Through the 12 Realms

Chapter 12: Desolation

As Dagothur came up on the hill that overlooked the camp, his face turned as pale as paper from the sight before him.

"Impossible..." He said under his own breath.

Before his eyes lay burning crimson flames that engulfed all his camp, with bodies of the knights he so proudly treasured laying underneath the encompassing fire.

The crimson flames burnt away the surrounding landscape, the bushes, the trees and the evergreen grass, but more than that it burnt away the souls of valiant men.

"Anyone...Someone be alive!" Dagothur said loudly as he made his way around the hill he stood on, towards the camp.

As Dagothur approached the camp he scanned the surroundings with his eyes, attempting to locate even one survivor, but to his dismay, there was naught. He heard no screams, no movement, all he could hear was the crackling of fire into the wind as it devoured his men.

After a few minutes of searching, Dagothur concluded that there were no men to be found, no survivors to speak off. As this fact came to pass in this his mind, he fell to the ground and slammed his fist down in rage.

"Goddamnit!" He shouted into the fiery wind in anger, raising his hand that just slammed the ground to his head.

The force of his slam was so powerful it left multiple branches of cracks in the very earth beneath the impact site.

"I'm sorry...I wasn't even there to lead you guys..." Dagothur sobbed in near silence to himself, outraged at himself for being so late, for not being there for his men.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something, something humanoid. It was amongst the bushes just before the entrance to the camp, the bushes were untouched by the hellish fire that had engulfed all his men. He quickly wiped away the few tears that he shed, resolved himself and cautiously approached the humanoid figure. As he approached, he noticed that it was of similar colour to the armour the knights were wearing. Upon seeing this, his heart had a small spark of hope that ignited his optimism, approaching faster and faster, disregarding his own safety for the hope that this was a knight still breathing.

As he arrived at the destination of the humanoid figure, he couldn't help but smile upon finding that it was indeed one of his knights. He jumped over the bushes and quickly knelt down beside the man, checking for any injuries and his pulse. After confirming that his heart was indeed beating and he was breathing. Dagothur let out a sigh of relief, that at least one of his men survived, and seemingly in perfect condition.

The man had light brown hair that reflected the light of the sun ever so slightly, giving it a shiny aesthetic. His eyes were that of a deep brown that reflected all that looked into it. He had a muscular, lean build as if he had been training for years and years on end.

Dagothur then mounted the man on his shoulder and began to transport him to the hill he was previously on, that resided over the camp. He carefully leant him against a large rock protruding from the earth and kept a watch for any more survivors atop the cliff. Dagothur came to the conclusion that they would need horses, to this he turned around to take a look at the young man he just pulled from the bushes.

"Just a few minutes...you'll be fine," Dagothur said to reassure himself.

Satisfied, he turned back around and once more his body was outlined with a thick crimson outline. However, it was different, it was thicker, not only that his hair had begun to turn to a crimson shade, it was faint but his brown hair had gotten lighter until it resembled a very weak and faint crimson red. After a few moments, he bent his legs as if preparing to jump and leapt down the hill into the fiery camp in order to find the stables for the horses.

As he dove into the fiery camp, he spotted the stables on the opposite side of the entrance to the camp. In a moments notice, he had already arrived at the stables, leaving only a small imprint of his boots into the earth he previously stood on, at the entrance to the camp.

The stables were already engulfed in the fire, and the horses let out beforehand. However, there lay one stable untouched for a few minutes that housed a singular horse. He once again was there in a moments notice, opening the gate of the stable and guiding the horse out.

"Quickly, we have to get moving." Dagothur said to the horse as if conversing with it.

As the horse walked out cautiously due to the fire, Dagothur noticed that he would not be able to ride it out of the entrance. As it was engulfed with flames, thus rendering it impossible for the horse to run through.

Thoughts raced through Dagothur's mind as he contemplated how to return with the horse, in a moment Dagothur knew.

Dagothur bent down, grabbed the horse around his stomach and back, and bent his legs as he prepared to jump.

Once more, he leapt up to the top of the hill overlooking the camp, with the horse wrapped in his arms. Leaving a large crater in the camp where he previously stood, sporting a diameter of 3 meters, the crater looked as if a large boulder had just fallen on it.

Dagothur arrived safely on top of the hill with the horse, and after a few moments released his hold on it to allow it to walk around. After this, his hair returned to its normal state, and the crimson outline on his body began to dissipate.

Dagothur looked towards the knight he placed next to the rock for a moment, and upon seeing his move barely an inch, he was satisfied.

"Still as I left you, perfect," Dagothur said to himself as he smiled on the thought of his knight still being safe.

Suddenly, he heard a small crackling zap to his right, as if there was faint lightning. As he turned to his right to see what was emanating that sound, he found that there was a small black circle that hung one meter above the ground. It hung onto nothing as it levitated in the air, perfectly still, then after a moment, it started to expand rapidly, forming a large black circle that made contact with the ground in a moments notice.

It was now a large pitch-black circle that had a diameter of 2 meters as it merged with the ground, forming a pitch-black gate, although it was filled in the middle.

"W-what..." Dagothur mumbled under his breath, locking his eyes on the newly formed black gate.

After a few seconds, a person came through, they had beautiful golden hair, that looked as if it was the sun incarnate, beautifully outshining it wherever it appeared. Their eyes mirrored their hair with a deep golden hue that looked as if it could see through all the lies of mortal life and separate them from the truths of the world. It coupled with a piercing gaze that would captivate any who look into them. They wore a white tunic with a deep pink skirt, the clothes looked as if they were made by the finest tailor.

Dagothur locked eyes with the person who had just appeared out of the gate, and after a moment the silence between the two was broken by the newly appeared person.

"Oh...and...who are you...?"