Anastacia prepares for the worst when the sun comes up. As the rays of the sun shone down upon the beast, it screamed and growled, its skin sizzled and slowly — it turned into a man. The man was tied down. His arms behind his back and his legs tied down using thick vines. The said vines had sharp thorns, if he ever did try to do something funny, the thorns would pierce his skin. Anastacia wondered what kind of procedure she should be doing to extract the Bane. Antheia’s instructions were vague.How does one extract it? Will she simply draw blood from the man and let the thick liquid sip down the bottle she brought?She dismissed the idea, not liking how macabre it was. The man was still sleeping. Spent. Tired and drained. Well, she was too. But she had no time to rest. Anastacia wanted everything to be over and done with today.This is the third day. ‘No more.’ She thought. Anastacia closed her eyes and began to concentrate to begin linking herself — her soul with the Celestial b
Khalantrophe’s body shook and his braided her glowed red. Venom oozing. Anger. Betrayal. A vision of a man wearing a white tunic with a staff on his hand.“I see him.”“The Necromancer, Levi.” Antheia said, composed as ever, immaculate in her thick robe, covered with vines and flowers and leaves. Bare feet. Long hair dragging across the sea of clouds. “He’s our enemy. Not humanity.”“And who are the others?” Antheia looked at her perfect pair, her lips parting and her green eyes sparkled — the colors illuminating until there was a hint of gold. “His creations.”“You saw them?” Khalantrophe asked."I saw the creature of Tar and Coal." Antheia admitted. "Anastacia was consumed by one, I barely managed to save her."Upon hearing her name, Anastacia's eyes opened. There’s a strange chill in the air, an ominous silence that makes the hair stand on her arms. She forgot how she was unable to move. It’s too much for her, and Anastacia wants to speak. To scream. She’s seeing too many things.
While Zebedee wouldn’t call herself and Aiziah the sharpest tack in the box, they’re pretty damned close to it, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there’s something wrong with their bestfriend, Elly.“Where is Nathaniel, Dane?!” Zebedee cried in panic, she was grabbing onto Aiziah’s sleeves tight. Her knuckles are turning white.“Calm down.” Aiziah replied as she stared at Elly’s body. He was cold as ice, and his skin turned blue, almost purple and the veins on his body were visible against his odd skin. The veins looked like a map.The arteries on his heart could be traced. He's looking more dead than alive. Nothing but a remnant of his old self.Day by day, they notice the small changes in Elly’s body. How the sun burns begins to face, turning his reddish burnt — almost auburn skin into brown. And then it began to peel, scabs appeared.And the next morning — when it was Nathaniel’s turn to look after the two men, they saw this. The anomalies before aren’t glar
This must be one of his most unluckiest day. Never did Kane thought that he would have so much trouble fending off Elly. One ball of fire after another, it doesn’t seem to have an effect on him.Yes it was hurting him, but Elly would still jump and fight, even as his skin burnt. It’s like his brain was wired only to fight. The Keeper can be compared to a Zombie — Kane thought as he tried his best to fight off Elly's strange power, strength and rage.He stared at Elly with cool eyes. They’re both sweaty, panting, and frustrated. It’s been hours, and they’ve been through this at least twenty times.“Just go back to sleep, Elly, please! I don’t want to hurt you–” Kane sighs, running a hand irritably through his hair. Let’s try this again, the long-suffering, painfully patient set of his mouth says. But it seemed like Elly couldn’t understand him.Kane is half-convinced that Elly’s somehow controlled by something, and he is not himself. But how? And who.It’s his fourth time to throw a ba
A knock at the heavy wooden door disturbed the quiet of Kanisa’s study. The delicate touch of brush on paper jarred and the ink blurred at Kanisa’s surprise. A mild curse escaped her lips while harsher ones flew through her mind. A scholar did not curse out loud.She bade the intruder enter and was even more surprised at Jaddah bearing a tray of dinner many hours before dinner.Or so she thought. The light in the window burned gold with the sunset, and her stomach grumbled loudly. How many times had that happened without Kanisa noticing?Letter ruined, he put aside the parchment and smiled at Jaddah. She wore the heavy frock of the village, the brown linen a far cry from the softer and more varied colors of the city. But her hair was covered by a vibrant red shawl, a color worn and displayed proudly in the village.Kanisa learned the color represented knights of the past who had settled the village after helping the king defeat invaders from the sea. That was a long time ago, before t
“I was born into a family with too many daughters, and they were excited to finally have a son, but being the youngest of nine meant I was left alone a lot. I read. I studied history and music. I learned. It was what I enjoyed most. When King Ahn came into power, after usurping the last king, he called upon everyone that could read, to go through the history.”“Rewrite it, like many kings.”“Maybe a little, but King Matthios is frustrated with how many holes there are in history and he is frustrated that his people are not educated in sciences, mathematics, reading, and instead rely on superstitions and shaman for their beliefs.”“Hence, why you are here, to fix our bastardly ways, is that it?”Kanisa smiled even though Conrad Hydrock was anything but humorous in her accusation. “No. There is nothing wrong with your village or villagers, Conrad Hydrock. I am only here to make sure you can follow the king’s, your king’s” She added pointedly “orders and decrees. If you do that, you’ll b
Kanisa staggered and lost her footing. She fell with a shout and then stayed on the ground. The light disappeared, and heavy footsteps pounded toward her.“What are you doing here?” Conrad Hydrock demanded. “What did you see?” Conrad Hydrock grabbed his open robe, hauling him to his feet, and Kanisa moaned, pitched against Conrad Hydrock's strong chest. Warmed. Warm skin. Warmed by fire. Controlled fire.“Oh god,” Kanisa gasped, and Conrad Hydrock shook her again, and her stomach lurched. She pushed away from Conrad Hydrock and fell to her knees to finish expelling the rest of last night’s feast.Conrad Hydrock moved away from her and Kanisa cursed in her head. What did she see? Nothing that was possible, that was for sure.A firm hand landed on her back and slid along her body to lift him up. Kanisa whimpered.“Sh, just drink,” Conrad Hydrock whispered.Cool water splashed over her mouth, and Kanisa gulped down the spring water. Another one of her favorite things about this village w
Conrad must have told Kindle Lou that Kanisa knew about his ability. Or that look meant Kindle Lou knew about their kiss. Or both.Conrad followed his glare to Kanisa, but his look did not linger, and he hugged Kindle Lou tightly. “I’ll be fine.”The village had another feast but a more subdued celebration with many prayers and offerings for the safe return of the fisherman. They prayed not to a god like many in the city but to the elements, to the wind and the water and the earth. They prayed for smooth water, they prayed for favorable winds, they prayed for bountiful fish.Kanisa pondered this new development. He had never heard of people praying to the elements.A week after the fishermen departed, Kanisa sat upon the cliff watching a storm move in from the sea. Wind whipped her clothes around and she did not dare to take out parchment in case it blew away. But it was a warm wind, heralding the start of summer. Not that the temperature really changed this close to the sea. It was s