Deash12
Coffee Enthusiast
The arrow had already pierced the man's chest. He was dying, the man knew it, and so did Dayter. They were positioned under a small overhang of an apartment complex in the crowded desert city of Mirage. Tendrils of Corruption raised and fell from the ground, corrupting the earth from which they arose, turning water molten and hot. The corrupted undead filled the streets and alleyways, pouring out from portals positioned around the city. Screams accompanied by other horrendous sounds of war rang throughout and polluted the air. Parts of buildings began to burn, filling the sky with a dark cloud of smoke. Dayter was kneeling over the dying man, attempting to ease his passing in any way possible. As it turns out, both men were split from the groups that they moved into the city with, Dayter with Queen Leminth and other Rangers, the dying man under one of the Queen’s generals.
The man wheezed, his arm slowly moving out in the direction of a sword a few feet to his right. Dayter followed the extending of his arm, looking towards the blade and then back to the man. He wheezed again, coughing up blood. It took Dayter a moment to realise what the man was silently asking. Standing, Dayter moved over and bent down to retrieve the blade, he quickly scanned the area, noting a group of undead moving across a courtyard near him. After slinking back into the shadows with the dying man, he gently placed the hilt of the blade into the soldier's hand. The man closed his eyes, nodding his thanks, shakily moving both hands to clutch the hilt, laying the blade across his chest. Dayter would stare into the man´s face for a long while, studying it, making sure to remember it. His breathing would slow, inevitably stopping.
Dayter sighed, slumping against the wall closest to him. Looking up and over, he’d fixate on a shattered window, a curtain lying half detached from its socket. Gradually rising, Dayter reaches over and tugs the curtain loose, letting it unfurl in his hands. Remaining silent, he extends the the curtain in front of himself, taking a last look at the man’s now cold face. Flourishing the sheet, he'd let it fall over the him, covering his body. Dayter now exhales slowly, whispering a quiet ¨I'm sorry¨. Silence would fill Mirage, Dayter leaning over and shifting to retrieve his own blade. Off in the distance, an explosion would break the silence, sending a shockwave through the ground, knocking Dayter to his side. Kicked back into reality with this, he rolls over, using his hands to stand himself up. His blade now in hand, his attention shifts towards the source of the explosion. A plume of smoke billowing from the centre of the city, deciding this is where he needed to head, Dayter scans his immediate surroundings, and, seeing no immediate threat, he’d huddle his cloak further around himself, moving into the city.
Swinging upward and diagonally, the undead creature would twist and fall backwards, contorting and landing with a thud. Dayter is now nearing the centre of the city, his blade held up at the ready, senses on alert. Sweat is causing his hair to stick flat on his forehead, twisting his head quickly he throws the strands out of his eyes. Stepping over the body of the corrupted soldier, he’d silently make his way through a twisting alleyway. The explosion from early has turned into a series of smaller explosions, Dayter figured these were probably either the cannons firing into the city, or the portals being sealed. Either way, he knew he had to regroup with Leminth, so he pushed towards the fray. Turning a corner, the narrow alleyway now opened up into a massive courtyard, off to his left would be the city’s hall, now burning and collapsing, to his front, an elegantly carved marble fountain now spewed with lava, past this Dayter spotted what he identified as Leminths troops. He remained in the relative safety of the alleyway for a while longer, eventually spotting the Queen herself- mounted upon a horse, shouting orders to the soldiers below. He wanted to move through the courtyard and return to the safety of numbers, if he weren’t at the backend of Queen Grief’s forces. In between himself and his own allies, sat nearly a legion of undead, who were now locked in battle with Leminth’s own forces.
A horn rang out, and then another, accompanied by a final one. Three horns, the signal of retreat. Leminth’s armies had lost Mirage, and Dayter was still on the opposite side of the now retreating army. Dayter cursed beneath his breath, looking off to his left where the burning city hall sat, he figured this was his best shot. Slowly sliding out of the darkened alley, Dayter shifted across the courtyard, sticking to cover and the walls lining the courtyar. Leminth’s retreating army in a way aided him, the undead were pursuing her forces, while this did put more distance between himself and safety, it also put himself further away from the undead. Reaching the city hall now, Dayter dropped below a fallen pillar, allowing a few of the undead to carry the bodies of the fallen away. Peeking his head over, he finds a gap in their movement, sliding past the hall and into another alley. Although, this did not put him out of harm’s way- at the far end sat four of Queen Grief’s soldiers. Stepping backwards, three of their heads would shoot up, the fourth too busy with looting a body. By his armour, Dayter could tell this was one of the Grief’s Elites. It took a moment for one of the lesser soldiers to gain the armoured undead’s attention, he looked at Dayter now, standing. This particularly ugly beast stood a foot or two taller than the others. They bursted out in their corrupted speech, shouting and advancing towards Dayter, who was now forced to either back into the courtyard, or face the undead in front of him. He looked all about himself, and to his right, sat a door blockaded by a large piece of wood. Seeing this as his only option, Dayter heaved the wood up, throwing it in the direction of the undead. This did very little, but did buy him enough time to burst his way into the building. Nearly collapsing on the floor upon entering, he takes a second to assess the situation, the room he found himself in looked to be a simple house. The soldiers were still closing in, and Dayter had limited time. Looking off to his side, there sat a large bookcase, he shifted over quickly, grunting as he pushed it into the doorway. This also accomplished very little, albeit, it caught the first soldier off guard, he pummeled through the bookcase, tumbling to the floor. This allowed Dayter to easily plunge his blade into the back of the creature. It let out a shriek, eventually contorting into a shriveled mass. Dayter made a mental note, “One”.
Two others soon followed, one of which he was able to easily deflect with a parry, cutting him across the stomach and falling behind Dayter. The other was not so easy, he pushed Dayter towards the back of the room, suffering a cut to his arm. With a well placed elbow to the undead’s temple, Dayter recouped, thrusting his blade through the creature’s chest. Again he noted, “Three-”. Although, his thought was cut short by the final soldier’s piercing roar. The tallest of the four charged Dayter, his blade still being lodged into the chest of the third soldier, he was unable to retaliate. Dayter was thrown and pinned against the wall, his blade clattering to the floor. The Elite bore heavy armour, his eyes a deep maroon, face scarred and decayed. It let out a roar, barring its teeth and spewing saliva from its mouth. The Elite raises his hand not pinning Dayter to the wall, striking him in the jaw and tossing him against the far wall. There he would land and thud against the wall, letting out a grunt. The Elite burning with rage ran at Dayter once again, this time, though, Dayter would have time to roll of to the side, his attacker colliding with the wall. Taking this opportunity, he’d strike the Elite’s head with the back of his hand, staggering him and buying a few seconds. Dayter’s collision with the wall had shattered some glass, his hand would search around for a shard large enough to pierce a gap in the Elite’s armour. Now recovering from the blow, the beast of an undead shifted over towards Dayter on all fours, crawling over the Ranger. He swiped at Dayter’s head, again being able to avoid his attack, shifting his head to the side. Growing more furious, the Elite let out a scream, which turned to a shriek. Dayter had found a gap in the armour, shoving a piece of glass between its ribs. Letting out his own roar, Dayter pushed the Elite over, its body writhing beneath his own. Twisting the shard of glass to dislodge it, Dayter raises it above his head, driving it down into the undead's neck. Once, twice, thrice. Disintegrating beneath him, the body turned to ash. Armour and all.
“Four…”
Dayter found his way to the rooftops, climbing to the second story of the building he was in, there he found ladder that lead to the outside. The situation was mostly the same, Leminth’s forces retreating outside of the city, a force of undead pursuing. There was a clear path for him in the direction of retreat, he’d loop around once he descended the buildings. Or so that was his plan. Navigating his way across the rooftops, Dayter met no resistance. He closed in on Leminth’s army, the undead dispersing. Mirage was now ablaze, entire buildings smouldering on the ground. Hopping the gap between two roofs, Dayter hears something familiar, although unsure of what it is, he looks towards where Leminth is retreating to. There it was again, he glances up in the same direction. The Queen’s soldiers now stopped, temporarily holding their ground. Pushing through the collapsing buildings, a sense of greater urgency filled him. He hopped another gap, glancing towards the remaining forces. He heard it again. This time, he was able to make out what it was. It was his name. Dayter froze, staring at the army that sat below him. A silence once again filled Mirage. He moved to take another step, but was interrupted by a low reverberating rumble. His footing slipped as the roof he stood upon crumbled beneath his feet. A tendril of corruption shot straight into the air, Dayter being struck across the head and tossed down. He was sent tumbling down several stories into the building, colliding with several of the floors on the way down. Briefly, for a moment, he heard his name again in the distance. Only now it was drowned out by a burning in his side an his own scream, followed by darkness.
The man wheezed, his arm slowly moving out in the direction of a sword a few feet to his right. Dayter followed the extending of his arm, looking towards the blade and then back to the man. He wheezed again, coughing up blood. It took Dayter a moment to realise what the man was silently asking. Standing, Dayter moved over and bent down to retrieve the blade, he quickly scanned the area, noting a group of undead moving across a courtyard near him. After slinking back into the shadows with the dying man, he gently placed the hilt of the blade into the soldier's hand. The man closed his eyes, nodding his thanks, shakily moving both hands to clutch the hilt, laying the blade across his chest. Dayter would stare into the man´s face for a long while, studying it, making sure to remember it. His breathing would slow, inevitably stopping.
Dayter sighed, slumping against the wall closest to him. Looking up and over, he’d fixate on a shattered window, a curtain lying half detached from its socket. Gradually rising, Dayter reaches over and tugs the curtain loose, letting it unfurl in his hands. Remaining silent, he extends the the curtain in front of himself, taking a last look at the man’s now cold face. Flourishing the sheet, he'd let it fall over the him, covering his body. Dayter now exhales slowly, whispering a quiet ¨I'm sorry¨. Silence would fill Mirage, Dayter leaning over and shifting to retrieve his own blade. Off in the distance, an explosion would break the silence, sending a shockwave through the ground, knocking Dayter to his side. Kicked back into reality with this, he rolls over, using his hands to stand himself up. His blade now in hand, his attention shifts towards the source of the explosion. A plume of smoke billowing from the centre of the city, deciding this is where he needed to head, Dayter scans his immediate surroundings, and, seeing no immediate threat, he’d huddle his cloak further around himself, moving into the city.
Swinging upward and diagonally, the undead creature would twist and fall backwards, contorting and landing with a thud. Dayter is now nearing the centre of the city, his blade held up at the ready, senses on alert. Sweat is causing his hair to stick flat on his forehead, twisting his head quickly he throws the strands out of his eyes. Stepping over the body of the corrupted soldier, he’d silently make his way through a twisting alleyway. The explosion from early has turned into a series of smaller explosions, Dayter figured these were probably either the cannons firing into the city, or the portals being sealed. Either way, he knew he had to regroup with Leminth, so he pushed towards the fray. Turning a corner, the narrow alleyway now opened up into a massive courtyard, off to his left would be the city’s hall, now burning and collapsing, to his front, an elegantly carved marble fountain now spewed with lava, past this Dayter spotted what he identified as Leminths troops. He remained in the relative safety of the alleyway for a while longer, eventually spotting the Queen herself- mounted upon a horse, shouting orders to the soldiers below. He wanted to move through the courtyard and return to the safety of numbers, if he weren’t at the backend of Queen Grief’s forces. In between himself and his own allies, sat nearly a legion of undead, who were now locked in battle with Leminth’s own forces.
A horn rang out, and then another, accompanied by a final one. Three horns, the signal of retreat. Leminth’s armies had lost Mirage, and Dayter was still on the opposite side of the now retreating army. Dayter cursed beneath his breath, looking off to his left where the burning city hall sat, he figured this was his best shot. Slowly sliding out of the darkened alley, Dayter shifted across the courtyard, sticking to cover and the walls lining the courtyar. Leminth’s retreating army in a way aided him, the undead were pursuing her forces, while this did put more distance between himself and safety, it also put himself further away from the undead. Reaching the city hall now, Dayter dropped below a fallen pillar, allowing a few of the undead to carry the bodies of the fallen away. Peeking his head over, he finds a gap in their movement, sliding past the hall and into another alley. Although, this did not put him out of harm’s way- at the far end sat four of Queen Grief’s soldiers. Stepping backwards, three of their heads would shoot up, the fourth too busy with looting a body. By his armour, Dayter could tell this was one of the Grief’s Elites. It took a moment for one of the lesser soldiers to gain the armoured undead’s attention, he looked at Dayter now, standing. This particularly ugly beast stood a foot or two taller than the others. They bursted out in their corrupted speech, shouting and advancing towards Dayter, who was now forced to either back into the courtyard, or face the undead in front of him. He looked all about himself, and to his right, sat a door blockaded by a large piece of wood. Seeing this as his only option, Dayter heaved the wood up, throwing it in the direction of the undead. This did very little, but did buy him enough time to burst his way into the building. Nearly collapsing on the floor upon entering, he takes a second to assess the situation, the room he found himself in looked to be a simple house. The soldiers were still closing in, and Dayter had limited time. Looking off to his side, there sat a large bookcase, he shifted over quickly, grunting as he pushed it into the doorway. This also accomplished very little, albeit, it caught the first soldier off guard, he pummeled through the bookcase, tumbling to the floor. This allowed Dayter to easily plunge his blade into the back of the creature. It let out a shriek, eventually contorting into a shriveled mass. Dayter made a mental note, “One”.
Two others soon followed, one of which he was able to easily deflect with a parry, cutting him across the stomach and falling behind Dayter. The other was not so easy, he pushed Dayter towards the back of the room, suffering a cut to his arm. With a well placed elbow to the undead’s temple, Dayter recouped, thrusting his blade through the creature’s chest. Again he noted, “Three-”. Although, his thought was cut short by the final soldier’s piercing roar. The tallest of the four charged Dayter, his blade still being lodged into the chest of the third soldier, he was unable to retaliate. Dayter was thrown and pinned against the wall, his blade clattering to the floor. The Elite bore heavy armour, his eyes a deep maroon, face scarred and decayed. It let out a roar, barring its teeth and spewing saliva from its mouth. The Elite raises his hand not pinning Dayter to the wall, striking him in the jaw and tossing him against the far wall. There he would land and thud against the wall, letting out a grunt. The Elite burning with rage ran at Dayter once again, this time, though, Dayter would have time to roll of to the side, his attacker colliding with the wall. Taking this opportunity, he’d strike the Elite’s head with the back of his hand, staggering him and buying a few seconds. Dayter’s collision with the wall had shattered some glass, his hand would search around for a shard large enough to pierce a gap in the Elite’s armour. Now recovering from the blow, the beast of an undead shifted over towards Dayter on all fours, crawling over the Ranger. He swiped at Dayter’s head, again being able to avoid his attack, shifting his head to the side. Growing more furious, the Elite let out a scream, which turned to a shriek. Dayter had found a gap in the armour, shoving a piece of glass between its ribs. Letting out his own roar, Dayter pushed the Elite over, its body writhing beneath his own. Twisting the shard of glass to dislodge it, Dayter raises it above his head, driving it down into the undead's neck. Once, twice, thrice. Disintegrating beneath him, the body turned to ash. Armour and all.
“Four…”
Dayter found his way to the rooftops, climbing to the second story of the building he was in, there he found ladder that lead to the outside. The situation was mostly the same, Leminth’s forces retreating outside of the city, a force of undead pursuing. There was a clear path for him in the direction of retreat, he’d loop around once he descended the buildings. Or so that was his plan. Navigating his way across the rooftops, Dayter met no resistance. He closed in on Leminth’s army, the undead dispersing. Mirage was now ablaze, entire buildings smouldering on the ground. Hopping the gap between two roofs, Dayter hears something familiar, although unsure of what it is, he looks towards where Leminth is retreating to. There it was again, he glances up in the same direction. The Queen’s soldiers now stopped, temporarily holding their ground. Pushing through the collapsing buildings, a sense of greater urgency filled him. He hopped another gap, glancing towards the remaining forces. He heard it again. This time, he was able to make out what it was. It was his name. Dayter froze, staring at the army that sat below him. A silence once again filled Mirage. He moved to take another step, but was interrupted by a low reverberating rumble. His footing slipped as the roof he stood upon crumbled beneath his feet. A tendril of corruption shot straight into the air, Dayter being struck across the head and tossed down. He was sent tumbling down several stories into the building, colliding with several of the floors on the way down. Briefly, for a moment, he heard his name again in the distance. Only now it was drowned out by a burning in his side an his own scream, followed by darkness.
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