CREED, The Fiery Storm

A bonfire OR Darkness

Nothing good was ever said about Duskangeon in the kingdoms and yet that is where Strost was making his first solo journey. He ran errands, very important errands too for the Krichnd but they were all between the palace and Zytalia and sometimes the lake and the minster. Outside the purple gate, what lay ahead could be seen well...the tip of it. The road that led away from Zytalia was a dusty and rough one filled with gravel. It's on this road that Strost began to tread knowing that every moment that passed, his family got deeper into danger. Strost ran along the road for about thirty minutes before he could see any sign of habitation and then in a distance, he saw a dark cloud of smoke. Have I reached Duskangeon?!- He wondered. Faster still, he ran until he got to the actual scene.  

It was a village-had been anyway. There were tiny cottages and huts most of which were ablaze but that's not where the smoke was coming from. Farther away still, the source of the smoke could be seen. You could tell that the inhabitants of the village were farmers from the granaries in the homesteads. The roofs of the structures had already caved in due to the fire. Only a fool could have assumed that this had been an accident-Strost was not a fool. He knew at once that some people had raided and burnt down the village...judging by the life in the fires, you could tell they had been set a short while back. In fact, there was no knowing whether they had left or not. As Strost walked through the village, he could not help tearing; fear for his family filled his mind. At this moment, he thought he had  known horror in its true form...but that was only until he saw the actual source of the  smoke cloud. 

In the centre of the village, there was a bon fire- the creator of the cloud. From afar, it seemed like just a mega fire. The horror was not the size of the fire or the amount of scorching heat it gave off. It was the fuel. The fuel was a pile of mutilated horses. Limbs, heads and innards of horses could be seen in the fire. Eyes wide open and tongues popping out could be seen in flames reflecting the  dying neighs of the horses. Strost closed his eyes as he could not take anymore but even then, the stench of the burning hooves and hides got through to him. What he witnessed in that fire was much more than just fellow horses burning...it was his own helplessness. Had he been there...what would he have done about it?! He asked himself. Being powerless is a very unfortunate thing and that is exactly how Strost felt at that moment. Despite all the negativity in the air, Strost  refused to think even for a moment that his family was in the pile...he also refused to believe that this place was Duskangeon. Just as he had come, he strode out of the village and continued on his way to search for his family. They were more horrors still along the way out of the village; the path was covered in blood which was unmistakably of horses and the sides were decorated with heads of  horses with sad eyes wide open and tongues popping out pinned on spikes. Silence would have reigned if it wasn't for the flies that were buzzing in the mouths of the dead horses and all over the place. When he finally got out the village, he saw a broken sign post on the ground... WELCOME TO GERENA it  translated.  

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Jim finally made it through the corridor and arrived in a hall. He was still carrying the still unconscious Breala in his arms. The big and round hall like the floor of the hall at the Krichnd's palace, its floor also had a decagram covering most of the area- he knew exactly what the decagram represented. There were fourteen narrow and long windows that let light into this hall; seven on opposite sides. Curtains that seemed like they had not been drawn in a long time hang near the windows; they were very dark purple in colour. The marble walls of the hall continued high up into the sky and the clouds provided a dome shaped roof for the hall-how amazingly, the sky blended with the walls! That same corridor that led Jim to the hall, continued seemingly infinitely on the opposite side. Creed!! Fear the dark?! Jim heard an echoey voice whispering just as before. He looked around and there was no one else in the hall. At that instant, darkness flowed into the hall  like a fluid through the windows and the sky. Jim realised at that moment that indeed, he was very scared of the dark and started trembling- sweat flowed down his face. Creed, there is no darkness he heard the voice whisper and the darkness disappeared. There in the hall with him was standing a lady. She was very beautiful, had long black hair and dark blue eyes but somehow still managed to radiate humility. The lady was dressed in white silky robes fastened with a wide black belt at the waist.  

"Who are you?!" Jim asked still trembling with fear of the darkness that was long gone. Not the kind of question you ask someone whom you have found at their own place.  

"I am the whispers..." she replied in the whispery voice that Jim had been hearing-without opening her mouth.  

"Soycoss is my name..." she spoke with her mouth. "So, you fear the dark!"  

"Yes." Jim replied. "When it flows in through the windows and the roof...I do."  

By now the trembling had stopped and he could think and speak clearly.  

"Fear is good..." Soycoss spoke. "It helps you gauge what you can and what you cannot do...it's a good reminder of mortality."  

"I take it you enjoy instilling fear..." he spoke.  

"Not particularly..." she answered. "What I like is instilling the awareness of it. "  

"I did not make you fear darkness..." she pointed out. "I just made you conscious of the fact that you are afraid of the dark."  

And she did have a point, very wise lady she was....  

"Could you..." Jim began to speak but Soycoss interrupted.  

"You want to see Djen..." She said. "Continue to that corridor and try to keep only her name on your mind...you'll find her."  

"Thank you..." he said to her.  

"You are welcome." Soycoss replied. "But Djen is not like me...she demands respect and fortunately for you...she commands it as well."  

"I'll keep that in mind...thank you again." Jim replied.  

"In mind...that's music to my ears." Soycoss whispered.

Hey, i really hope you enjoyed reading this part as much as i enjoyed writing it. Thank you for reading. Leave a comment if you can.

                               -Constino