Decadence of Darkness: Part II

[Caraick]

Decadence of Darkness

Part II: Darkness' Scourging

     Shadows slowly extended their long fingers, claiming the Stone City in their long, groping tendrils as night set in.  The armored Ylian woman walked slowly for the ramp leading down to the front of the city, pulling her hair up behind her head, and tying it with a small leather cord.  Her pace slowly increased to a jog, and then gradually to a full out sprint, as she chased the rapidly disappearing, red-cloaked figure out of the city’s gate.

   Teshia dashed over the hills as the figure turned right, and seemed to head back towards Hydlaa.  As she approached the crest of a hill, the red-clad figure turned right again, heading for the stone mouth of the burial well.  The crimson cloak of the figure rippled in the distance as its wearer stepped into the rocky mouth, and vanished from sight.

   Not hesitating a moment, Teshia dashed up to the burial mouth, and stepped inside carefully, the darkness of the unlighted well engulfing her completely. The sound of a cold, ringing laugh rebounded off the sides of the well, echoing eerily in the still cave.  Teshia whirled around as the echo changed “Where are you?!?” she shouted angrily, peering into the various passageways in the well.

   The cold laugh only increased in volume as an answer, the echoes altering again as the laugh’s owner shifted in position.  Teshia turned her head again, trying to locate the source of the noise.  The sound of the cold laughter slowly died, leaving only the sound of Teshia’s footfalls to echo in the inky blackness.   The soft crunching of stone underneath her boots receded into the empty cave as the floor beneath took on an incline, sloping upwards at a low angle.  

A little ways up this incline stood a figure nearly indistinguishable from the shadows around the cave, the faint glint of light off of a wide, sharp grin betraying the figure’s presence.   The blood-red cloak rippled as its wearer spun his black staff in a blurring revolution, speaking in a haughty, icy voice “Welcome to The End, Teshia.”

Teshia dropped into a defensive stance, drawing a dagger and holding its blade back along her arm, a black-bladed falchion clutched in her other hand.  Eyes flashing with determination, she spoke out evenly “It will be the end, Marsuveus.”

In a quick flurry of crimson, the cloaked figure suddenly vanished from sight, a crunch of boots upon stone echoing from ahead of Teshia.  Blades clutched tightly in her grip, she edged cautiously forward, craning her neck to peer forward into the thick blackness.  The sound of small stones falling a few feet ahead of her stopped her progress, and she crouched low as she peered over the edge, eyes squinting in the darkness as she struggled to make out the massive form of the Ynwnn.  Teshia spoke her words calmly into the darkness “Stop running, coward!”

Marsuveus chuckled low in his throat as he slowly turned in place, gesturing about himself with his staff “Is there anywhere to run, dear Teshia?” A bolt of crackling energy sped from his staff, and impacted a worn wooden sign with a loud crash, illuminating the wood’s words for a quick second.

Unable to make out the words from her distance, Teshia calmly edged down the small cliff, resetting her feet as she landed, regarding Marsuveus confidently “I know you too well to believe you’re out of tricks already, Marsuveus.”

Marsuveus simply laughed icily, the sound reverberating loudly in the small cavern as he strode calmly towards the wooden sign.  His lips parted in a cold grin as he regarded Teshia “Have you ever been here before, Teshia?”

Eyes narrowing in reply, Teshia stepped forward carefully as she spoke a simple “No.”

A small flame came into existence on the tip of Marsuveus’ staff, illuminating the area around it, casting the wooden sign into sharper relief.  The flickering of the light revealed deep gouges and cuts along the post, faint crimson stains coloring the dark wood.  Marsuveus grinned icily, and looked back to Teshia, holding the flame out near the sign to accentuate his words “In the Death Trap, you’ve two choices, Teshia… And climbing out is not one of them. Try it if you don’t believe me.”

Teshia whirled to examine the rocky slope behind her.  What had seemed to be a simple drop was in fact a sheer rock face, impossible to scale on hand and foot.  Shock registering in her features, she turned her head slowly to face Marsuveus again, maintaining a calm appearance “You…bastard. You tricked me…”

A ringing laugh answered her words, as Marsuveus swung the length of his staff, illuminating the rear of the cave.  Previously invisible in the black cavern sat two hulking Grendols, their large eyes closed as they slept in a small enclave in the back of the cavern.  Cloak rippling as he strode for the side of the cave, dipping the flame on his staff into a mounted torch, he spoke haughtily, mockery and arrogance in his voice “Most prefer the quick way,” he said, gesturing at the two colossal monsters, “But the cowards prefer to wait…For whatever reason…”

The flame on his staff extinguished itself, the small cave now lit by the flickering light of the torch as he slowly grinned at Teshia “I wonder which one you’ll choose…”

Teshia cast the hulking Ynwnn a thin smile as she replied calmly, “They can’t kill me, Marsuveus… Looks like we’ll be spending eternity together… You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Spending eternity down here, alone, in the dark?”
If Teshia’s words reached the Ynwnn, he ignored them, and made no response to the words, walking closer as he held his staff at Teshia’s eye-level, a glistening stain faintly visible near the end.  â€śDid he suffer, Teshia? Did you look into his eyes as his life fled him, and tell him it would be alright?”

Teshia only smiled coldly as Marsuveus wiped the stain off on his boot, crooking a finger at him “Come closer and say that again, Marsuveus…”

Marsuveus slowly flipped his hood back up with his other hand, staff returning back to its loose grip at his side “Oh, dearest Teshia… How you tempt me…”

The dark staff whirled in the low light, sending a pair of shadow-like orbs hurtling towards Teshia with a dull hum.   Teshia twisted her body quickly, and the first orb passed by harmlessly.  Her dagger met the other in mid-air, deflecting the object off at an angle, sending it on a crash course with the wall behind her.  The orb impacted the wall and exploded without a sound.

Teshia grinned slowly, “You’re going to have to do better than that, Marsuveus…” She flicked her fingers casually, sending a small volley of miniature energy arrows humming towards Marsuveus’ feet.

A disc-shaped shadow grew around the end of Marsuveus’ staff, and its wielder turned the staff in a rapid arc before his feet, any of the arrows impacting the shadow vanishing within.  Teshia trailed her finger along her blade, creating a large glowing scythe of white energy along its edge.

Marsuveus slid his hand along the front of his staff, creating a mirror image of the scythe, in humming dark energy.  As Teshia swung her blade forward, sending the glowing energy for Marsuveus, the staff whipped forward, sending the dark scythe hurtling directly towards the white scythe.  The two scythes of energy met in mid-air, dissipating against each other, sending a dull concussion across the small cavern.

Teshia exhaled once, bouncing a small, glowing ball of crystal energy on her blade, smiling as she looked to Marsuveus. “What? No sharp comment in return? Can you not handle that for once, you cannot break this? That you can’t manipulate me?”

A small burst of dark energy escaped from Marsuveus’ staff, before he created a glistening orb of dark energy, cupping it tightly in his hand, voice dark and spiteful “You’re never going to be good enough for him Teshia… You’re still that same foolish girl that I met so many years ago.”

Teshia only smiled softly, replying in a calm, happy voice “Maybe… But that’s good enough for him…”

In an abrupt flash of dark energy, Marsuveus’ orb shorted out, disappearing in a flash and a black cloud.  His eyes narrowed to slits as he shouted, voice raised in anger “Why?!?!”

Shaking her head softly, Teshia laughed in a quiet, happy tone “You would never understand, Marsuveus… You’re a petty excuse for an existence… Too weak and simple to know what life, and faith, are about…”

Marsuveus’ mouth opened in a roar as he stepped forward, gripping his staff tightly “I’ll show you where faith has brought you!”

Teshia smiled serenely, eyes glinting brightly “You cannot… You have no idea the limits that faith can reach… Far beyond your simple darkness…” She flicked her wrist, sending the white orb hurtling towards Marsuveus.

Swinging his staff in an attempt to parry the ball, Marsuveus managed to only knock the ball slightly off course, and he ducked hastily, narrowly avoiding the orb’s impact.  He slowly raised his head, sharp teeth bared in an angry snarl as he swung his staff overhead in a blurring revolution, preparing to strike in a last, desperate attempt.

Both hands aglow with a soft white light, Teshia reached her hand up to rest it against Marsuveus’ face.

Eyes widening, the Ynwnn froze mid-motion, as though petrified into stone.

Teshia pressed the moment, smiling softly as she asked “Shall I heal you now?”
Marsuveus breathed heavily, eyes twitching back and forth, the glimmering light of the torch revealing an almost undetectably faint streak of brown in the normally midnight-black eyes. “I am…healed,” he breathed angrily.  His eyes snapped quickly back to their ink-black color as sweat began to bead down his forehead.

Teshia slowly dropped her hand to his chest, lips pursing as she shook her head gently “No…You are blind…” Her voice dropped to a gentle whisper, quiet and piercing in the dark silence “Have you ever wanted to see more?...”

Arching his body backwards, Marsuveus clamped his hands over his ears, his staff clattering to the floor. Roaring loudly, he closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side.

Teshia only stepped closer, voice still calm, and quiet in its tone “What is the use of eyes if you do not use them to see? Or ears, if you do not use them to hear? Why have hands that you feel nothing with?”

Marsuveus’ colossal form only bent further backward, his spine nearing the snapping point as his roar changed into a fever pitched scream.  Teshia’s words continued, soft and unceasing. “Scream. Scream if it helps you, but it will not stop the voice you hear in your mind. It will not stop the truth.  You cannot cherish this lie…”

As the sounds of his scream reached new levels, Marsuveus opened his eyes, midnight-black pupils dilated and widened in pain and fear “Our purpose is not a lie!” he screamed with every ounce of his being, voice breaking in his strain. “We cannot fail Her!”

Teshia slowly reached up to run her fingertip along Marsuveus’ scarred and withered cheekbone. Voice soft as a summer breeze, she whispered, “It doesn’t have to hurt…”

The very rocks of the cave seemed ready to shut their ears to the awful sound, as Marsuveus’ scream climbed to an ear-splitting pitch, eyes tightly shut, head twitching back and forth.  Unyielding and unceasing, the scream climbed and climbed in volume until it reached a point where no other sound could possibly be as horrible in it’s echoing. Then it climbed even higher.

Teshia held her touch a moment longer, before slowly dropping her hand “Marsuveus…There is so much more than this… Do not be her slave.”

Staggering back as if struck, Marsuveus reached out his hands for balance as the world tipped and turned.  The great Ynwnn fell to his knees, head hung down as his scream slowly died into a low, pain-stricken moan. “This is the end…” he breathed, voice clouded by pain.

Footfalls echoing in the short cave, Teshia stepped forward quietly, tilting her head down to look at the Ynwnn’s scarred and tattooed face, saying quietly “No, Marsuveus…” she smiled serenely, “This is just the beginning…”

The scarred and stricken face of the Ynwnn contorted briefly for a moment, and his black-gloved hands quickly raised to cover his eyes as he shut them tightly, and screamed out in pain.  Holding the sound for a moment that never seemed to end, the scream slowly died as his neck jerked to the side, and he dropped his hands from his eyes, moaning softly.

Teshia started forward slowly, voice quiet “Marsuveus…Let me help you…”

Marsuveus simply shook his head jerkily, exhaling long as he replied in a voice so low as to be mistaken for a whisper “We’re beyond help, Teshia… You don’t understand. As he raised his head slowly to look up to Teshia, a faint brown hue seeped into the corners of his irises, barely visible in the dim light cast by the torch.  His hands quickly shot up to clamp over his eyes, and his scream again made the very walls of the cave shake with its volume.

Teshia halted her forward progress, and shook her head softly as she replied in her calm, quit voice “It’s never hopeless, Marsuveus…”

Marsuveus pushed himself to his feet slowly, as his scream again reached a fever pitch. His arms suddenly dropped violently to his sides, as he leaned forward and yelled with all his might “Hope is lost for us, Teshia! From the beginning we were planted for this!!” As his head tilted closer to Teshia, the torch’s flickering again caught his eyes in sharp relief.  The faint brown color present before flashed into full relief, before being swallowed up by the black, and his eyes returned to their shadow-like color.

As he turned himself around rapidly, and began to walk for the rear of the cave, Teshia stepped forward, voice as sad as it’s softness “Marsuveus, don’t do this…. Hope is never lost….”

If the tall Ynwnn heard Teshia’s words, he made no response to them, as he picked up his staff, and crossed the last remaining space towards the pair of sleeping Grendols in the rear of the cave.  Marsuveus slammed the point of his staff inches from the two creatures’ closed eyes, and his scream began to climb in pitch again.

Teshia caught her breath in a quick, quiet sob, and she turned her eyes from the scene, the sound of Marsuveus’ scream now accompanied by a low, growing roar as the pair of monsters awoke for their next kill.

As though it had simply never existed, the scream died. The last dying echoes of it’s sound reverberated around in the cavern’s passageways before coming to a quiet stillness.



Rising from her seat, the woman whistled for her Drifter, hopping into its saddle, and glided easily over the rocky slope.  As she left, she turned her gaze backwards towards the small cavern, for one last look.  The silent flickering of the torchlight illuminated an cave devoid of life and objects, save a simple and scarred wooden post, and a pair of Grendols hunched in the small enclave of the back of the cavern, eyes lit by the excitement of their latest kill. Her honey-colored eyes, softened by the misty veil of unshed tears, cast a demeanour of quiet stillness about the small cave.  
 

…To be concluded in Part III

[Ench]

Great, loved it, looking forward to part 3.

I really like your descriptive style of writing.

 

[Phantomboy86]

Leeetle cliche with the whole hope thing and using niceness to save him, but was well done nonetheless. Gj 

[Tessra]

Tesh *is* cliche at times... but she didn't save him.  That was one of the most fun RPs I've ever done, and I love letting Tesh have free reign to talk to Marsu, and trying to figure out all of what he is saying.   

[Ceridwen]

I just can't believe it, I am feeling so heart wrenchingly sorry for Marsu now... damn it he's so el creepo...

Great writing Car, loving it, cant' wait for part 3.

[Mariana Xiechai]

O.o I want to meet this character, I do, I do. 

[Sarras Volcae]

i think he's dead or something.

[Caraick]

i think he's dead or something.

Despite Teshia's best efforts, not yet

Nice to be back, everyone.

[Sarras Volcae]

oooh, is there going to be a part 3?

edit: i suck at reading. sorry.

[miomo]

I'm glad you are back. This is a great story, which I determined by the fact that my reading sped up as the story went along.

I hope we'll find out who "She" is.