《Re:Arbiter of Power》 Advent of Creation Darkness. With darkness it all began. More precisely: It began with what hid inside the darkness as the abyss was never as empty as it made us believe. Now, what power, what might, was lurking in the endless darkness? It was chaos! Pure and utter chaos! Volatile and all-powerful, it was chaotic, it was constant chaos; a mass of wriggling energies, of thousand voices and million faces. It was God. It was no just God, it was no loving God, no righteous and forgiving God. It was simply... God, and that''s all there is to it. God was all. Eternal, infinite, omnipotent, extant and at the same time immaterial. We call it God as it''s name was creation itself, something ineffable for us mortals, but in actuality it had no name. Just nameless and crawling chaos, as the epitome of creation it was all and so was its name. But this story is not about God. It is about God''s creations, about its children. God had conscience, it was aware of the yawning void that gnawed at it, threatened it. God hated the abyss, hated the loneliness, and although all-powerful God was also the embodiment of inability. God could do nothing against the black chasm that embraced it, candidly trying to devour it. Not until God received a message, an order from up above. Yes, from a realm beyond the darkness and the omni. But did God care? No, God was wholly focused on the message it received. ''Create life!''. It was a single order, two words, but with endless results and variables. Although God had no idea what the strange markings meant the intent was clear. ''But how?'', God wondered and its question resonated within its being. God felt something change within it as it voiced the question for eternity to witness. For the first time God experienced unity as its existence had this single question as its fuclrum. For the first time God had an incentive. ''How do I create life?'', God pondered but something was amiss about its question. ''How do WE create life?'', God grinned. God felt and knew what life was, God itself was the best sample for this matter after all. But God was also certain that re-creating itself was impossible. God was frustrated; brooding eons over the matter had yielded no result. As if irritated by God''s shiftlessness another message came flying through reality and dimensions from unknown places. This time there were no words spelled out, what God recieved this time was an image. It was the picture of a delicate daisy, bracing sharp winds, overgrowing tides of deciduous grass and a hot midday sun. God was speechless. It had never seen anything akin to this little flower, to this miracle! With feverish effort God ingrained this image into its very being, parsing the picture into its essentials components; the gilden sunlight showering from up above, heralding the celestial body that hid behind a spotless and cerulean sky, the marbled petals glistening under a fiery halo of opal rays, the hushing wind that whispered thousand tales. God memorized the picture, the image of a single daisy lonesome but defiant growing towards the skies. God wanted to create a place for this flower. He wanted to create a place ESPECIALLY for this simple flower. Forget about hosting and sustaining life, what God wanted was a singular space solely for this fragile plant. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. And so God went on to work, with an image in mind and a crude path paved for it. But God failed. The void didn''t take too kindly to God''s actions. It encroached in God''s futile attempt to re-create life as God had witnessed, rendering each and every venture as a miserable failure. Did that stop God? No, far from it. For the first time since, yeah, time itself God had found a goal to strive for and God wouldn''t give up after just a handful of eternities. If God couldn''t bring life forth inside the abyss then why not use itself as the host? Although the void stretched forever, so did God. They were both innumerable infinities after all, and on a closer look, two sides of the same coin; All encompassing chaos and empty poise. And God''s idea was spot on! God''s body was under its free reign, a realm where God had full control, where God was truly omnipotent. So God resumed its task with what could only be descirbed as a smile on its ''lips''. And he did so with ¨¦clat! After trial and error God finalized the mimicry. A star was shining brightly behind a cloudless sky, the wind, ebbed and calm, washed over grassy plains and the daisy stood proud on its hill. But something was amiss. There was no luster, no sheen, no spark of life. It was, after all, just a brummagem immitation. Effervescent colours fringed the small flower and yet it seemed bleak, sombre and... wrong. God was downtrodden. There was no vibrant display of life God could wonder about, just a husk, a shell for something that will never be. ''A husk! It is but a mere container! Empty, for now!'', God suddenly exclaimed and its gaze changed. To give life God had to part with its own! It was so simple! Mortals would stop and debate, weigh out, is immolation the right thing to do? All just to give something less significant life? But God didn''t linger, he did not wait in his decision. It was after all its dream, its aspiration, its final destination: to give life! How could God not follow its destiny? And so God parted with bits of its life, infused them into the world the flower was errected on, into the dry earth, the sky and the far away stars and lastly into the flower itself. Slowly but surely, as God''s essence peppered through the multiverses, the daisy started thrumming, collapse in on itself before the petals slowly unwound to reveal two humanoid figures. A being with short, sun-golden hair and another one with long, flawless white and cascading hair. They stood there, with contently closed eyes and entangled in an intimate embrace, uncaring about the creator that watched them. God was silent, the beauty he created overwhelming him. God closed in on the figures, an anomally happening all around the universes, careful as to not blemish their beauty. "All of you,", God whispered, "all of you, my sons and daughters, shall guard life and see to it that it flourishes. I beg of you my children, Watchers and Guardians of Life.", God, peaceful and in never seen before accord, mumbled, the words carrying through infinity before God succumbed to the grip of the nether. It didn''t took long before God''s existence vanished in a dazzling fulmination of divinity, protecting the little glade of life it had created. Later, this event would be called ''The Big Bang'' by some. Prologue: Lost Light (A.N.: This chapter should have been out on Sunday already. But guess what? I had no internet connection when I previewed it. Do you know what that means? All my unsaved work was for nothing. I was so inspired on that Sunday that I wrote it all in one sitting. And then: BOOM! No internet for you, motherfucker! I was quite queasy about this chapter since I had to force myself to write it after the depressing set-back on Sunday. On another note: I got an idea for another fiction but I don''t want you guys to think that I will stop writing this one for the sake of the new one I want to post, but fear not. The new one will most likely only get a chapter once a month or so, or in other words: ''When I feel like it.'' I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter! It will show major changes in the MC''s personality. Enjoy it anyway :D ) -------------------------------------- I failed. I failed them all. Us. I was too naive, too thoughtless about my own action, or rather inaction. I should have seen it coming. I should have been able to prevent disaster from striking. I was, but I decided not to. It was my own hybris -my own ARROGANCE!- that led to this... I bid my time. I was waiting for a reason, a reason to intervene, but by then it was far too late. And now I can only gaze at myself falling down the abyss. But who could have known? Who could have known what humans are capable of?! Impossibilities, irregularities, that''s what humans are! They are unnatural, defying the laws of creation, repulsing God''s essence! It is.... their own fault. But I continue to stare at the horizon, sundown kissing the earth, before the second dawn will arive. But it won''t be just one, but many. Like stars they will shine brightly, even amidst the light of day. Their sheen white and brilliant yet profane as it thunders across mountains, valleys, seas and cities and leaves only ash behind. Entheal idea, man-made but with divine power, nay, with power that overthrows the natural order, far from divine after all. Machinations to horrible, to repulsive that their very idea erased lives and will erase lives. I watch on as a collective *click* echoes across this world, signalling the end of humanity. The wind mellowed, nearly died down completely, as the silent and last tick passes. *BOOM!* Whereas before only a few dimmed and dying lights littered the soft, orange-coloured sky, the stars were now countless, wonderful lightworks happening all around the globe. And then... Pain. A crackling jolt. A excruciating sense of agony that set my insides aflame. A black tide that drowned me in muffled screams, cries and pleas for help, tears of the innocent and bonds unmade. I felt the full brunt of mankinds emotions in this single moment, as explosion upon explosion ravaged their homes, their havens. Searing fulmination tore through their cities, rend whole landscapes apart and turned peace into shatters. And it was all my fault. Nearly I keeled over as the nauseating pain settled into my marrow, as a heavy stench of death began circling this world. Teary-eyed I despaired but kept my sight on the last memory of men. Those insconpicuous fireworks at the distance, so innocent from afar but so abhorrent from up close, served as a last testimonial of human ingenuity; as self-destructive as they were humans were an ingenious bunch to boot. My heart ached, split apart, as I continued to listen to lamentation and sorrow alike. But thereafter, as the last bombs detonated, a far different feeling spread through my chest. Like vile claws it ripped straight through me, pierced into my guts, spilled my offals and snaked into my flesh. It was a feeling far different from ever before. An impending sense of doom, a feeling of loss; my instincts shrieked in terror. I knew what it was. It was the grasp of death. It was the moment where I lost my divinity, my immortality. I have failed my task and now I would pay the price for it. I can still remember the day I was set into this world, my eyes meeting those of my creator. Albeit God''s life was rapidly dwindling he still had a smile on his face, for he knew: ''My task is done. I succeeded.''. God had all the solace he needed, a sense of fulfillment his reparation. But I had none of that. I would die a miserable death for I have sinned greatly. My eyes wandered from humanities last and ephemeral memorial towards the small cowering figure at my side. I had seen and felt enough death for my limited life time, my sights were tainted enough already. To prove my point I took her into a deep embrace, one that I was unwilling to part with. She was so beautiful, as beautiful as on the day I met her. No -what a fallacy on my side-, she was even more beautiful. Long, platinum hair cascading down her slim shoulders; almond shaped eyes with argent iris fringed by long, white lashes; high cheekbones with a rosey tinge; a petite and straight button nose -so cute-; and full, perky lips that beg one to be kissed, bitten and enjoyed. Her beauty was unearthly, surpassing even imagination. Fairlec incarnate, the embodiement of beauty, nothing more to say. I caressed her tender cheeks while she wrinkled her nose, trying to stiffle the sob that would inevitably come. My embrace tightened, her face pressed against my chest until her hot breaths tickled my skin. I doted greatly on this frail girl, I loved her after all. But when I felt her dodder, her body jerk and her fists clench I knew that something was amiss. Rightfully so. The waterworks began with but a silent whimper. Her eyes reddened, tears framed them like beads. And she started to cry, she bawled her eyes out, her tears searing scarred cuts into my flesh. I hushed my darling little love, patted her, showered her with my attention and love but no consolation worked. The rumble of the earth beneath us remained steady -each quake rendering my self a bit less alive- was now accentuated by a constant thrumming on my chest. With her tiny fists she slammed against me, her lips twisting into a frown while red tears streamed down her face. "Why...Why? Why?! WHY?! WHY?!", she leant against me, brow pressed tightly on my collar and fists resting on my shoulders. Breathing in the hot air with a disgruntled scowl I knew the bout was far from over. I knew another flight of rage was awaiting me. I knew I should face my lover. So why were my eyes drawn to the sky? Unable to swallow the truth I averted my sight, angry and saddened about my own weak self. "Why did we not stop this... this... THIS MADNESS!", her voice cracked and she slumped onto the cold and soon-to-be lifeless ground. I had no answer satisfying enough for her, only nonsensical excuses how it wasn''t our place to intervene. All I got were just empty excuses... Unconsciously I tightened my grip around her wipsy back but she pulled away and my arm passed frigid air. ''No.... Don''t do this to me...'', I cried out in silence as I saw her part our embrace and walk away from me, one step at a time. She looked up, her eyes dull yet fierce, before she tilted her head sideways, held her left arm with her right hand and whispered: "I am sorry Hirahn.". The woman I loved turned her back on me and now she stood too far for me to reach, all alone, forlorn, both of us. The fear of death that harried my mind, the aching hole in my chest, the pain that flooded from all that was alive, they all paled in comparison to the fathomless anguish I felt at that exact moment. To see your one and only true soulmate dismiss you, turn away from you, is something no living, dead or dying creature should ever experience. It is pure, raw, utter, undiluted... torment. Torture that threatened your very soul. In all but a single moment I lost everything. ------------------ With a heart heavy yet empty of emotion I carried out my last days on what was once called Earth. Millenia -Or eons? I couldn''t bother to count anymore and frankly, I didn''t care- passed by uneventfully. Life ceased to exist on the once beautiful green and blue earth. Deciduous forests reduced to black shambles, cerulean oceans expunged from their water until barren wastelands grimaced towards the grey sky. Earth had died. Although Earth had died, its crust rimous and slowly spalling much like my own soul, I carried out my duty and watched day and night how time passed by. It was somewhat of a habbit now. Leaning against the carbonized remains of a once tall and mighty oak, a sentinel of the forest, ever watchful and giving shade, reduced to a cracked husk. The tree was uprooted by the shockwaves in the past, as if a giant had trampled it over, but for me it worked just fine. I let my body slouch down onto the hard bark. There was nothing to do for me anymore so I just laid there, paitently awaiting my own end. But today was no such day. The morning rays were blighting, the only way I can describe the sunlight glaring down from above, as always since the past few years. Harmful to normal mortals but not to me in any way. I was, after all, a construct made up purely of God''s life force. I had the capability to shatter stars, much less this single planet, but I couldn''t do it. This... gaol was after all my birthplace, in a sense, and furthermore, it was a part of me as well. It was my home, and that of my lover. Whatever I tried to do I could NOT contest the reluctance in my heart. So I laid there, bored, with nothing to goad me and no one to love as I sensed a faint tremble in the air. ''Weird'', I thought and tilted my heavy body sideways. The glaring sun blinded my eyes for but a second before the fog cleared and the wonderful figure of a fair maiden was silhouetted against the dark background. "Saraya.", my lips uttered in disbelieve. Her appearance stirred a crimson wildfire in my cold heart. My muscles trembled, my skin felt fresher and my lips quivered in anticipation. "W-What are you doing here?", I asked in a husky voice. She was never gone but never at my side over the last few millenia, always avoiding any contact, explicitly surrendering me. She looked hurt, in an emotional sense. Her body was trembling softly but not from the cool. "Hirahn...", she mumbled and the wind delightfully carried her voice. "Do you hate me?", my mind and thoughts throttled into a crawl. What is she talking about?! "Hate you? Are you... How can you think something like that!?", I shouted and tears streamed from my eyes. "I will always love you! I will never, never, NEVER! hate you... I can''t, my dear...", my voice cracked but I had to pass on my conviction. I would not once think about hating her much less actually detesting her. Only a fool and weakling would, and I had my fair share of failures in the past already. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "Huh.". Her body jerked, her shoulders stiffened. "Ha... Hahaha... Hahahahaha!", she began laughing histerically. ''What a wonderful voice.'', is all I thought at that moment. "Of course.... I am such an idiot. You...", her lips shut and likewise did her eyes. She inhaled before her very own streams of tears flowed down her eyes. "You could never hate me... Why?!", the last part was only a faint whisper. "Why can''t you hate me!?", now she screamed her desperation. "It would be so much easier then.", she took a step forward into my direction. "If... If you only hated me...", her pace quickened. "Then... Then you could leave.", she jumped the last stretch into my arms and I gleefully accepted the silly girl. "Hate me Hirahn...", she whispered into my chest. "Hate me, then you can leave.". I would never accept her proposal. "I am sorry my love, but I can''t. How could I hate someone has cute as you?; As intelligent as you?; As steadfast as you?; As strong as you?", I held soft strands of hair between my right and gently touched her fair skinned cheeks with my left. I lifted her chin up and gazed deep into her silvern eyes. I leaned closer and gave her a well deserved kiss. Foolish girl, who could hate her? "But...", she whimpered. "This will only make it so much more painful for you.", I raised my eyebrows to her odd statement. "What do you mean?", but no answer came. Gently I parted from the embrace, pushed her shoulders away with my own arms. My heart split in two. ''How had I not noticed?'', I starred dumbfounded at the iridescent shard propped up inside her chest. "S-Saraya... What is the meaning of this?", my voice was weak, unlike the vivid crimson that flowed from between her breasts. "S-S-SARAYA!", I screamed and panicked, my hands uselessly flailing about as my mind already noticed: It''s too late. The shard had pierced straight through her heart, her life stopping at that exact same moment. That stupid girl still held a hand around the sharp object, her suicidal attempt successful. "H-How... How could you do this to yourself?", I placed the girl on the ground. Her eyes were tightly shut, her face was starting to pale, but her lips formed a charming smile. "Answer me.", I commanded the lifeless corpse, the memory of Saraya. It''s lips remained tightly sealed. "Ha... Hahaha.... HAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!", now it was my turn to laugh. Now it was my turn to let my emotions reign free. The earth shattered beneath my feet, the air trembled and even sunshine began to be swallowed by shadows as dark as my madness. "It was their fault...", my feverish mind spoke. "It was the humans fault. They killed her... Their stupidity killed her, killed us!", and my might was finally unleashed. Thunder arched against the parched soil, turning the lowlands into mighty ravines. Fire spewed from my skin, incinerating reality itself. Shockwave after shockwave bursted forth from me, banging against the fabric of this universe. My eyes glazed over, my veins shone in the light of gilden magma and my blonde hair turned into angelic threats, purging the lands with the slightest touch. "THIS IS NOT MY HOME NO MORE! MY DUTY SHALL NOT BE FULLFILLED! DO YOU HEAR ME, FATHER?!" I expected no answer, not from a dead being. The task he had given us could never be completed, it was more akin to a curse. And if he wishes to curse his own child, the he shall have a damned being as his son. ''This world will be the first I shall purge!''. Berserk was my mind, furious my thoughts. ''And then... More shall follow.''. A dark promise spread through my mind. I ascended further heavenwards, my body lifted by invisible strings, before I looked down upon the earth I so shamelessly thought to be my home. What home can it be if there is nothing but pain awaiting me? In my hands cosmic power began amassing. Static of raw energy began to undulate between my fingers. The flow of time cowered and cambered beneath the pressure of my unsourmountable power. I held my arms high into the air, as if presenting those two orbs of writhing death to the Gods -pah!- but there were none as I myself was the only one. My fingers clenched around the globes of dazzling light, each with the might to pulverize a galaxy, and I tightened the grip further. I felt the energy flicker under my own strength before it succumbed and surrendered to me. Then my fists shut completely. A different kind of explosion rang out, one that did not simply destroy but dematerialized everything in its wake. It was a kind of energy that let all perish that dared to stood in its way. And the first obstacle was this detestable planet. The heap of stone and corpses, once called Earth, posed no hindrance to the destruction I released. ''You could have learned something from me, humans.'', I chuckled devilishly. Fervently I watched on as the wave of carange, as the law of destruction itself, spread over the planet. But it stopped. A light unlike my own, much purer, much more innocent, began glowing beneath me. My head glared down and my eyes widened. ''I...I... What was I thinking...''. I sighed and let the power receed back into my hands before I stashed it away like some everyday object. I slowly descended, down below where now a large chuck of land was missing. My feet taped on the ground besides the lifeless body of Saraya. ''Seriously...''. Earth might not be my home anymore, but it certainly was hers still. Could I truly destroy her place? Do I have it in my heart to betray my love? No... I could not and do not. "I am really a fool, ain''t I Saraya?". It begged the question what I was doing at the moment. Speaking to a lifeless corpse, when before I was trying to detroy the world. I am a fool. "You loved this place, didn''t you?". I began talking. "Do you still remember the day we met?". I turned to the side with a gentle smile, slowly sitting down on the ground at the same time. "You were so embarrassed that I have seen you naked.", I chuckled lightly as the memory began coming back. "You couldn''t even look me in the eyes the first few years. And we were the only beings in this lonely universe at that time. I really wondered how long you could keep this up.", I slapped my thigh and laughed out loud, twice as loud as before, so that Saraya could laugh with me. "You were so docile. Always shy around me. But after countless years you openned up to me." "Do you still remember when I made a sculpture of you out of a whole mountain? You were so surprised and I knew you liked it. Even as you stared at the ground I could see the smile floating on your face." "Remember when I nearly destroyed this planet because you stepped in dinosaur poo? Fortunately after my little ''talk'' with them that won''t ever happen again.", my laugh was unrestricted and I began curling up as my stomach began aching. "Or when that idiot kingdom actually dared to proclaim their princess was more beautiful than you. Can''t say that anymore after I pushed their capital Atlantis onto the seabed." "Do you still remember our first embrace?" "Do you still remember our first kiss?" "Do you still remeber our first night we spent together? Under glitering moonlight." "Do you still remember when I promised you: I will never leave you?" "Do you still remember when we promised to always care for each other and to never be apart? That not even death do us apart?" "We were immortal, we would always be together... Death would stand no chance against us after all." "So why... Why have you broken your promise?" "Why..." "Why did you leave me?" "Why?" I stood up from the ground, dusted of my body and stared into the sun. I myself couldn''t see the shimmering tears, but I felt them. "Now I lost my home, my way, and my only light. Saraya, you were like a candle in the dark for me. But I never thought that your light would come to an end..." "But this is what you wished for, isn''t it? You couldn''t leave me alone after all. You couldn''t leave my weak self alone and had to sacrifice yourself. Because of me. Not because of the humans, but because of me. I am weak after all, am I not Saraya?" "You know I don''t want to leave you. But in the future, when I die, and I did not take up on your offer you will certainly scold me high up in the heavens. Maybe you will even spank me!" "That''s why I will not let your.... death.... be in vain." "I will live. I will keep living! So that your memory will stay alive. Yes... your memory won''t die! YOUR MEMORY WILL NEVER DIE! YOU! WILL! NEVER! DIE!!! And so I raised my chest in defiance against the heavens and let my hands tear through dimensions. "I will find a place to live. A place were we can be happy." I blinked, gulped and glared into the blue rift that openned up before me. "I love you, Saraya." And stepped in. The light behind me soon faded, the last light of my old world. Chapter 001: New Beginnings I apologize for the amateurish fight scene beforehand and the lack of real action although the character in this chapter goes against six opponents at the same time. I just think it is unrealistic in a world where a sword cut can spell your doom that people group up in a wild melee, taking the risks of getting injured by their own friends. I know the flamberge is not such a useful weapon, apart from sawing through lesser durable poleweapons, but I just like the name and the looks of it. Don''t hate me guys! :( Characters are drastically changed as well as their chronological appearances, but do not fret, they will all be included. And yeah I thought about a wild comment in Arbiter of Power ordering me to make an Alexander X Lizzy ship come true and I am honestly considering it. If you don''t know who any of those two are, do not worry, they will appear sooner or later. Anyways, as always leave a comment down below and... Enjoy! :D "I... I can''t *Huff!*... I am exhausted.", I slumped down against the thick trunk of a tree. The cooling shade and moist air refreshed my dry skin and I felt better already. I looked down at my turgid and bent ankle, glowing purple and hot. Pus bubbled out of a rough cut on my left foot, turned into a completely useless deadweight at the moment. Luckily I pocketed a small piece of glass before I rammed it straight into that bastards throat. I might not have any disinfectant on hand but a strapping of old cloth should suffice for now. I gnashed my teeth for the upcoming pain before I stabbed the sharpened glass shard into the wound, widening the putrid and black cut. "Ah.... ARGH... Ha.... Haaaa.... FUCK!", I thrust the knife deeper into the wound, straight into the pocket full of ichor, until it splashed out in a fountain of crimson and foul yellow. My head felt light and my stomach knotted under a sudden assault of contractions. I laid onto the ground and began retching food that had since long left my body. Instead of half digested food only clean spittle and acidic bile left my mouth. It took me a minute to gather my bearings and before I noticed excruciating pain rose from my left foot. A small puddle of blood and pus has already formed below my sole and the stream was steadily leaking from my famished flesh. If I don''t bandage that grizzly wound soon I will blackout from bloodloss. And with my hunters stuck to my heels I wouldn''t want that. Tearing away at a large portion of my burlap patchwork I used the thick strip of old cloth as a makeshift ligature. I tightened the strapping with as much force as my dehydrated, disease-ridden and malnourished body could handle until I was satisfied with my red tinged foot. The bandaged stung a bit -much less than the wound itself of course- and might have been to tight, but I smiled at my impromptu work nonetheless. Listlessly and too exhausted to keep my prior pace I kept sitting on the garled roots of the sturdy alder. I harked to the sounds of twigs cracking, birds singing, my own laboured breaths and the creak and grating of the earth between my fingers. The feeling of dirt running between your fingers, sometimes soft and other times brittle and hard, had something soothing to it, like nature itself was embracing me, shielding me from the terrors of what is called civilisation. I sighed dejectedly, no point in thinking about unecessary stuff. Sooner or later I will be found and then... hell, I don''t even know what will happen to me then. Either I will get killed for my disobedience, made a toy for my torturers or they want me to keep fighting in that hellish place. Humans are so despicable. My hatred burned strong for those savages, those disgusting and vile people. They would sell their soul for their own gain, they would kill their own family just to live a year longer. My loathing for the human race ran deep, deeper than any other emotion I could afford over the years. You could hate for free, happiness mostly came with a hidden price tag somewhere, but hate? Hate is all that one can afford who has nothing at all. And over the years I had accumulated hate in spades. *FWEEEEET!* The sadly short lived respite was ended by a loud whistling noise in the distance. Alas, my pursuers had caught up. I legged it as fast as I could, storming and ducking under low hanging branches and whip like boughs. I jumped over tilted rocks, small mountain torrents and unsavoury, spike strewn brushes until I stopped in the midst of a small glade. The afternoon sun barely kept up with the creeping nightfall; light was sparse and visibility low. The worsening illumination did cause some troubles on my quick flight, like another deep gash across my thigh. I winced over the amount of blood that was flowing down my legs. ''Although it wasn''t even that time of the month yet.''. Good, I can make jokes still, that can only mean I have yet to die. I would have loved to laugh about my sardonic self-mockery if it didn''t mean that I would be one step closer to death''s door if I did. Leaving the problem of my suspisciously increasing amount of soliloquies for another date I began a short rest. My hands cupped over my knees and my haggard breath came out in short puffs. My lungs ached from the sprint and my legs were bursting from the pain. The wound on my foot that had never closed to begin with only openned wider, giving way for dirt and infections while my blood loss steadily increased. ''I won''t survive this night.'', I thought rightly so as my vision got hazy. "No, I won''t die here. I will survive.", I whispered not only to myself but to this world as a whole. That I, Myrel Lyansong of the Yu''Maha, will survive. That I won''t let myself fall in those puny humans'' hands. ''As a War-empress I can and will not further shame my own race!'', my mind bellowed and I tenderly caressed the silvern scales adnate on my arms. No, they will never get me! Either they will die today or I will take my own life! I felt my innate magic turn wild at my bold thoughts, my recumbent scales bulged upwards in response, crackled and twined until they formed even blades. My bones creaked as the magical essence began pouring through my body, distorting my limbs into feral and beastly appendages. My hands and fingers grew, writhed and turned into sharp claws plated by bone and metal alike, the clotted wounds got covered by thin sheets of ash grey mail and my face was shadowed by a horned helmet, congenital and distinctive for the Yu''Maha. "Haaah.... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", I screamed heavenwards, my roar echoing through the forrest and rendering its inhabitants frightened and witless. They wanted a hunt, I will give them one! One they won''t so easily forget. I got into position, leaned low onto the ground, my hands clawing into the dirt and my legs ready to pounce. I breathed hard on the moist soil, my loud, fervent respiration like thunder in my perked ears and my eyes flit and darted over the shaded canopy and thicket alike. The pain, the countless wales littering my body, the falling strands of hair, I ignored them all. My mind was sharpened, my gaze focused. It was my inner beast ruffling and lolling, awakening inside of me. It needed blood, it craved the dark crimson. A shudder running through the bushes signaled the start of a hopefully long and bloody battle, a carnage. I shoot forward, my legs whipping onto the ground, uncoiling the tensed muscles like a siege-golem''s springs. With blinding speed I flew over the ground, crossed a space of tens of meters in the blink of an eye and a single jump. My right cocked back, fingers and claws spread wide, and then I let my metal cleaving talons whisk through the air. A head popped up from the underbrush, a noble and dignified man if not for the gross and high-handed smile sported on his face. Like a useless quilt a lavish robe was drapped over his shoulder, hampering the man in trying to fiddle out his flimsy sword, as if I would let that happen. My hand crashed onto the man, or so I thought, but instead it hit solid layers of reinforced steel, magically and mechanically. The noble, Frederic Voile, paled as he saw my claws approach his oh so beautiful face -I''d love to shred that pretty face of his into pieces-, but calmed down after seeing that he himself remained unharmed. His smile turned derisive and snide, a far cry from the mask he had on earlier -to deceive his troops I conclude-. His eyes squinted before he clapped his hands together. "Oh my. My, my, my... Myrel my little mitten, you won''t hurt your master, won''t you?", his sarcastic smile pissed me off to no end. "If you lay low I will end this with only a little spanking. Come my cute little kitty.", he beckoned for me like a stupid animal, like a mindless beast. That fucker! "Or...", he ran his dirty fingers over his lips. "My little entourage here will need to use violence.", he gestured not only to the man that protected this trash with his own life but also to the group of men that were entering the glade with firm steps. I shared a qick stare with all of them through my visor before I jumped back a few paces. Three knights, armed with heavy plated mail, maces and thick shields. One archer with a full quiver, a massive longbow, a crossbow and a shortbow bound to his back as well as multiple knifes and dagger strapped to his waist. The man had a whistle around his neck, so he most likely had either a companion or was the scout. At his side was a towering man with a giant flamberge. The undulated blade was coupled with an edged shield. The last man stood even further in the back, a massive tower the only way to describe this figure. With full body armor that must have weighed hundreds of pounds coloured in silver and emerald as well as an insignia of a lightning clad mallet on the shoulder this person could only be one: A paladin. I gulped down to prevent myself from puking. Those guards of his were elite soliders, I could tell that much. Each should be worth around 5 normal soldiers, maybe more if they have acess to magic. But that Paladin behind him was of a whole different caliber. That man was one that could hardly be classified as mortal anymore. They are the cusp of humanity, the strongest soldiers and the most elite of the elite. Each is said to be able to raze whole towns to the ground, either with physical or magical prowess. Their tales are legendary and even we, the Yu''Maha, a crazy and warmongering species of Demi-Humans, respect these figures. They are at least on par with our Elders, might even surpass them. And to fight without any weapons but their own hands, such is the way of a true warrior such is true warrior heaven! But it is said that they are loyal to their respective kingdoms only, so how? How did this lowly son of a backwater duke get the assistance of a Paladin? Frederic noticed my glare, one that put none of them but the silent paladin in the back in my eyes, and laughed in delight. "Oh! Oho! You are wondering about Adrian there?", he stood up from his crouched position and dusted of his robes with the same lazy and slovenly face as I came to know him. "He still owes my father some favors and, you know, as father''s favorite he asked Adrian here to help me collect my toy.". That lewed smile of his again.... One day, one day I will break all his bones. "Can''t even get his slave back with his own hands.", I scoffed but that despicable man only smiled back in response. "Why, of course! I would spare no expenses to get you back into my hands.", he answered and gave an underhanded sign at the same time. ''Idiot, as if I wouldn''t notice that.'' The archer in the back nocked an arrow and began shooting, the knight that protected Frederic stomped forward and brought his mace down in a wide arc while the other two knights began circling me with their shields. Their steps were quick but not quick enough. I dodged sideways, the warmace barely scratching my platry attire, and kicked off from the ground, jumping against one of the knights that was closing in. My hand bolted forward, sharp and quick I thrust my claws into the thin visor, hardly pricking the skin of the person beneath but enough to make him back up in shock. With a kick to the sternum I send the man flying backwards, trip over the uneven ground and then fall on his behind. A sharp whistle through the air announced the flurry of arrows that began hailing down on me. I braced the sharp projectiles, trying my best to dodge and failing miserably at it. The one handed crossbow shot in tandem with the shortbow resulting in a threshing. The knights laid low, trying not to impede into the arrows trajectory while they closed off any escape. The man that was sent onto the ground stop up and tackled me from behind, prompting a jab with the layered blades on my forearm. My scales screeched against the soft metal until they found entrance in a small gap at his ribs. I trashed inside his chokehold, my natural blades cutting deeper and even piercing into the chainmail below, but instead of backing up he began pounding me with his shielded left. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I kicked against the man''s knee caps with my taloned feet until they seperated from the armor. I grinned as the man kept turning my face bloodier than before without noticing his exposed joint. Another kick against the flesh that was only sparsely covered by leather trousers rewarded me with a loud snap. He shortly leant to his left before he stabilized his weight on his hale right leg. But my talons, curved like dangerous hooks, were still dug deep into his bones and with my higher endurance but only slightly lesser strength I began dragging around his leg with sickening squelches. This time the man reacted with a yelp before he tried to bash me with his mace. I grimaced and flung my own head backwards, repeatedly. It was a test of our prided armors'' durability. Of course my natural and magically augmented armor was sturdier than the thin metal sallet and soon the latter caved in. Blood flowed through the visor as one of my horns managed to bury itself into the knight''s face. Painfully so I ripped my horn through the frail skin and sought out the even softer parts like the eyes. But before I managed to land a solid hit, which would most likely end up in permanent blindness of the knight if no healer was on the spot, a shield bash to my stomach took the wind out of my sails. Winded and a bit dazed I was now beginning to grow a bit restless. With their physique surpassing mine they could easily keep me pinned down while another dealt blow after blow. But those men were stupid, as trained as they are, they still underestimated me. Enraged one of the men bodyslammed me as well as his comrade into the ground, talk between a rock and a hard place. We were flung backwards, the man beneath me grunting as he impacted on the ground with two people abusing his body as a cushion. Seeing the futility of the archer''s arrows and the pickle his friend was in the other knight must have rushed forward, thinking such simple attacks could knock me out. But that was far from reality. I bit into the inside of my cheek, letting blood flood my mouth and spit the man atop of me in the face. The spray of blood painted the man red and I nearly burst out laughing as I saw his unbelieving eyes, as if I had destroyed his whole world view. The liquid sizzled for a moment and the man began flailing about wildly with his hands scratching away at his helmet. But truth be told, my blood was unable to deal any real damage to flesh and skin, but iron and other metals were a different matter altogether. As one that could grow such things right out of her muscles and bones I should at least be able to reverse the transformation. With enough leeway I sidled through the embrace with ease, the man I laid on still much too focused on the open left side of his face. The blood spurted out of the wound but it was by no means leathal or anything. Just shrug it off you weakling! I jumped up, headbutting the knight that was struggling with my blood. I grappled a bit with the man that had yet to realize that my blood had no corrosive effect on his flesh and pushed him back. I lead his arm behind his back, snaped his wrist and unwillingly he let his mace fall to the ground. A kick to the poplit left him kneeling on the ground. Deftly I moved my body around his broad torso, just narrowly avoiding an arrow of the more lethal kind. The sharp tip split through the air and whistled straight into a tree in the distance. I could see the silver light pierce to the backside of the tree and then a bit further. The long bow the archer now wielded had to be magically enchanted. That man was dangerous. With the mace still in my hands I drew a large swing over the ground, lifting dirt and dust into the air and with the same momentum I smashed it straight into the head of the knight lying on the ground. My body did not produce enough force to actually kill the man off for good but at the very least he stopped moving. Of course I would not linger in my success -not for too long-, that would be foolishly underestimating my opponents. I weaved forward, trying to avoid the third and still unwounded knight and the onslaught of mace swings he brought with him. But with my worn and torn body it was hard to avoid each and every of the whirling strikes and soon some managed to pepper my body, one really nasty one split my skull in two, that''s how it felt at least. I back and skid a short ways over the soft ground before I carefully fingered around my new wound. It was a large crack running straight down the middle of my skullcap, or rather my helmet. Blood leaked from the scissure and down my face, proving once again that the armaments cradling my body were still part of me. The growing headache felt as if somebody was trying to crack my skull open with his bare hands, and it seems he was succeeding in his endeavour. I let my sharp teeth run over my tongue, cutting deep into the soft flesh until I felt another spray of blood filling my mouth, the pricking pain gave me some clarity at best, a small breather. The archer had to be disposed off, the enhanced longbow too dangerous of a weapon, but I had no possible way or means to close the gap between us without getting shot to death. And even if I tanked a single hit it was unlikely that the warrior shielding the archer would let me pass without a decent fight. So either I would reach him bloodied and battered, a warrior turned pin cushion at worst, or my head would roll under the rippled claymore. I gnashed my teeth under the dim prospect of either getting killed or willfully surrendering and turning into that Frederic''s toy, and this time he won''t leave me any kind of openning to escape from his clutches, surely not. ''That means... only death awaits...'', I mused and steadied my resolve. If I lose then I will die, I won''t turn into somebodies slave, not again! Lifting the mace in my hands I fling my hand forward with all the residual strength I could muster. Like a whip my arm cracks forward and sends the hammer blustering through the air with incredible speed. The knight before me narrowly dodged, his eyes too slow to keep up with my swing but his instincts are able to choreograph an adroid sidestep. The deadly projectile scratches against the armor, sparks spurted from the point of impact, but it hurriedly moves on, finding its target only a few paces away. Wide-eyed the archer notices the deliberate but not so randomly thrown object move into his direction. Surely the warrior at his front needs to block this attack or the archer will be no more, meaning: Frederic has no one to protect him My legs moved on their own, jumping atop the knight that managed to dodge the mace and using him as a springboard and then followed up by a rapid sprint. My body blurred, my arms flicked forward and likewise did my legs. I nearly tripped in the mad dash but it only fueled my ambition. To get closer to that pig, to rip his face off and then break each and every bone. Not a moment before the hammer hit the corrugated sword and was masterfully parried I appeared before the still smiling Frederic. That idiot didn''t think my strength would suffice for this distance and kept his guard low. I wonder what he might be thinking now, seeing the one he brought so much torment about to end his miserable existence. Surely I would get a good laugh out of it. From my peripheral vision I saw the warrior with the claymore start shuting, with agape eyes he finally noticed the futility of his action. What good does it do if your comrade survives but the employer dies? And a noble at that. Execution should be the least of their worries. This final and desperate attempt to regain my freedom is testimony of my tenacity and endurance, even if I die here I will die with a light heart! I smiled at the thought. Now it would end. But alas, that wasn''t the end. That wasn''t it at all. Instead of feeling young Frederic''s squishy flesh between my claws I only felt darkness. Well, pain first, then darkness. I had forgotten the most important factor in this battle. The Paladin! An existence I won''t be able to match even at my peak condition. And now he had me, one hand gripping my neck like a stray cat. Oh the humilation! Much less hear I hadn''t even see the Paladin move! And that although he is equipped to the teeth with this abomination of a plate armor. It was a moving fortress, goddamn! It made one wonder what it takes to reach such a level of strength, to be nigh unrivaled under the heavens! And what they had to leave behind to reach this summit... Was it their humanity? Their sanity? Sadly the Paladins mostly kept to themselves and rarely unfurled their enigmatic identities to anyone but their closest of friends. So could it be considered a honor to know this man''s name although I will be made a slave once again? Of course not! The last spark of hope I clung too was errased the moment the Paladin catched me. I doubted that I was even able in any way to hurt that bastard Frederic from the moment the Paladin decided to take him under his wing. Even if I had a knife put on his throat the Paladin would move quicker than I could end that wretch''s life. And here I thought I could escape. It would have been too good to be true to wake up, shake the drowsiness from my body and start a new day. To begin completely anew with my life. A wonderful, new beginning. ---------------------- Adrian POV: Fast. Fast and strong. That little demi-human runt was a prodigy in the art of combat! Able to incapacitate half a squad in just a few seconds. Genius, truly genius! I had heard tales of the Yu''Maha but that even their youngsters were this strong?! Unbelievable! She is what? Barely ten? Just a greenhorn in the art of warfare and yet... and yet... At such a tender age I was barely able to finish my first clean set of practice swings! That damned duke Voile and his despicable child. Had he not saved my life once I would end his whole house to get my hands on such a martial genius. Give or take ten to twenty years and she will easily surpass me in every field. What a shame, what shame indeed. I couldn''t let it show but it truly pained me as a fellow warrior to make this little, belligerent runt a slave. Recruit her as a human general of the Alliance and presto! We got the upper hand against the south again! This child could indeed be the final drop that could burst the barrel that is the tyrannical rule of the south. But no... the greed of one will often times not only affect a few but many. With a heavy heart I cursed the little girl with complete immobility and loss of senses. Now unable to move or in any way alter reality with her magic I began putting on her slave chocker. A heavy instrument that renders the wearer unable to hurt or in any way disrespect its owner, the bane of autonomy for the unfortunate individual. But the favor I owned had to be repaid and mabye, just maybe I will get a chance in the future to make this father and son pair pay for their wrongdoings. Though till then I hope this child behaves lest it wants to live a life of torment... It didn''t take long to wrap the collar around the thin neck of the girl, so thin even that I feared she would break under my rough touch and reluctantly I presented her to the Duke''s son. That knave was rubbing his hands together as if he was a child that found a new toy, my distaste for the man was only growing further. His eyes shone like dark candles and his smile was crooked and diabolic. Oh the horrors this child will have to go through, I wish you the best of luck in your tribulations; In all earnesty. I was so invested in the gouging hatred towards the man and pity for the child that I hadn''t noticde the man''s flickering gaze change target. Instead of looking at the starving child gripped in his vile hands he stared into the forest, or more exactly, behind me. Inside those eyes I saw a change. From the glee of having finally captured his prey it turned into confusion, then utter shock and surprisse and finally it downspiraled into abhorrent fear evident by the twisting of his face. His breathing stopped and from the sounds of it those of his men as well, no, that was not all. I strained my ears and noticed, the whole forest was silent, ghastly silent. And before I had the chance to turn around I heard a confused mumble in a language and voice foreign to me. A soft word spoken in a low but lofty voice. "Hello...?" And before I knew it I was engulfed in a torrent of power unprecedented to this date, to this day and age! My knees quivered and my arms felt weak under the onslaught of comsic energies and how they swatted me to the ground. My stomach churned, my skin crawled, my hairs stood on end. And my guts were telling me: this is true power, this is true might, this is true authority unrivaled under and above the skies! It was might straight out of myth and legends. A might that should not exist in this realm. It was the power... of a god, a deity... an Arbiter of Power!