《The Forsaken》Chapter Seventeen - Burial Rites
Advertisement
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BURIAL RITES
The ancient ruins lie behind them. They took their tribute of blood and tears. There is always a price. Patrick grips Olaf’s axe. Their time was short, but he still considered him a friend. Patrick cleans the blood from his clothes and armor; cleaning it as best as his current situation allows. The hardened blood stands as a testament to survival. Engraving the experience like words carved into stone. This is his first scar. He cannot see it, but it is there. It will always be there.
“I didn’t think there were any foolish men left in this world who would try to explore the ancient city,” Shaphas says, unsure whether he should praise their bravery or reprimand their stupidity.
“Can’t argue with calling this endeavor anything other than foolish,” Tyr agrees. He turns to look at Patrick.
There is something different in his presence; he seems more... mature. A bit more mature.
“We went here because we had little choice,” Patrick says, justifying his decision. The decision that led to the untimely death of a brave soul he considered his companion.
Was his decision correct? Did his hunger for adventure cause this? Is this his fault, Patrick wonders?
“What happened to the mountain pass?” Shaphas asks, looking at the two less than pleased men.
“Inanis,” Tyr adds from the sides.
“I see. Might I inquire what business you have here?” Shaphas asks, hiding his true motives. If they needed to take such a drastic measure, it is quite possible, there may be something behind the curtains. Something sinister? And Shaphas will not let evil go unchallenged.
He moves his hand closer to his mace, waiting for the next few words that could seal their fate; Tyr quickly catches on as he slowly places his hand over his sword.
Advertisement
“We are heading to Greybloom. We are heading to kill the demon that spills the blood of the innocent,” Patrick explains as the mention of their quest lifts an unseen weight from Shaphas'es shoulders.
With an ear-to-ear smile, he removes the hand from his mace. Tyr does the same.
“Praise be to Aion!” Shaphas yells out as he laughs.
“Aion?” Patrick says as he looks at Tyr, who shrugs.
“This is destiny,” Shaphas says, laughing loudly.
“What are you on about, priest?” Tyr asks as approaches the ecstatic man.
“I am also on the journey to Greybloom. I am also on a quest for the blood of that demon. Can you not see? This is destiny. Destiny ordained by Aion,” Shaphas says as he grabs Patrick's shoulders with a huge grin.
“I see?” Patrick says slightly puzzled.
“This is good! The more brave souls we have, the better. If this creature is as dangerous as they say,” Shaphas says, nodding to himself.
Tyr shrugs, again. He is not one to refuse reinforcements, no matter how… unusual
“What say you?” Shaphas asks, looking at Tyr and Patrick.
“I’m fine with it. Just don’t blabber to me about your gods,” Tyr adds.
“You may not know of Aion, but he knows about you. You shall realize... in time,” Shaphas adds.
Tyr grunts as he shakes his head.
“What about Olaf?” Patrick asks.
“Olaf?” Shaphas asks as he turns to Patrick, "Who is this Olar?" he asks looking for another soul.
“The man that traveled with us. The one who..” Tyr says as he gets cut off.
“... died,” Patrick finishes the sentence.
“We can’t do anything for him now,” Tyr responds as he turns to continue their journey.
Advertisement
“We should be able to do something,” Patrick says, distraught.
“What?” Tyr angrily yells asks as he walks to Patrick staring him in the eyes.
“I... I do not know,” Patrick responds evading eye contact. They stare at each other, wordless.
“If I may?” Shaphas says breaking the silence making the two focus their attention on him, “We can do a burial,” he adds.
“That is a great idea,” Patrick adds with enthusiasm.
“What? You want to dig a hole here? You can do it by yourself,” Try snarls back.
Burials are a waste of time, Tyr thinks to himself. When you are dead you are dead. It doesn't matter what happens to the corpse, Tyr concludes.
“How can you...” Patrick speaks as he gets cut off.
“There is no need to dig,” Shaphas adds.
Tyr and Patrick look at unsure of the meaning behind those words.
How can one have a burial without digging?
“No need to dig?” the words come out of Tyr’s mouth.
“Bring the body of the deceased and I shall do it as a gift for our newly found companionship,” Shaphas says as making a sign of an upside-down mirrored seven.
Patrick burrows the axe in the ground as he goes back to pick up the body of Olaf; he returns and places the dead warrior on the ground as Shaphas approaches it.
He chants.
In the beginning, there was only void and Aion
Through his grace, fire, and wisdom he created the world
Through his grace, he gifted life to all
Through his fire, he sustains life
Through his wisdom, he shows us the way
In the end, there is only fire and Aion
He pours some liquid over the body as he chants.
Let this lost soul find its way to the warm embrace of Aion
let this one find everlasting happiness
for the lifetime of suffering and trials has come to an end
for the true journey begins now
from fire, you began
to fire, you shall return
In the end, there is only fire and Aion
Shaphas adds another drop of liquid as the body bursts in blue flames. Tyr’s and Patrick’s eyes widen in surprise.
“Incredible! If I die, I would like to be sent off like that,” Patrick says in awe of the ritual.
Tyr remains silent.
Perhaps not the worst of allies, Tyr thinks as the light of the azure flame reflects in his eyes.
Advertisement
Realm of Monsters
In a land ruled by vile monsters, where death is common and life is cruel, one outcast endeavors to have it all. When misfortune drags the odd goblin Stryg from his forest home and into the ruthless city of Hollow Shade, he must try and adapt to a world that only sees him as a dimwit savage. Stryg finds himself embroiled in a school of magic, where an aristocrat's smile is filled with deceit and the simplest of remarks may lead to death threats. Yet nothing will stop him from aspiring to his beliefs of glory: power, honor, and food with salt. As Stryg navigates through the muddled grey waters of the Ebon Realm, he will learn that some monsters lurk everywhere. I also post on Scribblehub and Taps Join us on discord! https://discord.gg/uYqw7R6SKz
8 241True Void Arts. (old version)
A young man suddenly regains his lost memories from his previous life on earth at the age of six. The young man named Naath had constructed his own special cultivation methods in his old life. Before he could use them however he was caught in a tragic accident and died. In the world he was reborn into cultivation is commonplace and countless people follow this path. Follow Naath on his path of cultivation as he steps into a world far bigger than he ever imagined. Discover the countless secrets tied to Naath, his cultivation, and the mysteries and secrets the very heavens themselves wish to hide for eternity. NOTE: This is a LONG TERM series. Thing will seem to move fast at times but I promise you there is a reason behind it I have planned out a long term timeline for this series. If things seemed rushed or like they are progressing too fast there is a reason behind it. I might make errors on short term things but in the long term there is a plan. Please keep this in mind as a reader.
8 116Flesh runes
A man dies, unfortunatly as an atheist he has nowhere to go. Thankfully heaven has a plan for atheists, you get to choose three boons and move on into another world. Charles anthem gets placed in the body of a knight captain and has to find a way to fight off the incomming raiders, hopefully he can find his way to power with nothing but an inventory of shitty masks and skill with runes. This book is mostly designed to workshop ideas and improve my writing for bigger projects down the road, any advice on how to make my writing better would be greatly apreciated. I certainly need the help.
8 202Landfill Life
Humanity is dumping an ever increasing amount of scrap into landfills.Plastics which no organism can digest.Chemicals so toxic no organisms known to man dare touch.Yet life finds a way amidst all this.The plastic can be absorbed as armor.The chemicals contain potent energies.
8 248People Meet Percabeth
An overused plot, but amazing! This is about people meeting my OTP!---------------------------------------------NOTE: I wrote this story years ago, so read at your own risk!
8 306His Meihua Swan | 他的大天鵝 (BL)
Feng Xi, who was just an ordinary guy loves to read Cultivation Novels and there was his recent Favorite novel entitled "The Black Book". When he was about to reach the ending of the novel, he fell asleep and woke up as the First Cannon fodder of the novel, Liu Xiao. What will he do to gain the favor of the Protagonist? (Note: This is a BL story. So feel free to leave if you don't like this type of story. I understand and accept your personal preferences- R u n n o x.)
8 225