How many times is this going to happen to me! What am I a homing beacon for trouble and monsters and things that want to eat me!? Hey look at me! I’m young, single and ready to be your lunch! The staff wielding reptile screeched out a command and pointed in her direction. Instantly the groups of warriors began hopping down the steep hill, whooping and shouting as they sprinted towards her.

This really can’t be happening. Completely flabbergasted by the display, Kass just stood there with her mouth slightly open. She watched as roughly one hundred of the reptiles leapt off the rock shelf and scrambled towards her. Each one carrying a spear and waving it above their heads as they ran.

By the time Kass snapped out of it the quickest warriors had closed the distance considerably. Unsure what to do she did the first thing that came to her head, the thing she was best at. She ran. The tunnel leading to the deep crevice where she fought the Balmorhea wasn’t an option since she would have to run slightly towards the reptiles. She figured she would be cut off before she reached it.

Glancing around she spotted a few other openings away from the charging enemy and made her way towards one of those. As soon as she started running the battle cries behind her increased in volume, the creatures seeing weakness in their target. Kass heard some of these high pitched yells coming from the other side of the lake and glanced over. She spotted more of the small reptilian forms running to cut her off, some even jumping into the lake and swimming rapidly towards her. She gripped the sword tight and prayed for its help again.

“You have to fight human…” a voice rang out in her head, startling her.

“What!?” she yelled back, raising her voice, confused. “Who are you!?”

“If you run, you die… so it’s simple, you must fight to survive…” the voice spoke the words so matter of factly, like it should be obvious to Kass.

“I can’t fight them! I die either way, I’d rather take my chances running.” she huffed and puffed the words out, feeling ridiculous talking to herself and still running as fast as she could towards an exit.

“No.” The single word was spoken as a command. “Bind with me and you might live, trust me.” Bind? Might live? What the? I’ve somehow summoned a demon now?

“Bind? What do you mea….” the sword in her right hand suddenly flashed and words appeared in Kass’ vision, making her stumble slightly as she slowed down. She knew she didn’t have much time, the creatures coming up fast from almost every direction. Unable to do anything else she quickly read the words.

Bind yourself with ‘Whisper, The Silent Blade’?

[Yes]

[No]

With no other options available to her and with her time running out Kass yelled her answer “Yes!”

Caution. You can only bind yourself with one entity at a time. Are you sure you wish to do this?

“Yes! Yes I’m sure!” she quickly replied, panicking inside.

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As soon as she spoke the words the sword flashed again, and Kass was lifted from the ground with the energy that coursed through her. Information flooded into her mind and overwhelmed her senses. Images began appearing and disappearing rapidly behind her closed eyelids.

Vast landscapes and great battles filled her vision. She watched the rise of a great empire and the destruction that was left behind as it fell. Then the images zoomed in and focused on a single person. A male elf, she determined. Certain scenes flashed by, as if telling a story. His family. His people. Their rejection. His banishment. His trials. His love. His hatred. All of it she experienced in a split second. Tears of sorrow came to her eyes and then she laughed with joy, emotions ripping through her just as fast as what she was seeing.

The images slowed and Kass focused on what she was seeing now. It was a certain memory of the elf. The world darkened in the vision, and Kass watched as an intense evil plagued the land. The memory skipped forward and the elf wielded two beautiful golden swords that matched his long hair tied tightly in a ponytail. He was slender and beautiful, clad in silver armor that seemed to brighten the color of anything that came within a few feet of it. His face was covered with a golden mask, eyes glowing a deep blue beneath.

In front of the masked warrior stood the cause of the darkness. It stood on four legs that supported a large torso and two heads. It was massive in comparison to the size of the elf. Instead of arms, multiple dark tendrils floated around its shrouded body, energy pulsing around them. Dread filled Kass’ heart at the sight of the thing, and she knew then that there had never been a greater evil upon the land such as this... thing.

The two beings stood there among a desolate plain. The land was cracked and torn, great fissures spewing out molten rock. For miles not a living thing could be seen. Thousands of bodies lay broken across the battlefield, both of beast and man.

Seeing this, Kass felt as if she were watching the great and eternal battle of Good versus Evil. Something that was talked about often back home. Somehow, what she was seeing now seemed more real to her. Even though it defied all her beliefs. Maybe it was because she could almost reach out and touch it, whereas what she was taught back home was only visible through faith or something.

Suddenly, the two exploded into motion. The elf dashed forward with incredible speed and then disappeared. He reappeared behind the corruption and slashed down with his golden swords, aiming for its torso. The dark being moved just as fast, leaping away from the blades while its dark tendrils rushed in to spear the elf.

Eight tendril limbs crashed together and hit nothing, the elf reappeared again, this time above the thing’s head. He slashed out again and this time found purchase on the dark flesh. The beast screeched and flailed its limbs, one of them crashing into the elf and sending him flying away. Before hitting the ground though he teleported again, searching for another opening.

They fought on fiercely for what seemed like hours, each of them scoring hits against the other. The corruption bled a dark tar-like substance from multiple wounds all over its body, and the elf’s armor was dented and in some areas shattered. His left arm hung limp, the golden sword having fallen to the ground and forgotten.

Still the two battled on, only slowing slightly from their injuries. The elf managed to sever one of the beasts legs, only losing his helmet to a blow in the process. Losing a leg caused the thing to fall to the side, fighting for its balance. Seeing an opportunity, the elf teleported directly below its head and slashed his sword across its neck. The blade cut deep and he slashed again, seeking to sever the head. He dodged tendril after tendril, floating through the air with his magic, striking again and again at the neck of the beast. It wailed in agony and became desperate, flailing about in every direction.

With a final swing the elf tore through the remaining flesh of the corruption’s neck, separating head from torso. Just as the elf prepared to teleport away, a new tendril erupted from the beast where it’s head had just been and tore into the chest of the elf, bypassing his battered armor. Blood exploded from the wound, the tendril passing all the way through and out the other side.

The elf coughed up blood and looked down at the tendril sticking from his chest. Sadness entered his eyes as his strength quickly began to fade. Suddenly, the elf’s body blurred and the tendril began absorbing what Kass then knew to be his soul. Ethereal energy was sucked away from his body that writhed and jerked in the air, trying to escape the torment.

In a final attempt at freedom, the elven warrior gripped his sword tightly one last time, and instead of cutting off the tendril attaching him to the beast like Kass thought he would, he stabbed himself through the chest. Energy exploded in every direction, rushing across the land, vaporizing anything it touched. It melted away the body of the elf and parts of the dark beast instantly, a crater forming below where the two had been.

A second passed and to Kass’ surprise the energy blast suddenly stopped and began to reverse. She pinpointed the cause and watched as the golden blade began absorbing the energy at a rapid pace, pulling everything towards it, like the vacuum of space. In an instant the energy was reabsorbed and in place of where the golden sword had been hovered a sleek, dark blade. Her blade, she realized.

Movement caught her eye and Kass watched as a small portion of what was left of the dark beast crawled away from the sword and the crater. Slowly it drug itself across the barren landscape until it found a deep crack in the earth and disappeared. The sword hung there for a few seconds more and then fell to the ground near the center of the crater, smoking from the heat of the explosion. It lay there motionless then, patiently waiting for the day it would be found.