Chapter 4

What should I do now, I'm a wanted man, everything I know and love was destroyed and the man that did it is still alive.

“Hey Thalorian, bring me to your village,” said Limiria, staring at the ceiling of their room.

“Why? It's just a pile of ashes,” Thalorian responded.

“I don’t know, I just have this feeling like there's going to be something or someone there,” said Limiria.

“Fine. I never got a chance to pay my respects to my parents. Even though it was stuffy, it was still my home,” said Thalorian. The two of them walked for days, training whenever they could. When they finally made it a week had passed, everyday seemingly longer. They stared down at a pile of ashes that was the village, hunks of lumber sticking up, some homes still alive, there were people walking around with carts taking whatever items survived the slaughter. “What happened, why are there people there?” said Thalorian, confused at the figures below.

“Probably Droks, they raid ruins,” said Limiria observing the creatures.

“What in the name of the Aternum is a Drok?” asked Thalorian.

“A short gray thing. They live in packs of fifty or so,” said Limiria, answering Thalorian’s question.

“Can I kill them?” asked Thalorian, already sliding down the side of the hill.

“Guess I can’t stop you,” said Limiria to herself jumping in the air and drawing her sword.

Thalorian reached the familiar dirt paths of his village without being seen easily. The Droks were too focused on getting as much treasure as they could to notice Thalorian.

“Excuse me gentlemen but please refrain from stealing my stuff,” said Thalorian holding his sword over his shoulder. The Droks slowly closed in on Thalorian pulling tiny daggers and swords out of their belts. One of the Droks suddenly rushed at Thalorian, swinging their blade wildly. Thalorian easily dodged the small creature's foolish attack and sliced right through its weak skin, blood splattering everywhere and the two piles of Drok meat dropped to the floor. “Anyone else wish to attack,” mocked Thalorian. “No, too bad,” said Thalorian raising his palm and casting, “Crya Elia,” Waves of ice flew at the Droks freezing and killing most of them.

The few Droks that survived ran into a burnt down shack near the cart they were stuffing everything they stole in. “I do love myself a good game of chase,” said Thalorian zooming into the building the Droks hid in. Inside the shack there weren't just two or three Droks but a giant hairless gray mound with a club that looked more like a tree trunk than a club. “Oh fuck,” said Thalorian looking up at the sixteen foot beast standing in front of him. He went flying into the side of the hill when the giant beast swung at him. “Ow, that really hurt, anyway time to die,” said Thalorian facing his palm toward the giant mound of flesh. “Voltis Elia,” said Thalorian with a calm tone in his voice.

Sparks of raw electricity flew through the air and struck the mound right where he believed it’s heart to be. “Groroar!” screamed the Mound trembling, but still up. “Grunk!” roared the Mound rushing at Thalorian swinging its club wildly, crushing all the frozen Droks.

“Um… A little help,” said Thalorian, looking at the house that Limiria was atop. Limiria hopped down from her perch atop a house a few meters away. Limiria thrust her blade forward, breaking the creature's skin and causing blood to scatter. Taking his opportunity to strike, Thalorian ran toward the Mound cutting through its tough hide making its blood rush out like a wave of salty blood and bile. “Ew,” said Thalorian, wiping off the disgusting mess that was on him. Sliding under its legs Limiria jumped up and plunged their sword into its throat.

“Grara!” roared the Mound, barely able to hear it. In a desperate attempt to save their life the Mound swung its tree trunk like club. The cracked wood grazed his skin, opening several minor wounds on his skin. In a final attempt to survive the Mound brought down its club trying to destroy Thalorian's skull. Thalorian jumped backward and finished the job, “Braris!” shouted Thalorian firing a bolt of fire right through the Mounds head.

“What was that thing?” asked Thalorian looking at the battered corpse. “Cause I know that that was not a Drok,”

“Technically it was a Drok, the ones you killed are a subspecies of Drok called an Ernwig, that one is called a Morcgrog, they’re bigger, and tougher,” said Limiria.

“Well, then I stand corrected, it is a Drok,” said Thalorian, kicking the corpse of the oaf that just attacked them. A small shuffle came from some bushes nearby, nothing important; could be another Drok, a rabbit, or maybe something else? “Who's there?!” said Thalorian, his head snapping toward the bush.

“Oh thank The Aternum, you saved my life thank you so much,” said the man, about twenty three years old with unruly platinum hair and a scar up his arm, coming out of the bush.

“Haverian? Is-Is that you?” asked Thalorian in disbelief that some in his village had survived. Haverian…How could he have survived, it's impossible, we were just a regular village, a few guards yeah but none strong enough to beat that monster that came.

“Oh hey Thalorian, I thought you were dead, you went to The Fields of Ash and then I didn't see you come back to the village, Oh and also sick sword, can I touch it? Wait why’d I ask that of course I can’t,” said the young blacksmith rambling on.

“I can’t believe you survived, how- how did you survive?” stuttered Thalorian, in disbelief.

“Right… I was dead but then this big shiny guy came to me and it was all cloudy and I saw my Great-Grandpa and my ancestors were lining like this big coliseum or something like that but then the big shiny guy touched my forehead and I was alive again, and I was all tingly,” said Haverian acting out every event he described.

“So If I got this right your friend gets killed in the attack then revived by a ‘shiny guy’, sounds like the Aternum’s work to me,” said Limiria leaning on a pole that used to be a house.

“What are the Aternum?” said Thalorian and Haverian in sync.

“You guys really don’t know anything about the outside world?” said Limiria.

“Yeah, Hirenlia was pretty dull, we never learned anything about the outside world, we were either a farmer, a blacksmith, a miner, or a Seer,” said Haveria, stretching. “Anyway, back to the point, what are the Aternum?”.

“The Aternum are the gods that supposedly created everything, the main ones are Haveniririon, god of life and death, Ankhrarian, goddess of destruction and creation, Boshin’Nok, god of nature, and Soreken the goddess of magic, so there you have those are the main four gods of the nineteen gods and demi-god that make up the Aternum,” said Limiria, plainly as if none of this mattered.

“So ,just to get this straight, a god revived Haverian and then just threw him into a pit of Ernwigs, what a great idea revive someone and then kill them again,” said Thalorian, “Just for some weekend kicks eh,” said Thalorian staring at the sky.

“The Aternum have their reasons,” said Limiria walking into the Fields of Ash. Wait, that's the way toward the Fields of Ash. Is she going there?

“There’s nothing there, just ash, if you're lucky you'll be mauled by a weird wolf thing,” said Thalorian, sarcastically.

“What do you mean, wolf thing?” asked Limiria, turning her head back.

“Yeah this weird wolf thing attacked me while I was there it was scaly and its drool was really hot, like severe burns hot,” Thalorian responded, reliving that dreadful moment. The heat felt fresh on his face and the lava-like saliva burned his skin once more, his heart started beating as fast as it did then and he felt its razor-sharp claws digging into his skin.

“Scaly wolf things don’t exist in the kingdom…unless” Limiria thought for a moment, considering the possibilities, “Yes! That's got to be it,” said Limiria with excitement.

“What's it?” asked Haverian.

“A Demonian, they can summon demons equal to their magical prowess, it must have been there,” said Limiria, snapping her fingers. Limiria continued toward the Fields of Ash, as if it was calling her.

“There’s nothing there!” hollered Thalorian trying to catch up with Limiria. Haverian trailed behind Thalorian and Limiria, watching Thalorian try to convince Limiria to turn back and do something else. Thinking up his next move.