Three parts to go. To the Side, Tiana in my mind :)
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Smoke and burning flesh, those were the two things that made Tiana’s nose wrinkle.
- Remind me again why we are here? The woman beside her asked in a bored tone.
- You are free to leave at any moment Zena; I am not holding you hostage.
The other woman snorted and guided the animal she was riding to move forward. They had arrived long after the sun had set, but Tiana wondered if it would have made any difference had she arrived sooner. Doubt it, she thought to herself. They advanced slowly towards the now destroyed gates of a city that once held the title of jewel. She looked up into the sky, but the air was so full of the black smoke coming from the city, that not even a small portion of the starry realm could be seen. Every building that ran along the street was either on fire or already crumbled into a pile of ash and dirt. Maimed bodies were scattered all over the streets and even the darkest corners were filled with spilled blood. The sight made her sick to her stomach, if the stench had not been enough.
It was happening again, only this time it was even worse than before. With every generation this world was becoming even more ruthless. It was as if they were so bloodthirsty and power hungry that they couldn’t contain their urges. They send hundreds if not thousands of souls to fight each other for a patch of land that could not belong to them more than the air could be contained. It never seemed to occur to them that the power they so desperately craved was merely a momentary illusion of control. Tiana spotted a severed hand among the piled up corpses that could only belong to an infant and felt her bile rise in her throat as a small sob escaped her.
The sound of metal clashing caught her attention and she turned to look for Zena, who surprisingly enough seemed to be feeling a bit sick and had a horrified expression on her usually bored face. She was one of the very few Murihai left alive. They were creatures that valued reason beyond anything else, to the point were they were considered cruel and heartless by those that did not understand them. Their dark skin and blood red eyes were a dead giveaway and the cause of some trouble since they were generally not very well liked. Tiana saw her as a dear friend but her healing abilities were not to be overseen either. At the moment it seemed that the murihai's reasoning was not of much use considering the aftermath of the carnage that had past through this city.
- Do you hear that? Tiana asked her companion.
Zena looked up at her confused then strained her ears to search for the sound. She blinked shortly after and nodded.
- It’s coming from the town center.
Tiana nodded and steered her own animal to follow that direction, Zena right behind her.
- You sure you don’t want to just turn around and leave this place? It could be more trouble than you are ready for, Zena asked quietly.
Tiana shrugged making the other woman roll her eyes, but neither stopped or spoke any further until they reached a set of large wooden gates that lead to the house of the Shaisa - the nobleman overseeing the city. Now that they were closer it became rather obvious that the sounds was originating from behind the gates and that more than just two people were actively fighting. This gave the women hope that there could be some survivors locked inside. They dismounted and Zena searched for a way in while Tiana placed a hand on the door, focusing her mind on what was beyond it. She cringed and let out a short cry, the pit of her stomach turning painfully as everything went momentarily black. Zena was beside her in a flash.
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A Dragon's Curse
Fantasy- I can’t decide whether I liked the old days more than the present, he said sounding as if he was speaking mostly to himself. This time the hooded man turned to look at him, most of his face covered by the dark material, his head titling sl...
