From the Ruins

Chapter Two: "So Much More"

Graham Wulfseige: (Character) Gray-hum Wolf-see-j

Teloiv: (City) Tell-O-iv

Tusom: (City/Battle grounds) Too-somm

Image: Tom Hardy as Graham Wulfseige

Chapter Two:

    Commander Graham Wulfseige awoke from the sound of endless battle by a single scream that seemed much louder compared to all the others. He shot up and even in his current state of disarray he reached to grab ahold the sword hanging on the post at the foot of his bed before he rushed out into the hallway.

    He froze at the sight of so much blood and questioned whether or not he had even woken up in the first place. It was still dark outside indicating that it was early morning and the woman who screamed must have been a servant started her daily chores. The old servant woman standing at the end of the hallway at the top of the stairs looking on in fear while clutching onto a pail confirmed his theory.

    A trail of crimson led from every room one of his chosen officers had retreated into bed the night before across the polished floor to the old study that no one had dared to disturb in the last twenty years. The white walls were marked with dragged out handprints that matched the color of the drapes hanging over the large windows on the right side of the hallway.

    His widened eyes followed the trail until they stopped at the opposite end of the hall. The startled servant woman followed his gaze and when she saw the study door she quickly dropped her pail and rushed back down the stairs, pushing through the crowd of lower ranked guards and other servants that had started to grow around her.

    As he approached the door he could tell it was already cracked open but he still had to finish pushing it open to be able to fit inside the room, minding the careless, hand print smeared across the wood. His countrymen laid on their fronts in puddles of their own blood in a line leading to the stain no one had been able to remove before the room was closed off on the intricately woven rug. He took a couple steps into the room before he forced himself to appear unemotional as he saw the ghostly image of a feral looking man with glowing hands and eyes standing over a lifeless body.

    The room had not changed. The locked doors and sealed window that used to offer the best view over the entire city of Toloiv below kept even the single sheet of paper on the beautifully crafted mahogany desk undisturbed. The wooden sword that he played with as a child leaned haphazardly against the book shelf filled with stories he used to wish he was old enough to read.

    He had valuable assets to The King's army dead in his father's house and a vicious killer on the loose, now was not the time for petty flashbacks.

   The Commander drew his attention to the current situation and willed his stomach to remain at bay as he took a closer look for clues on who the killer was. He knew it was meant to be a message to The King.

    Five dead high ranking officers with their wrists and throats slit to produce the large puddles of blood. That was a show of power, most likely from the rebels. The rebels and magic sympathizers had started growing more and more bold ever since the number of captives working in the mines had grown too large leading anyone that batted an eyelash the wrong way at a guard to be sent to work in the strongholds.

    It was also proof that this was a professional, one in a hurry but an expert with the blade nonetheless. He knew of many master assassins that would have been willing to work for a discount price for the rebels, The King was only favored by the those who benefited favoring him and that still was a small list of the extremely rich and high classed. It could have been any of the lesser nobles or a wealthy merchant who decided to turn their back against The King or cared about someone who had been discovered as a magic wielder.

    Upon closer look he could see that the bloody mess on their backs came from it's own wounds and was not just a mindless mess from the puddles surrounding the bodies. There was something carved into each of the men's backs. The jagged letters were carved deeply spelling out a word that shook the Commander and made his knees feel weak. All the terrors he lived through every night flooded his head and he felt it hard to breath.

    Tusom

    All suspects except one were thrown from his mind. The recurring figure in all his dark thoughts. The young girl with solid white hair falling around her tanned skin, her void like eyes and how they glowed, unknowingly promised him eternal pain all those years ago on a bloody battlefield.

    He knew that this was not just a show of power to The King, this was the beginning of something so much more.

    The Commander numbly called for the startled servants waiting outside the room without turning to look at them. He was afraid they would see the worry in his eyes and it would lead to hysteria once they started talking outside of the manor. The staff refused to enter the room as they saw it had nothing to offer but a history of violent death at what appeared to be the hands of heathens.

    "Prepare three horses for two of my guards and I to travel back to Der, The King needs to know about this as soon as possible. And a carriage for later in the week once these fallen warriors have a temporary coffin for them to be transported back home for a proper burial. The remaining guards will travel with the carriage to the capital." The staff quickly jumped to action hoping to distance themselves from the fearful Commander and gory scene.

    The Commander quickly walked back to his room to gather what little he had brought with him. Necessities, never anything more. Armour, weapons, a detailed map of the Esor Islands which he had been tasked with conquering next, a reward from The King for ruthless efforts in reigning in control the mines the last few years.

    It would take more than a week to make it back to the capital from Toloiv on horseback so he needed to leave quickly. The killer had at most a five or six hour head start so she could be almost to the coast or more than halfway to the mountain side.