Blighted Edge

Chapter 1. A Demon in the Making

Vivex would relive memories of his past and narrate them to Riel. Starting at the very first point of his story is when he was conscripted to be a part of a kingdom's army.

He spoke to her about how the walls were tall, but they surely wouldn't stop the siege machines or anything else. Mages, explosives, battering rams. In terms of power, his nation was a strong one, but it was a rival to a great threat who wanted to seize their land and power for itself.
"Diplomacy was never an option-" he spoke to her and continued.

"I was young, strong, and durable. However, I was not going to the front line of our war. You have heard of the Beyond, haven't you?" He questioned, and looked at the young woman.

"Oh, yeah! I heard of it from my grandmother. She told me it is a dark and twisted place, where anything is possible, but she also spoke that no one truly travels there, because of its dangers" she replied, gleefully. He nodded to her answer.

"Your grandmother was knowledgeable. Not many know of the Beyond, in this day and age. Because it is not so easily found- there are many rumors about it, and much of it still is that. A rumor-" he spoke before taking a breath. "I surpassed a lot of what was expected of me, and I had...many problems back then. But with my rising of power, our king noted me along with a few others for something greater. We were to be the tools of war that would conquer anything in his path-"

"And how was that supposed to happen? Doesn't seem like you could do much alone, let alone a few others" she interrupted. He looked at her for a while, and you could almost see a disgusted face under his helmet with barely any light leaking through.

"I was...getting there. Glad you are listening" he sighed, almost angrily. "My king heard rumors so grand that he plotted to use them, without knowing if they had any truth to them or not. The mages researched day in and out, stroking some luck upon an ancient book- the problem from there was to decipher it. It was always strange to look at. The words wouldn't fully make sense, sure you could read some bits of it, but the rest was..." he spoke and slowly reached behind himself to grasp the book he just mentioned. He unwrapped it from the leather straps and slowly handed it over to her.

It was stained, torn, and dusty. Gross was also a term that could be used as the book had a red cover, and flipping to the pages would be as he said. Words that looked legible, and then letters that made no sense, then something caught her eye.

"Your name, it was spelled out of these symbols!" She declared and held it up. Slowly, he nodded. "Then...is Vivex your real name?" She questioned, looking at him as she closed the book and would hand it back to him. His cold, metal gauntlet reached out and the sharp fingertips would grasp lightly to the book, to put it back. He shook his head.

"Don't remember my real name- Vivex was what I gave myself after the woman who wrote that book-"

"You have a woman's name?" She cut him off. He pondered for a moment, and then looked at her.

"The book is weird, and I still can't decipher much of it. The writer, however- was from what I can tell, female. There is mention of others within it, but I just know whoever wrote the book, their name was Vivex. They are supposedly long dead, but there is a lot to the story that you would be questioning. So- stop. And listen" he spoke and she nodded leaning in. "These mages found this book in the grand library. Showing it to the king, they were theorizing by small assortments of text that there was a way to the Beyond. There was at one time...a place where corruption would spread through our world. But anyone who found themselves nearby would...end up missing. In pieces usually. So this corruption that changed much, had to have some opening. Turns out, there was. The mages deciphered some of the languages, but a lot was a mystery. There was a way inside and from there a large group was sent to travel there. I was included, along with some friends. We traveled by horse, by foot, boat, and carriage. It was a long journey" he stopped to take a breath, looking around as time had passed faster than he expected. The sun slowly started to light up the sky, and he turned to Riel who was starting to drift off.