LBDS: Prologue: Grandson

The moon shed her soft light across the landscape of the Dyre. The subtle rustling of the shrubbery but light undertones to the shuffling of people in the streets of Grandye.

“I never understood why humans must hustle through life so…” A soft yet raspy voice spilled from the lips of an older fellow as he sat on a rooftop, peering down upon the assortment of lights and hustling people. The man’s gentle blue eyes contained a soundless sigh.

“So quickly. You never understood why humans must live their lives so quickly. Isn’t that right, Hamel?” A voice filled with a lackadaisical air shifted through the air as another man slowly approach from behind. This would be fine… that is… if you could here his footsteps.

Hamel did not bother with the approaching young man and gave a light nm in confirmation.

“Ah. Why so cold Hamel? Come on. Come on.” The young man flopped down next to Hamel on the edge of the rooftop as he slung his arm out around Hamel’s shoulders and cooed in his ever flippant manner.

Hamel shrugged off the young man’s arm with clear distaste before standing up and walking away—the clear tapping of his cane piercing the night.

The young fellow leaned back and peered up at the night sky as he called out, “You always come here when you are about to do something stupid. You know you can’t do anything so why bother trying? What’s the damned point!” Tears flecked the man’s green eyes as pain stained his youthful face.

Hamel turned slightly with a dim, nearly imperceptible, smile on his lips as he said a few words, as if in passing, “Because it’s what I need to do.”

With a flick of the old man’s sleeve his hunched figure dispersed like fog into the night.

In the depths of some scattered ruins far off from the bustling city of Grandye old man Hamel was strolling through dark and musty corridors, with only the piercing rhythm of his cane and his trembling breathes to keep him company. The further he trudged into the depths of the ruins the darkness only seemed to condense and swallow everything into itself, Hamel was just another shadow amongst the shade of a vast dark expanse.

The oppressive darkness fed on the old man’s anxiety—a parasite of the mind.

After casting his gaze out into the darkness several times Hamel finally halted his movement. He swiftly lifted his cane and cracked it against the stone wall to his right. The metal cane sparked as it hit the solid wall. The spark provided dim light amidst the void.

A large chamber was glimpsed in the momentary light.

Hamel walked forward as a crack spiraled up the wall from where he struck but a moment before. The entrance to the chamber crumbled in a blooming cloud of dust.

Hamel’s face grew fierce as his wrinkled face scrunched and twisted in a horrific manner. Each thump of his cane grew more unrestrained as each movement was accompanied by a flurry of sparks, a line of small craters soon manifested wherever Hamel moved—he was no longer on some leisurely stroll.

The sparks seemed to constantly grow and devour each other as each new spark formed at the end of the cane, becoming just another part of a writhing mass of electricity that snaked its way up the metallic cane.

The stale air whipped and roiled about as with each step the electricity grew in an unrestrained manner.

At the benevolence of the divine lightning that permeated the very air the entire chamber was illuminated.

At that moment Hamel, the one man show, garnered the applause of a slimy rat of a man. He leaned forward as he looked down upon Hamel’s frightening countenance in amusement as he gave off a few rounds of half-hearted claps. His short greasy hair and yellowed teeth were revolting, but nothing could garner more disgust than the condescending look in his eyes.

Hamel growled through the cracks in his teeth at the short scummy little man, “Ester. Just another one of Grenn’s mutts. Get him the fuck out here before I tear this entire place apart! I’m really quite irritated by this aura, I might just snap in my old age.”

Ester waved his hand at Hamel in disdain before answering carelessly, “Mm, ya’ got me Hamel. I really am Grenn’s little bitch. Not as much as your daughter, but you know all about that now don’t you…” Ester let his words trail off as he leapt into the air.

A torrent of lightning and the lamenting of thunder surged throughout the chamber. Thick streams of lightning lightning pierced the stone where Ester was previously sitting, the stone was rent to dust.

“Getting rusty in your old age, tsk, tsk…” Ester wagged his finger playfully as he seemed to casually slip through the air, avoiding each snaking streak of electricity. He landed nimbly with not even a speck of dust on his clothes.

“Still I have to commend the fact that you still have so much residual energy after Grenn destroyed your totem.” Ester praised as hung his head in dejection at his own inadequacy. As he was speaking he swaggered forth amidst an immense sea of of electricity.

“Still, Grenn was so lenient as to spare your life in consideration for your daughter, but now that you’re here I can’t let you leave.” With a flourish of Ester’s hand foul smoke pervaded the air around him. Thin grey lines began to release an unearthly glow beneath his skin the very moment the black fog was released.

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The smell of death filled the air as the black smoke spread out around Ester. The vast spires of lightning were all annihilated the moment they came into contact with that pestilent smog.

The smog began to veil the entire chamber in a shroud of black as its foul touch consumed the lightning that was spilling off of Hamel’s wild figure.

“Give in already, this is already your limit old man. I don’t like to bully the elderly,” Ester bantered one-sidedly as he lurched forward with a cruel smile.

Hamel swept out his arm and in a swift motion as he rid himself of the restricting clothes on his upper body, revealing pulsing muscles, that looked rather uncanny on such an old man. Hamel lifted his cane above his head slowly as he began to store energy. His muscles visibly twisted and distorted in the most grotesque of ways as Hamel’s entire body stored up physical power. A vortex of lightning swirled around the metal cane, forming what resembled the claw of some primordial beast from before the era of mankind.

Suddenly, the cane swept down amidst the relenting cries of thunder.

A wall of smoke swiftly manifested itself to protect Ester from the boundless lightning that pounced towards him.

In that split second of relaxation, when he thought himself safe, the end of Hamel’s cane penetrated the fog and hurled towards his vile little face. In that moment, Ester could only manage to bring his palms up to meet the cane. With clear cracks, the bones within his hands were pulverised by the overwhelming force of the blow. The metal rod fell to floor with a clear reverberating sound, only it wasn’t the whole cane.

Outside of smoke wall Hamel’s voice cheerfully sounded out, “Youngsters are so courteous these days. I’ll have you hold my sheathe for just a moment if you would... young man.” Blatant disdainful laughter was concealed within his voice.

“Shit,” Ester cursed as he slumped forward with dangling arms. His crippled hands wouldn’t answer and of his commands, there was only pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Agony.

Blood slowly pooled up at Ester’s feet as his thoughts grew all the more hysterical. His eyes grew dull. His previously vile aura intensified as he could no longer consciously restrain it.

“PAIN!”

Ester’s head slumped back as he shrieked, his mental state only growing more diluted.

All of the smoke slowly dispersed as it was no longer being consciously controlled. As soon as Ester’s shield dispersed the harsh sound of metal cutting the air shrieked out in harmony with Ester’s own cries.

A crash rang out as debris was scattered into air. Hamel’s face was bruised and bleeding profusely. At least… the half that was still above ground. The ground shook and shattered as the brute physical force from Ester was simply too overwhelming. His strikes were so fast that they could not be seen with one’s eyes, it was unavoidable.

Ester began to pummel the old man in rage, a furious and delirious rage.

After several minutes Hamel no longer resembled a person in the slightest. His body was crippled, and he would die within the next minute.

Just as Ester was about to bring down a final blow, and crush Hamel’s disfigured head, a finger lightly tapped the center of his forehead. Ester fainted and collapsed to the floor.

The man had a quizzical expression plastered onto his face as he looked down at his subordinate. “Ah, To think he went out of control again. Sorry it seems I have been discourteous father-in-law, you see I have been rather busy up until this moment and I was left unaware of my friends poor treatment of you,” Grenn spoke calmly as he looked down at the battered old man beneath his feet.

“Your daughter, my wife, has sadly just passed from this world but moments ago. It's a pity you lacked the opportunity to say your goodbyes. But, you will see her soon, in fact I’ll send you off after you get a good look at your grandson. Who do you think he looks like more? Me? Or your daughter? He has her eyes,” Grenn rambled on mindlessly as he talked to the near lifeless Hamel.

“Well then, good travels on your way to the underworld!” Grenn smiled as he said his cheerful parting words.

Pitu, Hamel used his last breath to spit on Grenn’s boot.

Grenn raised that same boot up high before crushing Hamel’s skull with it until there was nothing but a puddle of blood and brainmatter where his head once was.

After, Hamel’s death Grenn cried in silence as he held his son in his arms. “I’m sorry…” He whispered softly to his child. Grenn picked up Ester by his collar while holding his son in the other arm as he quietly left the ruins.

As he left he could feel the pressure of his own cruelty swelling in his chest.