#emberash

[prickleystrangler]

The Deep

[Excerpt One; Chapter One] The morning that the darkness swept through the clan like a blanket; was no different than any other boring old day in the Wyrmwound. The clan had moved there of The Great Machine’s request, and everything had been safe and sound for months before anything really hit at all. 

Many of the members of the clan had left for other clans in the surrounding areas upon hearing of the Great Machine’s antics, some more prominent than others.Regardless, the Machine worked in mysterious ways and only ever spoke up when something big was about to happen, like, perhaps, when the Wyrm showed it’s ugly maw at their front doorstep. 

Through the sand and dirt came a maw like no other that burst through the terrain as if it were paper, and it spoke to them in whispers on a cacophony  of words all at once; speaking about the end of days and promising to take them to the light end of the tunnel through a course of a period of time-- though it asked of them to finish a series of tasks to be able to advance on to the light that it so promised. One, allow it to lead them through thoughts and fears within a mindlink given to one of the Great Leaders.  Vosik Obliged.  Two, allow their future children to produce traits that would clearly show that the Wyrm was part of them. Those that were notated as ‘Primals’ or babies with multiple eyes, babies seeping darkness were also welcomed as they were a part of The Mind in a weird way that none could quite comprehend.  Aksis obliged, “We will take your children under our wings and grant them the powers that we have given to none.” He said, dark eyes on the Wyrm as it shuffled through the ground, breaking homes and terrain as it went. It curled along the ridgeline of the property, tail split and splintered. The Wyrm made a sound much like acceptance but none could be certain.  “And when you bare these children with claws of bone and teeth of steel you will teach them to know the power of the deep, of the void, and you will understand.” It growled through a mind link that echoed for miles around them.  Aksis bowed his great head and stood firm at the sight of the wyrm, “And what shall we call you, oh great wyrm?”  “I am the Void that lies on great stones.” It said, “I am the great master of life and death and I will see to it that you are met with aura that drives you forward on your conquest..”  His question unanswered, Aksis scoffed in the back of his mind, and though the wyrm heard it; it was uneffected; “Names are words given by masters to pets.” It said, “Know that I am your savior and your vengeance all the same. Know that and be free from the deceased; I will not let you die in vain.” 

[prickleystrangler]

Echoes Remain

[Chapter 1; Excerpt 3] The world was once very dark, he couldn’t see anything but a foot or two in front of him, He grew close to his companion in these times, Though Aksis wouldn’t call it anything but means of help; Vosik loved the man with all his cold, tiny heart could fathom. When he was sick with something otherworldly that made vision, among many other things feel impossible; Aksis was there.  This was; of course before the Wyrms became their true means of power and significance. This was back in fire territory, where it was hot and it never rained. And the heat made his scales feel like utter fire and magma themselves, like molten steel plates that lined his back and kept his sultry flesh as cool and protected as possible.  Vosik took doses of therapy from shadefighters all across the world, each one breaking his mind... and its... a little more each time. Before he knew it he was bedridden with nothing but shadows to calm him-- and Aksis. They stayed curled together through several nights until the last came. An imperial that came from a place in light, speaking in a booming voice that chilled Vosik considerably to the bone each time a word was spoken.  He was the first to make a difference. He was the first to drain the darkness that blinded, choked, and strangled Vosik from his utter soul.  He was; however, verymuch so unprepared for what plagued the skydancer, and how it would respond with lashing out. The man fell to the very plague that he’d removed from Vosik; and it devoured him from the inside out until he was but an ash-covered corpse that scattered in the winds.  Vosik stayed in bed for many months, curled together with Aksis swearing that somehow, beyond all reason, echoes still remained. 

[prickleystrangler]

Loyalty

[Chapter 1; Excerpt 2]

It was nearly midnight on the night that a thunderous cracking enveloped the southern wall. It was torn asunder in a matter of mere seconds by a force otherworldly and made of rage. It struck the city with words and motions before The Machine was able to enforce the sanity of the city and summon the Wyrm to straighten out the war, if one could call the devastation a war.  Vita; or the wyrm without a name, spoke through a great booming static that filled the air t the rim with a fleeting feeling that something was indeed, very wrong. The outsider was full of rage and shade, spewing madness about a world beyond their own, inviting them if only there were strong enough to muster attempts at treading into sanctioned territory.  Shaden territory. It threatened and lashed about before giving in to the fleeting feeling their god gave off, and responded with; “But until you surrender to the shade you will forever be cast aside. Under your flesh is bone, and bone is soul. Allow your soul a more powerful vessel and join us in the dark.” It howled, Vita arching it’s massive head up and snarling; “But it is from I that these creatures thrive.” It paused, “It is with my hand that they live and breath and with my soul that they will not see death. What has this ‘shade’ that they do not already have?” It was silent for a long while, but spoke gently after, “Life beyond the life you promise them. Even in death you may rise again, can you best my actions now, oh great wyrm?”  Vita was silent. Vosik spoke boldly, “and what is it that you ask in return?”  “Loyalty.”