The valley only sheds tears with whispers. Once lush emerald tree’s bleed slick ruby, while their slender branches behold barbed hungry vines. Leaves fall like lonely ash, and dried blood slithers in veins of rage charged oozing char. All the while heaven's light filtered through hell bent leaves, coming through red to paint the gruesome underbrush. It no longer feels wrong and broken to me. No longer does its incessant rage find a target in me. It folds me into its embrace, urges me to rip and rend with a soothing voice, to erode my own goals in light of the mindless madness of serenity. Subscribing is not an easy thing to resist, it promises comfort in the indulgences of rage. Hate as I may, revenge may I Iust for, I’ve begun to understand why I need not suffer its whims. Without clear thought, without me, there’d be no point or goal. Hunger clawed and teared into what I knew, trying to shake me off from my moral perch. Whispers come in friendly tones “the food was there it was weak” I attempt to shake them loose from my skull “It wouldn’t hurt to just turn around” it tempted. Spinning my head with their taunts and bargains I began to lose track of time. I stumbled blindly through brush and thicket, vine and gore, taunts and lies, until finally descending to my knees, hands stitched to my head in pain. “TAKE HATE EAT TAKE HATE EAT” screams echo through bone and flesh. “collapse unto us weak one” a voice lulled “we can make it stop” slowly a pair of malformed feet began taking steps “You hate them too don't you?” tall and antlered, it kneeled beside. “Revenge can be done upon the traitors, their ilk can suffer under your boot” Its monstrous ribcage began spreading, a maw to accept new flesh. “You only need not resist” it began to lift me “are you going to submit?” a dark voice cut in “power was given was it not?” “ Are you going to stumble?” I wouldn't “then tear out its heart” with pleasure “don’t stumble”. I burrowed through from maw to spine and out the back with unfounded speed. A shower of gore and ink fell like mist in the night air. I stood gazing back at the carnage I wrought in blind force of will, claws falling back to place. “What the fuck is that thing?” I shouted somewhat unwisely “a warden, it came to assimilate you to its wills domain” a sharp dark tone stated somewhat matter of factly. “Oh that’s neat, whatever in oblivion that means” I commented “wait a second how long have you been here!?!?!” it somehow mentally frowned. “I exist as part of you, not you me though, the power was transferred” that didn’t really answer my question, though it seemed to understand that. “My manifestation will only occur when you fall close to my nature, the more you feed the less my presence will be necessary and I will cease” it continued “but should you fall to it, there will be no turning from that path. Now feed” it commanded. A little annoyed and, partly staving, I chose to eat the warden as instructed. The will's presence began fading until only whispers remained. “Guess the gift wasn't so much in parting then huh? I’ll make sure to keep you dead Ghost”

Sitting in the disheveled village hall, Emma was just about to tear out her hair. Reason being was the remaining recruits were literally scared shitless without their previous captain. Even with her there to give instructions they still did everything with lazy fear. “God damn freshlings” she was just about to go yell at a couple of lards hiding in the makeshift camp when Sam burst through the door. “Ma’am the rangers are back” he said through panicked breaths for air. “Well send them in then” she said somewhat confused “Ma’am its Clint he’s injured” her eyes widened “and Mercy?” she inquired with a worried look “nothing but a couple broken ribs but she seemed real shook Ma’am” he replied looking worried “but she said she needed to see you asap” he finished, snapping back to focus. “Alright Sam take over with orders here I’ll head over immediately, medical?” she asked “yes, Olivia is seeing them”. Brushing past her lieutenant she swiftly made her pace over to the medstation. She entered the church they’d converted to medical purposes, passing by the embodied figure of the lake, a kindly guardian. Following Clint’s grunts and moans of pain she quickly found the trio. “Wouldya just keep you arse still, piecing together shattered bone ain’t easy when you keep wiggling, are you even a man?” she said annoyedly while digging though his leg. “FUCK!” Clint yelled as she dug “shut your maw liva it's not like you’d care anyway now stop pouring that damn rust colored shit all over my leg” he replied with a hint of malice. “This rust colored shi…ma’am” she stopped to acknowledge Emma's entrance. “Where is Mercy?” she calmly inquired. Her medic responded with a grunt and a gesture of her head before returning to her task. Mercy was hunched over behind the altar at the end of the church, as if hiding like an angry child. “Ranger Mercy, I was informed you had something to report ''. Mercy stood slowly, and with a reaction Emma had anticipated, struck her captain across the face. Emma recovered slowly and held her ranger's gaze, “I will excuse that, now you’re report” Mercy stared at her with bloodshot angry eye’s before making the report in a slow angry tone. “I see, anything else?” she asked. Mercy held her gaze and held up two fingers. Emma was about to ask her question again when something actually shocking caught her attention. Two thin streams of jagged lighting jutting from one finger to the other in Mercy’s outstretched hand. “What do I do, Captain?” she spat with acid. “When we return you will report it to the Overseer ” Emma said, a trace of worry in her eye’s. “They’ll transfer you somewhere you can be best made use of” she said, masking her worry with cold indifference. Spitting on her ex captains boot, Mercy stormed out of the church, resentment in every step. Emma watched her leave with unmasked worry on her face. They’d take care of her just like her brother, right? Well regardless they needed to head back to the capital as soon as they cleaned up here. It seemed like whatever attacked the village was long gone, and wasn't nearly as intelligent as the town folk or she had made it out to be. Emma felt that the ex ranger was hiding something but decided that she wasn’t getting anything else from her. She later pressed Clint for his side of it all but it seemed he hadn’t been inclined to pay attention during the ambush. Frustrated, she made her way back the way she came and began planning their return trip. She’d have to find a new recruit to fill her soon to be empty spot. Additionally the city was due for a raid, and she wasn’t looking forward to putting her troops through an ordeal like that. But regardless she had planning get done, both for her position and her revenge.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I skipped through the forest. It seemed whatever they put in tall deer things these days is one hell of a trip, if only they’d make it taste better. Now no assumptions, I was still within the bounds of sanity, mostly, “be quiet”. I stumbled my way through the trees, brushes, and blood till morning, when I finally sobered up I realized why I’d been so goddamn trippy the previous night. I got stronger. Real fast, and really hard. Damn disembodied head could have explained a thing or two before just telling my starving self to eat silly meat. But at least I was stronger right? Well not by much mind you, but I was stronger. That was neither here nor there though, since I now had a grip on what was going on, and what was going on was the detachment that came to investigate my little “disturbance” was depatring. Of course they were leaving some personnel to guard the small frontier village but that wasn’t really anything I didn't expect. What I did not expect however was them departing so early into they’re investigation. Thinking on this only got one answer and it still didn’t feel right. The only plausible reason they’d leave was if the mid fall raids were starting soon, but those should still be a bit off. That or my sense of time was completely fucked but I wasn’t going to bet on that. Maybe that wasn't a good idea given last night's “activities” but I’d be screwy to stop trusting myself, I mean who else would I ever trust? I resolved to be more careful from then forwards regardless. But “what in cantons tits didn’t tip them off to my little mistake?” I said scratching my head. “Well whatever it was I still need to prepare for the raids” I said with a hungry grin. “Lotta bootfuckers gonna get what they deserve soon, oh yeah” yeah, probably still up in the clouds a bit.