Nuyani ran along the path with her heart continuing to hammer. She looked with an enthusiastic glee at the area around her. Though she had yet to see anything truly different, the cliff walls had already changed from red to a light brown and still held the same indentations. The dirt beneath her feet had strands of grass and leaves scattered through the area making it softer than the miles of dirt she normally traversed in the drylands. After an hour had passed, Nuyani reached the end of the path. It opened to an area filled with strange trees with a gradual slope leading to a vast sea. Each tree stood straight and had angled layers of its dark brown bark wrapped around its trunk with frizzled ends and at the top were large round fruits with the same dark brown color and just as hairy. Large vibrant green leaves jutted out in all directions, each one fanning outward with frayed points providing shade. Nuyani looked on toward the horizon. No mountains or other lands were rising in the distance.
“Endless water as vast as the demon lands,” Nuyani whispered as she stopped in her tracks and breathed heavily. She held both her arms. “By the Great Lor… Nuyani stopped her phrase finding it strange to say such a name when their origin was from another source. How could she continue a lie if they were not of the origin the elders lead them to follow?
‘Who is Kelvert?’ Nuyani questioned as she looked over the new land. To the right, the land remained bare and free. Looking to the left, her eyes welled as she saw towering structures rising high above the trees. ‘It’s real.’ Tears started to well in the runner’s eyes as she covered her mouth. ‘Homes that rivaled the height of mountains,’ Nuyani remembered from Yanuma’s tale.
Several round structures still stood yet, were partially broken. A squared building had a domelike roof with half of it destroyed, and most of the taller portions were surrounded by a wall. Nuyani did not wait as she raced down the slope. Beneath the shade of the canopy, she could see more structures that had fallen and smaller homes large enough to fit a single family. The witch stopped just by one of the fallen buildings. She approached it as it lay half-buried in the sand. Nuyani ran her hand over the beige brickwork tracing the mortar as her brow furrowed.
‘What did we run from?’ she thought.
A faint pressure then rose and sloshed about on the surface of her core. Nuyani looked to her left following the source only to find a light blue figure in the visage of a woman running forth. Nuyani’s core reverberated sending pulses through her body as she unsheathed her knife. The specter continued toward her. Nuyani could see the look of fear and worry growing in her eyes until her chest arched forward, her head rose toward the sky, her arms widened outward, and her legs gave out. The witch paused as she watched the spirit collapse to the floor, parts of her sinking through the dirt as if she were never there. The pressure faded, and the figure disappeared.
“W-what?” Nuyani questioned. She then looked ahead as a blue light came into view along with the faint pressure. It was the same woman, the same spirit “How?”
The spirit emerged from an opening in the wall running past several small, squared huts as she made her way toward Nuyani. The visitor eased her stance but, kept her knife ready. The spirit then collapsed once more in the same manner as the first. Nuyani narrowed her eyes as she studied the spirit and her core. Parts of the woman’s face were distorted like twisted smoke. Other parts of her body faded away much like the other spirits she encountered in the drylands. The pressure on her core was already small but, seemed lighter than normal. Even To’anu’s presence was stronger. Before she could get a full grasp of the spirit’s nature, it disappeared once more. Nuyani let out a pulse once the visage was gone. The sparse energy dispersed growing faint on her senses. She found it difficult to follow the ethereal force as it flowed and collected once more at the opening where the spirit emerged. Once it was fully reassembled, the spirit emerged once more repeating the same act.
“What caused you to run?” she wondered aloud as she sheathed her blade and slowly walked toward the shadowed path through the outer wall.
Her heart hammered as she felt an enormous weight bear down on her senses dulling the drum. Yet, she could still feel the presence around her as she entered the hallway. The path had two of the corridors leading in opposite directions on her side but, both were caved in with rubble covered in webs. The only remaining path was forward. The only lights she could see were some rays parallel to one another showing on the floor and another exit at the far end of the hall. Nuyani tried to ignore the suppressive air around her as she noticed the hall was at least wide enough for her to lie down sideways. She forced herself to smirk.
A chilling breeze passed through the hall forcing Nuyani to hug her arms for warmth. Her ember glowing eyes were wide as she watched the countless figures suddenly race down the hall in desperation, most falling before they even reached her. Pain and agony of the life force swirled within the hall.
‘I have to keep moving,’ she told herself as she walked slowly through the hall trying to stay out of the way of the spirits.
As Nuyani made her way down the hall, she reached the first bit of light finding both sides of the walls lead outside with small pillars baring faded swirling decorations propping up the stone roof. On her left was a strange space with a long pool surrounded by a hip-tall wall. Vines and algae grew from the sides as bugs flew in a cloud over the water. She winced at the sudden overpassing through the open air. There were squared stones on the ground with many shattered and large craters in the dirt. Nuyani squinted at one of the strange formations of brickwork on the other side of the pool. Though the stones arched upward, much of the debris lied within it.
‘One of those large huts must’ve fallen,’ Nuyani concluded as she looked on. Many of the stone huts and smaller structures were destroyed completely or had some damage to their roofs or walls. ‘This place. Could I even call it sa…’
The witch took a step backward just as a spirit collapsed in front of her its visage passing through her body. The spirit’s will felt like a single current within the wave energy passing through her as it brushed her core.
She gasped and gawked as the vision of a hall flooded with fleeing men, women, and children came into view. The person stopped as the body of another fell before her and was trampled in their escape. Before the person could gain their balance, an orange light rose in a glow just before searing pain rose in their back and forced the victim to look toward the arching roof overhead. The person started to fall to their knees. Before they collapsed completely, Nuyani returned to her senses floundering about as she reached for her back. She could feel the blaze that struck him. She turned away with her back toward another spirit in approach without realizing. The spirit ran through her sending another current brushing against her core and transporting her mind into the past. A man pushed two others forward as they bled only for his head to whip forward with a blue glow shining against the nearby pillars. As the first, once the spirit was about to collapse, Nuyani left in the hall with the lingering sensation of cold and pain on the back of her head.
“What is this?” Nuyani said. Sudden attacks that came with such strange pains. She only knew of the howlers to leave a cold mark but, heat. ‘Is there another spirit that burns,’ she wondered for a moment until the pulse of her core warned her the spirit would soon return. Nuyani ducked out of the way as the blue figure ran by and collapsed.
She looked further ahead halfway down the hall falling to their deaths. Nuyani had yet to come in contact with the rest. Still, she quivered. She hugged her arms once more trying to stop the shaking as she looked out into the other open space. On the left, a paved road with squared beige bricks running down the center. Many of them were shattered as large craters littered the area. Even the rooftops and walls were damaged. Nuyani’s breathing grew faster and shallow as she looked down at the destruction.
Tightening her grip, she lowered her head and closed her eyes. With a stronger focus on her core, the pulses grew stronger pushing back waves of pressure surrounding her. She no longer felt the torrent of energy batting her about as her nerves eased. She turned toward the hall still clutching both arms as she marched onward.
‘I am here for a solution, some answers. By Lord Kelvert’s… I need a solution,’ Nuyani told herself as she was bombarded further with the vision of each passing spirit.
Some were struck with the same strange attacks that were hot or cold. Others were struck with arrows, stabbed with blades, or hit with something blunt to kill them. Nuyani looked down at the ground finding strange flat sticks along the way with a brownish-red surface. She continued until a spirit that passed by brought on the image of a man clad in a red surcoat and wearing a strange face cover, then thrusting something thin and silver into his gut. Her concentration on the core did well to block out the spirit’s pain but, Nuyani was not prepared for the abrupt attack as she had her arms crossed before her attempting to block. Letting out an audible breath, she continued past the pillars returning to a normal wall and reaching another entrance into a large room with part of the roof caved in, debris piled into the far-left corner.
‘I don’t think I can lead people to this place,’ Nuyani thought. Such pain remained in the area as the spirits’ gathering power encircled her in the room.
Nuyani’s thoughts returned to the four village spirits that lingered in the village. Compared to them, these things are shadows. Do they know they are here? Are they in pain?’ she wondered. Her core pulsed several times, each pulse was stronger than the last as they radiated outward. ‘Can I free them? No, I will try.’
Nuyani glared at the ground as she let her entire being become a conduit for the drum as each pulse rose from her. The spirits around her started to move away. She could feel the pressure lightening around her but, it was merely scattered not gone.
‘Concentrate,’ she told herself. The last spirits were consolidated into a single point within her senses. With the energy around her, she was only pushing it away. Trying to shape her will, one of the pulses rising from her being formed into a sphere of blue light over her head. As Nuyani’s will shaped the construct, she could feel a void blocking out the life force. Letting part of the sphere open, she was expecting the energy to pour into the construct giving her something she could exorcise from the area.
‘How?’ Nuyani wondered as she felt the weight pull away from her staying beyond her reach. Nuyani relaxed as she looked at the swirling mist of blue light dimly lighting the ceiling of the room. She stopped her attempt to free the spirits. Their aimless and repetitive flow seemed to bear some will if they were avoiding her. ‘What would keep a spirit to linger in their own death? Do you prefer this place?’ To’anu came to mind. ‘He at least doesn’t trust me because of our history. What’s your reason?’
Nuyani first wondered until another presence then weighed on her core. She looked to the side just as a small foot ran through the entrance.
“Hello?” Nuyani called out as she made her way to the entrance only to find another large path with trenches and craters in the ground. The buildings on either side were either caved in or partially collapsed.
She scowled as she saw another spirit through a hole in the wall fight back only to eventually fall. ‘I wish you all peace but, what keeps you here?’ she wondered as her eyes fell on another one of the strange brownish red bars lying in the dirt. Nuyani looked about and sent a pulse through the immediate area trying to find the spirit that disappeared. When nothing arose, she approached the bar and knelt to pick it up by one end. The other dragged against the stone as strong vibrations ran through it and rang with a collision against the stone.
“What is this?” she questioned.
A feint portion of energy remained within the blade. Nuyani narrowed her eyes at the item. ‘It’s too shallow for a spirit,’ she concluded as she released a pulse to interact with the energy. As the extension of her core reached the hidden life force, Nuyani’s senses turned to a quick skirmish as she looked through the eyes of another. Before her was a thin man wearing a white tunic, and short trousers suspended by a blue rope tied around her waist holding different sheaths and tools. He had the same complexion as Nuyani but, wore a mustache in a curled fashion like the chief. He wore a white headwrap and across his chest was another blue sash empty of any tools or items that gleamed from the sunlight making Nuyani wonder of its purpose. Fury burned in his eyes as he faced off against his opponent. Wielding a spear, the man blocked several attacks from a silver stick before whipping one end around and cracking it against his foe’s hand disarming him.
‘What?’ Nuyani thought as she watched the man kick her away and saw the fighter spin the silver-colored spearhead around and thrust it into his neck.
Nuyani dropped the item as she brought her hands to her neck, the lingering sting of the spear piercing her flesh remained for a moment. The item dropped released a clang as it hit the ground and sprung up from the same end before the other side did the same. ‘What are these weapons?’ Nuyani questioned as she released her grip and looked at the item. Hard as stone, yet remained flexible like wood, she wanted to pick up the item once more.
A pressure rose on her core once again taking her attention away. Nuyani whipped around finding a figure turning and running around the corner of a building. She stopped for a moment looking between the item and the fleeing figure. Nuyani rose and bolted after the person. ‘If they’re running, it couldn’t be a spirit,’ Nuyani thought as she turned the corner.
Nuyani blinked several times as she ran down the narrow alley toward the sea. Already, the figure was down the long path and around the corner. She continued through the path until it opened to the endless waters. Nuyani froze for a moment as she watched the rolling waves crash against the stone walkway. She looked along the edge seeing some parts stretching further out into the ocean with a short end. Nuyani stood straight and cupped her hands over her mouth as she watched the infinite blue. The wind rushed by carrying the smell of saltwater. Turning to the rest of the walkway, she found more signs of destruction as deep trenches carved through the earth and trailed to the outer wall. Nuyani moved toward some of the debris beside a hole in the building seeing the edge of a curved disk sticking out of the rubble.
Nuyani released a pulse of her core. The wave coursed through most of the area she could see but, only the faint pressure of the spirit shadows weighed on her core. The heavier spirit or living person was nowhere to be seen. Nuyani scowled but, eased her expression as she turned to the mask. ‘If I can’t find you, or you don’t want to meet, fine. I will learn more with these…pieces,’ Nuyani thought as she looked at the strange disk. The little energy it contained made her hesitate as the image of blood flying from their bodies made her stomach turn. ‘Gutting animals was one thing, even a necessity but, this mass murder…’ Nuyani’s hand trembled as she stepped closer and retrieved the disk. The smaller stones shifted as the item released a grinding ring scraping against the stone.
‘Huh. Same material?’ she wondered as she freed the disk. Nuyani held both sides in her hands as she looked at the item.
She glared at the piece as she noticed the indentations in the middle matching a pair of lips and nose, and small holes aligning with a mouth and eyes. Flipping the item around, she scowled at the mask. Its color tarnished by the years with a few spots colored green and gray on the surface. Nuyani could feel the remnant energy sloshing about in the facepiece. Taking a heavy breath, she released a beat coursing through the mask. Once in contact with the energy, she was transported into another person’s view. People fled down the alleyway. Nuyani noticed the owner of the figure remove their weapon from the chest of a warrior wearing a white tunic and two blue sashes.
‘What?’ Nuyani questioned as she noticed the figure’s skin was a light blue contrasting with the red blood spilling down her wrist. She could feel a sense of murderous rage burning in the figure. ‘Why were you attacking us? What are you? Did your people become those howlers? Is that why you’re attacking us now?’
More questions than answers arose. The waves from the open waters were taller and crashed against the stone path cutting just above the edge. The figure's feet were swept from beneath her as she fell to the ground. Nuyani’s heart skipped as she saw wooden structures smashed against the stone paths branching out into the water. They had leaf-like shapes with the front and backs pointed and the middle was widened. The belly of the structures was rounded like a bowl and the tops had different levels with strange trunks rising from the middle and tarps fastened to the straight branches. Though each of the structures were destroyed, she could tell what they normally looked like from the six or so that were sinking into the water.
Nuyani’s attention returned to the figure she followed as they picked up their weapon in the chilling water and struggled to stand. Once the figure did so, one enormous foot stepped into view out in the waters by dozens of paces. Yet the following wave swept onto the path knocking the figure back to the wall and sending one of the destroyed wooden structures propped onto the stone path.
‘What is happening?’ Nuyani wondered as the figure’s sight was obscured by water. Their view cleared only for a large ash-colored branch to slither through the water trying to wrap around the ankle. As it twisted around the limb, the branch drilled into the stone path as rocks and dirt exploded before the blue figure. The memory ended and Nuyani dropped the facepiece letting it clang against the stone
“A branch. Large limbs,” Nuyani whispered as she leaned forth propping herself up onto her hands. Her frantic gaze turned to face the direction. A thin young girl wearing a white dress and white headwrap. The woman’s eyes fell on the bloodstains formed beneath the headwrap and a few specks of dirt on her face.
‘She looks no older than the boy,’ Nuyani thought as Cuganwa came to mind. “Hi.”
She reached out with a hand in a slow manner. The girl shrunk away, tucking her chin low and bringing her arms closer to her chest and darting through the opening in the wall. Nuyani’s body stiffened as she watched the child flee through the debris as if they weren’t there moving almost as quickly as the howlers. Nuyani rose and ran after her leaping over piles of debris as she tried to keep the person in view. Too many questions were left unanswered. Nuyani ran through the entrance of the building and out into the main pathway leading to the large stone structures bearing the destroyed dome.
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The child before ran on the air over many of the trenches on the pathway to the building. The woman followed bounding over the gaps. ‘She must be a spirit,’ Nuyani thought.
The roads lay in ruin as stone pedestals sitting along the sides bared only shattered statues of busts and the limbs remaining. Nuyani paid them no mind as she felt the gathering life forces swirl around them. In her pursuit, the runner passed through the entrance of the building as the child reached the shadows and disappeared completely.
“What?” Nuyani questioned as she slowed to a walk. She released a pulse from her core searching for the child’s presence. The pressure in the room was pooling through the structure despite the open ceiling. She turned about, trying to find a sign of the girl’s presence. “Don’t tell me you’ll be back at the alleyway, and I have to wait for you to return,” Nuyani said as she looked to the entrance.
The woman looked about the area. She stood in a large space with the left half-filled with rubble where the dome caved in. Her gaze fell upon the faded paintings along the walls as vines grew through the cracks. A mural bordered by elaborate designs showed several men on the wooden structures surrounded by flowing lines Nuyani assumed were the waves. The men faced off against creatures in the waters, each with strange and horrifying shapes of animals she had never seen that were as big or taller than the platform they stood on. One of the creatures had a long gray body with a large eye and several long arms stretching toward the men. The mural ended with the beast lying on the wooden platform and the men celebrating as they faced the opposite direction. A second monster then appeared, this time with several heads and fins like that of a fish running down its back and into the water. The mural ended with a repeat of the last.
The other images were of a ball of thorns, a crab with one of its arms far larger than the other. Several people with silver, blue and red skin, and what Nuyani could connect as a turtle with the head of a long-bodied lizard. Each that stood against the fighters fell and was brought back on the ships. Nuyani looked at their weapons as they wield spears, curved blades, some wielding strange disk-shaped objects covering their torsos, and knives. Nuyani looked closer at the knife-wielding men as each of them had separate designs with white lines around them. Some had blue circles near them and pointed toward the creatures they fought. Some of the knife wielders had the white lines arching over their heads or others.
The image of the light construct she created at the village center entered her thoughts. Her heart skipped as she nearly formed a smirk. ‘Could they be doing what I was?’ Am I not the witch?’ Nuyani thought as her eyes watered. She followed along the mural again seeing more creatures along the ceiling as an enormous man with a swollen body, strange birds, and for what she could tell was moving gray land all met the same fate. ‘People who hunted on endless water. What were we doing out there? Did we really eat those things?’ she wondered as she looked at the enormous man and the blue people in the other picture.
Once she reached the opening in the ceiling, Nuyani broke away and saw the child standing at the back part of the room where another set of pedestals were. These seemed far more important than the others as inscriptions lied on the front of it and it was made of marble. Yet, like the others, all that remained were the feet of whatever figures used to stand there. Some of the marble pieces lied on the floor beside them but, their finely broken pieces and time had made it impossible for Nuyani to envision what the statue truly looked like.
Before Nuyani could say a single word, the girl’s form turned into a white wisp and floated toward a small pile of rubble sitting in the center of the room only a few paces away from the larger stones. The wisp reformed into the child as she sat on the ground, her legs passing through the stone.
‘Great, an answer,’ Nuyani thought as she walked slowly toward the spirit and sat down in front of her.
The child looked at the woman with senses of curiosity in her ember glowing eyes. Nuyani could not help but, blink finding someone who did not look at her with a sense of disgust or fear. The woman grew a sheepish smile as the child sat closer.
“You can speak to me if you’d like. I’m not a monster,” Nuyani stated. The child began to frown as she sat back and shook her head. Blinking several more times, the woman then asked, “You can’t talk?” The child shook her head once more. Nuyani sighed. “I just want to know what happened. Why did we leave? It looks like you were scared away.” The girl looked up at Nuyani, her eyes shifting from the floor to her face. “Can you show me?” Nuyani asked. The spirit faced Nuyani completely as her eyes turned red, and tears rose.
The spirit raised a hand and placed a finger onto her forehead. The energy within the spirit flowed through Nuyani’s mind. She could feel the shallow pressure washing over her core as her senses changed. Darkness enveloped her sight as Nuyani found herself in a different place. Chaotic screams and loud crashes rang in her ears as she was pulled by her arm down one of the stone paths by a man Nuyani assumed was the girl’s father. The people of the stone village wore similar attire as they did in the drylands, simple tunic, trousers, and dresses held up by sashes and leather sandals for their feet. People scattered about as bricks dislodged from some of the walls after flashes of light struck them.
Nuyani could feel the child’s heart race as another family collided with theirs. The girl fell to the ground as deafening rumbles filled her ears and dust covered everything before her. The child grew frantic, struggling to stand as she made her way through the dust only to find herself alone and near the pool of water. On the other side was the large, rounded structure with both halves intact despite its collapse. The child looked at the end of the tower seeing an enormous glowing bluestone and the structure covered in strange white vines. The stone had a white light rising from its center only growing dim as the vines slithered about the stone. Once it was completely covered, a full column of the vines ripped through the structure and lifted the stone into the air sending debris raining down on many of the people trying to flee.
The child raised her arms to shield herself from the debris. As the stones came down, a blue wall then rose over her head angling toward the pool. The child watched as the wall ripped with the stones striking the surface. She looked about, seeing another person fall victim to the debris. She looked her father only to find the man beneath several stones as another puff of dust rose between them. Blood trickled from a gash in his head. The girl rushed toward him trying to pull some of the stones off. Another man brandished one of the strange knives. Unlike a normal blade, it was shaped like a large talon of a beast, even rounded at the base of a blade and the opposite end had three claws resembling more of a bird’s talons.
Nuyani could feel the radiated waves from the stranger as he released a pulse. Another dome of blue light was conjured beneath the stones as it slowly grew sliding the stones away. The girl brought both hands to her mouth as she saw her father’s mangled legs. As the stranger continued, her father’s eyes widened as he reached out with a free hand. A pulse exploded from him as the energy passed the two and another barrier was erected behind them yellow light gleamed from the rear making the girl spin around to find another figure running toward them with an elaborate staff pointed at them.
‘What is that?’ Nuyani questioned.
The figure wore a strange gray headpiece with the same mask. Their body was covered by a long red cloak worn over their torso and draping from their hip. A single belt was worn around their waist keeping the surcoat in place. Beneath that was a strange attire completely made of woven rings that gleamed in the sun and fire. The piece covered half of their arms and legs Nuyani would’ve wondered if it were a single piece but, her attention was turned to the pale peach skin and odd height of the figure that bounded toward them. His body seemed wide as if he were scrunched down and his stout form merely compensated for his height. The tip of the staff had a silver sphere topping it that began to glow bright yellow. A moment later, another flame burst from the instrument sailing toward them. The father strengthened his pulse as the stronger waves radiated to the barrier. The fire struck against the shield but was propelled back to the sender. The flame struck the odd figure only for a third to be released off to the side heading toward the stronger aiding them. It struck his shoulder as he let out a cry of pain as the fire lapped at his arm. The construct he formed broke causing the heavier stones to fall once more onto the man. The girl cried out as the life in her father’s eyes disappeared and grew still. She fell by him and grabbed his arm shaking his limb.
‘Sorry, child,’ Nuyani wanted to say.
The other man rose from the ground, the sleeve of his tunic burnt away revealing the burns covering his shoulder. The girl continued attempting to wake her father but, he remained still. The stranger then rose and wrapped one arm around the child’s waist carrying her away as he ran down the path parallel to the pool. The man yelled to her that they needed to leave. As he did so, the stone wall beside them burst as more ash-colored vines rose from the floor making them fall. The child rolled several times on the ground just as she watched the column of vines wriggle and slither in the air. A bright orb of blue light sailed toward the column and collided with the vegetation. A wall of wind rushed through the area nearly forcing the child’s eyes close. The vines were ripped apart with flames burning at the ends.
The child looked to the source of the enormous orb as another was conjured from a second large stone crowned atop of the structures and sailing toward the vines. The sphere continued just as the tower fell with another cluster of vines claiming it. The orb sailed forth missing its target and going over the roof. A second later, a loud explosion sounded as the ground rumbled followed by more wind. The child tried to stand once more but sat against the pool wall. Panting as she watched people run about, the girl trembled. Her eyes locked on the stranger who helped her as he rose. He made his way toward her, clutching his burned arm.
‘Go child,’ Nuyani thought.
The man had to pull the child to her feet and pushed her to move. The girl started slowly blinking several times before she came to her senses and continued running. The child started running toward the center path following the flow of people heading to the larger dome building. Screams filled the air spurring her forth. Hot tears trailed from her eyes. Her ears deafened and rang with pain from the loud crashes around her. Bodies littered the ground, both friend and foe. Still, she sped on trying to survive.
Before she reached the end of the pool, the girl stopped as something glowing fell before her. She looked to the ground as a golden thick liquid splattered on the floor. The child looked up seeing the same cluster of vines were no longer burning and now released a strange gold glowing sap. Several drops landed in the area, each larger than a man. She covered herself expecting the liquid to splash onto her but, found it only sinking into the ground as a large golden ring formed in the stone with strange markings following the curve within the ring. ‘What did we leave?’ Nuyani found herself asking. The runner’s heart hammering through the vision.
Before the child could make her way around the area within the circle converted into light. A large green hand then rose from the glow, proceeding the figure wearing the same strange surcoat and headpiece. This time, the attacker had a shorter curved blade in one hand and a net in the other. Worse, each knot contained barbs. The child shrieked as she backed away from the figure. Without hesitation, the figure looked at the child and threw his net. She froze watching the snare closed in on her until a sudden rush of wind blew from the side knocking the net away.
The child looked toward the side from where the gate came. Another of the blue sashed men ran forth wielding one of the talon knives. He pointed the small weapon toward the green figure just before a deep blue orb rose from his hand growing to the size of his head before it flew toward the green figure. Nuyani could feel the strange ripples through the memories of the spirit as the flow of her energy was distorted from each cast.
‘These rings…They’re strange,’ Nuyani thought as she tried to memorize the rhythm projected through the child’s memory.
The orb struck the green figure’s shoulder sending him off balance for a moment as the blue sashed fighter closed the distance. The green figure stabbed forth aiming for his opponent’s gut. The sashed fighter parried the blade to the side and kicked at the green fighter’s leg trying to force him to fall. Bearing larger muscles, the green figure shrugged the blow off as he turned toward him following with a backslash of his blade. The sashed man backed away as the green man grabbed his other hand. Raising the short blade, the sashed man grabbed the green figure’s arm before kicking up to the enemy’s elbow. Thrown off-balance, the two disconnected as the blade came down.
The sashed fighter raised the knife as he yelled, “Tosgam! (Fire!)” A flame appeared in the air before sailing toward the green figure’s face. Ripples of its energy passed through the area. The projectile then struck and indented the mask. A loud clang sounded amongst the chaos. His head reeled back as blood sprayed onto the ground. The green man’s arms dangled to the sides as he dropped his blade and fell over the pool wall submerged into the water.
Before the girl could say anything, the man ran to her and yanked her to her feet. She was pushed on. She headed down the main path as an entire row of the sashed men headed in the opposite direction with spears at the ready. Water came down despite the sparse clouds above. As the girl followed many others, the ground before her ripped open as one of the strange slithering branches rose into the air. Buildings and the wall fell apart. It continued as the child leaped over the gap in a desperate bound. Water started to flood the path as a sudden shadow trailed over the stones.
A loud crash then sounded from her side. Splinters and boards scattered through the area as the remains of one of the wooden vessels collapsed under its weight. The child pushed on trying to wade through the water. More ripples passed through her memory allowing Nuyani to learn from the past. Though she had difficulty walking, the invaders did not. More sap fell from glowing cracks in the flailing limb as the red-clad fighters ran through the destruction.
Nuyani could not tell what she was seeing. There were beings of various sizes and skin colors. The most bizarre were beings with animalistic limbs. Some had normal hands but, were covered in fur or scales with claws or hooved feet. The sashed warrior wielded a shield and curved blade while his foe had a net and a short blade. When the man went to stab at her, the woman’s legs fused forming a tail and tripling the length of her body as she slithered back out of the way of the blade. The sashed fighter raised his shield as the woman coiled back with her weapon pointed at the man’s head. She then threw her net forth. With it in mid-flight, she struck in a blur, stabbing into the man’s leg, too fast for him to react. As he wailed and the net enclosed on his limbs, a ring of golden light shined around them before the area within did the same. A moment later, the two fell into the golden void before it disappeared. Other portals appeared as the invaders abducted them. The girl moved on trying to reach the main building.
She was forced to halt as another strange being cleaved upward with an enormous ax fitting their size. Another of the sashed fighters was split in two and sent flying away. The girl breathed heavily as she watched the figure turn toward her. They were twice the height of any man. Their legs were hooved. Their body covered in black fur. Horns protruded from their massive head still outfitted with a mask pressed into their brow and cutting into their eyes where dry blood sealed them shut. Its mouth and nose were in the form of a beast. Despite being blind, the being tracked the child’s movements. They raised their ax and started to bring it down. She backed away as the large blade made of song stone cracked the earth under its weight. Still, in retreat, she was in range for another attack until a sudden white flash appeared behind the invader. The being turned around facing another of the sashed fighters as they held one of the knives and a curved blade.
With a second yell, a bolt launched from the knife and coursed toward the large figure. The lightning struck the fur-covered man’s mask as their body jittered. They fell to the floor. The fighter sheathed his curved weapon as he moved to the girl and picked her up. He ran with her through the rushing water. The girl then found herself watching another battle taking place above the structures. A man taller than any structure or mountain with his brow cutting into the clouds wielded a curved blade and taloned knife of his own. Wrapped around his waist were several of the branches leading to a different figure.
‘That made us flee?’ Nuyani questioned, her body shivering.
The white branches led to a strange figure in a humanoid form but made entirely of wood. The head and torso were covered in a tattered crimson shroud with a hood over the head. The face was covered by an androgynous golden mask. The towering being had the eye slits open and glowing with a golden light. The tree figure continued its attempts to ensnare the colossal man as he continued to cleave through the bindings. He went for a stab at the wood creature’s mask. The being backed away their branches losing much of their reach. Before the man went for another swing, he raised the knife’s tip pointed to the clouds. The clouds swirled around the point as lightning danced in their folds. Winds whipped around into a vortex closely descending from above the masked giant. The branches were trapped by the vortex as large waves rose and spun around the figure trapping them in the surge. As the clouds and water encased the tree figure, the colossal man raised his blade and swung for a horizontal cleave.
As his hand rose crossing through the air, a large shadow crossed over the man’s body before a sphere then flew into sight and clamped down on the sword hand stopping the blow. A fierce gale erupted through the area on impact. The sphere was an enormous mass of gray pulsing flesh bulging out of small sections of its shell. Whether a beak or shell, Nuyani couldn’t tell. The clouds and waters stopped swirling around the masked being. Before the large fighter could recover, the masked figure wrapped several branches around his limbs and head.
“Do’alm!” the girl called out.
As the man continued to struggle against branches, the tree being unraveled showing an enormous heart hidden beneath the cloak. The mask floated forth ready to cover Do’alm’s face. The enormous being then turned and outstretched his arms as he shouted in a booming voice. Nuyani noted the enormous man’s eyes were black and deep blue spotted with white reminding her of the night sky. The entire scene went white before a deafening thunder followed. The child was blind for a moment before her vision cleared. The giant, Do’alm, now collapsed to his knees sending a tremor through the land as his chest became cavernous and violet flames rose from the inside.
Nuyani could feel her body move as she cupped her mouth. The masked figure released its grasp of the man reassembling its body as it turned toward the mountains. The girl shifted in the warrior’s arms as the ground reverberated several times. Approaching the high walls was another giant. A woman with her hands extended outward. Lightning danced between each finger before she fired another blinding bolt. The girl shielded her eyes blocking some of the light. The flying orb was wounded as the same flames rose from the remaining lower half as it fell to the earth. Given enough time, the masked figure reached for her wrapping several of the branches on her limbs. The woman fought against its pull as her entire body started to glow. Her footsteps shook the earth. As the mask floated forward, arching as he listened to the other fighter.
“Kelvert!” the girl called.
‘What! Nuyani thought. ‘W-why? Who is he?’
Before her mind was flooded with more questions, a spell ripped through the doors sending splinters through the area. The fighters reeled from the concussive force but, regrouped as the opening gave way. The man named Kelvert then lifted his hand as a large violet construct of a wall appeared in the doorway blocking several ethereal attacks as more people passed through the barrier. beyond the rippling light, the girl could see the invaders advancing through the other forces. Both the giants lied on the ground. The gold-sashed fighter then stopped a young boy in passing and handed him his blade. The boy looked at him with pause but, accepted the weapon before continuing toward the hallway. Another crash sounded from the side as the roof collapsed and another branch entered the large room. Stones fell as more of the sap dropped from gleaming cracks in the wood. The child froze as another green figure entered from a portal. Cracking continued to sound overpowering the screams. More red-clad warriors rose from the portals and headed for the sashed fighters. Stones fell. When the child looked up, her sight was covered in dust before the world went black.
Light returned to Nuyani’s sight as she sat in the rubble staring at the young child. The woman’s eyes were red, tears streamed down her face. She breathed heavily as her skin was drenched from a cold sweat. The girl’s expression was grimaced as she looked to the ground. Nuyani looked to the child trying to fathom the pain of the trapped spirit. She diverted her eyes toward the ground as she grew dizzy. The scene played before her was too much. People of different colors, sizes, and beastly parts. Beings even taller than mountains. Strange curses and powers shared by both sides. Her head spun as her body grew hot. Nuyani stomach turned and twisted as she struggled to grasp the spirit’s vision. She turned to the side as her stomach heaved. Jerky, nuts, and water fell to the dust as she gagged. Nuyani trembled as the pain rose in her head. Before she could say anything, she blacked out and collapsed to the side.
