Magic: the Gathering - The Tale of Reiri

Renewal: Trapped

I didn't last long.

Gild, who was experienced (surprisingly) with the sword, and possibly even attacking Kor, quickly caught my rope, cutting it in two. He then ran at me, tacking me and pinning me to the ground. He considered for just a moment, then smashed my forehead with the pommel of his sword. Luckily, it was flat, but it certainly was concussed. However- I wasn't unconscious. Miraculous. I played "dead", fooling Gild, who cursed under his breath, got up, and ran from the spot.

I waited for what seemed like hours, even though it was but a couple of minutes, then got up slowly, feeling my head. It hurt, but was not as bad as I expected- I could probably steal something. Heh. I surveyed the area, looking for signs of Gild, and found faint tracks leading near... Eldrazi-infested area. This wasn't interesting anymore, it was something else. What could he want?

     I started down the trail, looking for him, which led me, finally, towards a clearing in the mountains, a crater. Gild was sitting there, studying the scroll he had stolen. There was a fire next  to him, and he seemed to be occupied by the scrolls, so I creeped around the edge of the crater, trying to get a better angle from which to ambush. I still had a half of my hookset, and one hook- I could probably stop him in his tracks. I started, slowly but surely, going down the crater, creeping towards Gild, who was seemingly unaware of me, contemplating and frowning at the scroll.

When I was three meters away from him, I checked my hook, then moved a step closer- A sound that would be normally subtle rang as clear as a bell, one single footstep. I swung my hook, going to awards the head, not caring whether Gild was dead. He turned the second I swung, ducking quickly, then reaching for his machete. I used the momentum of my last swing to go into another, viciously swiping at him. He was caught off guard, not expecting this much resistance, and started backing away, trying to deflect the blows I performed.

I continued my assault, moving toward, pushing him away. I could see in his eyes he was looking for an opening, but could not find one. Several seconds passed, Gild continuing his defense, when he suddenly jerked backwards, dodging my swing, and running forwards, sword in hand, trying to impale me. I sidestepped, bringing my hook backwards towards me, hitting him. As I did this, he sidestepped, and my hook caught on the edge of his sword, bringing it to me. I smiled. "You going to run?" I said. Gild followed my advice, escaping.

I walked over the the scroll, picking it up, and looked it over- though a wall of text, I could make out some things, including a section named "The nature of the Eldrazi. I, cradled in this crater, decided to read.

The Eldrazi are creatures from inbetween worlds, inbetween dimensions.

...?

There are three recorded Eldrazi- Ulamog, Kozilek, and Emrakul. These three are incredibly powerful beasts, wielding hordes of lesser spawn at their fingertips, yet also do not project their full power onto any given plane- they are sticking their hand in, grabbing "food", and destroying the plane in the process.

The scroll continues on like this, talking about analogies and other comparisons of the Eldrazi, their nature, etc, when something very important catches my eye:

Hedrons, large floating structures, are speculated as repellents to these beasts- if lined in a certain way, they can draw on the energy of the world, trapping and pinning the Eldrazi. This is one of the only known solutions to "defeating" these monstrosities, as they are otherwise difficult to stop (see figure 3).

Had I just found the solution to the war? What was Gild trying to do with this scroll, hide it? I had a cyclone of emotions swirling throughout my head, questions, anger, everything. All of this simply brought back mo-

"I don't care what Kalitas said. He isn't even himself anymore- you know that as well as I do."

-I needed a place to hide, quick. I was in the center of the crater, where the shadows would not hide me, and needed a nook or cranny to hide in. I scanned the area, quickly seeing a boulder good enough to hide away from the direction of the sound. Carefully as I could, I creeped over to the boulder, hiding behind it, then listened in.

"I don't know about you, but when faced with getting torn from the world itself or getting enthralled by a beast that burrows within your head, I'd rather follow orders." Said a voice in a low tone, accompanied by two sets of footsteps.

Another voice, more angry, replied: "The sacrifices aren't enough, nor is the work. The Eldrazi know we are more useful enthralled. You look at the situation in an idiotic perspective. We won't be here long unless we show the Eldrazi we are useful conscious."

I heard their conversation trail off as the walked away from the crater, realizing that before I was to decide what to do, I had to survive. I was in a dangerous place, and I was accompanied by even more dangerous things, whatever they were. I could figure out what I had to do later. For now, survival was key.