The Eternal War: The Dragon's Valkyrie

The Baptism of Blood

Villagers toppled over their makeshift stands where they sold rusted trinkets and moldy food, scattering their wares as they ran from the terrors that now walked the street. A gloom hung over Edge in the form of ominous storm clouds, and the heavens rumbled in protest as flashes of light streaked through the dismal colored blanket in the sky; however, the coming downpour had not begun. The air was dry and surged with energy as a howling wind swept through the town.

Four men dressed in dark coats strolled up the street. Each brandished an elegant spear in his hand. However, there was a fifth. This man was dressed in tatter rags that barely could be considered clothing, and his neck was bound with a thick rope. He walked in front of the others like their pet while the four taunted and terrorized the poor citizens of Edge, threatening to impale any who mistakenly crossed their path. A white sheen reflected off all their heads even in the dark sky as twisted horns protruded from them—a mark of a true oni—while the fifth did not bear these horns.

True oni are the ones that still follow the path of death as taught in their dark religion devoted to Kayate. An oni's horns are a gift bestowed upon them when they swear fealty to The God of Death while the oni most are accustomed too in the north do not have these horns.

The reason being is that the segregates that chose to join the rest of Tallenhiem and cast away their god also cast their horns from their heads to appear less terrifying to the rest of the inhabitants of Tallenhiem. Any of these false oni that the true oni were able to capture were usually treated worse than the slaves they kept and almost always murdered in the most heinous of ways.

"Where's the boy?" the one leading his pet hissed as he yanked on the rope for the sole purpose of choking the slave.

"A-a-a few more p-p-paces," the pet managed to spit out.

His voice was writhe with fear and anxiety.

"Talik, hold a moment, will you?" the oni to the left of the leader asked.

"What is it now, Morin?" Talik responded impatiently.

"I have a purchase to make," Morin said as his lips menacingly curled.

"Fine, be quick about it. I'll not wait for you to play with them long."

Talik yanked the rope again, jerking the man from his feet. He coughed as all the air was ripped from his lungs by the stone cobbles beneath his bare back.

Morin hurled his spear toward one of the stalls, and a sharp cry streaked through the street. With inhuman speed, Morin was upon the woman he'd pinned by the shoulder, grabbing his spear and twisting it, driving it deeper into the shamble of a wall he'd trapped her too. Blood soaked her threadbare dress as the wound was torn and ripped open more by Morin's twisting. The woman cried in agony as tears relentlessly streamed down her cheeks.

"You've been a naughty bitch, haven't you?" Morin sneered, smiling at the tormented woman.

"I don't... know what yer... sayin," the woman struggled to say through her sobs and pain.

"You came into our realm and stole them, didn't you!" Morin shouted as flecks of saliva plaster the woman's face.

He pointed to a peculiar item that rested on her makeshift stall of crumbling wooden planks. On a small, crooked shelf, sat a cabbage; however, instead of the cabbage being green and leafy, this one looked like it was made of raw red meat and had purple veins that pulsated through its leaves.

It was known as a blood cabbage and was considered an onian delicacy. The flesh colored leaves held the same texture as any other cabbage, but the venous membrane that wove itself through the plant were filled with a thick, bloodlike juice. The juice was rich and savory but held a strong hint of iron much like blood.