Post by safaiax on Jan 5, 2009 11:06:44 GMT -5
Another short story. There *is* an idea behind it though, but I'm not sure if I'll carry through. As for the title, couldn't think of a better one ;D Enjoy!
Eruraina the bow-woman and knife throwing expert bolted through the woods, heart on fire, attempting to escape the reach of the demonic creatures. They had been searching for her, and when they found her, they were on her tail in a heartbeat. Her foot caught itself on a root and instantly, she found herself flat on her face, chin scraped against the ground. She briskly sprinted up, mentally alleviating the painful bruises. Trees fled from her path as she propelled herself through the woods.
A harsh conglomeration of sharp shrieks and deep, enormous bellows obtruded her ears. The young lady hustled even faster at this. As she pulled a throwing knife from her belt, a colossal hand clenched her leg and pulled her down. The iron knife flew in her hand and protruded the flesh of the shadowy creature. At that very moment, her emerald green eyes met those of her aggressor. The enticing, blood red orbs glowed in such a glamorous way that she almost considered surrender.
Before she could ruminate any longer, she felt herself being lifted to her knees. The pack of monstrous, blackish creatures continued on in imperious pursuit of the young lady, including her wounded aggressor. As she scampered away, she couldn't help but look back at those seductive, magnetic eyes. When she looked in them, she felt anger, hopelessness, bitterness, or even pride; she pulled away. Realizing they were still close on her trail, she selected one of her nine remaining throwing knives which hung from her belt, then skillfully launched it towards her target. With well-trained agility, she lashed a second, third, and fourth knife at her opponents, spun around and continued on, trusting that she succeeded in disabling them at the very least. Another series of shrieks and bellows followed the brief attack.
Seeing that she had managed to slow them down, she sped up towards a massive tree which stood in her path not far away. As she decelerated, she could once again feel her heart painfully battering against her chest. When she reached the mammoth tree she stood, breathlessly, behind the trunk, awaiting the monsters' arrival. Something from within prompted her to climb the tree, and she listened.
The enormous, demonic monsters, which had refused to dwindle down in number, showed up in less than a minute. They slowed their pace when they realized they had misplaced their captive, and they sniffed the air for Eruraina’s scent. As they neared the base of the mammoth tree, a throwing knife spewed from the tree, missing the head of the first monster by only a hair. A rapid fire of more knives--one, two, three, four--ejected from the tree once more.
Eruraina cursed herself for missing all four shots. She reasoned that either her skill had diminished extraordinarily or her opponents were excellent at dodging--or both. To her dismay, she had used all ten of her precious throwing knives, so she removed her bow from her shoulder and extracted an arrow from her quiver and, all in one breath, she aimed below and let it fly. It planted itself between the two biggest toes of the first monster. She cursed once more, whishing that her archery aptitude had been more advanced in the first place. She removed a second arrow, all too aware of the shrieks and howls of her hunters, and as she positioned the arrow on the bow string, the branch which she perched on cracked and fell from underneath her feet. She reluctantly plunged through the air, realizing that one of the monsters had unexpectedly jumped high enough to destroy her only refuge. A massive claw cascaded across her face, producing a stinging, bloody gash on her cheek.
The broken girl let out a shrill scream, painfully lying on her torso. Her head swung up, eyes staring in horror at the sight of the hideous, black monster decimating her bow and quiver-full of arrows in two. She scrambled to her feet as best she could, with not a second to recover. Relying on only her wits now that her three main weapons--knives, bow and arrows, and strength--had been eliminated, she weaved through the forest, feeling a hot batch of blood gushing from her face.
Nothing would stop her sore legs from sprinting one after another through the dense woods. When she looked back, she saw that the monsters had fallen behind due to the denseness of trees. She continued on in hope of reaching the river not far ahead, but as she wearily carried herself along, a dark figure with glowing, ruby eyes jumped from her right. She dove ahead, breathlessly avoiding the massive creature. As she scrambled to her feet, Eruraina thought she saw the figure of a man in the corner of her eye, but when she glanced over, nothing but trees and brush existed at the sight.
The young lady hastened to the river up ahead, with the hideous creature directly on her tail, shrieking and howling its lungs out. She was optimistic that there would be a bridge and possibly a place of refuge on the other side. As she sprinted ahead, nearly ready to surrender her life, she scanned the river and there was no bridge in sight. When she looked back, internally preparing to give her enemy one last battle, the creature was nowhere to be found and she heard absolutely no blood-curdling shrieks or howls.
To her relief, she was able to sit down for a moment, reasoning that if the monsters emerged from the dense woods which she had been able to lure them into, she would fight to the death with her renewed energy. However, as she waited, a familiar man appeared. He walked towards her bloody-faced self with a bright smile on his tanned countenance.
"Greetings," he cheerfully said as he approached her while she sat on the ground. "I am Ortherion. You look like you need help."
His brown hair and red tunic reminded her of the man she had seen--or imagined.
"I am fine." She breathed.
"Are you sure? I can help you if you want."
"Yes, I am sure."
At that, a deep bellow reached her ears. They were back. The young lady rose to her weary feet and prepared for the last battle. The man stood near her, anticipating what was to come. She winced as she rubbed her bloody face. Suddenly, the pack of shadowy demonic creatures galloped towards the weak, unarmed Eruraina. She held her stance with as much bravery as she could conjure up. The man asked her one more time if she desired his help, but she turned him down once more.
The creatures halted at the firm-standing young lady, perplexed as to why she did not run. They encircled in a crescent moon around her and the man. They bellowed and howled, attempting to frighten her into surrendering.
Suddenly, the demonic creature opposite to her, only a few feet away, roared in a linguistic voice, "How do you wish to die? In the river or by my claw?"
Her heart sped up at an incredible pace as she glanced at the mighty river in back of here. She refused to have help, yet preferred to die quickly, in a not so painful manner. For the first time in her journey, it dawned on her that she was totally helpless when up against these ten or more colossal, demon-like creatures. As she reasoned, she could either die by their teeth or their claws.
"Well?" the creature bellowed. They had closed in on her until there was no escape.
"Stop fighting your evil passions," The man called Ortherion uttered. "Let me handle them."
What!? She shrieked in her head. How does he know my name? Can he really take care of them?
"Let go of your pride." He reiterated.
"Are you ready to die?" One of the creatures shrieked impatiently.
"I...I..." The shrieks rang in her ear. Her mind seemed to be racing like a man on fire. "I'm ready to...to..." At last, the words came out with a hint of humility. "Ortherion. I surrender. Please take care of them."
With that, the creatures bounded at her stance, but as they did, Ortherion instantly dispatched in front of her. His hand flew in the air as if to halt the commotion. These words came from his mouth: "Stop. Depart from this girl."
At that, the demonic creatures obeyed. When they had rambled away, the girl, frightened and weak, turned to the man. "Thank you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Master."
"Follow me now. Let's get you cleaned up. And while we do, I will teach you some important things."
With that, the mysterious man escorted her down the river's edge to the bridge.
And she screamed: Leave Me Alone (No, Come Back!)
Eruraina the bow-woman and knife throwing expert bolted through the woods, heart on fire, attempting to escape the reach of the demonic creatures. They had been searching for her, and when they found her, they were on her tail in a heartbeat. Her foot caught itself on a root and instantly, she found herself flat on her face, chin scraped against the ground. She briskly sprinted up, mentally alleviating the painful bruises. Trees fled from her path as she propelled herself through the woods.
A harsh conglomeration of sharp shrieks and deep, enormous bellows obtruded her ears. The young lady hustled even faster at this. As she pulled a throwing knife from her belt, a colossal hand clenched her leg and pulled her down. The iron knife flew in her hand and protruded the flesh of the shadowy creature. At that very moment, her emerald green eyes met those of her aggressor. The enticing, blood red orbs glowed in such a glamorous way that she almost considered surrender.
Before she could ruminate any longer, she felt herself being lifted to her knees. The pack of monstrous, blackish creatures continued on in imperious pursuit of the young lady, including her wounded aggressor. As she scampered away, she couldn't help but look back at those seductive, magnetic eyes. When she looked in them, she felt anger, hopelessness, bitterness, or even pride; she pulled away. Realizing they were still close on her trail, she selected one of her nine remaining throwing knives which hung from her belt, then skillfully launched it towards her target. With well-trained agility, she lashed a second, third, and fourth knife at her opponents, spun around and continued on, trusting that she succeeded in disabling them at the very least. Another series of shrieks and bellows followed the brief attack.
Seeing that she had managed to slow them down, she sped up towards a massive tree which stood in her path not far away. As she decelerated, she could once again feel her heart painfully battering against her chest. When she reached the mammoth tree she stood, breathlessly, behind the trunk, awaiting the monsters' arrival. Something from within prompted her to climb the tree, and she listened.
The enormous, demonic monsters, which had refused to dwindle down in number, showed up in less than a minute. They slowed their pace when they realized they had misplaced their captive, and they sniffed the air for Eruraina’s scent. As they neared the base of the mammoth tree, a throwing knife spewed from the tree, missing the head of the first monster by only a hair. A rapid fire of more knives--one, two, three, four--ejected from the tree once more.
Eruraina cursed herself for missing all four shots. She reasoned that either her skill had diminished extraordinarily or her opponents were excellent at dodging--or both. To her dismay, she had used all ten of her precious throwing knives, so she removed her bow from her shoulder and extracted an arrow from her quiver and, all in one breath, she aimed below and let it fly. It planted itself between the two biggest toes of the first monster. She cursed once more, whishing that her archery aptitude had been more advanced in the first place. She removed a second arrow, all too aware of the shrieks and howls of her hunters, and as she positioned the arrow on the bow string, the branch which she perched on cracked and fell from underneath her feet. She reluctantly plunged through the air, realizing that one of the monsters had unexpectedly jumped high enough to destroy her only refuge. A massive claw cascaded across her face, producing a stinging, bloody gash on her cheek.
The broken girl let out a shrill scream, painfully lying on her torso. Her head swung up, eyes staring in horror at the sight of the hideous, black monster decimating her bow and quiver-full of arrows in two. She scrambled to her feet as best she could, with not a second to recover. Relying on only her wits now that her three main weapons--knives, bow and arrows, and strength--had been eliminated, she weaved through the forest, feeling a hot batch of blood gushing from her face.
Nothing would stop her sore legs from sprinting one after another through the dense woods. When she looked back, she saw that the monsters had fallen behind due to the denseness of trees. She continued on in hope of reaching the river not far ahead, but as she wearily carried herself along, a dark figure with glowing, ruby eyes jumped from her right. She dove ahead, breathlessly avoiding the massive creature. As she scrambled to her feet, Eruraina thought she saw the figure of a man in the corner of her eye, but when she glanced over, nothing but trees and brush existed at the sight.
The young lady hastened to the river up ahead, with the hideous creature directly on her tail, shrieking and howling its lungs out. She was optimistic that there would be a bridge and possibly a place of refuge on the other side. As she sprinted ahead, nearly ready to surrender her life, she scanned the river and there was no bridge in sight. When she looked back, internally preparing to give her enemy one last battle, the creature was nowhere to be found and she heard absolutely no blood-curdling shrieks or howls.
To her relief, she was able to sit down for a moment, reasoning that if the monsters emerged from the dense woods which she had been able to lure them into, she would fight to the death with her renewed energy. However, as she waited, a familiar man appeared. He walked towards her bloody-faced self with a bright smile on his tanned countenance.
"Greetings," he cheerfully said as he approached her while she sat on the ground. "I am Ortherion. You look like you need help."
His brown hair and red tunic reminded her of the man she had seen--or imagined.
"I am fine." She breathed.
"Are you sure? I can help you if you want."
"Yes, I am sure."
At that, a deep bellow reached her ears. They were back. The young lady rose to her weary feet and prepared for the last battle. The man stood near her, anticipating what was to come. She winced as she rubbed her bloody face. Suddenly, the pack of shadowy demonic creatures galloped towards the weak, unarmed Eruraina. She held her stance with as much bravery as she could conjure up. The man asked her one more time if she desired his help, but she turned him down once more.
The creatures halted at the firm-standing young lady, perplexed as to why she did not run. They encircled in a crescent moon around her and the man. They bellowed and howled, attempting to frighten her into surrendering.
Suddenly, the demonic creature opposite to her, only a few feet away, roared in a linguistic voice, "How do you wish to die? In the river or by my claw?"
Her heart sped up at an incredible pace as she glanced at the mighty river in back of here. She refused to have help, yet preferred to die quickly, in a not so painful manner. For the first time in her journey, it dawned on her that she was totally helpless when up against these ten or more colossal, demon-like creatures. As she reasoned, she could either die by their teeth or their claws.
"Well?" the creature bellowed. They had closed in on her until there was no escape.
"Stop fighting your evil passions," The man called Ortherion uttered. "Let me handle them."
What!? She shrieked in her head. How does he know my name? Can he really take care of them?
"Let go of your pride." He reiterated.
"Are you ready to die?" One of the creatures shrieked impatiently.
"I...I..." The shrieks rang in her ear. Her mind seemed to be racing like a man on fire. "I'm ready to...to..." At last, the words came out with a hint of humility. "Ortherion. I surrender. Please take care of them."
With that, the creatures bounded at her stance, but as they did, Ortherion instantly dispatched in front of her. His hand flew in the air as if to halt the commotion. These words came from his mouth: "Stop. Depart from this girl."
At that, the demonic creatures obeyed. When they had rambled away, the girl, frightened and weak, turned to the man. "Thank you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Master."
"Follow me now. Let's get you cleaned up. And while we do, I will teach you some important things."
With that, the mysterious man escorted her down the river's edge to the bridge.