Post 5 of 5 - Written by Killean and Vaalic
Shadow stood his ground, his chest puffing in and out with each labored breath. He held out his hands and allowed his blades to materialize within his grasp. Once the blades appeared, Shadow didn’t move. His vision was trying to adjust to the tunnel directed straight at his pray. Without any sign Shadow snapped low to the ground and leapt forward. With each stride he pushed himself far off to a side trying to make his movements unpredictable. Once Shadow got close to Vaalic, who was steadily backing away, Shadow didn’t outright strike. Instead he pushed himself to Vaalic’s side, and then lunged towards him. Without a blade for protection, Vaalic only had his metallic bracers for protection. He only managed to stop the first blade from striking his neck; Shadow’s second plunged into his side. The gash was not too deep, stopped by ribs that were not broken in the fight before now. As Vaalic stumbled backwards holding his side in pain, Shadow rolled back and landed in his low crouch ready to leap forward.
Shadow hesitated for a moment to stare at his swords which were illuminated ever so slightly. He watched as the blood from Vaalic’s wound began to move by itself on his blade. Slowly it crept up his blade, over the crossguard, and covered his hand and seeped in. When all the blood had vanished, both blades stopped illuminating and began to bleed. As it gathered and eventually dripped to the ground, the blood seemed to combust into flames which burned for a few moments.
Such an evil gift, Shadow thought for a brief moment.
Without further delay, Shadow’s vision was affixed on Vaalic and he charged forth. Vaalic saw that Shadow was readying to uppercut slash him, so he waited for as long as he could and then placed his bracers out in front to block the blow. Vaalic was too weak to repel Shadow’s blow, but he managed to redirect it somewhat. The blade sliced cleanly up the right side of Vaalic’s shoulder and across his collar bone. The wound was ghastly and began to bleed heavily, though it had been a better result than having his jaw cleaved in two. Shadow continued his assault, getting low to the ground then thrusting his other sword through Vaalic’s armor and his gut. Everyone clearly saw what should have been a fatal blow, a sword straight through the man’s body and poking out the opposite side.
Vaalic gagged as Shadow slowly pulled his blade out of him. Shadow’s demonic side had almost taken him over fully. Proof of this point being the sickening and euphoric look of delight on his face as blood gushed out of the wound. No longer able to hold himself up, Vaalic took one last step backwards and fell down on his back. He tried with all his might to pull himself away, but every move he made caused pain to wrack through his body. Shadow closed the relatively close gap after seeing Vaalic try to move away, and stabbed one of his swords through Vaalic’s lower thigh and deep into the ground. Vaalic was unable to cry out in pain, but began to cough up thick blood instead.
Shadow straddled Vaalic and sat on his stomach, paralyzing him with pain. Shadow pulled off one of his gloves and wiped the gathering blood from Vaalic’s eyes. For one last time, Shadow wanted to stare into those hateful eyes. The moment passed, and Shadow began to raise his remaining sword over his head to give Vaalic the final blow.
For the first time in his re-life, Shadow was given a moment of silence. A moment where the cries of hell ceased to be, and his mind was clear of all vile thoughts. This brief moment was all his conscience needed. Shadow saw through the eyes of the man below him, to a women close behind filled with sorrow. If he continued with what he was going to do, then he would be robbing Angel of the smile he swore never to again erase.
You want change. It happens now, with he who you despise most. There is a healer here, so just walk away. Shadow’s thoughts came, and then soon after so did the howls. They demanded he continue, they demanded this soul. Shadow closed his eyes and took slow breaths. He tried with every ounce of his strength to fight back. Shadow’s hands began to quiver, and arms wavering under the weight of the demonic blade.
“
Nooo!†He shouted from the bottom of his being and dropped the sword beside him. Shadow got up as quick as he could, allowing Vaalic to once again move. As his last act of compassion, Shadow grabbed the blade stuck in the ground and pulled. The sword felt as heavy as a small boulder, but with the help of his adrenaline Shadow pulled the sword free of the ground and Vaalic’s thigh and threw it off to the side.
The noise was deafening, even to the point of severe pain. Shadow’s face was flushed and sunken in. His eyes could not concentrate on a single thing. All the soldiers wanted to move in to pull Vaalic away but they dared not move towards the demon. They watched as Shadow started to stumble about, mumbling to himself. Shadow whimpered and closed his eyes again. When he opened them his head darted around looking for the direction of sanctuary. He recognized the direction he had arrived from and bolted off immediately.
As Shadow stumbled through the fields of grass and tree’s, the pain and confusion slowly faded. His resolve was fighting a war for control of his mind, and the moment it slipped he would envision what he had and control was yet again established. The more control he gained, the more the moans turned into growls promising torture if compliance was not had.
Never again will I allow the endless pain of death to rule me. I do not care how much pain my curse brings to me. I will never soil these hands with innocent blood again. Shadow thought, knowing that his thoughts would be the catalyst to something bad. And it was, as he watched the world of color disappear in a thick fog of black. Hearing a growl from somewhere behind him, Shadow knew he was being hunted. The next question was, by what, and what could Shadow even hope to do against it?
Shadow was out of time. Something leapt from the darkness and drove its claws deep into his back, pushing him forward to the black ground. The creature continued to rake into his back, and seemed frustrated that his wounds continued to heal. Nevertheless, it assaulted Shadow for nearly a minute before he had the strength and will to throw the creature off. Shadow opened his eyes as the pain subsided, and he could see that the world had reappeared. But now it was accompanied by several large wolf-like shadows with crimson eyes, staring back, and growling menacingly.
When one of the shadows twitched; hesitating to charge, Shadow started running immediately for the forest. This set all the demonic wolves in motion, snarling and growling as they closed in. Shadow’s luck held out as he faked a leap and then slid along the ground in the splits, while the creature charging at him from that direction jumped over. However the wolf’s rear foot clipped his shoulder causing him to spin to a halt. Shadow scrambled to his feet as fast as he could, just barely staying ahead of the creatures snapping maw.
A howl issued from behind Shadow which he knew all too well. The hunt was on, and this was not the time. Shadow could barely concentrate on the peace he had found, and already he was subjected to live with his worst enemy, his instinct. The moment Shadow entered the wooded area, he jumped up to a branch and swung himself up into a tree. He watched as two wolves flew past where he would have been, and then they disappeared as soon as they hit the large oak that was in their path. Shadow looked around for a path through the trees as the branch he was sitting atop, began to complain about the added weight. As he looked behind his tree for any paths there, he heard it growl at him.
Shadow moved himself back as far as he could from the base. As he half suspected, a shadowy wolf appeared suddenly flying at a great speed towards him. The wolf plowed full tilt into Shadow’s chest; the two fell from out of the tree. This was it. Shadow was pinned to the ground by the large creature and there was nothing he could do, except scream in pain as it and the others clawed and bit into his flesh.
An arrow flew through the brush and harmlessly passed through a wolf whisking a bit of its dark smoggy body away, ending with a large thud as it stuck into a root. The wolves stopped their assault and looked at the intruder. They all growled in unison and ran off towards separate trees and disappeared as they did before. The unknown archer was on high alert. Never had he seen such things before.
When the creatures made no sign of returning, the archer moved slowly towards Shadow who was lying on the ground, still recovering from all the wounds.
“
Are you okay?†The man asked stopping when he saw Shadow move and groan.
“
I’m fine.†Shadow replied quietly, looking for the source of the voice. He saw the archer, and his outfit. It matched the rebel soldiers of Faith Hills.
“
Who are you?†The sentry asked with an edge of caution. Shadow slowly got to his feet and turned away.
“
No one important.†Shadow began to walk away. The soldier was not too eager to stop the dark elf from leaving, but his conscience nagged him to.
Thankfully the soldier didn’t make any fuss with Shadow wanting to leave. Once he cleared the brush, Shadow continued his all out run again for Freeport.
I don’t want to return. But even if things could change, I don’t think my life is long enough to repay what I have done. How do I know this isn’t just some kind of dream? A cruel joke sent by hell giving me false hope? I can never have this freedom, because I have no choice but death.
Shadow’s mind was in chaos, a never ending loop of self pity, self loathing, and harsh personal judgment. He didn’t even realize that his body carried him throughout his entire inner monologue, straight up to the palace gates. In his mind he heard the church bells, crying out, ‘Sanctuary! Sanctuary!’ Shadow carefully picked his way inside, avoiding all contact and sight.
There were no guards around her door, this late at night. Shadow wasn’t even sure if he should have entered, not knowing if she was sleeping. He also felt too ashamed to even see her now, knowing how close he had come to destroying her happiness again.
No, Shadow thought,
I must face her and confess my sins. I must tell her I almost destroyed her last ray of light. Slowly and quietly he opened the door to her room and stepped in. The dying fire’s light silently danced over the moonlight illuminating Angel, who was fast asleep in her chair. One arm was hanging on the cradle that stood beside her, the other holding one of the books he gave her, open on her lap.
Shadow hesitated for a moment, which was long enough for Angel to feel his presence. Before she opened her eyes, she called out, “
Shadow?â€Â
“
Angel, I…†Shadow began, then looked away. Angel brushed the hair from her eyes and wearily placed the book on the other chair. She stood up and cautiously took a step or two towards the dark figure. Angel wanted Shadow to show her his eyes, so she could understand his story before it was spoken of. She could only dread the worst because Shadow couldn’t even look to her.
“
I… I couldn’t do it…†He stammered, clenching his eyes closed. Angel could only hope that he spoke of Vaalic. She found and grabbed onto the love she had for him, wanting Shadow to quit with the suspense and tell her of his fate.
“
What couldn’t you do?†Shadow gathered his bravery and looked up to face her. He had faced many situations in his life that called his brevity into question, and never had it let him show fear. Now, however, it could not help but falter. He felt nothing more then a lost child looking for comfort. Studying her for a moment, Shadow saw the desperation in her eyes which her neutral expression tried to hide it. Somewhere deep inside him was hurt when he saw this. Angel on the other hand could gather nothing from seeing into Shadow’s eyes. They always looked sad, filled with a great pain that no one should ever have known.
“
I couldn’t bring myself to finish him.†“
Is he okay?†She began to worry. Vaalic would fight unto his last ounce of strength, and would be on the ground barely breathing before Shadow could administer the final blow.
“
He will be. There was a skilled magical healer present, and I believe that he will have been saved immediately.†A wave of relief flew through Angel, that Shadow clearly saw.
“
Tell me what happened.†She said and moved closer to him. Shadow closed his eyes to recall what had transpired. He desperately wanted to forget the encounter, but not the aftermath.
“
As I was over him, my blade held high ready to strike, I realized that a moment for change was upon me. And so I threw the sword away.†He opened his eyes again and looked to hers for answers. She finally saw a change in his eyes. He was confused. And so she knew what she had to ask this tortured man.
“
Do you feel you’ve done the right thing?â€Â
Yes… his thoughts echoed, “
I don’t know. I feel as though I have been living for the wrong reasons.†Angel smiled and finished closing the gap between the two. She placed a hand on his folded arms and looked to his face. She casually brushed a stray strand of hair from his face, to which Shadow reacted by backing up an inch into the door behind him. Her touch was so alien to him.
“
You feel. That is what’s most important. For whatever reason, good or bad, you have the change you want. And for that I am glad.†As Shadow stared at her, and the last word she spoke registered, all the noise in his head gradually went silent.
“
I don’t know where to begin.†He said in a tiny voice.
“
You do.†She replied clasping his hand for a moment. Letting go she moved back to her chair. Just before she got to it, she looked over her shoulder, “
But give it some time to show itself to you. Just never let go of what you feel.â€Â
Shadow felt ill. He looked at the ground and moved his folded arms down to his belly.
“
Good night Angel. And thank you.†Angel smiled again, “
Good night ShadowRune. You are always welcome here.†And thus Shadow slipped out of her room, as a changed man.
This creature fighting Vaalic seemed familiar, in a way, to Jurret. The only question he kept asking himself was where he saw this ‘man’ before. The answer then couldn’t be more obvious as he sought his past. This was the infamous assassin elf of Twin Peaks. Jurret had the displeasure of hunting him once, but he couldn’t sacrifice his party then to bring this monster in to be judged. And as he watched the assassin move and act, Jurret was thankful he pulled out when he did. This was no mere elf; it was an unholy creature not of this world. Its funny though, he never felt a demonic presence in him before. Perhaps after he vanished, he was killed and turned into this vile affront to life itself.
Whatever the reasons were, Vaalic was doomed to failure. Jurret wanted to help him, but the howls he and everyone heard was filled with a powerful magic, and prevented him from even considering moving forward. When the creature pinned Vaalic, the howling stopped, but none dared to move in. The assassin stumbled about in a stupor and then simply ran off, leaving Jurret confused. Regardless, there was a man’s life hanging on by a thin line, and Jurret had to save it.
The group closed the circle once the demon was gone from their sights. Jurret had to violently throw soldiers and slaves to the sides to get to Vaalic. The moment he got up to Vaalic he pulled his sword out and stabbed it in the ground propping it against his self. He pulled off his beautiful cloak; given to him by his parents before he left, and proceeded to cut it in half on the sword.
“
You!†He shouted and pointed to a random soldier. The man thoughtlessly stepped forward, waiting for Jurret’s word. “
Take this, fold it up, and press it hard over the wounded leg.†He handed half the cloak to him.
Jurret repeated this to another for the wound on Vaalics stomach. When the soldier pressed down Vaalic writhed, but he could barely scream as his life was nearly gone. Jurret was quick to move to Vaalic’s shoulder and collar bone, where the wound was critically deep. Lifting Vaalic’s head carefully Jurret moved his knees underneath to help support it.
“
Vaalic, keep fighting, Vaalic. You’re going to be alright, just don’t give up!†Jurret shouted to the incoherent man.
Placing his hands on either side of Vaalic’s neck and shoulder, Jurret closed his eyes and began to chant silent words of prayer. With these kinds of wounds he needed more then just strength of will and magic, he needed a boon from his goddess. Jurret’s hands suddenly illuminated as the wind typically picked up around him. As the ceremony grew to a crescendo, Vaalic’s body joined in the bright illumination. Those among the rebels who worshiped the elven goddess of life, Solyen, saw the kind of power Jurret was channeling through him. Even though the image was vague, they could see what appeared to be a female elf with flowing golden hair hugging Jurret, channeling her power through him.
The show ended with a thunderous crack that sounded like it could be heard for miles. The light surrounding Vaalic slowly vanished like a piece of smithed metal cooling in the air, going the slowest around the wounds that he just had a moment ago. Jurret carefully lifted Vaalic’s head from his lap and placed it on the ground. He slid himself on the ground away from Vaalic by a foot or two and then attempted to stand on his feet. After stumbling for a bit, then using a couple soldiers as props, he managed to drag himself to his feet. They had little time to spare here, so some of the soldiers found items to carry the wounded, and they managed to coax the delirious Jurret on to one. The two forces, both Faith and Flurin were at a standstill. They eyed one another suspiciously, but with each commander either incapacitated or gone there was no order given to resume the battle.