Of Darkness And Vengeance

One

I run through the streets of Snowbrooke, my shoes slapping the cobblestones. Pain shoots through my leg with each step, causing me to slow down. "Get back here murderer!" The captain of the Snowfrost Knights calls after me, his long legs eating the distance between us.

I could hardly believe the events that took place only moments ago. The house was a wreck, blood covering the walls, her father's lifeless corpse, and the blade still coated with his blood clutched tightly in my palm. A blade engraved with the family crest, a frost lion, and two curved blades.

Tears threatened to fall, but I held them back. I would not cry until I had the heart of my father's true murder in my hands. As I make my way down Wilted Road, I shove the bloody blade into one of the empty sheaths at my side. I have to get to the burrow. I thought, my mind racing. I had to tell Lora what happened.

Lora Evergreen has been my best friend since childhood. Her parents are blacksmiths who made countless weapons for the guild and the empire.
Although Lora's passion was to open a greenhouse to cultivate medical herbs and medicines. Her parents wanted her to follow in their footsteps and become a blacksmith.

"Fuck!" I cursed, the shallow blade wound seemed to be infected, usually, I'm good with taking care of my wounds as I've done so many times in the past. I limped into a nearby alley and inspected the cut. "Shit! Blade must've been poisoned." I mutter through gritted teeth.

Black and red blood poured from the open wound, and the sickly sweet smell of poison wafted past my nose, Death Root. That's the only poison that had a sweet smell to it. "I have to get to Lora's. She's the only medical healer I know.

I stand on shaking legs, careful not to put any weight on my leg. Taking tentative steps, I slowly crept from my haven in the alley. The pain was almost unbearable. Thanks to the 18 years of brutal training I endured, the poison didn't affect me as quickly as it should've. As I slowly made my way to Lora's house, the events that took place prior to now raced through my mind.

The dagger covered in blood, the mysterious figure standing over my father's lifeless corpse. The dark gleam in their eyes and the speed in which they attacked. It wasn't like anything I'd seen before. I barely escaped with my life. This leg wound the only sign, Lora's house was almost as big as the guild hall, heat, and the sound of hammers on anvils, the only telltale sign.

The building was at least 50 feet tall with an A-frame roof, and smoke rose in dark clouds from the stone chimney at the center of the roof. I banged on the door, my vision slowly becoming hazy and disfigured. I was on the verge of collapse at this point it was only a matter of time.

It was late afternoon, so all the blacksmiths who worked with Lora's family were busy crafting items and weapons. "Honey, could you get the door for me, I have to place this gemstone in this sword!" A deep, warm voice bellowed through the door. "Right away, Father!" A soft stern voice called back.

Lora! When she opened the door, several emotions played across her face, shock, worry sadness, and another I couldn't place. "Jess?" Was all I heard before I collapsed into the void of my consciousness.