As quickly as it had started, the visions stopped. Time seemed to resume its normal state again and Kass opened her eyes, dropping to the ground from where she had hovered. She put a hand to her head trying to process what just happened. She felt different, but didn’t know what exactly that meant, and that scared her. A high pitched scream came from behind her and she spun in time to see a spear rushing for her chest. Kass found herself moving then, almost as if on instinct. She moved to the side slightly and flicked her sword arm towards the monster. The spear missed and Kass watched as the sword cleaved the creature in two. She stood there horrified as the body sagged and then collapsed in front of her. How?
She only had a second until another was upon her, stabbing at her from a distance. Again she moved around the spear tip, easily dodging the poorly executed attacks. On the fourth stab she batted the spear away and lunged forward, stabbing through the thing’s head quickly. The blade slid free easily and she stepped back, readying herself for the next attack. Tears began streaming down her face, but she didn’t falter.
“What did you do to me!” she screamed at the voice in her head. Feeling as though her very self had split in two, and she was battling the other half for control. One part of her grew cold, not caring about the slaughtering of these creatures, only wanting to live, to survive. The other half couldn’t believe what was happening and wanted to run, to hide and to curl up and cry. But there she found herself, crouched low in a battle stance she didn’t have a clue how she knew, waiting to kill again.
The voice didn’t respond, and her brief moment of respite came to an end. Three reptiles charged her way, screaming fiercely just as the others had done. They didn’t just come straight on, however. Instead, one moved to the right and another to the left to attack her from different angles. Her alter ego remained unconcerned as she spun right, dodging the first strikes, and slashed out, another body hitting the floor, dead. The other two were finished in short succession and Kass moved away quickly to find a more defensible position.
She didn’t make it far before becoming completely cut off from any exit. The original Kass fought for control and she stumbled a bit, caught between sobbing and snarling. I’m a complete mess… She choked back another sob and tried to focus.
Pain lanced through her back suddenly, something sharp digging into her skin. With a cry of surprise she whipped around and saw the crude spear as it clattered to the ground, not having penetrated too deeply. She looked up at the creature that had thrown the spear and Kass gave way to her new violent side. The thing wasn’t alone, but that didn’t bother her as she sprinted at it. She was furious. All the injustice of her world would be felt by these evil creatures attacking her.
Power emanated from the girl as she twirled and twisted, dodging attack after attack. Now completely lost in the battle she didn’t hesitate as she sliced off limbs and drove her blade through flesh. Blood splattered everywhere, and soon she was covered in it. Some of it was her own. Most of it wasn't. Ten more bodies now littered the ground around her.
After this show of power the creatures hesitated to approach. Instead they stalked her from a distance, creating a semicircle as she backed against a wall, spears all pointing in her direction. She breathed heavily, her fit body not anywhere near the level it needed to be to fight like she had for more than a couple minutes. Already her limbs grew heavy and tired, not to mention the new wounds she had sustained.
She felt disappointed in her weakness. Like she had been given a great opportunity and had failed to reach her potential. Her alter ego suddenly began to fade away, a deep sadness gripped her very soul for a moment, and then it was gone and she was back in full control of her body. She quickly realized what this meant and looked around frantically.
“Come back! You can’t leave me here!” she screamed. Some of the creatures took a step back and hissed from her outburst.
“It didn’t work. I can’t do anything else.” the voice returned to her head. She felt a bit of emotion attached to the words, but couldn’t place it. It wasn’t sadness or even disappointment, but maybe… resignation? The thought crossed her mind and she knew it to be correct.
“No! You can’t give up! Please, don’t do this! I don’t want to die!” the words came out in a sob, tears running freely down her cheeks. She sunk to her knees, terrified of death and especially the situation she found herself in.
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“Your kind is too weak human, I’m sorry. I…” the voice paused for a moment, as if searching for the right word. “I tried.”
All hope fled from Kass then. She couldn’t run anymore. Couldn’t fight. There was no escaping this time. Too weak… She knew the voice was right. She was weak. It was something that she had always denied throughout her life. She had wanted to be strong, to be seen by others with respect. That’s the main reason she left home and accepted the scholarship to run for the university. But in the end, she would die because of her weakness.
Some of the creatures parted then, and the wizlard walked into view. He stopped ten feet from her and pounded his staff on the ground. Almost a hundred guttural whispers ceased and the warriors focused on their superior. The thing was only slightly taller than Kass was while on her knees, but it commanded the full attention of everyone. With a wave of its arms it began to speak, gesturing wildly as it did. Kass didn’t understand any of it and could only watch.
The wizlard seemed to come to some sort of conclusion and it clicked its tongue and nodded rapidly. The other reptiles copied it. With a final nod the creature lifted its staff in the air and began chanting, power emanating from it like before. Kass prepared for the worst, clenching her eyes shut and weeping quietly.
“Wait,” the voice suddenly said, cutting through her depressed mind. “I reviewed moments of your life that were shared with me during the binding process. Does this world you come from have no Coronation? No-“ the voice cut off suddenly as the wizlard finished its spell. A wave of energy hit Kass hard, blasting her into the wall behind her. She fell limp instantly and crashed to the floor, unmoving. The warriors cheered at their leader’s success and moved towards the prone body of the woman.
“No status…” the voice finished slowly, knowing it was far too late for it to save the girl.
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Commander Aker moved through the ranks of soldiers, glancing briefly at the dead piled to the side. To him, it was a good sight. He had expected to lose many more in order to take down the intruder, and was more than willing to sacrifice his fighters to do so. They were all lucky that the ‘human’, as elder Ulruk called it, had decided not to fight after the first few skirmishes. He had watched as the human destroyed more than three squads effortlessly and at the time had thought they were all doomed. But the human had suddenly stopped to his surprise.
He remembered the face of the human too, it had seemed to be filled with sadness. Aker knew this feeling, and was confused as to why the human felt this. He looked at the human’s weapon that he carried in his hands then. It was wrapped tight in animal leather and bound in multiple places. He had retrieved it from the ground after the intruder had been bound and carried away. Unsure what else to do with it he had taken it with him, wrapping it so it didn’t draw attention.
He continued weaving through the crowd of soldiers and other Uruns that had gathered at the center of the settlement to watch the spectacle. Almost a thousand pairs of eyes watched as Ulruk began his ritual. This wasn’t an uncommon gathering, since rituals and sacrifices were common within the settlement, but this was the first time such a beast would be presented for sacrifice. Most of the Urun within the settlement had arrived just to get a glance at the thing.
Finally, Aker pushed his way to the front of the crowd to where he could see the ritual. The Urun people had formed a full circle around the elder, some watching from ledges and high walls, others on top of shoulders, whispering what was happening to those around them. Ulruk stood in what was considered the center of the clan settlement. It was marked by the large, flat white stone slab that covered the entrance to the abyss. Atop this stone lay the human, its arms and legs bound. Above them all, white crystals illuminated the area with a soft glow.
The elder had been speaking, and, now able to hear, Aker listened. “...for life, for offspring!” he yelled, arms swinging wildly. “This sacrifice a warning to beasties that come. None will pass through Urun alive! Makriael will devour them!” As he finished, Ulruk pulled a sharpened stone out from under his cape, and moved towards the human.
“To one, be done!” an Urun yelled from the crowd, and soon more voices joined in, chanting the phrase. They all watched as the elder cut into the soft unscaled skin of the human, blood pouring from it. He continued this process again and again, not cutting deep, but making sure to draw blood each time. Soon the human had cuts all over its body, and blood ran freely onto the white stone, staining it a dark crimson.
The chanting continued as Ulruk motioned for eight Urun to move the stone. They pushed and shoved, but were unable to move it more than a hands-width. Four more Urun joined the others and together they slowly began moving the slab. An opening beneath the stone was uncovered and large gust of air pushed into the cavern. A powerful energy accompanied the rush of air and spilled into the room, silencing the chanting as every Urun watched the hole widen the further the stone was pushed away. Once it was completely uncovered, eight Urun moved away and back into the crowd, four remained standing to the side.
The hole wasn’t very large, only two, maybe three times the width of an Urun. It was deep though, and no one ever wanted to venture down it. Ulruk signaled for the remaining four to lift the body. As they did he attached a long sinuous rope to the strand that already bound its hands together. The four Urun then moved to stand before the hole, straining slightly from the weight. Then they began lowering the human slowly into the darkness below. Once the rope finally reached its end it was looped around the large stone slab, remaining taut as the human hung from it a hundred feet down. “To Makriael, let it be given!” yelled the elder and the crowd cheered in agreement.
Many Urun approached the hole then, tossing in offerings to their deity and whispering a few short words. Time passed and most Urun lost interest, only a few stayed to wait for the rope to slacken, signaling the acceptance of the sacrifice. Commander Aker had waited for most to leave and now he stood there, next to the hole, staring into it. In his arms he held the human’s weapon, still wrapped tight. He looked at it for the fiftieth time and then sighed. “For your mercy, human” he said, and then dropped the bundle into the abyss.