Blighted Edge

Chapter 3. Soldier

Rays of light would shine down over the body of Riel. Sleeping soundly throughout the night and into the morning. Her eyes squint open, grumbling. She raises her hand to her face, blocking out the sunlight and she sits up slowly.

"What- time is it?" A yawn came from her, and she looked around to see that two stumps sat around a fire that had burnt through the night. Smoke now flowed through the air and through the winds which blew around softly. Vivex however wasn't to be seen. Riel glanced around, unsure of exactly where he was. Looking around even more proved to be fruitless as in all directions was wide open and nothing to be seen except wide open plains stretching across the land. Riel got up and brushed her dress off from the grass which remained and possible dust. Though- another thing was off now that she figured it out. She felt weightless, and then numb. She felt many things, glancing up at the sun it wouldn't burn her eyes as it had previously. She gazed at it with no side effects. Turning to the fire- the smoke now stood still in the middle of the air. For the longest time now everything was still.

"What- is this?" She questioned going up to the fire which had now been frozen seamlessly in time. Gazing deeply at it- she then turned swiftly to notice she was back at her old house. Her grandfather swayed in his chair, softly.

"Little Riea, look at you!" His tone was that of an old man, a slight croak within it and deep. The house had wooden floors and a stone fireplace, pelts decorated the room and he sat there with white hair, a white beard, and a smoking pipe in his mouth. Dressed mildly dapper, his pale hands quivered as he reached out softly. She leaned forward her feet carrying her though there was one problem.

"You aren't real-" she spoke and stood there in front of him. Her hands clasped his, and a scared look on her face as she felt his hands as real as she could. The feeling was gone, but the pressure exerted or rather the space taken up by his hand was very much there. A smile overcame him, and he leaned in softly.

"Riel- I wish I had done more for you- I'm sorry..." his tone slowly turned into a low one, looking down at his feet.

"Grandfather- you did plenty for me, but...why are you here?" She questioned. As happy as she was to see him, she knew it wasn't the truth. There was nothing natural about this or him.

"You are in danger, you're under the effects of magic. In a deep sleep- your friend is there trying to save you, sit down he is nearly finished" she watched and then started to seat herself slowly.

"Do you know why this is happening?" She questioned for a moment and though he turned to her he shook his head.

"Your friend seems to know, but I was just your grandfather. I wasn't an adventurer or any magic man young one. I do know this though..." he paused for a minute. "Your journey will be a tough one, but you will brave it. I foresee an event in your life where you will have to make a choice. A tough one, be it for your gain or another's. There is no bad decision amongst this, but it is for you to decide the fa-" in an instant, the world tore apart.

He waved after this moment, and she felt as if she was ripped from the dream.

"GRANDPA!" She bellowed out awakening. The sun was higher in the sky than she thought, and standing up as fast as she could she would see a horrific scene.

It was about 15 minutes before Vivex sat down waiting for Riel to wake up on her own. He slowly put the fire out letting the smoke make its way upward, and he sighed to himself. The man looked at the girl for the longest time- wondering many things to himself. The armor he wore rattled quietly with his soft motions.

In an instant he felt something strange, something was buzzing in his head. The whines of insects wrapped all around him and it felt maddening almost to sit there. He stood up, trying to block out the sound as he felt a distortion around. "Mage-" he mutters and pulls out the ax. Runes adorned the edge of the large one-handed ax. The handle had seen better days- from the years of wear.