The forest was calm. The sounds of woodpeckers hammering away against the tree bark echoed throughout the area. Other birds sang their little love songs as the wind blew, albeit strongly, through the treetops. The sun cascaded light to the forest floor with brilliant God rays. A deer slowly walked through the forest floor. Its head hung low to the ground as it stumbled through the forest. As it walked, a few spurts of blood flowed from the arrow wound in its side. Its breathing became labored with each step. Finally, it sat down on its knees before falling over to its side, huffing as it lay still.
A figure in muted green robes climbed down from her tree to look at the deer. She walked carefully to the deer, who at the sight of her tried to run, kicking its legs wildly and panting heavily. She tried to calm the creature down. She saw the arrow poking out, and slowly walked to the deer. Her hands held up to try to calm it as she hushed it. The deer calmed down slightly before she knelt down. She took the arrow out of the deer in one quick movement, which caused it to scream for a moment. She petted it lightly as the deer grew more still. There wasn’t much that she could have done for the poor creature. It had lost a lot of blood, and she was not a healer. The best she could do was keep it company as it passed.
Eventually, the deer’s breathing stopped. The last signs of life finally leaving it. She lowered her head in shame, feeling as if she could have done something to help. She heard rustling from the woods and hid behind one of the larger trees. She peeked through the side of the tree to see a hunter going over to the deer. He picked up its horns and looked at the deer. He smiled and nodded.
“Perfect shot.”
She glared at the man. Her eyes began to glow as if fire laid behind them. This was something that she could do. She could not heal the deer, but she could avenge it. Anger began to consume her as she opened up her hand, producing a ball of fire. As her hatred grew, it began to grow slightly bigger. Hate continued to burn through her until she found the right moment to strike. The hunter turned to look for a companion when she struck him with the ball of fire. He screamed in pain before his attacker revealed himself, and stepped closer to him. His face filled with fear as his back burned, smoke rising from his back before the fire was put out by her flipping him over. He looked up at his attacker as she knelt down. One hand began to choke him while the other was preparing another ball of fire to be planted right into the man's face. To see him suffer. To make him pay for taking an innocent life. However, as her hand was inches close from his face, the fires burning his beard, she heard a sound. A small whimper.
“Dad?”
She looked up to see a small girl holding a bow. Her eyes turned from burning hatred to fear. The man screamed “Run Sophie! Run!!!” The little girl froze in fear. Rather than flight, she chose to fight, and pulled the bow onto the woman in robes. “Leave my Dad alone!!!”
The woman looked down at the man, fear in her eyes. Horror at what she was becoming. In a cold sweat she realized that her anger had once again driven her past reason. She stepped away from the man and quickly ran deeper into the forest. Once she was out of eyesight, the little girl lowered her bow and went to her father, hugging him tightly. “Dad…” The woman ran deeper and deeper into the woods, huffing and puffing loudly as she ran until her body couldn’t take any more. She panted as she hid behind a tree. She lowered her hood to get a better view. She looked behind the tree to see if she was being followed. Thankfully, she wasn’t. Much of her own body had severe burns on it. Melted flesh and raw scars. Her face was horribly burned on one side. Instead of having perfectly symmetrical elven ears, one ear had simply melted off thanks to the burns. One eye was her normal green while the other was pure white, she was blind in that eye. Much of her silver hair was gone from her burnt side. All because she got angry. She hated herself for it. She wondered what she was even doing. Why did she do it?
She wondered what she was becoming. She curled up into a ball and began to sob into her knees, covering her face and openly weeping. Is this who she is destined to be? She sobbed until there were no more tears to be shed. She hit herself in the side of her head, talking to herself. “Illyana, you stupid, stupid girl!!!”
She sobbed quietly for a minute or two before she got a hold of herself. Standing up, she ventured out of the forest, having cursed herself already for causing so much trouble already. It was a habit of hers that was not so easily fixed. She exited the forest and traveled along the road. She kept her hood over her head and a bit of cloth used as a mask to hide her features. Every now and then there were travelers that would pass by her. Large groups of armies marching down the road, a caravan of merchants and travelers, even the occasional mystic group peddling their charms and mysterious services for a price. All were treated the same by her. She moved away from the road, covering her face more and silently avoided them.
She traveled far, wandering like a ghost with no way home. Over the near flat steppe of the Khanjir and traveled north for days. As she walked, she stepped on something strange. She looked down and saw that she trod upon old melted metal fused to the ground. She looked around and saw this place where grass had not grown for ages. The land itself had an ugly scar that stretched all the way from the Iron Mountain to the Sassaridian Sultanate’s capital. A place where the bones have been fused with the steel and iron, heated at by the unrivaled flames of a black dragon. It is a place filled with the dead, frozen in time as their final moments were filled with agony and terror.
This was the Iron Road. This was the place where the dragon Vedmaarvith came down from his mountain, and burned the largest army in the world. One thing known for sure about the Iron Road is that it was damned. She realized she had to leave before sundown. The Iron Road was no palace to be during the witching hours. She traveled along the road, avoiding bones that had fused with metal. Eventually she made it far enough from the road before the sun began to set.
The night was not a restful one. She had made camp and had trouble sleeping when the lights over by the Iron Road began to flicker. Blue ethereal glows shone brightly over the hills with the distant sound of screaming. The sounds of men and women engulfed in fire could be heard in the distant sound at the Iron road. She looked at the blue lights and her green eye flickered in the dark as she focused on it. She could almost smell the charred flesh, burning wood and melting iron and steel. It brought her back to the burning memory of how she earned her scar when her own flesh began to cook. She snapped out of it and placed her hand on the scarred side of her face, not wanting to relive the memory and experience the pain again. She poured water on her campfire and hastily retreated to her tent, closing it and wrapped herself up in several blankets. It made her feel protected, or at least gave her the illusion of protection.
Still, the blankets couldn’t protect her from the screaming. Even when she used her pillow to cover her ears, she could still hear the unending screaming. In fact, the screams grew louder and louder as time passed on. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to stop the screaming. Suddenly, she would hear a familiar voice cry out her name. “Illyana!!!” She shuddered like a reed in the wind and her eyes flew open. She looked around and poked her head out of her tent. Nothing. The sun had risen and the road had been silent. Drenched in sweat, she packed up her things and went on her way.
By the time she arrived in the village, A storm had gathered. She pulled her hood down and wrapped her face in cloth, trying to hide herself from the humans. This simple village, Cherry Wood, was a farmers village. A fresh village with a population that only recently began to grow. As such, nothing much came from the village. Several new houses were being built here, and the men worked tirelessly to make a new home for themselves and their families. As a result, business was booming at the tavern after long hard days of work. Work however was cut short as the clouds began to build. Several farm hands rushed to prepare and make sure that the crops were not washed away before they had a chance to grow.
Illyana ducked into the tavern and sat down at the corner of the tavern, trying not to gather a lot of attention to herself. Her only goal at that time was to avoid the rain as best as she could. The young, pretty barmaid came over to her and smiled.
“Hey there! Welcome to the empty flask. We’ll fill it up right for you!”
The barmaid had memorized the phrase several times a day, and she spoke it as naturally as one would breathe. Her smile was genuine, and infectious. Illyana couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t like the barmaid could see it though with the mask covering Illyana’s face. She looked at the girl and simply nodded, her head already turned away from her shyly.
“Can I get you anything? We have the best mead this side of the border.” The barmaid continued to smile, though it took a moment for Illyana to respond.
“Just water . . . Please.” The barmaid looked at Illyana curiously before nodding. She went back to the bar to fetch a cup of water and fill it up. Illyana still sat down in the chair. She kept her eyes averted from the rest of the tavern and simply continued to sit. As the barmaid started to bring Illyana her water, The tavern door opened. It revealed three men entering the tavern, and showed that the rain was pouring down violently. It had become a terrible storm. The men entered the tavern, all drenched in rain.
The three men scanned the tavern. They had different sizes and equipment, but all had the same tattoo on their necks. The tattoo was that of a black axe dripping with red blood. A hush fell over the tavern as the patrons watched the men and their every move. Even Illyana watched as the three men went to separate parts of the bar. Their leader, a man in dulled plate armor walked to the barmaid. She looked up at the man, being much smaller than him. She shook with fear and trembled like a mouse cornered by a cat.
“H-Hey there. W-Welcome to the e-empty flask. W-We’ll fill-”
The man sharply interrupted her. “Where's your village elder? We got some business with him.”
The girl froze in fear at him. “I-I-I…”
The man stopped her. “Oh that’s alright. I’ll tell you what. We’ll wait for him right here. Now you take that pretty little rear of yours and give us some drinks. Okay?”
There was a great fear in her eyes. The joy she had was replaced by absolute terror. She wordlessly went to get the men their drinks. No one in the room wanted to do anything. At least, they were too afraid to move. Illyana kept her head down. She didn’t want any more trouble. She pulled her hood down and pretended not to see or hear anything. The young barmaid returned with a large pitcher of an extra sweet mead. Some of the best stock that they had in the hopes they would drink and leave. She poured the mead into the cups and was about to leave when one of the men grabbed her wrist.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Hold it right there, lovely. I think I need a little bit more~”
She nodded and began to gently pour. The man continued to taunt her.
“Careful now, princess. Don’t you go spilling a single drop now.”
The man grinned wickedly as he then gave her an audible smack on the rear, causing her to jump and drop her pitcher, spilling the mead all over the table.
She blinked and trembled while the man continued to mock her.
“Awww, now look what you did! Such a mess. Tsk tsk. You gotta clean that up.”
He stood up and grabbed her, forcing her face into the mead.
“There we are. You’re a thirsty little girl, aren't you? Go on. Make it nice and clean.”
The man grinned as he reached his hand behind her and lifted her dress up and began to reach his hand between her legs. She let out a gasp and was about to scream but the man covered her mouth. “Don’t ruin the fun~”
The leader of the group sighed. “Gregor, would you please save that nonsense for later? We can profit from this dirt farm first. Then we can buy you some wench from the nice areas. Maybe the Blue Pearl has something?”
The man shook his head. “Nah. I’m in the mood for something now. Something fresh.”
The barmaid began to cry when Illyana stood up. She had enough. She stood in the middle of the bar, catching the attention of the trio. They looked at her, staring hateful daggers into her like a pride of hungry lions staring down a defiant antelope.
Their leader challenged her.
“What are you looking at? You want to do something?”
The leader of this trio despised how his man had brought unwanted attention, yet in that moment he had to stand his ground. He’d ensure that none would challenge him or his group.
Illyana clenched her fist until her knuckles became white as snow. There was a silence that polluted the air. The tension in the air was like steam in a kettle that, in mere moments, would boil over. Just as the stand off looked like it would go on forever, The tavern door opened again.
The man who entered the room was clad in armor that had seen better days. Armor that had not been properly worn since its wearers time as a soldier. By the unknowable tangled web of fate and destiny, the man who walked through that door was Ulysses, who had come at a most dire time. He walked in and saw the stand off going on. As if the scene in front of him were some rehearsed play, he had stumbled upon it like an extra who had gone before his que, and all eyes were now upon him. He blinked. His eyes scanned the bar. He saw the girl who was being abused by the trio. He looked at the men.
“Is there a problem here?”
The leader of the men smiled coldly. “Yeah. As a matter of fact, there is a slight problem. Some idiot isn’t minding his own business. Would you care to make sure that the problem is fixed?”
“Oh sure. Sure. You gentlemen seem to be having a discussion with the lady who looks like she’s trying to set you on fire with her mind, and I’m very sorry for interrupting it. But if you could kindly let the girl over there go…”
The man who had been assaulting the girl pulled her up in a headlock. She yelped loudly as the trio stood up. The tallest of the group growled loudly, and pulled out a large war hammer from his back.
“And what are you gonna do if we don't?”
Ulysses looked over to Illyana and smiled lightly before he gave the trio a determined glare. “Or we’ll kill you all.”
The trio laughed heartily at that, as if it were the funniest thing anyone had ever said to them. Illyana however stood there shocked. Shocked that someone would stand beside her like that. No one but her brother had ever joined her in that way since. It was a strange feeling, as if her whole life was spent within a dank deep hole in the ground, and she had just discovered what light was.
The leader of the trio smirked and then looked at the largest of them. “Biggs… smash that guy's skull like an egg.”
The large man, Biggs, gripped his hammer tightly and grinned like a child who was just told he could play with his friends as he walked over to Ulysses. “I’m gonna enjoy this way more than I probably should.”
Ulysses replied with a cocky smirk. “That makes two of us.”
Biggs raised his hammer and brought it down hard. However, Biggs’s strike was clumsy and untrained. Ulysses effortlessly stepped aside. For him he could determine where Biggs would hit him, at what angle, and where he would need to move all in quick speed. His reflexes had been trained through many years in battle since he was young so they could be as fast as his body would allow. Bigg’s hammer struck the hardwood floor and broke through, causing the hammer to get stuck in the ground long enough for Ulysses to kick Biggs right in his knee cap. He had kicked hard enough to cause the large man’s leg to bend the wrong way, crippling him. Biggs screamed loudly, grabbing his leg as he fell down to the side.
The other two members of the trio stood bewildered at what just happened. One moment, Biggs was about to hammer this upstart's head in like a nail. The next, He was on the ground clutching his leg and screaming in agony. Ulysses then pulled his sword out and thrusted his blade into Bigg’s throat, like a viper striking its prey. Ulysses looked at the two remaining men as the one who had been assaulting the girl now held her hostage, putting a sword to her throat as she screamed.
“Y-You Bastard! You killed Biggs! Move another inch closer and I’ll stick her like a stuffed hog!!!”
The girl screamed loudly, her eyes full of terror. “Please no!!!”
Suddenly, a small ball of light darted towards the man at lightning speed, hitting the man in his face. He pulled back, letting the girl go. The left side of his face was now burnt, blackened as the girl scrambled away, sobbing and crying as she went to hide behind the bar. Illyana stood there, her eyes glowing bright red as if a fire laid behind them.
She stepped over to him and pressed her hands on his face as he writhed in pain. Her hands began to glow as if they were hot metal in a forge. The man began to scream louder as his flesh began to sizzle like meat on a grill. The leader of the group charged over to stop her but Ulysses grabbed him and flung him over to the table, breaking it. He went over to the leader to attempt to finish him off, but the leader was a better fighter, and would dodge the sword strike. He pulled out his sword and would thrust it at Ulysses who knocked the sword away with his. The two would exchange in a sword fight, the steel of their blades struck each other and would make sharp and quick clangs as they fought. Meanwhile, the man Illyana was killing stopped moving. His face caught fire and she stood. She glared at the leader of the group.
The leader blinked for a moment as he witnessed Illyana killing his man in such a brutal way. He was distracted long enough for Ulysses to stab him in the leg. The leader growled like a wounded animal, but the fight wasn’t over. He grabbed an oil lantern from a table and threw it at Ulysses. It was fast enough for Ulysses not to react in time before the lantern would hit him, the glass shattered and burning oil spilled on Ulysses, lighting him up rapidly. While Ulysses attempted to put himself out, it bought the bandit leader time to slash at Ulysses’s arm several times. Eventually the leader had him right where he wanted, causing Ulysses to fall down on the ground, trying to bat his sword away as he still burned. The leader knocked the sword out of Ulysses hand and pulled his sword back, ready to strike.
“Time to die, you worthless sack of pus!”
He stopped for a moment as his armor began to glow with heat. Illyana had grabbed onto the chest armor, attempting to cook the man alive. The leader screamed as he felt the metal cooking his insides as if he were in an oven. He managed to stab through her hand and throw her aside. He took his chest armor off and threw it aside and then went after Illyana.
“You Little Bitch!”
He raised his sword up to try to cut her down, but she opened the palm of her hand and shot fire at him. It was as if dragons fire were claiming him, yet it wasn’t strong enough to consume him. He stepped back, hair and flesh burnt, covering his eyes. The flames had blinded him. He started waving his sword trying to hit her, until Ulysses’s sword pierced him from behind and exited his chest, having been run through him. The leader of the trio gurgled out blood before falling down. Ulysses sat down, panting like a dog as he looked at Illyana who was fairing just as well.
The noise of the two panting was the only thing that broke the silence in the tavern. Ulysses stood up and went to the bar, peeking over it to find the barmaid cowering. He smiled lightly.
“Think I’ll have that beer I came in here for now…“
Time would pass, and the bodies of the bandits would be taken out of the tavern for the people to decide what would be done with them. The storm had let up. Thunder was heard in the distance and it still rained, but there was no downpour as there had been before. It would be safe to travel. Ulysses had his drink and had bought some supplies. He placed them in the saddle bags when he noticed Illyana watching him.
He looked at her for a moment or two before resuming his work. “I owe you one back there. If you didn’t do what you did with the armor, I’d be dead.”
“If you weren’t there, it would have been much worse.” She tugged at her hood, making sure that not much of her face would be seen.
“Maybe.” He began to make sure the bags on his horse were tightened.
She looked at him with a curious gaze. “So where are you going to go now?”
Ulysses chuckled. “What I’m good at I guess. Saving damsels in distress. Some baron’s daughter got herself kidnapped or something, and there's a bounty out there for her return.”
Illyana blinked and thought for a moment or two. “Do you need some help?”
“Help? Um… I mean…” He was hesitant. Five thousand gold was not easy to come by. Back in the military, he’d be lucky if he earned even a few gold coins to rub against one another. Still, there is safety in numbers, and Ulysses stood to benefit from any advantage. “Like I said before, I suppose I do owe you.”
Illyana smiled under her face mask. “Thank you. I’ll do what I can to help.” She wanted to feel useful. She wanted to help people, rather than let her rage take over her. Perhaps this would be the first step into freeing herself from that anger that boiled in her heart. Perhaps she could be normal.
Ulysses looked around. “Do you have a horse anywhere?”
“No. I don’t have enough to buy a horse.” She cut her eyes away for a moment shyly.
He sighed and rolled his shoulders. They popped, and would make him think about his age. He was getting old. “Fine then. We’ll take turns riding until we get there.”
For the moment, they would walk beside the horse and begin their journey. Ulysses would inform her what he knew about their destination. It would be nice to finally have someone to speak to on the long trip, and Ulysses thought that two new friends who bonded over killing bandits would be a good recipe for success.