Post by Damian on Jun 24, 2006 22:17:59 GMT -5
*Soothing was the gentle breeze that swept through the alleys of Ye, regardless of the tainted feel the place had already. Except for the occasional animal sound, all was basically quiet at this time of night, most everyone having found comfort in their beds, safe inside their house. The moon from high above cast eerie shadows across the walls of the alley, making small rodents flee at the sight, thinking they were being hunted. At the same time, the moon also illuminated the alley, making it possible to distinguish shapes, not as easy as sunlight would, however…*
BANG!
*The sound of something hard, probably metal or wood, colliding with the cold ground. The sound reverberated through the alley, causing several lights to flicker inside windows, before being promptly dosed as quickly as they were lit. Obviously, the sound disturbed no one from their slumber – or so it seemed…*
~~~~~~
*The sound of labored breathing echoed in the night, as a dark figure rushed from one of the many back alleys in the marvelous city of Ye. The figure seemed to be in a panic, looking every which way as he exited the alley, his hands visibly shaking even with as little light as their was. After halting for a moment or two, the figure dashed to the left, like a bat out of hell, which would eventually lead him out of the city. As he ran, his oversized cloak flapped behind him, revealing a dagger at the figures left side. No one could see, due to insufficient lighting, but there were traces of blood on the dagger, but not fresh. The man continued to run, disregarding the occasional strange look he received from others who were wandering about at this late hour. His objective was simple – escape. He had to get out of the city before he got caught. Unbeknownst to him, the person he was running from was still following him, just making the journey in a much more subtle way.*
*After close to 15 minutes of continuous jogging, sprinting, and fast-paced walking, the shrouded figure reached the gates to the city of Ye. Before firmly gaining his freedom from this city, he must first be granted passage from the gate guards. In his current state, he may raise an eyebrow or two, which wouldn’t be good. Stopping just out of the guard’s view the man took a moment to calm himself, so as not to alarm the guards. He ran a normally firm hand, now shaking as though he had tremors, across the breast of his cloak. Several deep breaths were inhaled, and then exhaled roughly, causing a cough on the final exhale. He convinced himself he looked presentable, and so continued to the gate post at a steady walk, and even whistling along the way.*
*There were presently 4 guards at the gate itself, and all 4 spotted the approaching figure at able the same time. It was not uncommon for people to come and go at night, preferring the calm escape to the bustling and congested way the city got during the day. Thus, all 4 guards were not in the least bit surprised to see someone out this late. As the figure reached within hearing distant, one of the guards shouted to him, in a casual tone.*
[Guard1] – “Halt! What brings you to the gates at this hour!?”
*The figure continued his advance, almost as if he hadn’t heard the question shouted at him. He’d surely have to be deaf to have not heard it. Just as the guard was about to repeat his question, the man stopped his walking. In a tone that sounded remarkably clear and firm, the figure replied.*
[Figure] – ”I was going out to the forest to walk for a bit, having trouble sleeping. Hopefully the exercise will help my mind to relax.”
*Finding his reasons to be fair, the guards looked at each other, before nodding their approval. Moments later the gate doors were slid open, wide enough for the man to pass through. He shouted a ‘thank you’ at the guards and continued his leisurely pace until he was out of their sight. Just as quickly as he’d stopped and collected himself, his composure vanished and the sprinting demon resurfaced. It was not a long walk or run as the case may be, to the small forest on the outskirts of Ye. It was small, covering about a dozen acres or so of land. It was relatively open too, the canopy being pretty open which allowed light to shine through easily.*
*Slowly the figure came to a halt, allowing his lung’s and heart a moment to slow down, in front of the tree line. He gazed up at the stars for a moment, most likely reflecting on something that happened to cross his mind. However, this momentary peace was cut short by a rustling sound to his right. Abruptly the figure drew his dagger in his right hand and began scanning in the general direction of the sound…
Nothing…
He knew he heard something, but his eyes couldn’t find anything. A little on edge, he reasoned with his mind that it had to have been a small rodent or something of that nature. He closed his eyes for a moment, as he once again returned to observing the constellations. Almost the instant that his eyelids were closed, he heard something that made his blood run cold – a voice. It was the same voice that the figure had been running from. How did he follow me? How did he get here? Where is he? All of these questions shot through his mind as he finally allowed the words to click in his mind…*
”You’ve got two options… One, you can go back into town, and be killed by the soldiers who are looking for you… Or two… You can try and kill me, so you can escape…”
*He had no choice. He knew that trying to fight off dozens of soldiers would be futile, so he had to risk fighting this stalker - wherever he was. Almost as if telepathic, the voice echoed again, this time, its direction was clear.*
”I’m in the forest… Come and find me, if you darn…”
*Chocking down a swallow of his own saliva, the figure tightened his grip on his dagger. He advanced slowly into the forest, putting faith in that his black cloak would make him harder to find. He frantically looked around him, as he ducked behind a tree inside the forest. He had the strange feeling like he was being watched, by more than one pair of eyes. Once again, as if his thoughts were being spoken aloud, he heard a voice again. This time, its tone was full of enough venom to take down a large elephant, different than the last.*
”Do you feel… scared…? Like she did…”
*She? Who’s ‘she’? He began wondering what that cryptic message meant, but his thought process was once again routed. To his left, he heard a rustle, far too large for a rodent. He quickly backed a couple feet away, and bumped into a tree. This was insane, he couldn’t kill this person, and he was seemingly everywhere. Maybe he could still out run him. His heart was slowly accelerating as a cloud slowly crossed in front of the moon high above, bringing darkness to the forest. This would be his only chance – take it. Completely losing sense of direction, the figure jumped from his crouching position and bulleted the way he felt he came. Just as long as he didn’t run into anything, he knew he would be safe.
Jinx…
A large limb lay perfectly in his way as he was running, and in the current darkness he didn’t see it until it was too late…*
THUD!
*He was running one moment, the next – face first in the soil with the wind knocked out of him. He laid there for a moment, allowing the sudden dizziness that overtook him too pass. Dagger still firmly clutched in his hand, he pushed himself up onto his knee’s. He was about to make the next motion, when his ear’s picked something up – but too late. A sharp blade cut through his left heel, and then his right, in quick succession. The howl of excruciating pain that erupted from the figure was enough to even make a torturer cringe. Blood immediately began seeping from the clean cut wounds and cascading down his feet and onto the ground like waterfalls. Frantic, Scared, and completely out of control, the man struggled, unsuccessfully, to crawl away from the ‘thing’ that just cut him. When he glanced back, to lay eyes of his stalker, there was no one. Lacking any self-control anymore, tears began sporadically falling from his eyes as uncontrolled sobs racked his body, blurring his vision. The hairs on his neck stood straight up, as he once again heard the same voice this time, only – closer.*
”Do you feel… weak…? Like you made her feel…?”
*What’s with this reference to a girl? For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out who this lunatic was talking about. He began shouting out an unbelievable amount of profanity towards this assailant, and swinging his dagger in front of him, as if to ward him off as well. Unfortunately for him, it would be the last time he swung anything. Just as quickly as he’d been attack before, he was attacked again. This time, however, he lost more than blood. He lost his right hand – cut clean off. If he thought he was delusional before, he definitely was beyond it now. Spurting out blood like a hose sprays water, his severed wrist began covering his upper legs in his own blood. No more dagger. For some strange reason, even though he was immobilized and missing a hand, his mind still raced about how he would escape.*
*The clouds that had several minutes before eclipsed the sun, now revealed the illuminated celestial body once again. For the first time, the figure saw someone, standing before him. Due too the blood lose, however, his eyelids were beginning to feel like they had weights attached to them and didn’t allow him to gaze for long. The figure before him was wearing an all black, leather by the looks, suit of armor. He had shoulder length silver hair, and piercing blue eyes. The one thing the figure noticed, even in his dazed state, was that the weapons the man before him was holding had no blood on them…
A voice – from his left…
It was the same voice that had now spoken to him twice before, and now with the moon visible again, the figure could see him.*
”Do you feel… helpless…? Like I’m sure she felt?”
*As tears, blood, and thoughts gushing from him the figure did nothing other than nod and manage to sob out pleas of pity, asking to be spared. The man with the voice of venom, who looked relatively similar to the other figure, only smirked before looking at his cohort. The figure followed his direction and was confronted with the man in black, only a foot or so away from him. His mouth fell open as his brain manage to put together the words being spoken too him and the actions before performed before him.*
”Well then, allow me to assist you the same way you helped her… By ending your life…”
*Just like that, it was over. From both sides of his neck, the youth’s katana’s cut through his neck, popping it clear off his shoulders. The body hit the ground with a thud, as the head rolled away, seemingly struggling to escape even in death. Blood now covered the area like morning dew covers a field – completely. The two assassins stood together, gazing at the scene before them. The one in brown broke the silence first, his voice completely different than when he was taunting the dead murderer.*
”So, should we bury him? Or just leave him…?”
*The figure in black began walking away, apparently not even planning on answering, until he was standing beside the murderers dismantled head. With a firm kick, he sent it rolling again and turned to his companion.*
”Scum like this don’t deserve a proper burial. He can rot, or be eaten alive. Which ever happens first.”
*With that, they departed, both speaking no more words and merely cleaning themselves off of the tainted substance that now covered their weapons. The deed was done, and another criminal was eliminated. Now, for the two kingdoms that stand before their goal of unification…*
BANG!
*The sound of something hard, probably metal or wood, colliding with the cold ground. The sound reverberated through the alley, causing several lights to flicker inside windows, before being promptly dosed as quickly as they were lit. Obviously, the sound disturbed no one from their slumber – or so it seemed…*
~~~~~~
*The sound of labored breathing echoed in the night, as a dark figure rushed from one of the many back alleys in the marvelous city of Ye. The figure seemed to be in a panic, looking every which way as he exited the alley, his hands visibly shaking even with as little light as their was. After halting for a moment or two, the figure dashed to the left, like a bat out of hell, which would eventually lead him out of the city. As he ran, his oversized cloak flapped behind him, revealing a dagger at the figures left side. No one could see, due to insufficient lighting, but there were traces of blood on the dagger, but not fresh. The man continued to run, disregarding the occasional strange look he received from others who were wandering about at this late hour. His objective was simple – escape. He had to get out of the city before he got caught. Unbeknownst to him, the person he was running from was still following him, just making the journey in a much more subtle way.*
*After close to 15 minutes of continuous jogging, sprinting, and fast-paced walking, the shrouded figure reached the gates to the city of Ye. Before firmly gaining his freedom from this city, he must first be granted passage from the gate guards. In his current state, he may raise an eyebrow or two, which wouldn’t be good. Stopping just out of the guard’s view the man took a moment to calm himself, so as not to alarm the guards. He ran a normally firm hand, now shaking as though he had tremors, across the breast of his cloak. Several deep breaths were inhaled, and then exhaled roughly, causing a cough on the final exhale. He convinced himself he looked presentable, and so continued to the gate post at a steady walk, and even whistling along the way.*
*There were presently 4 guards at the gate itself, and all 4 spotted the approaching figure at able the same time. It was not uncommon for people to come and go at night, preferring the calm escape to the bustling and congested way the city got during the day. Thus, all 4 guards were not in the least bit surprised to see someone out this late. As the figure reached within hearing distant, one of the guards shouted to him, in a casual tone.*
[Guard1] – “Halt! What brings you to the gates at this hour!?”
*The figure continued his advance, almost as if he hadn’t heard the question shouted at him. He’d surely have to be deaf to have not heard it. Just as the guard was about to repeat his question, the man stopped his walking. In a tone that sounded remarkably clear and firm, the figure replied.*
[Figure] – ”I was going out to the forest to walk for a bit, having trouble sleeping. Hopefully the exercise will help my mind to relax.”
*Finding his reasons to be fair, the guards looked at each other, before nodding their approval. Moments later the gate doors were slid open, wide enough for the man to pass through. He shouted a ‘thank you’ at the guards and continued his leisurely pace until he was out of their sight. Just as quickly as he’d stopped and collected himself, his composure vanished and the sprinting demon resurfaced. It was not a long walk or run as the case may be, to the small forest on the outskirts of Ye. It was small, covering about a dozen acres or so of land. It was relatively open too, the canopy being pretty open which allowed light to shine through easily.*
*Slowly the figure came to a halt, allowing his lung’s and heart a moment to slow down, in front of the tree line. He gazed up at the stars for a moment, most likely reflecting on something that happened to cross his mind. However, this momentary peace was cut short by a rustling sound to his right. Abruptly the figure drew his dagger in his right hand and began scanning in the general direction of the sound…
Nothing…
He knew he heard something, but his eyes couldn’t find anything. A little on edge, he reasoned with his mind that it had to have been a small rodent or something of that nature. He closed his eyes for a moment, as he once again returned to observing the constellations. Almost the instant that his eyelids were closed, he heard something that made his blood run cold – a voice. It was the same voice that the figure had been running from. How did he follow me? How did he get here? Where is he? All of these questions shot through his mind as he finally allowed the words to click in his mind…*
”You’ve got two options… One, you can go back into town, and be killed by the soldiers who are looking for you… Or two… You can try and kill me, so you can escape…”
*He had no choice. He knew that trying to fight off dozens of soldiers would be futile, so he had to risk fighting this stalker - wherever he was. Almost as if telepathic, the voice echoed again, this time, its direction was clear.*
”I’m in the forest… Come and find me, if you darn…”
*Chocking down a swallow of his own saliva, the figure tightened his grip on his dagger. He advanced slowly into the forest, putting faith in that his black cloak would make him harder to find. He frantically looked around him, as he ducked behind a tree inside the forest. He had the strange feeling like he was being watched, by more than one pair of eyes. Once again, as if his thoughts were being spoken aloud, he heard a voice again. This time, its tone was full of enough venom to take down a large elephant, different than the last.*
”Do you feel… scared…? Like she did…”
*She? Who’s ‘she’? He began wondering what that cryptic message meant, but his thought process was once again routed. To his left, he heard a rustle, far too large for a rodent. He quickly backed a couple feet away, and bumped into a tree. This was insane, he couldn’t kill this person, and he was seemingly everywhere. Maybe he could still out run him. His heart was slowly accelerating as a cloud slowly crossed in front of the moon high above, bringing darkness to the forest. This would be his only chance – take it. Completely losing sense of direction, the figure jumped from his crouching position and bulleted the way he felt he came. Just as long as he didn’t run into anything, he knew he would be safe.
Jinx…
A large limb lay perfectly in his way as he was running, and in the current darkness he didn’t see it until it was too late…*
THUD!
*He was running one moment, the next – face first in the soil with the wind knocked out of him. He laid there for a moment, allowing the sudden dizziness that overtook him too pass. Dagger still firmly clutched in his hand, he pushed himself up onto his knee’s. He was about to make the next motion, when his ear’s picked something up – but too late. A sharp blade cut through his left heel, and then his right, in quick succession. The howl of excruciating pain that erupted from the figure was enough to even make a torturer cringe. Blood immediately began seeping from the clean cut wounds and cascading down his feet and onto the ground like waterfalls. Frantic, Scared, and completely out of control, the man struggled, unsuccessfully, to crawl away from the ‘thing’ that just cut him. When he glanced back, to lay eyes of his stalker, there was no one. Lacking any self-control anymore, tears began sporadically falling from his eyes as uncontrolled sobs racked his body, blurring his vision. The hairs on his neck stood straight up, as he once again heard the same voice this time, only – closer.*
”Do you feel… weak…? Like you made her feel…?”
*What’s with this reference to a girl? For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out who this lunatic was talking about. He began shouting out an unbelievable amount of profanity towards this assailant, and swinging his dagger in front of him, as if to ward him off as well. Unfortunately for him, it would be the last time he swung anything. Just as quickly as he’d been attack before, he was attacked again. This time, however, he lost more than blood. He lost his right hand – cut clean off. If he thought he was delusional before, he definitely was beyond it now. Spurting out blood like a hose sprays water, his severed wrist began covering his upper legs in his own blood. No more dagger. For some strange reason, even though he was immobilized and missing a hand, his mind still raced about how he would escape.*
*The clouds that had several minutes before eclipsed the sun, now revealed the illuminated celestial body once again. For the first time, the figure saw someone, standing before him. Due too the blood lose, however, his eyelids were beginning to feel like they had weights attached to them and didn’t allow him to gaze for long. The figure before him was wearing an all black, leather by the looks, suit of armor. He had shoulder length silver hair, and piercing blue eyes. The one thing the figure noticed, even in his dazed state, was that the weapons the man before him was holding had no blood on them…
A voice – from his left…
It was the same voice that had now spoken to him twice before, and now with the moon visible again, the figure could see him.*
”Do you feel… helpless…? Like I’m sure she felt?”
*As tears, blood, and thoughts gushing from him the figure did nothing other than nod and manage to sob out pleas of pity, asking to be spared. The man with the voice of venom, who looked relatively similar to the other figure, only smirked before looking at his cohort. The figure followed his direction and was confronted with the man in black, only a foot or so away from him. His mouth fell open as his brain manage to put together the words being spoken too him and the actions before performed before him.*
”Well then, allow me to assist you the same way you helped her… By ending your life…”
*Just like that, it was over. From both sides of his neck, the youth’s katana’s cut through his neck, popping it clear off his shoulders. The body hit the ground with a thud, as the head rolled away, seemingly struggling to escape even in death. Blood now covered the area like morning dew covers a field – completely. The two assassins stood together, gazing at the scene before them. The one in brown broke the silence first, his voice completely different than when he was taunting the dead murderer.*
”So, should we bury him? Or just leave him…?”
*The figure in black began walking away, apparently not even planning on answering, until he was standing beside the murderers dismantled head. With a firm kick, he sent it rolling again and turned to his companion.*
”Scum like this don’t deserve a proper burial. He can rot, or be eaten alive. Which ever happens first.”
*With that, they departed, both speaking no more words and merely cleaning themselves off of the tainted substance that now covered their weapons. The deed was done, and another criminal was eliminated. Now, for the two kingdoms that stand before their goal of unification…*
