splattered onto Ander¡¯s face. Feld examined the wound again, dammit, I have to do this again he thought. Without a warning he pressed it into her again. Her vision had become blurry, her consciousness only returning to inform her that she was being attacked, telling her body to escape, to fight back, and then after what felt like hours it finally stopped, and everything went black. Private Salomao followed Captain Eriks down toward the Pyre Demon, his body was trembling. Ericks lead the company of nine to a stone building, calling out he saw him go into it, and they charged in. It was quiet, eerily quiet. They spread out in threes, Salomao with Yiltric and Fuurn ascended the stairs. ¡°Clear!¡± Yiltric spat, his nerves getting the best of him. ¡°Clear!¡± He responded, followed by a third response from Fuurn. Combat broke out below, and they rushed down. Eriks was bleeding out from a cranial blow, hard enough to have broken the bone, Salomao couldn¡¯t help but to stare into the man. Two others were dead, one had a large metal rod shoved through her chest, and the third oozed blood from her mouth, her jaw ripped from her head. Yiltric approached her, and she blinked, she was still alive. The other three reached the floor level. ¡°Did anyone hear if the door was opened or not?¡± Someone asked. Someone responded, the private wasn¡¯t paying attention, but the general consensus was he was still here. Yiltric screamed in pure fear as his boot was burned through by the demon¡¯s claw, they all turned to see the massive man holding Yiltric by the leg, swinging him about and bowling him into two others. The demon¡¯s left arm ignited in flame as it plunged into the floorboards, fires burst out from the wooden floor and smoke materialised before them all. Scream after scream, after scream, until they stopped, and the rooms visibility increased. There was private Salomao, alone, Tubal-Cain, son of Dierlo, towering above him. The man was covered head to toe in the blood of the company. He pulled out a sword and rushed the man. Tubal stepped away from the blade, producing an ugly, misshapen smith¡¯s hammer from the fire proof pack he carried, he used the hammer to pull the sword by the guard, toward him, stealing the private¡¯s balance. He spun about, striking Salomao¡¯s sword arm in an uppercut, connecting with his elbow, a sickening crack echoed through the main floor, followed by a howl of pain. The private raised his good arm. ¡°I, I surrender.¡± He could taste the man¡¯s fear. ¡°I accept your surrender.¡± The giant responded and the private breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°As Hunters execute their Marked prisoners, so shall the Marked execute their Hunter prisoners. He reached for the man¡¯s head, scorching it, cooking the man¡¯s brains as he did so, he held on long after the man finally died from the pain. Salomao dropped, the same scar as Feld burned into him. He walked out and crossed into the adjacent building and pulled the blind girl, her hood now gone, easily out of the barrel, and they left the city, their opposition now dispatched, any reinforcements would arrive far too late. ---- Twelve days later Colonel Feld walked into the recovery wing, walking to the now fully awake Major Patrika. ¡°Colonel.¡± She rasped in a weak tone. Her neck was covered in cloth, as were a few of her fingers, cut by the knife while in her scuffle. ¡°How are you feeling Major?¡± He asked, concern for her abundantly apparent. ¡°Like I look Colonel.¡± He looked at her. ¡°What, you mean like shit?¡± He smiled at his own comment and she chuckled lightly, which quickly turned to coughing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Colonel, I failed.¡± Her expression was deep, she lamented surviving, of failing to kill the demon. ¡°Failed? You survived an encounter with Tubal Cain, join the club.¡± He gestured at the scar of the hand around his eye patch. ¡°Not many can say that, not many at all.¡± His statement quickly descended to a somber tone. He patted her on the leg. ¡°We have been scouring the woods for traces of Tubal Cain, we think we have found a trail, I am sorry Major, but this place may seem a bit scarce for some time, I will be leading the Hunt, we will get him soon, after sixteen years, we better.¡± He smiled at her, a fake one of course, and he stood up to leave. ¡°Colonel, I want to go.¡± He looked back at her. ¡°Yes, I know you do, I would love for you to come as well, but not in your current state, there will be other hunts Patrika, trust me, there are always more.¡± And he walked away. The Broken Part 1 Age Of The Marked: Year 719, 6th month, Night 9 Lydia¡¯s night had been quite calm, as usual she had woken up late in the day, her typical sleeplessness dragging her throughout the night, but she prefered being the last to sleep. She was naked in the cool of the river and she swam down to the bottom, turning and opening her eyes underwater to look upon the refraction of the stars, it was beautiful. Her long obsidian hair drifted slowly around her, the current mellow and slow. She rubbed at her Mark around her neck, three symmetrical slits on either side. They¡¯re so ugly, she thought as she curled into a ball, I¡¯m so tired of it all, it''s not fair. What did I do to offend the gods so? She lashed her hand in a balled fist through the water, the slowed pace of it not enough to satisfy her, so she threw out her other hand, still disappointing, so she curled back again. I just don¡¯t have anything left to give, I give and I give, and what do I get back? Nothing! Absolutely nothing. I want to die. She twirled about, the river sluggish, barely nudging her downward. Eventually she emerged, water erupting in her wake, she was not alone. Erets felt that he should probably feel shame, but he didn¡¯t, so he watched the young woman bathing at this unholy hour. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes unsuccessfully and peered down at her from his well chosen tree. He chewed on grif jerky as his eyes widened. Her hair reached down to her ankles, jet black and as smooth as silk, or at least he imagined so, he couldn¡¯t make out her eyes, but remembered their unique colors, one purple with flecks of blue, the other a deep vibrant green, how fascinating. Her features were soft, her athletic build hidden by nothing, her chest bobbed up and down in rhythm and he could not remove his eyes. Her perfect skin broken by a scar on the left side of her back. Interesting, wonder how she got that, I¡¯ll ask her tomorrow, on second thought she¡¯ll want to know how I knew about it, so nevermind, not worth the hassle. A chill ran down Lydia¡¯s spine as goose flesh replaced her own. Instinctively she brought her arms to her core and plunged into the safety of the water. She felt like she was being watched, she blushed at the thought. No, that¡¯s unlikely, no one else is up this late, besides, she mused, placing her hand to her neck, no one would watch her anyway. After a few stress filled minutes Lydia rose out of the water, still covering herself as she quickly ran to her clothes and she hurriedly clothed herself. Erets¡¯ heart was beating furiously as his thoughts raced, she saw me didn¡¯t she, fuck, fuck, fuck, I got to beat her back, or else I¡¯m am fucking fucked. With haste he descended the tree, jumping the last twenty or so feet, rolling, with no visible damage. She¡¯s carrying her shoes, I might be able to save my ass after all. He looked to her stumbling through the woods, the pale moonlight reflecting off her still wet skin, he saw her stop to put her shoes on, he remembered his purpose and began to jog onward to camp. He knew a shortcut, but would have to pass dangerously close to her. Lydia knew something was after her, she could hear it coming closer and closer, she glanced back and saw nothing, which frightened her more so than anything. She heard a wolf¡¯s howl to her right, and she feared for her life. Branches licked past her, leaving tiny cuts upon her arms and legs. A branch cracked not two feet from behind her and she heard another wolf¡¯s howl no farther than the length of her hair away. A large rustling bared down behind her as she struggled to keep her eyes wide and alert, fighting the need to shut them at her own demise. Then it was silent. She ran a few yards more and whipped her body around, sweat dripping across her body. Frantically she moved her eyes from tree to tree, searching to see if the beast still hunting her. She fell to her knees and praised Borlantusk for his mercy. It took more strength than it should have for her to stand and begin her return to camp. She opened the tent and looked about, the children were all asleep, Erets began to stir, turning to her he rubbed his eyes. His torso bare beneath his thin blanket. He placed a finger to his mouth, then pointed a finger to Hodesh who stirred in his bed. She realised she was gasping for breath and covered her mouth with her hand. She looked inward, trying to relax, to calm herself, her lifebeat slowed and her senses returned. She returned Erets¡¯ confused stare with one of somber apology and mouthed ¡®sorry¡¯ to the seventeen year old. She stepped over several children and slithered into her own bed beside him. She sniffed herself, so much for clean. Behind her Erets grinned in victory. ---- As usual Lydia was the last to awaken, Erets typically cared for the children while she slept, he was surprisingly good at it. She rose and secured a modest and practical black skirt over a short, sleeveless white dress and walked out to Erets. She saw him telling stories to several of the youngest children, stories before the Age of the Marked, stories of clear cut heroes, of damsels in distress and of villainous monsters meeting their deserved end, for a moment she paused, she liked to think that those were just unrealistic stories, but if they were they no longer belonged in this world, but could it be that they were the villains now? Her thoughts were broken by the tugging of her skirt. ¡°Ms. Lydia, I¡¯m hungry.¡± The girl could not be older than eight, her dark skin broken only by the dark blue eyes she bore, granting her a piercing stare, she took the girl¡¯s hand and knelt to her. ¡°Well Shalia, looks like we need to tell Erets to do his job, huh?¡± The girl¡¯s face became stern, as did Lydia¡¯s and they nodded simultaneously. ¡°Erets? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve kept them hungry all day!¡± He turned to her, a bit of jerky hastily swallowed as his face flushed a bright red. He was two years her junior, taller than her, but average for a man of his age, he wore a pristine leather Jerkin, fur lining the dark green tunic beneath and reaching out to a wolf¡¯s head hood, the tunic was sleeveless with a vambrace on his left hand and a glove on the right. He wore well fitted brown pants with knee high hide boots. He placed his hand behind his head and a bashful smile broke his thin face, neatly trimmed hair and an even amount of short facial hair, probably three days old seemed so out of place in the middle of the woods. His eyes were a dark brown, there was anxious energy emitting from his eyes, like he had a castle filled with secrets that he was afraid someone would discover, he could not withstand her gaze for more than a second and turned his head to the left, as he always did. ¡°Well, perhaps if one of us didn¡¯t sleep all day I could get more done.¡± He was teasing her, she knew it. ¡°Come on Erets, you never do anything unless someone is breathing down your throat, don¡¯t you dare try to blame me for your laziness.¡± She shot him a mocking glance as his eyes returned to her face for a brief half second. ¡°Ya, ya, whatever, just watch them while I make something for everyone.¡± He removed a bit of jerky from his pouch and placed it in his mouth. Then approached the fire pit.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ---- Regaz, Erets¡¯ wolf, nudged at Lydia¡¯s foot as she ate and she threw a bit of meat down at the beast. She looked at her, was she chasing her last night? It would have made sense, probably just some game she was playing while out patrolling for game. She looked around and saw Erets in the corner, he was always like that, he was a bright and kind person when spoken to, but rarely sought interaction on his own, seeming to prefer observation to interaction, she didn¡¯t understand it. He would always seem so dark on his own, but would light up if you even said his name, he loved conversation, so why not strike something up? Her thoughts were broken as a few of the children ran to the outskirts of their tiny makeshift village, she stood up and began to walk to the commotion. There he was, Tubal Cain, his bald head causing Corv to reflect into her eyes, and she squinted. There was a girl with him. ¡°Not another child Tubal.¡± She whined at him, clear frustration in her voice. He shot her an irritated response, and she looked away. ¡°And what would you have me do Lydia? Have her hang?¡± Anger filled his words. ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± She responded meekly. ¡°Hey!¡± Erets interjected. ¡°He brought us in when we were young, you give her some time and I can assure you she¡¯ll shine.¡± He smiled, seemingly unphased by their emotions. Lydia let out a sigh, Erets was right, they all had to start somewhere, but every kid he brought in just meant more work for them all, mostly her, and maybe some for Erets. ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡± She asked, genuine compassion touching the girl. She bolted from Tubal, stumbling until she found Lydia and they embraced. ¡°Tsel. I, I¡¯m Tsel.¡± She looked at Tubal, a bit of fear touching her brought forth from the girl. ¡°She¡¯s blind Lydia, she¡¯s Shade Marked, like Jovul.¡± The man¡¯s name pained her and she looked at the child, holding her close. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She whispered into the girl¡¯s ear. Tubal Cain strode to his personal tent, ignoring the looks his fellow marked gave him. He realised he was near naked and stripped his remaining rags, replacing them with a set of pants. He opened a small chest in the corner, removing a bottle and began to drink. ---- Lydia stood there, taking long, deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves, it took her several minutes of pacing, standing, and failed attempts to open the tent before she finally went in. Tubal was lying on the ground, his limbs spasmodically hurling about, she had waited too long. Her knees fell to the ground and she clenched his head, her palms sizzling at his touch. ¡°Tubal, please, not again, not again.¡± Her voice was cracking with fright, her hand reached to her back, producing her canteen. Holding his head as sturdy as possible she poured the water into his mouth, closed it, and put her other hand to his nose, pinching it. He continued to convulse, his body rejecting life itself, she placed her head to his chest and closed her eyes. She reached out, she felt his all consuming pain, the rage produced by it, she felt his core, and she wept. She lost track of time in that position, tears falling to his bare, burning chest. No, she thought to herself, I can¡¯t lose you too, I¡¯m sorry I waited so long. She held him closer and his spasms reduced. You aren¡¯t allowed to die, I need you, Erets needs you, everyone needs you. You pushed yourself too far again didn¡¯t you, I told you not to, this is killing you. Her eyes flooded over him, until he finally ceased. She held him as he grew colder, panic sweeping her, was he okay, or had he passed, she didn¡¯t want to know, so she held him, her thoughts swimming between grief and relief, between happiness and despair. She felt a hand at her back and she looked at the man¡¯s eyes. She looked into crystal blue orbs for an unsteady moment, she released a long too captured breath. She held him there, his breath shallow, but gaining strength. She eventually broke his embrace to stand. ¡°Wait here.¡± She spoke in a cold tone. He barely noticed her absence as he stared upwards, his body crying in agony. ¡°Ilixa. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He closed his eyes, he was so close, he could even smell her around him, her scent intoxicating, why, why did he have to come back? ¡°Here, you need to eat, you¡¯ve used up all your fat, again.¡± A shaky voice broke his thoughts. He looked at Lydia and nodded, he grabbed the meat and pasta and began to eat as she dropped to the floor, both legs to one side. ¡°You ran out of fat, you pushed yourself beyond your limits again. Did you even try to talk to them or did you just kill them all again?¡± She looked at him and shook her head. ¡°Nevermind, I don¡¯t want to know.¡± She paused for a moment, Tubal remained silent as he slowly ate. ¡°We can barely take care of the eight we have.¡± ¡°Nine.¡± He interjected, her face flushing in response, after an intense moment, she sighed. ¡°Yes, nine, but you have to understand, me and Erets can only do so much, it''s bad enough that Erets is ridiculously lazy, and if he isn¡¯t hunting or cooking he¡¯s worthless, but with you always being gone, I feel like you¡¯re just abandoning us, returning only to throw another kid on us.¡± His head turned away at that, she was right after all. ¡°Erets idolizes you, you know, the kids think you¡¯re a hero, but, I don¡¯t know how long that will last. We need you, we can¡¯t do this alone, I, I don¡¯t want these kids to grow up like I did, Erets is a different story, but these kids are still young. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll all see you as a monster, the new girl seemed so terrified it was overwhelming, I¡¯m not asking you to change in an instant, but give these kids what they need, please.¡± She stood up and looked at him, then began to turn out. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± He whispered, causing her to pause mid motion, then spun around. ¡°Can¡¯t, or won¡¯t?¡± And then she was gone. She left him there, her final words hanging upon him. What can I possibly give to these kids that wouldn¡¯t destroy them? I¡¯m not a hero, I¡¯m not even a father, I am a monster, I have to be, if I¡¯m not a monster, then I¡¯m nothing. He felt the heat rising off his body again. He could never stop thinking of that day nearly sixteen years ago, the day he failed.