Chapter 16: They will draw first Blood

To see the after math of war

is often worse then the battle it self

Location Unknown

Tell me, what of the boy?”

“He knows.”

“Good, the time for that has been long coming. . .Where is he now.”

“Our contacts say he’s east bound, towards Viquawa’ta.”

“If he knows, then why does he not head towards the islands?”

“We do not know, if he continues to delay we will divert him ourselves.”

“. . .No.”

“No?”

“He must do this on his own, the prophecy will not be completed if we continue to help him. .he must learn to think for himself.”

“But we have already helped him, if not for me he would already be dead, then what of our prophecy?”

“I do not say we will not help him, only that we will leave him for the time being. I should not have to explain myself to you. .you carry the tone of someone who believes herself equal to I.”

“I apologizes.”

“You are forgiven.”

“What else of the boy.”

“ One of our scouts says shadow stalkers are coming after him, three in all.”

“Good, tell the scouts not to interfere, this will be a prime test for him, this will show use how far along he is.”

“What if he is over whelmed?”

“That is why you will be there, do not make your presences known, only if needed will you intervene”.

“The stalkers are due to reach him in three days, I will be there when they do.”

“Good.”

“. . .Tell of the old man I entrusted the boy to, where is he?”

“He is gone.”

“Gone how.”

“His temple was attack by shadow spirits, from what was left behind-I believe it may have been an entire army, Sowa’ta may have been there itself.”

“That saddens me, another human gone to the cause. .huh. So. .it has begun has it? Sowa’ta may have just been testing out it’s growing army, before the great battle it’s army will have grown a hundred folds. How do we hope to succeed when that small portion of what’s to come was able to take down a Karafutas temple.”

“We will win, you taught me never to lose hope.”

“Yes, I did didn’t I.”

“Do not tell me after all these centuries, at the beginning of the end of this terrible age you lose hope?”

“No, I have not lost hope. .but after so many years. So many lives. .it is hard and I am old. I simply wish to die in peace.”

“And that you shall, if any one deserves a peaceful passing, it is you Xeroal .”

“Thank you Ezer’al.”

“I do not require thanks.”

“What of the other two spoken of in prophecy, did the old man get to notify them of the parts they are to play in this coming war”.

“I believe so, a scout is following a messenger spirit as we speak, he was the only one to escape the fallen city. It will reach the first of the two with the next two hours.”

“Good, time grows short, I want you to. .intercept that messenger spirit and make sure the messages are delivered, nothing can go wrong. .do you understand me?”

“Yes”

“Then go.”

“. .Before I leave there is one last thing I think you may want to know of. I do not think it that important but you may want to know any how-“

”Speak it then.”

“The boy, he is traveling with a girl, I think she may hinder his progress.”

“You are right to tell me this. .I will maul this over. .but for now go.”

“Yes. . .

Meanwhile

The snow had stopped falling for the while but the gray clouds remained, spread out in every direction for miles. Thick and gray, still pack with more snow and not yet ready to give way to the sun. The sunrises being impossible to see was only noticed by the night darkness thinning into a fog,t Talon sat atop the horse Lin had named la’horas during the night. Lin had fallen asleep fifteen minutes after they disembarked so now Talon sat behind her holding the reins, and using his arms make sure she didn’t fall off as she used the horse’s neck as a pillow.

The morning glom was semi tranquil, all except for the horses hooves steady crunching through the fresh snow. He had noticed the birds weren’t singing and decided to write it off as being because of the glom. Other then that the morning would have been near silent if not for Lin’s snoring.

Looking out in either direction all he saw were fields of grass, rocks, and scraggly trees. The smell of pine carried on the wind from the forest fare behind him was a fine addition to the setting. A few minutes back he’d found his way back to the stream they’d been following though with some difficulty. The frigid air had finished off the freezing of the surface water and the late night snow had all but concealed it. The stream would have taken him a while longer to find, had he not spotted a vaguely familiar wolf drinking near a spot where the ice had broken.

As he watched the stream banks widen and connect with other small streams he concluded the city couldn’t be more then a mile off.

Finally, he thought, The sooner the better. To past the time he’d been concentrating on his own Urakras energy and what he found wasn’t very good. A few more hours and half his Urakras energy would be turned into shadow energy. Soon he’d be in Viqawa’ta, he hopped Lin had enough money on her to pay for a room(he assumed she did due to the jingling of metal coins in on of her pockets).Once they had the room he’d be able to preform another Noran technique.

He knew well it would be dangerous, one: he’d only be able to use half of his Urakras, two: from what little he remembered about the Rreoneza volcano, it was in a very dangerous zone off the spirit world, three: this was all getting to be a bit to much. As a Karafutas he was use to ricking his life, but ever since his encounter with Corra it seemed as if everything was out to get him.

Up ahead he spotted the upward ridge that surrounded the impact crater the city was built in. Looking to his right he trailed the stream with his eyes until he saw the drop where the water poured into the city. Immediately he knew something was wrong.

Usually he could sense the combined Urakras of the towns folk before he actually came upon the city or town it self. This time he didn’t sense anything. Not realizing how he had missed this he expanded his sense until he came to the fact that there wasn’t a living thing, man nor beast, any where around. The only living things where the plants.

Having the felling he was about to come across something terrible he instructed the horse to speed up. The feeling only increase as he came closer to the edge of the ridge. When he finally did reach the edge he at first didn’t see anything. The low lying mist had for some reason collected in the bowl shaped canyon that encased the city forced his eyes to adjust before he could look deeper, but when they did he wished they hadn’t. Looking upon Viquawa’ta only three words escaped his lips, “light help use”.

Meanwhile

Several Hours earlier

The monster was about the sized of a bull and dark blue, two wings, feathered yet still leathery keep it’s avian shaped body airborne. Tucked down like a vulture the creatures reptilian head sprouted from an equally scaly neck.. It’s tail was not that of a bird but more like an alligators with patches of feathers nearing it’s tip. The creature was a common enough type of shadow spirit, so common that it had been given a name, they were called Kraz’vens.

Tilting it’s wings the shadow spirit rocketed upwards from it’s dive. In it’s talons, it’s prey, a human females screamed and thrashed. The human gave off another hideous sound as the shadow spirit sunk it’s Talons deeper into her shoulder muscles. They were high now. The clouded night sky above them, the burning city below. The human had stopped moving and making noises. Despite the fact that the wounds caused by the creatures talons shouldn’t have been enough to kill her, it could no longer smell fear coursing through the old humans veins and figured she’d had a heart attack.

Swivelling it’s neck the beast clamped it’s tooth filled beak onto the humans thigh an tore out a hunk of flesh.

Preparing for another dive the shadow spirit released it’s grip on the dead human and scooped out the burning city for another target. It’s eyes fell on a small human males, it’s youth would make the meet tender, unlike the rough strained that of that elderly one.

Pinning it’s oversized wings to it’s sides the shadow spirit began the classic predatory dive. It’s eyes focused, it could see the boy clearly through the flames, smoke, and snowdrift. Passing by the tallest building it the city, the only on that refused to burn down, the creature began slowing it’s decent. The boy he chased was now running along side an older human, a male. Their scents carried striking similarities. As the gaped began to close between the hunter and it’s prey the older human broke off to due battle with another shadow spirit. This was of little interest and shadow spirit stay looked onto the boy as it sped above the crowded street, lower until it soar between the burning buildings.

At the very moment it prepared to strike one of the buildings exploded showering the creature in a rain of glass, metal, wood, and other unnamed fiery objects.. Blinded by the heat and licked by the flames the creature drove head long into the ground where it crashed through a building, dead. Despite that death, the sky up above was still littered with them. Hundreds of Kraz,vens, each seek out the same thing, human flesh.

They had come in the late evening, a black cloud over the horizon. Seeing the swarm and knowing what laid ahead a couple dozen or so ground based shadow spirit follow them to the city, reach the doomed place just as the fires erupted. The mix being a muddled colored snow, ash, and blood..