Bloodied Hands

Day of Change

Ash.. burning.. Smoke.. This was a common sight now in the Old City, The Zealots War had been won and the priests situated themselves high above all. Gazing down from their golden towers, watching, deliberating on who next should become fuel for the pyres that lay in the city square. Streets that once upon a time were shimmering with silver reflections now charred and blackened by the burning. Alyk had been wandering aimlessly that day, his eyes gazing over the smog tinted glass of his neighbours windows, the soft rotting wood boarding up the local bakery. He had lived here all his days, and he reminisced on what it once was. Song and sound would echo through from the square, there was always something going on. Now... Now it was nothing more than a corner where rotted hearts grew larger by the day, where they were signalled by up high to rally against those who were deemed to be undesirable.

Grey clouds drew overhead, removing any sunlight that once signalled the slightest hope in Alyk's heart. He stopped himself before a puddle, its crimson oozed between the cracks in the cobbles and spread like the petals of a rose. Peering into the reflection of himself he saw his hazel eyes were now darkened, blackened whites with a red iris sneering back at him. Droplets of water began to fall around him and the ripples in the puddle of blood began to distort the image, it showed his hair becoming ragged and flailing around like a burning sack caught in a whip of wind. He brushed back his dark hair that had begun to flop over his eyes, took a deep breath that filled his lungs till burst and exhaled sharply through grimaced teeth.

At the end of the road lay his house, half burnt to the ground as two charred remains lay at the door. The ash clung to their bony fingers as the skeletons held tightly to each other. The sound of clambering coming from within their skulls as cracks began to form on the temple and light shone through.

Alyk gazed deeply into the light and stood silent, then as the light burst forth his ears began to ring with a high pitched ShRiEK. He flung his hands to his head, bolting his ears firmly behind them but the sound continued. Slowly his body felt weaker and weaker as sweat began to form around his neck. Baddump! Baddump! His heart fastened as a pain shot up from his left side. Breath escaped him without warning and his lungs imploded. His nose began to bleed as his body bega-

Alyk shot up, swiftly grabbing his dagger that lay under his pillow. Slicing and cutting the air as if it was a sheet of paper that lay before him. The sweat droplets poured down his body like a monsoon, shortened breath and panting. Slowly his eyes turned to his darkened room and saw his roommate fast asleep. The covers flew back onto themselves as he swung his legs around onto the varnished oak floorboards, a puddle of water forming around his feet with every step. Like a spider he crept slowly to the other side of the room, towards the door. He slipped the door open a notch, just enough for himself to get through and squeezed himself through into the hallway. Candles lit along the entire passage, a red and gold silk rug laid gently in the centre of the hall. His feet yearned for the rug's softness as he crept through the halls.

A few turns saw him come to an open door frame that went into the washroom. His breathing began to steady as he neared a bunch of towels that he quickly flung upon himself to dry off. The sweet scent of pine filled his nostrils as the incense in the room finally burned off, Alyk's eyes closed gently again as he felt his body return to its usual rhythm.

"Nightmares again?" a feminine voice spoke softly from the door. "I've told you time and time again to visit a Memory Weave Alyk... yet you still persist.." the tone became more playful as they got closer. Their breath felt like tiny needles on his neck.

"I'll tell you time and time again, Velika. No." Alyk answered back with a grunt as he felt himself feel the strength in his bones once more.

"Well next time be more quiet please. Some of us are trying to sleep." Velika's voice began to fade further away as she disappeared into the hallway.