Oblvion fic

I

As he ran from the pursuing mob of city guards, the mysterious man cloaked in a dark velvet green glanced over his shoulder. Even as much of a headstart and advantage as he had, they weren't far behind, shouting and brandishing torches that burned violently and sparked into the nighttime air. They would have him cornered soon. The lake outside Cheydinhal's eastern gates was fast approaching.

"Overe here!" They shouted, curses and grunts as their encroaching light slinked its way ever near his boots, "It's headed for the lake! Quickly!"

The man stopped running, his lithe form swathed in the shadow of his cloak seemed almost like a wraith. His eyes shaded by the hood, he frowned softly as he watched them inch closer.

He looked ahead of him, the black waters of the lake almost whispering and ominous in the chilled air. Their shouts were louder now.

Weighing his options, with a quick look back at his pursuers, he bolted forward towards the icy waters and straight for the water's edge.

With almost inhuman strength, he lept, casting himself into the air, limbs grasping for any bit of extra distance he could muster. He could hear the mob behind him, angry and dumbfounded as they finally approached the riverbank.

He landed near the other side of the chasm, not quite making it completely as he fell with a loud splash in the frigid water, stumbling as his body sunk only halfway before his feet clumsily found purchase on the murky bottom. He fumbled out again, digging his leather boot-heels into the mud to push himself haphazardly onto dry land.

"We'll find you, monster! You won't get away with this!" The guard's voices echoed across the surface, but the man pushed onwards and out of the lake. His cloak was soaked, slapping heavily aganst the backs of his legs as he looked back towards them, allowing himself a moment of rest. He couldn't feel the pain, but his legs ached, his joints frozen and brittle and it was getting harder to move. He needed to press on.

With one final glance at the outwitted townsmen, he turned to head down the hill that sloped into the forest from outside the city. He tried to step carefully down the steep incline, but he was exhausted and his footing wouldn't hold.

Overworked muscles collapsed and he tripped, tumbling down the summit of the hill and into a thick pile of lowland brush. He landed on his back and couldn't bring himself to move. Abused lungs heaved heavily as they sent thick clouds of vapor bellowing out from blue lips. Long moments passed before the adrenaline finally abandoned his body, leaving him empty and cold like the surrounding forest. He started to shiver, his wet cloak doing nothing to shield him from the wind as it too slowly began to freeze. With a quiet sigh, the man glanced up into the cloudy purple sky, the faintest rays of sunlight finally coming over the horizon.

He chuckled wryly at himself as he closed his already half lidded eyes, thick snowflakes coming suddenly down upon him and gently covering his gaunt features. He did not move, but rather allowed the snow to consume him; he let it engulf his entire being as a snowstorm lazily crawled over the city. His breathing slowed as he came down from his high, the blood from the now deceased maiden settling into his own veins. The feeling of being alive to quickly beganto fade as vitality left him once again.

And as if he never had, his lungs ceased to breathe and his heart stopped beating as the vampire slipped into slumber.

---

A thick blanket of snow covered the city of Cheydinhal. The stones of the Nibenese city were obscured by a sloshy soup of ice, mud, and horse manure that was constantly being stepped over or shoved to the sides of cobbled streets. As the city began to slowly wind down and the merchants began to lock their doors, the dreariness from the winter season began to seep back in. Despite the lack of civilians roaming outside the comfort of their warm homes, the city still held a similar gleam as it did in the spring, but had a cold bite and slushy streets to remind anyone who would forget that it was indeed still Morning Star.