"Blighted One, you need to put on the rest of your trinkets. They are all very important and suited for you." He spoke with concern but I completely ignored him.
"How the hell do you know so much about me? How did you know I could use a sabre? How did you know the size of my clothes? How did you know I would be here?" I questioned him cautiously, thinking that this man might not be on my side. I was still quite suspicious.
"The Guardians are a group of people who protect the Blighted like yourself. The Celestials from above grant us files of knowledge-based upon the Blighted Ones they choose to cross over into our world." While he spoke seriously, I couldn't help but find what he was saying almost laughable.
"Celestials? What, like angels?" I laughed at him. But I couldn't help but be excited about how different this world was.
"If that helps you visualize them, then yes. Angels," he began to speak with a rushed tone. "You need to put on the rest of your outfit. You only have two hours to spend here." I complied and picked up the leather bracers that lay with the rest of the trinkets and slid them onto my wrists.
They were much too big, yet once I put them on fully, they tightened around my wrists and contoured themselves to my forearms. I tilted my head at this but did not question it. I picked up the dark leather gloves and slid my hands into them. The fingers were cut off of it which made it easier for me to grip the sabre. There were only two rings remaining on the grassy floor.
"What are these?" I asked picking up one of the rings and inspecting it. One ring had a small circle on it with some sort of design, something that resembled a shield. The other one was smaller with a diamond shape.
"Divine Rings." The man's voice echoed throughout the open area. "They grant different abilities, and are extremely powerful." I looked at him with concern.
"Why did you give them to me?" I asked, I couldn't understand why I was given something that seemed so powerful.
"Your rings are very basic. One bears the crest of Ghalaron. This will protect you with a magical aegis until you learn to utilize one on your own. The aegis will protect you from some injuries. However, it will wear off. It regenerates over time." I slid the ring on, and as I did, a very faint teal aura appeared all around me before completely conforming to my body.
I got to my feet and felt as if I weighed less. I ran around the island for a moment, circling the circumference while being cautious of the edge. I felt more agile, as if I could instantaneously move quicker. I even was able to quickly roll and lift up my entire body with one hand easily. I could do most of these techniques in martial arts at home, but here I felt much faster.
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"Blighted One." The man's energy appeared directly in front of me. I fell over from doing a handstand and sat cross-legged. "You must go." He beckoned me to the sturdy bridge. I obliged while sliding on the second ring.
"What about this one?" I pointed to the diamond shaped ring that now rested on my finger.
"That ring will give you greater stamina and reflexes. You could say It increases your
physical energy limit." The man's energy rushed ahead of me to the bridge. He beckoned me again to cross.
"Looks like I'm off," I said, feeling slightly nervous. "Will you be able to help me more?". The man's mask had disappeared completely as well as the aura it had looked at me from.
"Guess I'll take that as a no." I muttered to myself as I made my way across the bridge. My body had stopped trembling; the bridge seemed stable. I was nervous, still crossing, but I got over to the second island. It had dead grey trees growing up from it, as well as many more clumped tombstones. My eyes widened as I immediately noticed a creature sitting in a fetal position behind a tree, munching on an old bone.
The creature looked humanoid, but held a darker complexion. It was almost pure black with a fume of white liquid pouring from its mouth and down it's chin. It's teeth were long and sharp. It had elongated fingers and bloodshot eyes.
There was no hair to cover what looked like hardened skin. It's jaw was detached slightly meaning his mouth could open much wider. I drew my sabre, and instead of taking the natural fencing pose, I took my own sort of pose. I held the blade with one hand and kept my other hand open in case I needed to grab something.
I snuck up behind the creature, my heart beating loud in my ears. I gulped from fear and plunged the blade quickly straight into the back of the creature. It let out a cry of pain as what I can only assume was black blood oozed from the wound. He fell straight over, I had killed it. I sighed with relief before realizing there were three more creatures in the background.
One of them was resting its head atop an old tree, flailing its arms trying to grab hold of something. Another one wandered aimlessly in a circle a few feet away. The closest one was in the fetal position again, looking like it was crying. None of them made a sound. I slowly made my way over to the second creature, being sure not to disturb it.
"Were these things people?" I thought to myself remembering what the man had told me. I snapped my head around as I heard a rustle from behind me. The creature had gotten up from its slumber and was staring me dead in the eye.
"He.. looks afraid." I almost wanted to approach it to see if I could communicate with it. This was a fleeting thought as it lunged at me, tackling me to the ground. I landed with a thud dropping the sabre. I felt my heart stop and I began to panic,.
I put my hand on it's chest, trying to get it off me. I used my physical strength to hold off the creatures face but his large claws slammed into my chainmail tearing some of the armor.
I felt no pain, and the skin didn't break. The ring! It was protecting me. I used my smaller stature to pull my legs up to the desolates chest using pure strength I pushed him completely off me. I got myself up to my feet, grabbing my sabre once again.
I got into position, legs spread apart, blade held in one hand. The creature lunged at me again and I countered his attack, plunging my sword through his hand and into its head. Blood spattered on my face below my eye and onto my chainmail as the creature went limb.
I was not scared by blood, as I had a keen eye for horror movies back at home. I pulled my sabre back, waving it through the air to get the chunks off of it. I sheathed the sword once again and crossed the southern bridge onto the third island.