Librium

[Dugan195]

Hudson scrambled up to his feet quickly. His arms where still dripping blood. Odell had risked her life to save Hudson, he had to repay the favor. She was his ally now like her or not and he would not stand by and watch her die. Hudson howled with rage as he felt his blood start to boil again. It started to pulse inside him and oozed out his wrist. The gun was being raised at Odell and Hudson wiped his arm forward out of instinct. He didn't know why, but suddenly he realized that there was a stream of blood wiping through the air. It hit the side of the goblin aiming her pistol at Odell. As the blood connected with the goblin it hardened into the bloodstone his weapons where made of. When it coiled back off her it returned to a fluid blood form, however it held together in the shape of a whip somehow. The power of being a lumen truly was amazing. Seizing the initiative Hudson quickly looked down at his feet and saw all the shards of ice around them. With a shriek he shot his other hand down towards the ground and let his influence fall upon the ice, forming them into bigger stakes of ice and sent them flying at the Deminaught without delay.  

[Joa-Boo]

It was wonderful once again feeling that light inside you connect with the ice. It was empowering and liberating from the normal mortal life you remember. The shards did as commanded; they shot towards the Deminaught like throwing knives. The woman ducked, hugged the ground while the ice passed her, and then launched toward you with a push of her wings. She seemed to very freely transform between bird and goblin form making her fast and mobile in more ways than most others. She charged at you with great speed produced by the gust from her wings and transformed back into a goblin before colliding with you. She threw up her dagger with the intent of cutting you at the throat. She was quickly thrown off course before making contact by an upward flick of your blood whip. She instead dove to one side and rolled out of harm’s way. Your whip continued o keep her at a distance as you swung it around effortlessly. You got a sense of its movement, momentum, and power. It felt natural; almost as though it was a part of your own body. It didn’t take long before you could swing it around you in complex fashions to stream hit after hit, challenging the Deminaught’s ability to dodge.

“Why is it you fight for this polish? You are one of us. You are a Deminaught!” The goblin asked. “My name is Sheak. I admire this dance with you and I will proudly continue if we must but do dance with respect, not hatred. Your anger spirals by the will of these polish like her. You should not project that at me young Deminaught.” The goblin spoke in such a strange way. It was obvious now by her tone that she was not fighting to harm you. Rather she was amusing you, but for what purpose. The confusion it brought made your blood boil and your body committed strongly to a devastating strong attack. Your body thrust your whip arm forward and extended the whip far beyond its conceivable limits in respect to what you had been able to do thus far. The whip extended extremely fast and actually broke through everything in its path for a long distance. It was not fast enough though. Sheak dodged and once the blood stone extended onward she was in the clear. She used the moment to throw her dagger at Odell who for some reason had not moved much. The blade struck Odell’s leg. She yelled as the blade dug into her muscle, disabling her ability to use that leg. It was strange to watch the projectile leave Sheak’s hand. She didn’t even make eye contact with her target the moment she threw. It was as though she had godly aiming abilities. She nailed her target right where she wanted it. It was at that moment her intent was clear. She wanted to kill Odell and not harm you.

“Don’t listen to her Hudson. You know what you are and your purpose is to protect Sanctasplin!” Odell begged through sobs. She put pressure around the wound after pulling the blade out. Her eyes found yours and swelled with tears. She felt so helpless.

“Oh please, that floating city hasn’t consumed itself yet. I would have imagined all those rules got everyone killed by now.” Sheak took every opportunity to bash that city.

“I’m sorry Hudson I can’t help. She is a node. She is preventing me from Influencing. You have to save yourself. She can’t turn into a bird and fully prevent me from Influencing at the same time so you should be able to get away.”

“Would you just die already!” Sheak screamed. She took her eyes off of you long enough to spot her pistol. She looked back at you, then to Odell, and then charged after her gun.  

[Dugan195]

Hudson growled as he saw Sheak go after Odell. He would not let his new comrade die. Hudson's whip was pointless against her, it was a good weapon to hold back an opponent, but it wasn't going to get the killing blow. The others where who knows where, and this Deminaught was trying to temp him from Paitrux. He would not let the darkness into his soul. He was a pillar of light, of justice, of good. Deminaughts where all the opposite of that. That was not him, no matter what people said about his time in the Inquisition's jail, he had never broken and claimed anything other than being a loyal follower of Paitrux. Hudson shot a blade out of his other arm and used his whip to try and throw off Sheak's aiming while he rushed in with his off hand stabbing towards Sheak's torso intending to run her straight throw.  

[Joa-Boo]

Sheak’s reflexes were quick. She, instead of firing her gun at Odell, dodged to the side and shot at your whips. For a second it was thrown off course and stuck into the ground but moments later it returned to blood and simply flowed around it. The blood whip whirled around behind you as you tackled forward with your blood sword. Sheak didn’t have enough time to recover her dagger and barely had time to get out of the way. She cart wheeled to one side to negate the maximum amount of damage. You were able to slice along her bone armor and nicked her shoulder. She could have just shot at you but for whatever reason she chose not to.

The pain came all too fast. Sheak faltered as she came back to her feet and did her best to turn and face you. The blood running down her arm was intoxicating. She looked at the wound and then back at you. Her eyes begged for help from anything but her words spoke something very different. “You see young Deminaught you have such cravings. Why do you hold them back? Embrace yourself, Deminaught or Lumen, either way you should explore who you really are. I know what you want.” Dance with me Deminaught and it all can be yours.” Sheak spoke seductively. She unclipped part of her shoulder plate and bone gauntlets so her bare flesh could be visible. This was the most female goblin flesh you had ever seen. There was something desirable in it, something you had a hard time suppressing. Then Sheak took her claws and dug them into her own arm and ran it downward. Three long rivers of blood poked through her flesh. The lust was capsizing. “Forget her Hudson. Dance with me and it all can be yours.”

“Hudson please don’t listen to her. You have to run. You have to get out of here.” Odell had a hard time speaking. Her breath was strained and body felt tense. Sheak had her in an aura of fatigue. She would probably pass out soon.

“Would you SHUT UP you poisonous b***h!” Sheak screamed. She turned once again to fire her gun into Odell; her biggest mistake yet. Once Sheak’s eyes left yours you charged. A deep thirst for the blood running down her arm fueled the great speed by which you charged. Your whip cracked around her wrist just as she fired the gun. Her bullet missed the target by only a few inches, missing Odell’s heart, and instead hitting her left leg. Odell howled in pain and then fainted.

The crack of the whip tugged Sheak towards the ground. It threw her off balance long enough for you to get close enough to land a blow. Your sword sliced along her waist and following the same momentum your foot planted against her chest plate. You flattened Sheak in seconds. As you hovered over top of her there was only one thing left to do. You lifted one fist, the end a blood sword, and readied to drop it through Sheak’s chest. Her eyes met your and they filled with tears.

“You don’t want to do that freshling!” A more sturdy voice called through the air (I imagine this voice to be like Bane's in the latest Batman movie). The deep voice demanded attention so much so it felt as though all of the forest turned to hear what he had to say. “I know you must be confused right now. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to not belong to either side indefinitely. But if you follow through with what you are about to do you will make enemies with all the wrong people.” You turned to collect the voice and found that it belonged to the huge Centaur. His body flexed at the ready for everything. Your eyes found his and then followed along his huge axe only to find the end hung inches over Odell’s head. “Is it worth losing this Lumen over? How about you disperse your weapons and you have my word I will not harm her.” Behind the Centaur, Heugh, stood another Deminaught followed by a unit of fallen.  

[Dugan195]

Hudson howled as he rose the sword high over his head. His bloodlust had overtaken him and all he could think about was pushing his sword deep into the goblin's chest. "Die Deminaught scum!" He hissed as suddenly he heard the deep voice behind him. Hudson froze for a second from lack of experience, before his instincts took over and he turned bringing his sword down in a defensive position. The centaur had his axe over Odell's head and Hudson felt his rage drop. Suddenly the world came back around him and his mind started to regain control over his body. He started to pant heavily as the battle had worn at him heavily. The adrenaline in his body has kept him going till this point, but now that the rage was over the adrenaline slowly left him leaving him tired.

Hudson looked around at the group of fallen all around him and then back down at Odell. Hudson looked down at the goblin he was about to impale and slowly stepped off her and let his sword drop back into a liquid blood form and fall to the ground. "I don't trust the word of a deminaught, but you leave me no choice. We will leave in peace." Hudson said with a growl as he looked with his peripherals looking for the rest of the lumen squad to no avail.  

[Joa-Boo]

“You have me mistaken young freshling. I do not intend to allow you to walk away. Your only choice is whether or not you are going to come with us as you said, peacefully?” Heugh words pounded from his chest with a deep resound. Although they were powerful, his voice was layered with laughter, as though he was poking fun at your confusion. “Will you come with us brother?”

As Heugh spoke the other ninja looking Deminaught slowly approached you. His hands, covered in snake tattoos, were empty of weapons but as he neared he kept them at the ready. His eyes watched you intensely as if he was assessing your every slight move. He was either trying to recover Sheak or preparing for a sneak attack.

Sheak was badly beaten. Her cuts were deep and many. She struggled to even move. Heugh saw her and was deeply upset by it. Their eyes connected and Heugh instantly understood. “I miss spoke freshling. You may not like it, but you are our brother. Because you have defeated Sheak in battle it is your right and honor to take her life! This is our ancient way. If you so chose Sheak is ready to be absolved by you.” Heugh continued to speak as he motioned for the group of fallen to take Odell away. The unit tied her, lifted her up, and carried her away. Heugh and Nagatarin waited back with you and Sheak.

“It was a good dance Deminaught. My life is in your hands!” Sheak spoke peacefully. Behind streams of tears she produced a smile.  

[Dugan195]

Hudson turned back towards Sheak as she spoke on the ground .The new feral part of him wanted to tear her apart, both to spill her blood and to gain the extra time killing a Deminaught granted a lumen; however, it was wrong to kill in cold blood. They were no longer struggling in conflict, this would be an execution. Hudson sat there silently for a moment as he stared at the goblin on the ground below him. He looked over at where the group of the fallen where starting to lift a tied Odell off the ground and then back at Sheak. With a grunt he reach for with his left hand over to his right and dug his grimy nails into the scabbed cuts on his arm tearing them off. Blood started to drip from the reopened wounds and pulled together down his arm forming into a sword. He straddled over top of Sheak again and rose his sword into the air. He licked his lips as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

All of this was just a trick though, he was buying time as he let his influence seep around into the ground around them. As he rose his sword high into the air he shot his free left arm into the air and brought giant spikes of earth out of the ground all throughout the gathered fallen throwing them into dissarray. he focused alot on the group carrying Odell trying to force them to drop her to avoid impalement, Hudson leaped towards them ready to swipe through any fallen that refused to dodge the spiking earth. If he could get ahold of Odell Hudson was sure he could use his influence over the ground to get away from the fallen and escape from the fallen.  

[Joa-Boo]

The pillar of rock shot upward in the middle of the group, disrupting their efforts of carrying Odell away. Two of the fallen were impaled instantly by the spiking stone that emerged while the other stepped away. Odell instantly fell from their grasp and onto the ground. Their reaction was to raise their weapons. They were ready to face you even though they were each easy kills.

Luckily for them you never made it close enough. A long chain, with a weight on one end, spun around your legs, knocking you to the ground. Nagatarin held on to the sickle end and yanked backwards, dragging you closer to him. With his left arm he made a fist and then punched the ground. Within seconds 6 snakes slithered out from the snake tattoos on his arm. The snakes jolted towards you, hissing with their venomous fangs.

Meanwhile Heugh galloped over to the damaged unit of fallen and gathered up Odell into his right arm after sheathing his axe. With his left hand he reached down to touch the impaled fallen soldiers. A pulse of electricity shot from Heugh’s chest and then into the soldiers. Moments later they came back to life.

“That was a spectacular effort freshling. I admire your tenacity to recover your fellow Lumen. Determination like that is only seen in a Deminaught. Have you not wondered why the other Lumen are not here to rescue you. You see Lumen stick to plans. You all have these rules and false figments of control. Your Lumen friends are probably waiting somewhere at a rendezvous point. They will continue on with their plan weather of not you and Odell show up. We Deminaughts only react. We do not plan, prepare, or control; only react. This is your nature and so you have done the best with your circumstance. It is obvious to me you will not come peacefully. All though I do not blame you, this must stop.” Heugh nodded to Nagatarin and the ninja understood. He snapped his fingers on his free hand. The sound alerted the snakes, causing them to lounge. Each one snapped at you. They each were trying to fill your veins with their poison.

You struggled back. You broke free of the chains with a layer of blood iron spines striking from your waist and in a few clean strokes cut down four of the snakes. It was too hard to hit them all and the other two proceeded to dig their fangs into your arm. For anyone else they would have filled with poison within seconds but your body fought back. Your blood rejected this as an avenue for failure. The snakes were instead filled with your blood and then burst as blood hardened.

“Oh let me!” Sheak struggled to speak but with every bit of strength she could must she lifted her hands in your direction and then sprayed her fatigue cloud all around you. Nagatarin and Heugh stepped outside of the radius of her cloud but you were caught in the middle. Very suddenly you felt dizzy, followed by your body becoming heavy, until finally you passed out.

“Ladies and gentlemen, horn beats and scaly skins, riders and fliers, welcome to Niwrad coliseum!” You awoke to a loud voice hurling over a crowd of cheers. Your eyes partially opened to find streams of light penetrating the bars of your cell. From the angle of the shadows it looked to be mid day and by the pain in your head meant you could have been out for many. “Fighting for his freedom and right to live among you once again is Thatcher the Horned Heathen. Fighting against him today is Orgregan the Hollow Victor for his right to mate.” You were so dehydrated that you were sensitive to any stimulus causing you to wince in pain once the crowd’s cheers hit a maximum. You made a dash for a small bowl at one end of the cell filled with water. It didn’t take you one second glance to understand the cell. You were used to being in captivity of some sort. To one side of your cage, the side the light came from, two massive bodies began to fight. A minotaur and an orc were exchanging blows. With every hit followed responses from the crowds above. You could just barely angle yourself to get a glimpse of the layers of people crammed in the seats above.

You quickly looked to the cages beside you, hoping to find Odell. The cage to your left housed a large alligator like spinor glaring at you from his bars. He didn’t say anything but smile bigger when you noticed him. To you left was what remained of a centaur and devouring it was a helinx (tiger like human). Odell was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly the orc was thrown into your cage as the fight raged on. A cut along his face bled into your cell. The spinor to your left cheered wildly as he was dragged away by the Minotaur. The Minotaur broke the orks neck for the finishing blow.

“How are you doing brother?” Heugh asked from the back end of your cell. He stood outside your bars in a cushioned space eating a well prepared meal. He looked pleased that you were awake.  

[Dugan195]

When Hudson first awoke in the cell he started to panic. It was all just dream, all of it. I was never a Lumen, how could I ever let myself think I would be someone so important. Foolish, foolish, foolish! Hudson banged his fists on the ground as the effects of the poison slowly wore off. The ground felt weird however, it didn't feel the same as it had before he had fallen asleep. It felt more like earth, whereas his cell was stone. What was going on? Had he been moved to a new cell for interrogation? Was this one of the inquisitors tricks?

"Ladies and gentlemen, horn beats and scaly skins, riders and fliers, welcome to Niwrad coliseum!"

The words rang out into the cell and awoke Hudson from his groggy daze. Suddenly he remembered what had happened, sending the spikes out of the ground, lunging at Odell the snake deminaught trapping him. It wasn't a dream after all, he had just escaped from one hell when he had been freed from the prisons of the inquisition, but now it seemed like he had fallen into a new one just as quickly. Hudson looked forward as the two fought tearing into each other. It was bitter combat, pointless from what Hudson had heard. The Deminaughts truly were barbaric.

"How are you doing brother?"

Hudson spun around and saw the centaur sitting there eating on his cushion while the orc and minotaur tore each other apart. "I am not your brother," Hudson spat back at Heugh as he made his way to the back edge of the cell. "I am Lumen, do you not see the blessed mark of Paitrux upon my back?" He shouted in a rage. He was a lumen, he was not a pawn of Deminas. The inquistors in jail had not gotten him to claim otherwise, and these deminaughts surely wouldn't either.  

[Joa-Boo]

“”You are. I will not deny you of that truth. You are a Lumen and have a will given to you by Paitrux. But that eye on your chest,” Heugh pointed to the bright red mark across your front, “says you are also a Deminaught. You also have a will of Deminas. That makes you my brother. This is not disputable.” Heugh’s play at logic made it hard to fight back but your stubbornness would stop at nothing to reject it. Heugh stood up, walked over to your cage, and placed a plate of food in your cage. He then sat back down on his cushion. “Eat with me brother.” Heugh would not stop using that word.

“Thatcher is the victor. He has won his freedom.” The loud voice, followed by cheers, boomed through the coliseum. A large gate on one end of the circle opened up and the huge Minotaur stumbled his way out to a group of people ready to greet him. You had no idea what he did to be thrown in jail and forced to fight but everyone treated him as though he innocent and right to be among them. He could be guilty of some terrible crime back on Sanctasplin but these people didn’t mind the slightest bit since he won the fight. “Next up; fighting for territory is Largis verses Jenut!” Two Spinors entered the field, the one to you left and another that entered from the crowds.

“May the best win! Heugh said to the spinor before he ran out into combat.” The two fought just as the ork and the minotaur.

“I can see you are struggling with this freshling. This is not the way of Sanctasplin is it? Here in Niwrad we follow Deminas’s rule of survival. Those who survive are the strongest and their strength gives them the right. This is not wrong or barbaric. It is different. You and you Lu are always trying to control factors so that the weak will strive and poison the world. Why else do you think they fled to the sky? Librium would eat them up in an instant. Only the strong survive and pass on their traits to the future strength of the world. This is the way to prove their strength. Fighting in mortal combat allows for only the strong to prevail.” Heugh continued eating. He looked very interested in the affairs of the spinors. You noticed none of these fighters were Deminaughts.

“The victor is Jenut. The territory up for dispute is now his.” More cheers. “Next up is Welton verse Balic for the right to mate with Fiona!” Wild cheers bolstered abroad the coliseum. Two men, well armored, dropped into the coliseum to fight over this woman. The voices words rang in your ears, drawing your attention to the action. Your eyes scanned the scene and found a young woman standing upon a balcony that hung a bit forward over the pit. Both men gestured to her and then drew their swords. The young woman was beautiful in a way you had never thought to use the word. Her precious innocents clashed with the action round her. She stuck out like a red blotch on a black and white painting. Fiona, you had a strange drawing towards her.

“Ahh I remember my first right to mate. That was one hell of a fight!”  

[Dugan195]

Hudson watched the next match with equal disgust, even as Huegh tried to explain how it was the right way to do things. The weak did not deserve to die. Everyone could contribute to the betterment of the whole, no matter how small their contribution might be it was worthwhile. That was the message of Paitrux, that is what the priests had always told him. The deminaught's boast of might is right was barbaric no matter how he choose to look at it. They were not animals.

Hudson's eyes could not leave Fiona, for someone reason he felt drawn to her. She was young and beautiful and seemed innocent among all the chaos and debautchery, not at all like the others around the room. It was strange, it was not the feeling he had as with the girls he had laid with back on Sanctasplin, but he felt a need to protect her. The idea that two men where fighting for their right to mate with her, like her innocence was merely a prize, sickened him.

When Hudson was able to break his gaze from the young girl he turned back towards Heugh. He disagreed with their barbaric ways, but if might was right and Huegh wanted to delude himself into thinking Hudson was one of them Hudson would have to use that to his advantage. "If everything is decided by strength here then I wish to fight for my right to freedom. If everything is decided by the strong then allow my strength to decide my fate."  

[Joa-Boo]

Heugh noticed your fondness for Fiona. He didn’t quite understand to what extent but that wasn’t for him to decide. A spark in his eye lit up with your comment. His smile grew tenfold.

“This is not something for you to agree or disagree on. On Librium, there is only space for the strong. You must first prove your strength freshling.” Heugh smiled again. He took a few steps to the left and tugged at a lever. The rattling of chains cranked throughout your cage until slowly the door into the coliseum’s pit opened. “May the best win!” Heugh repeated. The cage floor behind you began to sink, forcing you into the fray.

“Entering now is Hudson, the Demon of Paitrux, fighting for Fiona.” The words resonated through the coliseum. Most of the crowd booed, some screamed in fear, others were excited to see your strength. Fiona looked to you and for a moment it seemed as though she produced a smile. She did not know what to think really. The beaming red on your chest brought excitement to her eyes but a whole different look developed when she noticed the shield. You at first thought it was disgust, a deep pit sunk in your stomach at the thought, but instead she resembled more curious.

The two humans in the pit, neither of them Deminaughts, turned to face you together. They moved in around you, one at your flank, and took turns swinging their swords. You felt the familiar break in your concentration. Sheak must be nearby. With her node powers you would not be able to influence.

“I am just being told Hudson is a new comer. Run the gauntlet!” The announcer’s words caused a tremendous shift in negative yelling to loud cheers. What the gauntlet was, you were unsure, but a set of cages rose from the ground with 4 rabid dogs in them told you this could take a while. The two humans took a few more pokes at your and then ran off for the stands before the huge wolf like beasts got too close. The huge wolves circled you for a moment and then charged with the one that you weren’t looking at. “Hudson you are now fighting for your right to dwell in Niwrad!”  

[Dugan195]

Hudson smiled as Fiona noticed him. Her interest and curiosity, her interest delighted him and her smile warmed his heart. Suddenly he saw the cage opening and heard the his name being called. Fighting for Fiona? He had asked to fight for his freedom not the girl. He looked back at Heugh as he was forced into the arena. "b*****d," he yelled back at him as he stumbled into the center of the arena. The humans circled around him filling with fear for a second. He took a step back as he felt his hands shake. His heart raced and he felt sweat roll down his body. Suddenly he felt his voice in his head laugh, why are you afraid? You are deminaught! These mere humans stand no chance against the blood steel that courses through your veins. Hudson felt his eyes narrow as the thoughts enter his head. His hand stopped shaking and his blood start to vibrate. Sheak's node ability made its presence known, but he had no need to draw on the environment to kill these fallen humans. Taking a step forward about to make his initial strikes a thought entered his head that scared him terribly...he had called himself a deminaught.

The humans kept on slashing at him, which Hudson's reflexes dodged without problem, but suddenly the annoucer spoke again and the humans ran away from him. A gauntlet...again? Why was he always being tested? Hudson laughed as the giant wolfs came out of cages around the arena.

"I have been tested by Paitrux and proven myself to him in his own gauntlet! Why should the gauntlet of Niwrad scare me!" Beating the eye on his chest without even realizing it Hudson brought his right wrist to his mouth and bite into it with his sharp teeth. The taste of blood filled his mouth and he savored it as he flung down his right arm sending a stream of blood jetting out of his wrist that formed into a sword. Running his left wrist over the edge of his blade his slit it and the blood streamed down and slowly formed a fluid state whip that lashed the ground below him. While he was distracted with forming his weapons one of the wolfs charged him and lunged at him.

Hudson heard the lunge and spun on the spot bringing his sword arm up to bear just in time to his the flat of his blade against the wolfs claws. The wolf tackled him to the ground pinning him as its snapping jaw missed his head barely. Hudson took the blood in his mouth and bent his tongue into a curved shape filling it with blood which he then hardened and spit out into the face of the wolf. The small bolt stuck into the wolf's face, it wasn't deep but the pain was enough to cause the wolf to jump off him and howl in pain for a second. With the opening Hudson rolled away and sprung to his feet. Once up he started whipping his blood whip all around his sides and back, using it as a deterrent trying to force the wolfs to come at him from the front and into his blade.  

[Joa-Boo]

“You will eventually thank me!” Heugh laughed back with joy. His face disappeared behind the shadows of the coliseums outer workings and you were faced with the immediate attacks of the two men. The whole time you moved in between them, weaving in and out of their attacks, had Fiona sitting on the edge of her pedestal.

As you yelled towards the crowds they booed and yelled. Fiona was not sure what to make of it. This was the first time she had ever heard the name Paitrux. Paitrux was not something worth teaching because he was a pointless deity to them. Hudson was an exception to the rule but from what most of these people understood they were not chosen people. The only one that would accept them was Deminas. The ways of survival were the only teachings they received and that was usually taught by the older of the Niwradians. That meant only the strongest lived in Niwrad. This was tradition to test new comers with the gauntlet before they would be allowed to live among them.

“Look how he toys with it. Only a Lumen would hesitate to save their life.” Someone in the crowd yelled. More boos followed.

The wolves had no concept of your motion. Their big burly bodies were unlike anything you could have imagined. With their thick hides of hair and bulging muscles beneath they could take a great deal of beating before being deterred. They could tell they wouldn’t be able to get you to run as you stood up to the first one so they resorted to brutality. As the other backed while trying to remove the source of its pain another charged your front. As soon as it got within biting range the other two charged in from your sides. You were quickly able to cut down the first one as it barreled straight for you front. With your sword at the ready, it would be an easy cut with your level of skill. The other two would be a bit more challenging.  

[Joa-Boo]

A rock smoked fire burnt quietly in the middle of the only security any of the Lumen had. It was night and beyond the glow of the fire was a vast darkness that growled just as any hungry beast would. Val and Nole were the only two awake while the rest, Felix, Noah, and Shela, slept on layers of cloths. Nearest to Felix was the large coffin that slept the best out of all of them. If they were tracking correctly, their camp was only a day or two out from the Deminaughts that captured you and Odell.

“Can you still see them; are they still on the move?” Val asked to get her mind off of the darkness swirling around them. She was sitting on top of a tree rot that carved its way over a rock and strangled the earth for entrance. Val looked towards Nole who was leaning against the base of the rock. Nole was not wearing his helmet, revealing a brightness that always shined from his eyes as though they were lights themselves. The dark blue that emanated from them masked majority of his face as they dominated most of what people could see when they looked at him. “I have this strange feeling that we won’t find them again.”

“Have faith in Paitrux dear Val. It has been two day’s since I have seen them but I trust Felix’s instincts. He knows how to tract and says we are following the right trail. I will let you know the instant I see them again.” Nole spoke with a bit of irritation. He knew his vision was a great tool but being asked every few hours if he saw anything was getting on his nerves.

“Please do. I am so worried what they might be doing to them. I am sure Odell is being tortured to death and will probably be sacrificed to Deminas. Hudson though, they might try to convert him. He is part Deminaught you know.” Val’s worry came through even stronger as she verbalized them.

“We won’t allow for either of those things to happen.” Nole hit his flail into the rock.

“I sure hope it doesn’t. I’m sure we have what it takes as a group to save them.”

“I had heard that the goblin traveling with us was also marked a Deminaught. What do you think that could mean?”

“Something big, that is why Varkannon wants to send him to Farseir.” Val got chills when she answered. The thought of Farseir freaked her out. She knew him from her childhood. Farseir was a very twisted man but he wasn’t always that way. He was Lu before and then marked as a lumen many years ago with the strange ability to see the future. Specifically, Farseir had the ability to see a Lumen’s will.

“That’s what I was afraid of. I am not a big fan of all of this change. Especially being a lumen. At any moment any one of us could complete our will.”

“Yeah… I know what you mean.” Val was very distant while answering Nole. That was not something she liked to think about.

“Why is Farseir on Librium?” Nole asked as the question occurred to him.

“No one is fully sure,” Val lied. “It is thought that Varkannon excommunicated him because Farseir went crazy. Some say he saw too much of the future and lost identity with the present. He began marking his body and in an attempt to stop the visions he scared his face. When I knew him he was just a normal Lu with inspired powers. I am not sure what we will see when we find him but he is described to not have eyes, ears, a nose, or even an open mouth. His only way of communicating is by projecting visions in other’s minds.” Val had a hard time describing him. She tried to hide it but she couldn’t help from crying. Not to mention her efforts were useless because Nole could see emotion and intent.

“I get the sense you are not telling me all of the truth. You are strongly tied to this emotionally. Don’t forget I can see these things. I chose however to not know why. You must have your reasons for lying to me. That is none of my business. Promise me you will not compromise our team in any way though.”

“I promise… I’m sorry for lying to you Nole. Most of it is true, I am afraid however, I may know Farseir more than I think.” Val’s sentence was cut short by a loud hissing noise just outside the camp. Val jumped to her feet and fired a seed from her sling shot. The seed bounced off a few things and then hit the ground. Once it made contact with the ground a tremendous amount of light shot out. From around the light the outline of a giant snake could be seen. “Oh no, not another one! Give us a break would ya.” Val yelled as she charged forward after it along side of Nole. Val continued lighting things and would stike with a flaming nut when she could see. Nole could always see. They fought the night away.