The Shadows Of Lucidum

A tedious walk home

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The loss of blood was remarkable, making me barely able to put one foot in front of the other, which wasn't made more easy by pulling the animal I had killed. Although anyone else would have shook their head at the sight of my doing, I was too stubborn to let go of what I deserved, even if it meant the death of me. There was one thing I've always been determined about: Those things that ought to be rightfully mine. Even if my sister couldn't exactly be called a thing, she was part of these aforementioned things, for she was the thing most precious to me, had always been. I had almost killed that beloved bear of hers, when, back then, it scratched her and caused the only scar I couldn't ever prevent her from receiving.

I could barely see where I went, for the forest almost resembled a maze. The trees, the dark and the missing noises were what held me captive in these depths of nowhere. My senses were dulled and my reflexes close to none at all. The bloodloss had terribly weakened me. If something would have been to attack me, I would have been defenseless, sure to die.

Every step made me even more tired, but could I afford to fall asleep?

Even if I couldn't go to sleep, I needed a break. My legs and arms had gone numb and my eyesight was blurry. Was that how you felt shortly before dying? I didn't know and I definitely didn't want to. Knowledge about death was restricted to the dead and a small number of shamans. I was neither. At least not for now.

I sat down on a tree trunk and closed my eyes. I tried to listen for any hint of life, but there was nothing except for the wind rustling way above the treetops. I opened my eyes again, but they weren't much of a help. All the colors seemed to have disappeared. My world was but silhouettes of black and grey, a disappointing imitation of what it once used to be. I wasn't sure whether all of it was because of my injury, or the woods took their tribute. It's bad reputation couldn't have simply been made up, for I knew there had been disappearences in here. Fairly a lot of them.

My eyes began to feel heavy. No, I couldn't fall asleep. I had to stand up immediately. The closer I got to the edge of the woods, the safer it would be to faint. If I collapsed right here, I could have signed my last will. Only a few more metres, I begged. There was no such thing as gods above, but the ancient tribes had prayed to something they had called god. Sometimes, people say, their wishes came true if they were desperate enough and offered their whole self to that entity called god. It was worth a try. If not for the power of that entity, it was for keeping my mind busy. So I quietly prayed as I kept walking into the direction I thought I had come from.

At some point I didn't even feel my legs moving anymore, but they did. I really was running on my last portion of energy, but it had to be worth it. Eventually, the forest began to get a little brighter. Not a lot, but it was there. The treetops had finally begun to let some light through. Yet, there still weren't any traces of life. Keep going, I beseeched myself. Just a little furher...

But I couldn't. My legs had ceased moving and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to go even a single step more. At that point, not only had my body given in, but also my mind. There was nothing left I could do. Nothing I could even try to do. The human body was weak. It often stopped working, but once the mind gave up, the soul was sure to be lost, for the mind was what really made humanity what it was. Our free will, the ability to make decisions, our stubbornness, our foolishness. All of it was what made us human. All of it was but both our mind's gift and it's curse.

All I could do was lie on the soft grass, admiring the forest's wickedness. The colors had returned, but I couldn't bring myself to be grateful for it. The flowers and their seemingly never withering beauty mocked me. The trees that'd live for a few more decades, well, even the now returning sound and the birds's merry chirps were mocking me. As I waited to finally pass out and for this torture to end, there finally was a sign of life. However, who now was approaching that broken version of who I once was, was far from a saviour. Heavy footsteps and boisterous laughter destroyed the forest's peace. The torches' light reflected in the gems they were wearing, making the forest light up in every possible color. The group might have seemed harmless to outsiders, but I knew who they were and what those men had already done to the people of my village.

A young man with curly red hair was the first one to spot me. He definitely didn't know me, otherwise he wouldn't have simply stopped and stared at me. If he would have kept going, the group wouldn't have noticed me lying there, hidden behind fern and high grass. A man dressed all in black, only a few gems decorating his shoulders, realized the boy's sudden change of behaviour. "Just what do you think you're doing? Why would you just stand still all of a sudden, boy? Don't you know we have to pass these forest's quickly, before the sun sets?" The boy seemed irritated. "Ye...Yes, but...but look. There's someone. Right over there." The whole group stopped and, unfortunately, started investigating on the boy's statement. If I made it through this alive, that boy better fled for his life. A pity, I thought to myself, for I wasn't the type who'd want revenge, but I rather would have died than be held captive by the people of Inferis, possibly even used as bait for the rest of my tribe, used as bait for my sister.

A tall man, his clothes fully covered in gems, now stood in front of me. As he realized who I was, a loathsome smile began to spread across his scarred face. Most of these scars being caused by me, Ursus, the chief of Inferis, was the last man, I would have wanted to see. My greatest enemy. "Look who decided to keep us company. Koraki of Lucidum. Seems like death has finally found it's way to you. Unfortunately, we can't let that happen just yet, now can we? Although it really is a pity. I guess most of my men would prefer to see us take home your dead body as a trophy, but you're worth a lot more while still alive." I couldn't answer. Even if it would have been the last thing I did, I just wanted to show him my hatred towards him, show him I wouldn't be giving up, but my body was out of my control. Nothing happened as I tried to shout the words trapped deep inside my lungs. 2 men took my arms and dragged me along. A broken vessel on it's ways to become even more broken.

The last thing I heard was a crow cawing high up in the trees. Then, I finally passed out. Couldn't that have happened before?

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