INFERNUS ARC

The four continued in a more casual pace than when they first started out after leaving Arestoth. It wouldn’t be long until they reached a stopping point for the day. Whether that was at a village or not depended on whether they would push further on passed the village before night fall or stopped at the next village long before the sun set.

Not having any idea how long until the next village or rest point, Amrin continued to admire the scenery that lay before him. His eyes darted from one place to another, as if he had never seen nature before, a large grin clear on his face.

Lestith couldn’t help but notice his behavior but continued to ignore it for now. He knew full well that Amrin wasn’t what he said, or appeared to be, but also realized that it would be foolish to try and pry for answers. Grandall and Kaia were further ahead and seemed to be having a conversation of some kind. The only thing he could think that two completely opposite personalities could discuss was the war they were veterans of or combat. Although, it also appeared that Grandall was doing most of the talking, while Kaia just occasionally nodded, the wings of her pristine gold and dark gray armor glinting in the sun.

Once more Lestith’s eyes fell to Amrin, who seemed oblivious to his surroundings, which allowed him to keep a close on eye on his behavior, until he realized that Amrin was not nearly as oblivious as he thought.

“One would begin to get the wrong impression if you continue to keep looking at me so intently, Captain Lestith.” Amrin said in a slightly sarcastic tone of voice.

Lestith’s head jerked back ever so slightly at the sudden reaction and confrontation of his observations.

“W-what? Oh, no I didn’t mean to stare. I was just…curious.”

“Oh? Curious about?” Amrin turned to look at Lestith.

“Curious about the same thing I have been since the day I found you in Edgewood. Although I fear I will not find that answer.”

“Who exactly are you? Where did you come from? Are you friend or foe?” Amrin said.

Lestith looked at him with his brow furrowed and lips pursed and not sure how to react. He gave Lestith a sidelong glance and grinned.

“Lighten up Captain. I assure you I am not here to bring you any kind of problems. I’m not a spy from another kingdom or some deranged maniac out for blood. I’m just a man looking for something, and am working towards that goal. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“No matter who may get in your way?” he replied pointedly.

“If that was the case, your Commander Braddock and fellow Knights, wouldn’t be alive right now, would they?”

Amrin didn’t bother to take his gaze off of the trees and mountain to his left as he answered Lestith. He was fully aware of what Lestith was getting at, and didn’t appreciate it. Lestith swallowed hard after hearing him say that.

“I prefer using reason, logic and words to settle things if at all possible. I do not attack first and get answers later. And while I was guilty of doing that very thing in my younger days…I like to think that I have changed.”

Amrin turned to look at Lestith. His expression resolute and serious. Lestith wanted to ask more, but decided it would be a better idea to let things be for now.

“Hey! Did you want to rest at the next village or are you opposed to camping out in the woods and push further on towards Infernus Pass?” Grandall shouted behind him.

Amrin shrugged his shoulders and curled his mouth down in indifference. Kaia and Grandall slowed their pace and allowed Lestith and Amrin to catch up so that they wouldn’t have to shout to converse with each other.

“Doesn’t matter to me, honestly. Whichever you three prefer.” Amrin answered.

“Captain?”

“I will also agree with majority vote.”

“Lady Kaia is also fine with what we decide as a group. I for one am in no hurry, so if you wish, we can take it easy at the next village?” Grandall asked.

“Hmm…actually, I would prefer if we get this taken care of as soon as possible.” Amrin said after thinking about it for a moment.

“Oh? Well that’s fine I suppose. But why the change of mind?” Grandall asked curiously.

“It’s about these…things, that attacked Randess. Something about them sounds off. I just hope it isn’t what I think it is.”

“And what do you believe it to be?” Kaia asked.

“I’d rather not say. Sorry. Just something I hope I’m wrong about.” Amrin replied cautiously. “It’s not a big deal. I’m sure it’s nothing.” He shook his head and smiled thinly.

Kaia wasn’t convinced, she could tell Amrin was hiding something. Whether the other two realized it or not was another story.

“Well, I suppose we push on as far as we can get before we lose light. Shall we ride a bit harder since we won’t be worrying about lodging?” Grandall asked, although it was rhetorical since he shouted and urged his horse into a gallop.

Amrin couldn’t help but cringe and think to himself how much his ass was going to be hurting after all of this riding. Regardless, he followed suit and began to gallop along with the others, large clouds of dirt billowing into the air as the hooves pounded into the dry road.

After having his fill of the scenery he began to think about the events and descriptions that Grandall had said regarding the monsters that invaded Randess. They started out as humans but after having been exposed to the liquid that fell from the black clouds that came out of nowhere they began to mutate and change. He didn’t know of any magic that could turn a human into a monster, even in all of his years alive he had never heard of such magic. But what if it wasn’t magic?

He contemplated and pondered just what could cause these people to change so dramatically so quickly and to take the appearance of something so terrible. He couldn’t come to any decisions that could hold any weight after thinking about them logically for a moment. Instead he just pushed the thought into the back of his mind and would meditate and see if having total calm and quiet would help to clear his mind and find an answer.

He kept silent, eyes forward, following behind Kaia and Grandall, with Lestith to his right. This leg of the trip seemed to take hours until finally the light from the sun began to dip below the tree line ahead of them. They would most likely be breaking from the path and set up camp soon. Amrin would take that time to try and find an answer to this quandary that caused him a sense of uneasiness.

No sooner than Amrin had assumed that Grandall would turn from the path, did he do just that. Veering off of the road he came to a stop in a small clearing surrounded by trees on one side, a flat open plain on the other and the road behind them. It wasn’t the best place to break for camp, but there wasn’t any better options that he could see.

“Well, I suppose this will do for camp for tonight.” He said as he reined in his horse and dismounted.

“I do not like the forest to our backs if I’m honest.” Kaia said.

“If it were under any other circumstances I would be inclined to agree, Lady Kaia. But as we’re just travelers, I believe we don’t have much to worry about in regards to an ambush.” Lestith replied logically.

Kaia tilted her head slightly as she thought about it and finally dismounted her horse as well.

“Perhaps you are right. But I will remain vigilant regardless, if it’s all the same to you.”

“I would expect no less from one such as you.” He bowed slightly to her in earnest, to which she replied with a simple nod.

“Grandall, I’ll leave the gathering of some stones and the firewood to you.” He ordered.

“No need to pile it all on him. I can get the wood.” Amrin chimed in.

“It’s no problem Amrin. I can gather them on my own.” Grandall was quick to object.

“Its fine, it’ll give me time to stretch my legs and comfort my…other areas.” He said cringing and stretching his back side to side.

The sun had already fallen below the trees and the dwindling light was making it harder for Grandall to easily spot the stones in the tall grass. Amrin slowly made his way to the trees and walked into the woods a few feet deeper until he couldn’t get a clear view of the others. Now that he was alone, Amrin stood perfectly still and took a deep breath in. He could smell everything in nature, the strong pine smell from the trees, the smell of the dirt and the clean air, and he loved it. A large smile spread across his face and he closed his eyes to take it all in. Even though the sun was setting, he could still hear the singing of birds, the chattering of the squirrels and smaller animals.

Being in the city had its benefits, anyone would admit to that. But there was nothing that could replace the feeling he could get being in the middle of nature. He slowly opened his eyes and looked straight into the sky, he could make out faint traces of the sky. The reds and oranges bleeding through the canopy of the forest that got darker and darker the longer he stood within it.

“Did you need any help with the firewood Amrin!?” Grandall shouted into the woods from where they were setting the campfire.

“No, sorry I was just…admiring the view!” he shouted back.

Turning around to survey the area, Amrin tried looking for a suitable sized tree to harvest for fire wood. It was then he noticed a small sapling that was surrounded on all sides by massive fully grown trees. He frowned slightly and began to walk towards it.

“Sorry little guy…” he said to himself as he made his way towards it.

Grandall dropped all of the stones into a little pile and began to organize them into a ring. Lestith had unpacked a few blankets from the saddle bags and laid them out around the ring that would be the fire.

“Oh, I don’t think Amrin had any way to cut the trees did he?” Grandall said almost as an afterthought.

“I shall take something to him. I have a small axe on my horse.” Kaia replied.

Making it to her horse she took her helmet off and place it onto the horn of the saddle. She then began to untie the small axe that was fastened to the side of the saddle bag. It was then she looked passed the horse, and due to her feline demi-human eyes, could make out Amrin perfectly in the dark woods.

She noticed him walking casually to a small pine tree that she assumed would be cut down for the firewood. Narrowing her eyes in confusion, Kaia saw Amrin reach into the branches of the small tree and in a matter of seconds saw the branches exploded in all directions and fell onto the ground, exposing the core of the tree, which then fell over after it had been cut into 8 evenly spaced logs. It was a mere moment later she could hear the dull cracking sound from the sound the explosion of branches made.

Kaia made it a point to watch all of his movements and not once did she see his mouth move at all. No incantations, no chanting and no prior evidence of anything that would allow him to perform such an act. She knew he must be capable of something great in order to be the Master in a pact with the one she respects and serves. But being witness to something like this was something she was not expecting. Not thinking it possible to be surprised any further she started to compose herself. She thought wrong.

Before gathering up the logs that he so effortlessly created, Amrin bent down and raised his right hand over the stump left by the sapling he cut down. A small orb that shifted into every color possible glowed to life, and like a single drop of water, fell from the tip of his finger and splashed onto the raw wood of the stump. Standing back up, he gathered the logs into his hands and began to walk out of the forest.

Noticing Kaia standing by her horse with a small axe in her hand he felt a bit guilty.

“Oh, sorry. I was able to gather the wood without it. Thanks though.” He said smiling and walked by her.

Kaia quickly shook her head and turned to follow Amrin. He gently placed the wood next to the ring of stones Grandall had created. Furrowing her brow she also tilted her head in confusion. She had no idea just what element he used, or what the point of using magic on a now dead tree was. Turning her head back to the felled tree she went wide eyed and her mouth dropped open. What was once a stump was already a seedling. Branches full of green pine needles and a trunk nearly the width of the one that once stood there.

Everything that Kaia assumed about Amrin was wrong. She thought he was simply a powerful chanter, someone that Elynara looked up to and possibly even stood on equal ground in skill and ability. But she realized without a shadow of a doubt, that the man her own master swore her life to, was unlike anything she has, or will, ever know. Turning around slowly, her brilliant orange eyes fell onto Amrin’s back as he was talking to Grandall. She didn’t bother to make out what they were saying, nor did she care to. The only thing that filled her mind what just who, or what, Amrin was.

Turning back to her saddle bags, she lashed the axe back onto the pack and began to think. She didn’t know how to take in what she just saw. All magic has a color associated with it, which was evident with any Aptitude Array. But the myriad rainbow of colors that the drop of magic Amrin placed into the stump wasn’t possible. Even if someone was capable of multiple affinities, three was the maximum anyone had ever been recorded to have. And even then there was no way to merge the magics to produce an effect that could give rise to a tree out of nothing and only in a matter of seconds.

Kaia closed her eyes and began to breathe a little heavier than normal. She wasn’t nervous, concerned, scared or the like. Utter confusion and curiosity filled her. She wanted to know just what it was that Amrin had used to produce such an effect. But quickly realized that even if she asked, there was very little possibility that she would get an answer. Kaia grit her teeth and clenched her fists in frustration as they lay on the saddle. She couldn’t help but think that if maybe, just maybe, anyone could be the answer she was looking for, it would be Amrin.

“Lady Kaia, are you hungry?” Lestith called out to her.

Her feline ears twitched rapidly and she quickly raised her head in surprise and turned to face the other three, making sure her expression gave away no indication of her frustration and concern.

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” She replied simply.

“We’ll be having some stew. It’s not anything fancy, but hopefully it tastes good anyway.” Grandall said cheerfully.

The logs were set and allowed to burn until the smell of pine was no longer overpowering. Grandall placed a tripod for the pot to hang from which he remembered to bring from home and wouldn’t need to fashion one out of sticks. Taking a water skin he poured it into the hanging pot along with some herbs for seasoning. While the water was coming to a boil, Grandall began to peel various vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and onions.

“Ah, Captain, do you still happen to have some of the cheese from earlier?” Grandall asked suddenly.

“I think I might, give me a moment.” Lestith reached into the pouch next to him and handed a small wad of cloth to Grandall.

Upon opening it, Grandall grabbed a few chunks of the remaining cheese and tossed it into the pot. Amrin wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but he was just hoping it tasted better than it seemed like it would. Using the knife more masterfully than Amrin though a man as large as Grandall would be able to, the vegetables were cut into bite sized portions and then dumped into the boiling water.

The smell that wafted from the boiling pot assuaged Amrin’s concern of the flavor and even caused his stomach to growl slightly in anticipation. Lestith and Kaia had taken a seat beside Amrin and waited patiently as Grandall toiled over the pot and watching to make sure it didn’t burn and stick to it.

“I’m surprised, Grandall. You definitely don’t seem like the kind that knows his way around a cooking pot.” Amrin said jokingly.

“Ah, the wife. She taught me a thing or two about it is all. When she was pregnant with the boy, I had to cook a few of the meals when she was in too much pain or ill to do it herself.” Grandall said while smiling bashfully.

Amrin nodded in acknowledgement and couldn’t help but notice Kaia’s facial expression change at the mention of his wife and child. Her eyes saddened slightly and her ears lowered. Wondering why someone would look sad about the mention of a child filled his mind. Not wanting to think too much about it, Amrin pushed the concern to the back of his head. He had more pressing things he had to mull over tonight.

The group sat silently for a little while longer until Grandall began to dish up the stew into bowls that didn’t quite look like wood. When one was placed into his hand he realized that it was bread. The top was cut off and the innards were scooped out and added to the broth to thicken it. He was impressed, the only utensils that would need to be cleaned were the spoons that were used to scoop the stew out. And once you were done, you could eat the bowl itself.

“This is really great, Grandall. I am thoroughly impressed.” Amrin exclaimed after his first bite.

“Gahaha! I’m glad! Be sure to tell my wife that. She still thinks I’m rubbish at it!” he said with a slight frown.

“I’ll be sure to mention it if I ever have the pleasure.”

“Thank you for the meal, Sir Grandall.” Kaia said, no real emotion or enthusiasm in her voice.

The men couldn’t help but feel that it would be a long while still before they get anywhere with her coming out of whatever shell she had built around herself.

The four of them ate in silence, admiring the flavor of the stew, the cloudless night sky, and the serene silence of nature. The crackling of the fire and occasional gust of wind rushing through the branches of the trees broke the silence of the night. After they had all finished their meal they continued to sit in silence. It was slightly awkward until someone finally broke it.

“Well, I suppose we should call it a night and break camp by dawn and make our way?” Lestith declared.

“I agree. The sooner we sleep, the sooner we can continue our way towards Infernus Pass.” Kaia agreed.

Each of them retired to a blanket that Lestith had laid out earlier and laid down. Amrin wasn’t tired in the slightest, but figured to keep from raising any concerns would go through the motions anyway. He could meditate regardless of whether he was sitting or not. Resting his head on the ground he looked at the vast open sky, the glittering of the stars caused him to smile slightly at their brilliance. He then closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He began to delve into himself and all the memories over the thousands upon thousands of years he’s been alive for anything that could help him answer the nagging feeling he got after hearing of the events of the Scourge War and Randess.

The stars slowly shifted their position in the sky, the camp fire reduced to nothing more than smoldering embers that glowed to life at the passing of the wind. Hours had passed, unbeknownst to Amrin though. While meditating completely, all sense of time ceased to concern him. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open. He had found an answer.

*****

There was a time he had met a group of people that would dabble in something they would call Cytomancy. It was a collaboration of magic and science to yield what they deemed to be a higher form of life. The experimentations, practices and acts they would perform were, in his eyes, heinous to behold. It wouldn’t matter what the final appearance their experimentations gained, but the fact that they had indeed changed was testament to how flawed and imperfect the human species was. It proved to them that they hadn’t fully evolved.

He had no idea how they came to that conclusion, the forms he bore witness too were horrifying abominations that would cause anyone to flee in terror. After his initial exposure to these people Amrin decided to leave them to their own devices, for the people that were subjected to these barbaric acts were volunteers of their own misguided cult. Amrin thought it fitting that they would be their own downfall, and wanted nothing to do with them.

That was a very, very long time ago. Even before he met Meladris. She was the first. The first that actually caused Amrin to curse the fact that he was immortal. He had no idea why, nor did he care, but she made him feel whole. In his eternally long life he had never felt more alive and complete than when he was with her. And it was thanks to her that he was able to meet people that he could call family. Belgard. The steadfast and fatherly figure to them all. Justinian, the old man that acted younger and more mischievous than he appeared. Sarya, the brilliant and most mature and promising of them. Gindel, the youngest and happiest. Elynara, the childlike and innocent. And Meladris…

He didn’t mean to dwell on them, but the memory of Meladris caused him to unconsciously do so. He began to have equal parts joy, sorrow, anger and confusion at it all. Amrin quickly closed his eyes once more and cast those memories and thoughts aside and focused on the answer he found instead. He began to recall the memories from his past once more.

After leaving them alone he figured they would die out and that would be the end of it. But he was wrong. It was years later that he stumbled upon a body in the forest out in the middle of nowhere. There were no cities, villages or any signs of civilization to be seen. He moved closer to the body cautiously, not seeing anything like it before. It lay on the ground with its back facing him. He purposely took a wide path and came around the figure to see what it was. When his gaze fell onto the front of the figure it was as if all of the air was knocked out of him.

The face was that of a child, no older than twelve or thirteen. But the size of the body was enormous and didn’t fit a child’s no matter how you looked at it. But that wasn’t all. There were signs of what looked to be fur, and scales. Mounds of flesh were bubbled up and appeared as if they would burst at a moment’s notice, the stench that emanated from the body was almost unbearable. Under the body was a pool of blood, bodily fluids and chunks of flesh and entrails. The myriad amount of insects, maggots and carrion bugs that swarmed the corpse made the scene even more grotesque to behold.

Amrin had experienced countless things in his life. He was witness to the greatest wonders and beauty the world had to offer and the worst it could delve into. Or at least he thought. What lay before him was unlike anything he had ever seen, or wanted to.

He’s seen the bubbling mounds of flesh before. He instantly realized what it was and regretted ever letting them go all those years ago. Not only were they experimenting on children, but there were signs that they were experimenting on things not human. Animals, beasts, possibly demi-human, and he would not stand for it.

Quickly looking around for any signs of…anything, Amrin’s heart began to race and his breathing became erratic. He wasn’t afraid. No, there was nothing that could really instill fear into him. He was furious. What monster could have done this to a child, and for what? He couldn’t see anything in the surrounding area. There was no signs of a struggle, no paths or footprints to trace back, there was nothing. As if the body just appeared here and died. He wouldn’t accept that answer. It had to have come from somewhere and he would find them.

Resting his sight once again onto the corpse of the child, he raised his right hand and stretched it out towards the body. Without saying anything, a large dark purple orb appeared over the mound of what was once a child. The size of the orb was large enough to encompass the body, the aura it emanated caused the light from the surrounding area to slowly disappear, and wisps of light could be seen entering the orb.

Shortly after it appeared, oily black tendrils began to drip out of the orb and slowly wrapped themselves around the deformed figure. Gradually the tendrils spread out over the body until it was entirely covered in a thick tar like web. The tendrils began to retract back into the orb, lifting the entire body off of the ground, becoming smaller and smaller the closer it got to the orb. After a few moments the deformed corpse of the child vanished into the orb, which also quickly vanished after it had swallowed what it was summoned for.

The ground was still stained with the blood, fluids, entrails and the countless scavenging insects that swarmed around in it all. Amrin clenched his jaw and with his right hand still stretched out, quickly closed it into a fist. As soon as his fist was formed, a massive swirling pillar of fire exploded into the air engulfing the entire area the body was found. Letting the tower of flames burn for a moment, he lowered his hand and the flames sputtered out and disappeared. The only sign they were there was a black perfectly circular scorch mark on the ground. Parts of the ground still smoldering and emitting a faint orange glow.

It was then that Amrin decided to find the ones responsible for this horrific sight and make it so that they wouldn’t be able to continue these disgusting acts again. He foolishly left them alone once, and this is what became of that decision.

Amrin opened his eyes, slowly, after recalling the events from his memory. Realizing that it could very well be his fault that Randess became Infernus Pass, and all of those people had died. But he couldn’t help but wonder how it had happened. He was positive that they had all died at his hands. It was the first time in his life that he actively sought out and extinguished life on his own instead of letting nature take its course.

*****

The sun was beginning to rise, the stars being drowned out by the brilliance of the blue sky. He then heard the others begin to stir so he decided to sit up. It was then he realized that there were random blotches and patches of grass missing from around him. He tilted his head slightly in confusion, but shrugged it away unconcerned. Turning his head to see who was awake, Amrin noticed that Kaia was already awake, sitting up, hugging her legs and staring at him.

Frowning slightly and raising one eyebrow he looked at Kaia in confusion.

“Good morning. Did I uhh…did I wake you?” he asked cautiously.

“You could say that.” She was quick to reply.

“Sorry. Was I snoring?”

“No. I am quite sensitive to certain…things.”

Amrin tilted his head slightly, he had no idea what she was getting at.

“I…I don’t…”

“In the forest last night, and while you were sleeping. Both times you used magic the likes I have never seen…or felt.” She interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

He quickly looked down at the ground around him once more. Paying closer attention to what they were he realized what he had done. Recalling the memories so deeply while meditating he must have inadvertently summoned void elements around him, which in turn ate the earth around him. Realizing this he looked to Lestith and Grandall and then the horses.

“It only happened around you.” Kaia said quietly.

Amrin looked at her eyes, he didn’t know whether she was frightened, curious, angry or something else.

“What…exactly did you see?”

“Enough.” She said matter-of-factly. Her voice not hinting at any emotions.

Before the conversation could continue, Grandall and Lestith began to sit up and stretch. Amrin’s attention was temporarily drawn to them but quickly went back to Kaia, who had already stood up and began to roll the blanket up and pack it away into her saddle. He knew this wouldn’t end easily. But he was more thankful that his magic didn’t go out of control and hurt anyone.

He wanted to be on good terms with everyone on this trip, especially Kaia, as she’s Elynara’s guard, but after last night, he was positive that it wouldn’t be that simple anymore. He decided that it wouldn’t be worth it to dwell on it right now and would cross that bridge if, and when, he ever got to it.