Aurelia Level 28 Priestess of Origin’s Flame
It seemed impossible to take a full breath under the pile of dirty fabrics they had tossed on top of her tying her up. All she could do was squirm uselessly, furious at herself for being used in this way. Her gag was so tight that every time she tried to open her mouth to scream, it seemed like more of it was pushed into her mouth. Tears leaked from her eyes as she moaned again and again trying to call for help without throwing up. Meanwhile, the constant whining grind of the wheel near her head drowned out her ability to hear anything outside of her own personal Pit of torture.
After what felt like hours of bumping along an uneven path, they finally came to a stop. The indistinct mutterings clarified into garbled words as the grinding wheel hub ceased and she heard a cruel voice begin issuing commands. Wherever she was, her captors were no longer concerned about being discovered.
A crash sounded off to the side of the cart and then silence reined amongst her kidnappers lasting the space of a few dozen shallow breaths through her nose. The smell of the used fabric scraps and her own sweat mingled in her nostrils as she fought to push down the rising panic that battered against the doors of her self-control.
In desperation, she again reached within and attempted one of the meditation techniques Erash had taught her. The movement and whining of the wheel hub had been too distracting before, but now that they had stopped, she tried again. Without her voice, she couldn't activate any of her Class Abilities but at this point, That didn't matter. She needed something, anything, to distract from the indistinct voices outside of her prison deciding her fate. Breathing as deeply as she could through her nose, she dived into her center, focusing on the small flame there and somehow managing to shove her panic into its burning heart. Fear and impotent fury drained away with every shallow breath, and soon, she had moved from being overwhelmed to regaining some control of her thoughts.
The cruel voice started up again, this time answered by a nasally one. The words were just beyond her ability to make out under all the layers of intervening material, so she kept focusing on feeding her flame, fighting to be ready for anything.
They needed her for something or else they would have already killed her. She refused to be a tool in the enemy's hands, and if they made the mistake of giving her a chance to fight... she would, even if they killed her. Breath by breath, she continued to shove her panic into the flame. The mana-generating connection at her core grew hotter and hotter as it slowly integrated with her soul on a deeper level under the pressures of her circumstances.
She did not know what it was accomplishing, but any progress was better than just lying there helpless. Shortly after the voices began speaking, the materials above her were pulled away, revealing a leering dirty face. The leer became a choking gag as the man yanked her into a sitting position, loosening the cloth that had bound her, but keeping her gag intact.
She was yanked to her feet, out of the cart and a knife was shoved up under her throat, carelessly nicking her skin. She felt a dribble of blood trickle down her neck, joining the cold sweat that already covered her body.
Finally out of the cart, her attention was quickly drawn to the others crowding the small forest path. There was a man in crumpled official's garb, flanked by two Watchmen. His face screwed up in outrage at the sight of her, and hope bloomed in her chest.
“What is this? She is barely more than a child!” The official snarled. The guards on either side of him drew their weapons.
“Now, now.” The cold voice demured to her right. She slowly shifted her gaze over to him, trying to not disturb the knife at her throat, and saw a figure draped in many layers of grimy, dark cloth.
“Do not be so hasty to dismiss your salvation. Sometimes, to protect one's people, a leader must do distasteful things… You have been lied to and used, just like the people you serve.” The voice answered smoothly. An incredible feeling of foreboding radiated off of his figure. Aurelia had to suppress a shiver at its proximity.
The knife at her throat wiggled painfully as its holder suddenly wretched, vomiting to the side behind her.
“Distasteful!? This is the path forward you spoke of? This is nothing! Now let her go or I will be f-forced to take d-drastic action.” The official whined, his voice quavering.
The robed figure chuckled and gestured. At the signal, men stood up from the surrounding forest, all clutching weapons, “Perhaps the presence of your men has emboldened you irrationally… let me help you with that.”
Barely contained panic shattered what little confidence the official had and his voice cracked as he screamed, “Now!” desperately looking back the way he had come.
A flurry of motion rocked the night as weapons clashed and grunts of effort erupted around Aurelia. She tried not to flinch as the Watchmen were both overwhelmed and summarily executed, taking down several of her captors in the process.
The official backed away from the melee, shooting looks desperately behind him all the while, but out of the shadows, two more thugs emerged, wielding knives already dripping with blood.
“Let me ask you again." The robed man's voice cut through the melee, "Will you do what is necessary to ensure the survival of your people? One death will prevent tens of thousands. Be a man and do what you must to save your constituents!” He challenged.
The official swallowed, looking at the Aurelia again, weighing his options. Hope died in her chest as the flame struggled to hold back the tide of despair that threatened to drown her. The sight of her would-be rescuers cut down in moments, cut her to her core, and a pang of deep guilt began to build even as she watched the man in front of her struggle to come to a decision. He licked his lips, eyes darting between her gagged form and the rest of her captors who now outnumbered him eight to one…
“Why are you doing this? Why me?” He blurted.
“I represent the interests of the opposition. We are not at all what you have been told. You simply have to prove your sincerity with this small task, and when our forces take the city in a matter of hours, you will be spared.”
At those words, something in the official’s gaze shifted, hardening, and his eyes settled heavily back on the robed figure. Broken, but not in the way Aurelia had expected.
“...Ah, earlier you mentioned saving the whole camp. Now you specify me…”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The robed spread his arms in a theatrical gesture, “No matter what, the first step is to take hold of your Salvation!” He declared magnanimously, urging the man before him.
The official sighed, reaching into his robes, and pulled out something that looked like a letter opener, “Very well, where must it be done.”
The robed figure laughed richly and the thugs around the official relaxed, “We will head up to the temple and finish this unfortunate task.” The robed figure answered, lowering his arms. Aurelia quailed at the turn of events but saw the moment that the official’s hand clenched down on the handle of his pitiful weapon. Eyes shining with unshed tears, he lurched into the nearest thug, plunging his letter opener into their neck. The thug screamed, spurting blood all over the shocked face of his attacker, and the others fell on him stabbing and bludgeoning until all that remained was a bloody pile of ruined clothing and bruised flesh and one pair of shattered spectacles.
“A pity… I thought for sure he was our best option for desecrating the Temple.” The robed figure sighed in disappointment, before turning to Aurelia and letting his hood fall back, revealing a horrifying visage.
Something that might once have been a distinguished elderly satyr face looked back at her. Yet the strong angles of his sneering face were now intersected by thick, dark roots, that dived in and out of the flesh of his jaw and scalp in a seemingly random pattern.
“Nonetheless, the Seed assures me that your blood spilled in the sanctuary, will be enough to cut off the Flame’s influence for now. We can find another innocent to pervert its power later…” He continued.
Aurelia bit back a moan of terror even as the Flame within her blazed in resistance to the mind-numbing emotion, blanketing her thoughts and making her feel pitiful and small again.
She was all alone again... It was her fault they where dead-
“Man, you guys are really stinking up this mountain!” A high-pitched voice called from slightly down the path. The whole group turned in surprise to see a comically small figure casually step out from the forest.
“You know there is a river right next to camp? No charge or anything,” he called, stepping into the moonlight. His voice warbled in false bravado, and his hands shook as he clenched something in both his fists.
‘Oh Origin… It’s Cog!’ Aurelia thought desperately, her teeth clenching on her gag.
“Who are you, little boy? And how did you find us?” The Corrupted satyr hissed unconcerned. The thugs all raised their weapons and began to move toward him.
“Not so fast, Stink Gang, or whatever you call yourselves!” He sputtered, raising his fist dangerously. He was terrified, yet the absolute impossibility of this confrontation made the thugs hesitate at his threat.
“I have two fist-fulls of Gnomish Explosives right here, ready for anyone who wants to take them. Now, Give. Me. Back. My. Sister!” He finished with a shout, actually stepping forward with his threat. Aurelia’s insides twisted in fear for him even as his words bolstered the flame in her chest to an inferno.
“You idiots! The boy is bluffing. Kill him and then search for any other rats hidden on this Pit Cursed mountain!” The robed figure yelled.
“Have it your way!” Cog shouted back, lobbing the contents of his fists at the oncoming thugs. Cog immediately dived away, his motions causing the rush of individuals to flinch as the small objects Cog had thrown scattered before them.
Everyone stared down at the point of impact confused, when a disorienting series of flashes and bangs exploded from the ground, one after another in a rapid staccato of light and sound. The thugs screamed, and even Aurelia had to blink back tears as her vision was filled with afterimages.
The knife at her throat suddenly vanished, and she heard the man behind her cursing vehemently.
“Kill the boy!” The robed figure screeched in frustration.
The blazing stars faded from her sight as she slowly reached to remove the gag from her mouth, not wanting to alert anyone with a sudden movement. The cursing behind her suddenly ceased, and her hand froze, hovering above her gag…
Had he seen her?
Then the flame within her roared over her fear, and she realized she would rather be stabbed in the back than used in this ploy to destroy her people. In one motion, she yanked the wadded cloth from her mouth and whipped her head around, ready to ward off the blow she knew must be coming.
But it didn't. Instead, she found a scared-looking young minotauress standing over her unconscious captor.
“Milas?” She whispered, her voice horse and dry. The girl smiled for just an instant before the commotion behind them demanded their attention. The group of thugs had caught Cog and he was now struggling uselessly, shouting in defiance with a courage that belayed his small form. They began pounding into his little body with punches and kicks, punishing him for his impudence. Milas moaned in fear, but the sight did something altogether different inside of Aurelia. Her flame, already blazing, exploded from within her.
One of the thugs grew tired of the game and pulled back his knife to end it.
Something broke inside Aurelia broke.
Her limits, her place in this world, her self-doubt… They all shattered along with it.
“Get away from my BROTHER!” she screamed, as the forest around her began to dance with a blue and white light.
Her words thrummed with power, and a new Ability lit up her Mana Pathways as she instinctively reached for something… anything to save him.
…
Jonathan Tillman Level 35 Son of Flame
Amelia’s weight had shifted more and more onto his shoulder as they moved through the camp at a hobbling jog. To make matters worse, greenery kept sprouting all over her form, adding even more weight to the awkward movement.
But Tilly soldiered on, listening to each gasping breath eliciting from Amelia's mouth with mounting worry. By the time they started climbing the mountain she had lost the ability to walk, sucking in air desperately as she tried to lift her feet so they would not drag, slowing them further.
With a grunt of exertion, Tilly squatted down and threw her body across his shoulders, straightening up and picking up the pace. Amelia groaned, whether in pain or protest, Tilly could not tell, but seeing the vines now completely covering her exposed skin had done it for him.
Somehow, he pushed his jog into a sprint, squeezing everything he could out of his new Stats as his patchwork of injuries and Debuffs did their best to tear apart his only recently restored body.
Thankfully the moon was bright enough that even well into the night, he could make his way up the worn path without much trouble. He pumped his legs over and over, sucking in as much breath as his cramping torso would allow.
Bang, Bang, Bang,
Bang,
Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!
Tilly almost tripped at the sudden interruption to his cadence, as a staccato of small explosions sounded further up the path…
‘No way this is anything but more bad news.’
He growled down at his legs, urging his thrusting knees to increase their pace.
“Get away from my BROTHER!” A screaming voice demanded from above.
As Tilly ran up the path, little figures stood in the forest to either side. He almost dropped Amelia and grabbed his weapons, before realizing they were all children…
The kids Edna and George were taking care of.
That’s when the voice fell into place in his memory. Tilly rolled Amelia off his shoulders to the ground and called his hatchets into his hands bursting into an all-out sprint. Blue flames lit up the forest ahead of him as ran up the mountain.