Rain poured off the tip of his sword, when the lightning flashed the world around him followed. In the brief sight of white-wash, he caught the shape of the beast, sitting on its haunches, hunched over the mangled form of his first lieutenant.
In the darkness the blood looked like water.
In the darkness, the rain looked like daggers.
It crashed all around him, his heart steady despite the fear he knew he should feel.
The crunch was inhumane, the suggestion of large teeth splintering bone and rending flesh was enough to make his knees shake. Yet he didn’t move. His sword was out to his side, and he watched with unseeing eyes. Droplets smashing his helmet with a cacophony of metallic pings.
Yet it wasn’t enough to drown the sound of the feeding beast.
From the depths of his childhood he heard the words, first quiet whispers on the wind.
But as the crunching stopped, and the rain took reign, his memory came full flood.
Rentis
There was a splash off to the side, a couple feet away.
He turned to the sound, the sword coming up in two hands in front of him.
The silence was thick, despite the rain drops screaming at him to run. Run
Run run run run
Run run run run
run run run run run
run run run run run
run run run run run run run run
run run run
run run they yelled over and over and over. A never ending crash of reminders, just
how helpless living seemed. The smell of blood was vague, possibly imagined; watered down by the
pouring skies. The rumble of thunder brought his senses back around, and the time seemed to drag as if
getting pulled through the skin of a sausage.
Rentis Rentis Run away
Another splash, this one was quieter, though more precise.
How could he trust his ears when he couldn’t hear?
How could he trust his eyes when he couldn’t see?
Flash
The beast was up now, arms out to the side.
Joints thin and knobbed, impossibly long
The flash cast the shadow toward him, and for a moment it appeared as if the beast was taller than the trees.
Perhaps it was
He swung his sword in front of him, and connected with thin air
It hissed back and forth, slapping deadly against the drops of rain unlucky to fall in its path
But the rhyme came back; ringing in chorus with the rain against metal
The Brood-born came to take the stray
That was him
All alone in the dead of Dal Niente
His company dead, missing, torn to shreds by the Brood-born
And him
All alone
The stray waiting to be taken
His heart hammered in fear
Yet he stood his ground
Looking for the beast
Letting his blade
Come to
A halt by his side
The blade resting in the mud beside him
Boom
The thunder
Rentis Rentis No more soul
It exploded so loud he felt deaf
And couldn’t hear
For what felt like an eternity, just the ringing
And the ping of rain on his metal
So he ripped the helmet off his head
And let it fall to the ground
And in that moment it fell
There was another
Flash
KkkkkCracK!
And the sword was flying again
Swinging at the outstretched hand
Swiping at the arching arm reaching
A backswing cutting into the wall of rain
Which sang a shrill line from his nightmares come true
Rentis Rentis No more soul; Forfeit love and Forfeit all
But the blade did not connect
Not once was there flesh to stop his attack
Not a single cut across limb
No blood
No resistance
Just a weazing man
Fighting to remain fighting
Choking back the fear, and stemming the fatigue
When the next words pounded through his head
Rentis Rentis need no rest
“NO!”
He screamed
But nothing came
Not claw or teeth or death
Nothing Came At all Nothing
He was Alone Cold and Numb
fear was the only thing he felt
His mind was blank the silence was back
Just the sound of the rain Droning
Splashing in the puddles non-stop
Around his feet the pitter patter
Like Children playing in the rain
He felt like a child
On that night years ago
When his
brother had
spoken
The rhyme that
Rang in his ears….
Rentis, Rentis Run away
The Brood-born came to take the stray
Rentis, Rentis thirst for souls
When Forte rise; the bell will toll
Rentis Rentis No more soul
Forfeit love and Forfeit all
Rentis Rentis need no rest
Enter body, feast on flesh
And suddenly he became aware
To the sound of the rain
And the warning it had been screaming
Now
Came
Back
F L A S H
r
ru ru ru r u ru
run run run ru r run run
run run run ru runrun run
run run run run run runru run run run runrun
run run run run run run run run run
run run run run runrun run run run run run
Run run run run run run run run run
Run Run Run Run RunRun run
run run Run Run RunRun
Run run run Run Run
run run run run RunRunRunR
run run Run
run run RUN RunRunRun run r
run run run Run Run rr
run run Run Run run run
run runurn run
run run run run run run runrun
runrunrun run run run run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run run run runrun run
run run run run run run run run run run run run runrun ru
run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run run run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run run run r run run
run run r run run run run n run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run
run run run TOO run run LATE run run
n run run run run run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run run run
rn run run run run run run run run run
un run run run run run r run run
un run run run run run run run run run
run run run run run run run run run run
un run run run run run run ruun r
runrun ru run un run run run r
run run run run run run run run run r
r run n run r un runrnn run run run r
run run run run run ru n run ru rnr nn r un run r
run run run r un ru run run run run r
run run run run run run runrunr
run r run run run rn r un ru nr un run run r
run run r run run run run run ru r
run run run run runrun run
run r run run run run
run run run
KkkkChhhccttT…..KkhhhcckkChhcctthhhT…..KkkhhhhhhkCchhhhhcttT