Early spring / Mercy 732 ADM – Necromundis – A forest road West of the Atonoth academia
He drove in silence, trembling hands clenched hard on the reins. The night sky was clear yet a hooded cloak covered him, hiding his pale thin face, long dark hair and deep purple eyes only a thin mustache peeked out of the cowl. Furthermore, his carriage was followed by two other that were likewise covered by a tarp hiding their passengers.
From inside his carriage the soft giggles of a small child and light chatter could be heard coming from a pair of voices, Kri’Olian was trying to reassure Sil’Merxau, it only served as a constant reminder that Xau’Aravas was missing, adding to his nerves.
Mer’Nelgot tugged left and right on his reins trying to dodge the numerous potholes on this depths-forsaken road, who would have thought taking such an ancient path through the forest to be so difficult, he usually rode on horse-likes or in one rare occasion atop his lord’s undead wyvern, well ex-lord's really, given that he technically stole the lord’s servants, his family.
Thinking of execution, his mind turned yet again to his dear Xau’, by the spirits he hoped she was fine.
Thinking was Not productive to looking around and soon one of the wheels dropped over a root into a deep pothole threatening to break the carriage and causing his grandson, little Dam’Silkri to start crying in a shrill voice, soon to be followed by sighs from inside.
“Sil’Merxau if you don’t shut your spawn right now, or depths-forbid someone hears it, I swear I will sew its mouth shut with your tendons.” He whisper-shouted.
There were a few seconds of silence as the child stopped crying and the parents recoiled in shock of such words from what should have been a calm and kind man.
Then the front curtain was ripped open, revealing a furious woman of red hair and green eyes holding onto a child and a man of such resemblance to the driver even the deep bags under their eyes looked alike.
“Wait, no Kri’ it’s...” The man tried to say without much energy.
“Sir, how can you speak such words of your grandson, and of Sil’, wasn’t this whole thing meant to avoid any of us getting stitched.”
“And look where it got us! where it got Xau’Aravas” the driver yelled, without a hint of a whisper this time.
“Dad... mom is just late by a few minutes. Not getting stitched! She made the plan, you know her, she will be back soon, and with her distraction I am sure all the lord’s wraiths are on the other side of the domain, she is safe, we won’t get caught.”
The horse-like had stopped turning his head at the commotion behind it, stopping the rag-tag caravan in its tracks, the driver of the second carriage got down and walked to them, trying to add his voice to the argument but quickly suffered from even harsher words.
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That didn’t stop some of the cousins, friends and relatives riding behind to come out and add their grain of salt. One of them even suggested Xau’Aravas was dead or worse, that we should be thankful for her sacrifice and flee the hell out of Atonoth without waiting for her.
Mer’ was furious not only at that brazen cousin but at himself to have the exact same thoughts buried deep beneath layers of denial and hope, he barely resisted casting a maiming spell in that instant of red fury.
He opened his mouth, tilting towards the idiot, breathing deep ready to roast the man with words if not magic when he heard the subtle crack of a dead branch in the forest nearby, the faint sound of footsteps approaching.
He stood up more so from fear for his family than competence, he was not a fighter.
“Get back there is something in the woods”
Barely had these words parted his lips that a fiendish creature peeked from behind a tree on the edge of the road likely having heard the commotion.
It quickly made its way to the edge of the road, propelling its uncannily humanoid body on all four, it's face was skinless, filled with sharp teeth and apparent bone.
Yet as the ghoul dashed towards them, the thing wearing the skin of a horse opened its mouth wide, then kept going as its neck split in a shriek, revealing tendrils of toothed flesh. The horse-like's legs bucked as it rushed forward and shook the carriage, provoking cries of surprise from both the family inside, and the ghoul that made to escape in the forest.
Mer’ himself was thrown on his butt, almost falling from the carriage, stunned, he barely had time to stop the horse-like fleshbeast from running after the ghoul in the forest and wrecking their carriage.
***
An hour later – A few miles down the same road
Mer’Nelgot was a mess, he was barely keeping himself from breaking down in tears and the only thing he could do to stop his hands from shaking was to grip the reins of his stupid grotesque fleshbeast, the unholy stain had almost killed his grandson by chasing after some pest, spirits he had almost maimed him himself. He had to focus, to rein his nerves.
By the depths he couldn’t do this, it was all Xau’s idea to flee, but I am a Carnomancer, I can make myself calm, he thought, reaching desperately for a solution. One of his hands left the reins and started to chain spell gestures while he incanted, there were no spell for calmness in his repertoire but surely a mage standing at the top of the second circle could figure out some cantrip yes.
He just had to... inverse the effect of... his Adrenaline spell? Then if only he could use it to also cut off his cortisol and purge whatever was in his system. Untested spells were as their name indicated, meant to be tested, especially self-cast ones. Tested on animals, or like what the lord meant to do of his family, but surely, he would manage alone.
As he completed the spell’s components, he pushed his mana and soon felt it wash over his flesh, clearing his body from stress hormones and filling his head with a dull pain, surely some mistake in his spell, internal bleeding at worst... somehow that didn’t worry him, he felt free of mortal concerns. The spell must have worked.
Calm his thoughts now ran freely, apathetic, unimpeded by denial or gut cramps. His dear Xau’ had always bested him in the arcane arts, she would have made such a spell with way more ease than him, spirits, she was good, but not as good as lord Atonoth. It was several hours since the meeting time she must have been dead at the time, Xau’ had been ready for it and told him so, to save their own, their children, sweet things that filled them with joy, but were cursed to be manaless, useless to the lord.
Mer’ turned to close the curtain without meeting his passengers' eyes, towards the same direction as the sprawling Academia, the last place he’d seen Xau’, barely audible he muttered a “Sorry”.
Then the tears flew freely.
His kind would flourish, stand above not the dead or flesh, but the livings.
A dynasty to their name he would shape in promise to his beloved Xau’Aravas.