Pillars of the Angels: Sword of Blood

1: Dust

Dusk was beginning as Jace and G’ensi entered the ruined town. The blood-red light of the setting sun gave the broken, leaning buildings an eerie look. Fallen bricks littered the streets, and scorch marks radiated out from what Jace assumed was the town center. He kicked a brick out of his way, and immediately regretted it.

“So, G’ensi,” Jace said through clenched teeth, “what happened here?” G’ensi looked around, but continued walking. He adjusted the jacket, pulling up the collar, as if suddenly chill. Jace didn’t understand why, but G’ensi said that changes in the magical atmosphere affect each spellcaster different, and for him, it made him colder. Jace believed that that was just an excuse, and G’ensi has spent too much time in front of a forge.

“I don’t know,’ G’ensi responded, “but whatever happened, it was quick. There’s no  trace of anyone leaving the area...oh my...” They both stopped suddenly. They had just walked into the town center, and directly in front of them was a scarlet red symbol, shaped as an eclipse. The scorch marks began right outside the symbol’s edge.

“Whatever caused this, it began right here,” G’ensi said, kneeling at the edge of the eclipse. Jace walked into the center of it, and noticed that the moon part of the eclipse wasn’t solid red. It was a complex tie of several different lines, so intricate, it seemed solid. G’ensi looked up in shock. “Jace! In the Angels’ name, what are you doing?!” Jace spun around, worried that he had missed somthing living.

“What? I’m not doing anything wrong!”

“This symbol was created with necriphy. If you mess up the wrong line, this entire town could turn into a 10 ki wide crater! I don’t know about you but I like being in one piece. Oh, and living.” Jace slowly began to step back, making sure not to touch any part of the eclipse. As he stepped out  the crash of a stone falling echoed throughout the town. He spun around quickly, eyes searching behind him. Nothing was out of place, yet stones don’t just fall...who was he kidding? The eclipse symbol has made him paranoid. There isn’t anything strange about stones falling in half-destroyed buildings. Dumb nerves,  he thought. They do nothing but get in the way!

He turned back, and walked over to G’ensi, who was right in the middle of some ritual. Symbols were floating off of him in various shades. As time went on, the symbols became more monochromatic, which meant something Jace didn’t understand. Then, suddenly, the eclipse lifted off the ground, and turned into scarlet smoke. G’ensi stood up and sighed.

“Return, lifeblood, to where you should have gone,” he said, wiping his brow. As the last of the smoke dissipated, the town took on a different tone, less sinister and more sadness and mourning. The shadows lightened and Jace felt his paranoia disappear. Now all he felt was tired. He ran his hand through his black hair, and looked around.

“So, G’ensi,” he asked, “what do we do now? It’s not like we can ignore this event.” G’ensi nodded, and turned to the south, where the sun was setting. Another oddity created by the Guildclash, among other things. His shoulders slumped, as if disappointment filled him.

“We make camp,” G’ensi replied, turning to the town center, “and what better place than here? It’s already sheltered.’ Jace looked at G’ensi in shock. Make camp here? Of all places, G’ensi had to choose the place which had been, just very recently, inscribed with a lifeblood eclipse, a symbol of evil. Jace wasn’t very superstitious, but this seemed like a very bad omen to him. Jace just shook his head. G’ensi took this as a sign of approval, and waved his hand in front of himself. A fire, blazing green, appeared, and he smiled.

“I’m going to go grab Snowbright,” Jace said, said moving to the east, where they entered the town. G’ensi nodded his head and set his pack down onto the ground.

“Alright, just be careful,” Gensi pulled out a collapsible cooking pot and began to put some dry herbs into the pot. Although G’ensi was technically a magsmith, he had experimented with cooking, and created some very...interesting camping stews. They weren’t bad, but they always had the strange aftertaste of either iron or electricity. Jace sighed at the thought.

He walked to the very edge of the town, where a bright white horse was tied to a post. It shook its head as Jace approached. Jace smiled. Snowbright was one of the only ties he had left to his parents. He rubbed Snowbright’s mane, and looked to the the sun.

“Son,” the tall man said to Jace. Jace looked up at the man.

“Yes, father,” he replied, setting down the wooden sword. His father motioned for Jace to follow, which he did. “What do you need?” His father looked down, and smiled. Silently, he walked on. They wrapped around the house, where a new stable was built, sawdust fresh. JAce looked at him questionably.

“Every knight needs a steed,” he said, rubbing Jace’s black hair. “I think you might need one.” Comprehension dawned on Jace’s face. He smiled wide, and ran to the stable. Throwing the door open wide, he looked inside. There in the dust was a pure white foal, one Jace had never seen before. His father stood behind him. “It’s name is Snowbright. Treat him well.”

CRASH!

Jace jumped at the sound of a stone falling to the ground. He wiped the tear off of his cheek, and looked around. There seemed to be nothing different around him, and he turned back to Snow bright. As he untied his horse, a shadow crossed his vision. He looked up quickly, but no one was there. Calm down, Jace, he thought. There is nothing there. You’re just slightly paranoid.

He finished untying Snowbright, and led him to the town center. G’ensi was right where Jace had left him, still working on his stew. He re-tied Snowbright, giving him enough slack to move in a general circle. Surprisingly, the stew smelled good, but Jace wasn’t about to tell G’ensi that. G’ensi gets lucky occasionally, but his cooking needs a lot of of work. A lot of it. Jace sat down to wait.

G’ensi rubbed his eyes, sleep encroaching his vision. It was about midnight, and Jace was fast asleep. Why do I always choose the latest watch, he thought, yawning. Jace has gotten enough sleep for both of us! He stood up, intending to wake Jace up for his watch. At that moment, a crash sounded throughout the town, louder than anything Jace must’ve heard. Instantly G’ensi was alert, looking at the farthest reaches of the fire.

“Hello,” he called, walking out to the edge of the firelight, “Is anyone there?” When nobody replied, he nodded. “Alright then. Ignis sphrea!” A small sphere of fire appeared in G’ensi’s hand, and he walked out into the darkness. He checked the nearest building, but found nothing. Just as he was about to go back to the fire, the night got suddenly darker. His fireball extinguished, and it seemed like the moon itself had disappeared.

He scrambled backwards, and ran back to the fire, the only point of light. As he came back into the ring of light, the night lightened up, and everything returned to normal. He began to calm his breathing, and looked out into the night. There was nothing out there but the ruined town. Yet, G’ensi couldn’t help feel a bit paranoid. As soon as his watch was done, he woke up, Jace and laid down near the fire. He didn’t sleep that night.