Witch

Sweet Dreams

I gazed out over the smoldering remains of the battle. Carnage lay all around me. The scavengers were already circling. Moans, cries and screams filled the air. As I made my way through the aftermath many cringed away from me or outright screamed. Not suprising. For millennia I had chosen the visage of death. My once short cloak now reached the ground. I had enchanted it so that my face was swallowed whole by the darkness. Mortal men often speak of me in tales they tell there children to make them sleep. They say that I am but a skeleton under the cloak. I reap souls with a wicked scythe and am only visible to those close to death. Not wanting to disappoint I cast the illusion that make my hands skeletal.

A particularly loud scream rips me out of my musings. I look down to my left. Lying there in the muck is a boy no older that 15 winters. He is clutching his stomach. Blood seeps through at a steady pace. The boy looks up at me with glassy eyes. I know he is not long for the world. But it would be a long and painful journey, he would lie there for hours in agonizing pain before death, the real death, took him. I might have forsaken my own kind but I have always tried to help the mortals where I can.

Kneeling down I place a skeletal hand on his shoulder. He whimpers and tries to cringe away. I remove the enchantment on the hood so he can look into my eyes. His eyes focus for a second then widen.

"Help me." He cries weakly. I take another look at his injuries. Healing magic has magic has never been my string point. I can heal minor cuts and injures but this for me is nearly impossible. His stomach has been slashed horizontally and there are multiple stab wounds as well.

"Im sorry I cannot help you. There is only one thing I can do for you, and that is make it swift and painless." I answers with a grave tone.

"Please." He begs. Tears flow from his eyes and mix with the blood and dust on his face. I nod at his request.
I silently cast an everlasting sleep spell. It will ensure he never wakes up and passes painlessly in his sleep. His eyes flutter closed and he falls into the spell with a smile of peace on his face.

I rise from my kneeling position and continue on my path. Along the way I stop and give the same gift to many others who are close to death. It is all that I can do to help. I finally see my destination. At the top of the hill stands a lone figure. The sun glints off his armor. I trudge up the hill. The figure turns to me once I reach his side.

"I knew you would come, Death." He acknowledges me with a sneer. "After all you are the harbinger of destruction."

"This destruction and death is all on you. I had no part in it." I reply with ice in my voice.

"You and I both know that the shadows also had a hand in this carnage. More and more hordes come through daily." He retorts with a sigh. He turns back to look out over the field.

" I warned you all millennia ago that more and more would come. But none of you listened, now it is just you and I." I calmly remind him. My mind travels back to that night oh so long ago. After that encounter I rarely ever spoke to my brothers and sisters. As time passed they began to realize that I had been right and tried to help. But it was useless they had quickly been subdued, their magic was no match for the shadows. One by one they had fallen until now it was only me and one other left.

I hear a grunt from the figure. I look over and finally see the dark stain spreading across his armor. He has been pierced by a shadow blade. Now the darkness will spread and either kill him or turn him into a shadow. Figures the fates would leave me by myself.

"No its just gonna be you now." He hisses with pain. "I thought I could contain the darkness but after 200 years it will finally consume me."

"Cant say I'll miss you. A thousand years of solitude tends to make one jaded." My response comes out with a slight laugh.

"We never wanted to exile you, we were drunk on power playing god. I personally regret my part in that descision. Thats why I want to give you this." With that he brings out a very large tome. He looks at it sadly. Looking up from the book to me he continues with sorrow in his voice. "This is all of the spells each of our brothers and sisters knew and their power to cast them. After the shadows really started come through we decided that if any of us were to die our gifts would go into this tome to give to you so that it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. It is the collective knowledge of our people." He stretches out the hand with the tome and places it in mine. "Take good care of it, and please watch over this world."

I run my hands over the cover and feel the power coursing through its pages. I know that no matter what I have said I shall indeed miss them all. I forgave them all years ago. I make up my mind to give a last gift to him as he has bestowed this one upon me.

"A gift for a gift." I suggest pointing to the dark stain. "A spell of everlasting sleep so that you die an honorable death."

"If you would be so kind. I wish to die as myself and rejoin our brethren in the afterlife." He requests.

I cast the spell as I have countless times. His eyes softly closing then his life force flickering out. The tome glows with the new addition of power. It soothes me to know I have at least a piece of them with me always.

"May all your dreams be sweet, say hello to everyone for me. Tell them their gift shall be used well and not to worry about their children." I whisper

As I start to walk away I hum a lullaby and cast another spell to turn my fallen brother into an oak tree. Those were his favorite part of the mortal world.

The sun is setting by the time I finish with the rest of those dying on the battlefield.Walking into the sunset the last chords of the lullaby can be heard even after night has fallen. I am alone now.