Post by Markas Virnala on Dec 4, 2019 14:12:54 GMT
"My Hero"
Markas' eyes glaze over hearing the words again before feeling his body hurtle through space again. For a second, he feels himself twist around in impossible ways before appearing in the Grand Golden Hallway with Koriah looming over him, rage still plastered over her face as lightning crackles around her body. Only one door remained in the air behind them but the entire room was shaking and beginning to fall apart as the storm outside continues to rage on, louder than ever.
Markas had come today expecting a fight, maybe even some losses. But he wasn't quite prepared for the reminder of Aila. The flood of emotion catches him off guard and he slumps to the floor, the tears already falling as the others pop back into the room one by one. Before he has the chance to compartmentalise it away for now however, Serpentine throws open the last door and the group are flung threw in another gut wrenching journey.
Only this time the tumbling continues. There is a sudden roar of wind and he is dazzled by strong sunlight shining on them. Spinning over to face the source of the wind, he realises they are all falling now; Seprentine, BB, Ghesh and Demik, all nearby tumbling in the air with him. Ahead of them, Koriah plummets, her massive sword now in hand towards the roof of the tower in centre of the ice storm still raging at the walls of Zot Goran. In seconds they reach the roof, crashing through, barely slowing down as the debris showers down into the room.
For Markas, time seems to slow as they fall into the room. Below, in what appears to be a Giants private room are signs of an epic battle. His eyes scan over the room, noting the destruction and bodies of Frost Giants nearby, finally resting on the gargantuan desk directly below them. The desk on which he can see the other team sent to Zot Goran; Varis, Sunday, Pieni, Traavor and Baine, in the midst of a fight against a Hyena like creature, wreathed in purple robes and fire, throwing spells at his friends
His combat training kicking in again, his eyes flick over his comrades upturned faces, briefly settling on Sunday's before focusing, still streaming, on the creature. He draws one of his swords by instinct and with a quick flex, he twists in the air, reaching for a second from his belt, now noticing the Rose petals falling around them, wilting as they drop. Righting himself again, eyes trained on the creature, his feet touch the desk and suddenly, everything comes back to life.
Without missing a beat, he sprints forward, past Sunday, streaming her own Crimson tears and Baine, Bloodied but standing strong. He closes the gap, brings both swords up and cleaves two deep cuts into the creature. As the flames around it flare out burning his skin, Markas returns to his usual pattern, drops a knee, pivots round and plants his foot square in its chest, knocking it back. The creature stumbles backwards, looking to the assembled Dawnland Adventurers. Then, as it slowly careens off the edge:
"I've already won"
The metal felt good on his forehead. Cooling his skin where it was burned again... seemed to be getting burned a lot lately...
After giving her thanks, Koriah set about trying to undo the mess that the fiend had put into place, blowing a large horn that echoed out across K'ul Goran she then left for Za'Suul to reign in any remaining giants still fighting. After grabbing what they could and making a run for the exit, the adventurers watched as the moving tower slowly collapsed on itself, piece by piece. Outside the tower, the Blizzard that had engulfed the fighting was slowly losing its power, revealing a chaotic and bloody battlefield in the distance. But once the adrenaline started to wear off, everything else came flooding back and Markas sat down in the dirt trying to find the balance in his mind again.
The swing had brought up a warmth and happiness he hadn't felt in years, but it had also brought other things with to the surface. This fresh wave of memories mixed with a strange energy he has never experienced before unsettled him, more than he could have expected. As he stares into space, the tears still falling, he feels Baine embrace him before Sunday grabs a hold of him and throws him onto eLk, taking him high up above the others, away from any other distractions.
A minute of silence passes between them as he rests his head on the back of Sundays armour as he finally starts to finish putting the memories back into place. Not one is forgotten, but each is sequestered away back into their familiar places, until all that's left is this new thing. A tiny mote of light, radiating that familiar warmth deep within him. A tiny spark that remained from this whole ordeal.
He sits up, eyes refocused, red but no longer streaming.
"I think I'm ready to go back down now Sunday"
"Heart of The Storm"
25th entry in the journal of Markas Virnala
It's been a few days now. The war is over. What comes next is anyone's guess.
After the mad few days of preparation everyone went through, the day finally came to head out. It was a tense time. I wasn't sure I would be seeing everyone again to be honest.
The adventurers of the Dawnlands were assigned into five squads. I was part of the second squad, alongside BB, Ghesh, Serpentine and a wizard called Demik. We were sent to Zot Goran alongside Squad 1 (Varis, Baine, Sunday, Pieni and Traav) and after having what felt like a final feast with our friends and allies were told we would be joined by a single member of K'ul Goran's elite guard. The soldiers the likes of Torv and Chlorus are trying to be.
The morning of the final battle came and we said our goodbyes to the others, not even knowing what they would be doing today and were ushered to the edge of the city. Our part in the war, we were told was to support the defences outside the city. The giants would be coming to invade and our place would be to try to hold them back. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried by this, Serpentine and Pieni were with me in Jarvenol when the giants took that city. The odds were against us here.
As we reached the edge of the city, we were greeted by the usual fierce winds of K'ul Goran, only now the wind felt stronger than ever. A storm was definitely coming. But it was at the gate we finally met the elite guard who would be helping us. The one we hoped would swing things in our favour out on the field. Gurshik.
Gurshik was a black Tabaxi with white markings covering his fur. An experienced member of the Guard, he was also INCREDIBLY OLD and BLIND! I tried talking to him, sure there was more to him but the only thing we he would tell us before falling instantly asleep as we travelled by hill surfer was that he made a good stew.
About 30 minutes into our trip, we came to an abrupt stop and, getting out of the hill surfer, we saw two giants in the road, one cradling the other who looked badly injured. They didnt look a danger to us so we opted to try and speak with them, much as Gurshik wasnt pleased with it to begin with.
BB healed up the injured Giant a little as the standing one, Uriah gave explained they needed our help, saying the war was a farce and everyone needs to stop fighting. She went on to explain how her and her husband (the injured giant) had found something weird but the moment they tried to talk about it, they were branded traitors and attacked by the other giants. They fled but someone needs to stop the war, find the true leader of the giants so they can stop whoever was tricking them all.
After hearing this even Gurshik wasn't openly against abandoning our mission to do this, the only issue was we needed to get on top of a moving tower the giants were using as their base of operations. Uriah agreed to take us but only if someone stayed to protect her husband. There was some de ate about leaving someone behind but in the end, laughing, Gurshik stayed behind. He didn't seem confident in us to say the least.
Turns out cloud giants like Uriah can fly! She picked us up and flew into the storm approaching Zot Goran. It started off ok but quickly got freezing cold and as much as I tried to hold onto her shoulder, the wind caught my robes and I tumbled off. Arm flailing in the wind, I managed to luckily catch hold of a loose leather strap from her armour before falling and wrapped my arms up for support, just as we came to the eye of the storm, where the wind and ice finally stopped. Sure enough, at the centre of the storm was a large tower with what looked like two hill giants in reigns at the front of it, pulling it along.
We landed on the roof and Serpentine pointed out a hatch leading inside they found on a previous mission but before we could even think about going down, Uriah showed us what they had found. As she walked to the centre of the roof, she raised her as if to knock of something but when she swung her hand, we all heard the sound of chains rattling. From the centre of the roof, running straight up into the sky was an invisible chain.
Mariah didn't wait with us long, eager to get back to her husband, leaving us to climb the chains. Assuming it would be difficult to climb an invisible chain so we had Seperntine send Monty up to tie a rope on. After six attempts(!!!) He finally managed it and we climbed up, into the clouds, then into blackness.
But not darkness. I've never had issue seeing the dark but this was just black. Everything. As the others climbed up and joined me, we looked around and spotted a giant, different to the others we'd seen so far. Blue skin, massive even by Giant standards, wearing full armour, sitting in a chair wearing a crown of ice. Only, they weren't moving.... chains that wavered with intense heat bound them to the chair and the crown of ice was embedded into their skull, leaving their face vacant and un responsive.
After some cautious experimentation, Demik finally used a pole to touch the crown and immediately vanished. Panicking he might be in danger, we all rushed to do the same.
In a flash, we found ourselves transported somewhere new, reuniting us with Demik. A colossal hallway constructed entirely of Gold, stretching into the distance in front and behind us. Ornate etchings over the walls depicting Giants in all kinds of situations, likely a historical or mythical story being told through them all but I never had the chance to investigate them. In the distance we could hear a storm raging with loud thunder crashes every now and then that shook the entire room.
The only stand out thing, were three giant doorways, all solid gold again, floating in the air behind us. We were all still naturally cautious but the moment we began to open one, the doors flung wide open, releasing an incredible surge of wind, pulling all of us in the room at incredible speed before we could even think to react. With a gut wrenching pull, we felt ourselves twist and hurl through the open door.
As quick as it began, it ended. The wind was gone, as was the golden hall. Steadying myself, I looked around quick, all this jumping from place to place was getting a bit disorientating. We were in some kind of ruined building, debris and broken stones littering the floor, with a derelict tower to one end of the structure, jutting into a dark sky. Ghesh was nearby, as was BB and Monty. But Bliss and Demik were missing. As I turned, we saw the other occupants of the ruins with us, two Hill Giants.
Things got a bit weird here…
Before we could even do anything, one of the giants raised it hands and began talking in a deep guttural voice, then suddenly Ghesh just Vanished! Without missing a beat, I sprinted to attack it, managing to dodge out of the way just in time as a burst of energy lashed out from it. The distraction was enough at least as Ghesh reappeared, just as BB turned herself invisible.
The second giant cast another spell on Ghesh then threw another giant towards me…. One that seemed to go from its head. The first giant then suddenly vanishes in a loud explosion, knocking me back, before reappearing on top of the tower. This was the first point I realised something was wrong, but in the moment I couldn't work it out. The last Hill giants we fought couldn't do any of this yet it felt weird.
Ghesh and Me then each charged the giants still close to us, Ghesh charging one of the originals while I dashed for the new one. Under Ghesh's attacks that one teleported away to the other side of the ruins, again a weird thing for the giants to do, something even the Fire giants never did before. Meanwhile, I rushed the one in front of me but the moment my sword cut its skin, it fell to the floor dead.
Seeing this, the second giant cried out something I didn’t hear properly. Luckily for us, BB, still invisible had moved and was actually close by when he did. The next thing I heard was BB's voice say "wait…". Then, another flash!
I should probably point out now, Demik had a small squirrel with him called Steve. The little talk we had on our journey was an interesting one but in short, he had found a way to revive dead animals. One of which, was Steve. Steve the Fifth to be accurate.
BB was the first to realise it, and with that realisation, the trap we were pulled into was broken, flinging us back into the grand Golden Hallway. Serpentine and Demik with us again, both sporting deep sword wounds, while on the floor nearby was the body of Steve. It turned out all of us had been transported to the same place, only we saw each other as giants prompting us to fight each other. BB, hearing Demik as a giant cry out Steve made her realise and that snapped us all out of it. It did, of course mean, I had just killed Steve….
Frustrated we had wasted so much effort on ourselves and hearing the storm getting closer, We opened the second door and went through the same twisting pull through as the first, this time landing on a grass.
The first test was taxing on us physically, The second was more emotionally taxing.
We were on a grassy field, leading to a cliff over-looking the sea. In every direction, the grass faded into a rolling white mist. Besides the group of us, the only other sight was a large swing with a young Giant girl on. She was pretty talkative to us but was really keen on the swing, until we said we were here to save someone, at which she wanted to help us. Only we didn’t know the Storm giants name or what we needed to do here. We asked where she lived and as she pointed in the distance, we watched the mist roll away and a house almost construct itself where she had pointed. That, along with some other things she said, soon made us realise the girl was Koriah, the Storm giant leading the other Giants, and we were in a memory of hers. The swing seemed to be holding her here.
We each took turns sitting on the swing and saw why it held her here. I volunteered first and… I didn't 'go' anywhere but I could definitely feel I was somewhere else. Somewhere I've been before: the fireworks with Aila. It was such a strange feeling, a warm kind of pure happiness waving over me as I was almost reliving that moment. I was difficult to step away from it but I did and the others went through their own experiences with it too.
It took some convincing but the girl slowly started to remember things and as the memories came back, we watched as she visibly aged back to her normal self, going through memories of her father and her work, wanting to be a great warrior... Once the full realisation came and she remembered who she was, a deep anger set in at being trapped like this. We realised now, as she had aged, the 'memory bubble' seemed to have collapsed and we were stood in darkness again, with only the swing remaining. She sat on the swing, let out a heavy sigh, then vanished before us.
Taking our cue to follow, I sat on the swing again and went back to that day again, that day of the fireworks with Aila, feeling that warmth wash over me again. And I smiled. But then it changed. The realisation came flooding back, all too quick that she was gone and I had no idea where she was. The warmth washed out of me replaced by the all too familiar regret and sadness I thought I had put behind me. Then…. I know it was the swing but, I heard her. I heard her speak to me and felt her kiss. And then it was gone.
Everything is a little hazy after that. I remember falling and seeing the others. There was a weird creature throwing spells. Then we were running.
The next clear memory I have is sitting on eLk with Sunday. She picked me up outside the tower. Everything was still a little too fresh but once I calmed down again, she set us back down. Varis and Baine were combing the battlefield for the other OCF soldiers. They lost some people in the fighting… The giants were leaving now, called off from the fighting by Koriah. The Errant Guard and Soldiers of K'ul Goran seemed to have noticed the change and were slowly pulling back too, as well as the Elves that had got involved in the fighting. But the break in tension didn’t last long.
The ground began shaking and a bright orange light burst up from the ground in the distance, then began tracing across the horizon, meeting up with others in strange movements. The a deep voice that came from, well everywhere, said that the ground was sated. The lights vanished, leaving deep scars in the land. Gradually, people started to notice the ground wasn't absorbing the blood anymore. Whatever has been going on in K'ul Goran seems to have finished. It's anyone's guess as to what happens next now.
In any case, none of us could really look into it for now. There were so many wounded and needing help.
So many dead.
At least helping picking up the pieces in this bloody mess will keep me busy, stop me thinking about her.
Markas' eyes glaze over hearing the words again before feeling his body hurtle through space again. For a second, he feels himself twist around in impossible ways before appearing in the Grand Golden Hallway with Koriah looming over him, rage still plastered over her face as lightning crackles around her body. Only one door remained in the air behind them but the entire room was shaking and beginning to fall apart as the storm outside continues to rage on, louder than ever.
Markas had come today expecting a fight, maybe even some losses. But he wasn't quite prepared for the reminder of Aila. The flood of emotion catches him off guard and he slumps to the floor, the tears already falling as the others pop back into the room one by one. Before he has the chance to compartmentalise it away for now however, Serpentine throws open the last door and the group are flung threw in another gut wrenching journey.
Only this time the tumbling continues. There is a sudden roar of wind and he is dazzled by strong sunlight shining on them. Spinning over to face the source of the wind, he realises they are all falling now; Seprentine, BB, Ghesh and Demik, all nearby tumbling in the air with him. Ahead of them, Koriah plummets, her massive sword now in hand towards the roof of the tower in centre of the ice storm still raging at the walls of Zot Goran. In seconds they reach the roof, crashing through, barely slowing down as the debris showers down into the room.
For Markas, time seems to slow as they fall into the room. Below, in what appears to be a Giants private room are signs of an epic battle. His eyes scan over the room, noting the destruction and bodies of Frost Giants nearby, finally resting on the gargantuan desk directly below them. The desk on which he can see the other team sent to Zot Goran; Varis, Sunday, Pieni, Traavor and Baine, in the midst of a fight against a Hyena like creature, wreathed in purple robes and fire, throwing spells at his friends
His combat training kicking in again, his eyes flick over his comrades upturned faces, briefly settling on Sunday's before focusing, still streaming, on the creature. He draws one of his swords by instinct and with a quick flex, he twists in the air, reaching for a second from his belt, now noticing the Rose petals falling around them, wilting as they drop. Righting himself again, eyes trained on the creature, his feet touch the desk and suddenly, everything comes back to life.
Without missing a beat, he sprints forward, past Sunday, streaming her own Crimson tears and Baine, Bloodied but standing strong. He closes the gap, brings both swords up and cleaves two deep cuts into the creature. As the flames around it flare out burning his skin, Markas returns to his usual pattern, drops a knee, pivots round and plants his foot square in its chest, knocking it back. The creature stumbles backwards, looking to the assembled Dawnland Adventurers. Then, as it slowly careens off the edge:
"I've already won"
The metal felt good on his forehead. Cooling his skin where it was burned again... seemed to be getting burned a lot lately...
After giving her thanks, Koriah set about trying to undo the mess that the fiend had put into place, blowing a large horn that echoed out across K'ul Goran she then left for Za'Suul to reign in any remaining giants still fighting. After grabbing what they could and making a run for the exit, the adventurers watched as the moving tower slowly collapsed on itself, piece by piece. Outside the tower, the Blizzard that had engulfed the fighting was slowly losing its power, revealing a chaotic and bloody battlefield in the distance. But once the adrenaline started to wear off, everything else came flooding back and Markas sat down in the dirt trying to find the balance in his mind again.
The swing had brought up a warmth and happiness he hadn't felt in years, but it had also brought other things with to the surface. This fresh wave of memories mixed with a strange energy he has never experienced before unsettled him, more than he could have expected. As he stares into space, the tears still falling, he feels Baine embrace him before Sunday grabs a hold of him and throws him onto eLk, taking him high up above the others, away from any other distractions.
A minute of silence passes between them as he rests his head on the back of Sundays armour as he finally starts to finish putting the memories back into place. Not one is forgotten, but each is sequestered away back into their familiar places, until all that's left is this new thing. A tiny mote of light, radiating that familiar warmth deep within him. A tiny spark that remained from this whole ordeal.
He sits up, eyes refocused, red but no longer streaming.
"I think I'm ready to go back down now Sunday"
"Heart of The Storm"
25th entry in the journal of Markas Virnala
It's been a few days now. The war is over. What comes next is anyone's guess.
After the mad few days of preparation everyone went through, the day finally came to head out. It was a tense time. I wasn't sure I would be seeing everyone again to be honest.
The adventurers of the Dawnlands were assigned into five squads. I was part of the second squad, alongside BB, Ghesh, Serpentine and a wizard called Demik. We were sent to Zot Goran alongside Squad 1 (Varis, Baine, Sunday, Pieni and Traav) and after having what felt like a final feast with our friends and allies were told we would be joined by a single member of K'ul Goran's elite guard. The soldiers the likes of Torv and Chlorus are trying to be.
The morning of the final battle came and we said our goodbyes to the others, not even knowing what they would be doing today and were ushered to the edge of the city. Our part in the war, we were told was to support the defences outside the city. The giants would be coming to invade and our place would be to try to hold them back. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried by this, Serpentine and Pieni were with me in Jarvenol when the giants took that city. The odds were against us here.
As we reached the edge of the city, we were greeted by the usual fierce winds of K'ul Goran, only now the wind felt stronger than ever. A storm was definitely coming. But it was at the gate we finally met the elite guard who would be helping us. The one we hoped would swing things in our favour out on the field. Gurshik.
Gurshik was a black Tabaxi with white markings covering his fur. An experienced member of the Guard, he was also INCREDIBLY OLD and BLIND! I tried talking to him, sure there was more to him but the only thing we he would tell us before falling instantly asleep as we travelled by hill surfer was that he made a good stew.
About 30 minutes into our trip, we came to an abrupt stop and, getting out of the hill surfer, we saw two giants in the road, one cradling the other who looked badly injured. They didnt look a danger to us so we opted to try and speak with them, much as Gurshik wasnt pleased with it to begin with.
BB healed up the injured Giant a little as the standing one, Uriah gave explained they needed our help, saying the war was a farce and everyone needs to stop fighting. She went on to explain how her and her husband (the injured giant) had found something weird but the moment they tried to talk about it, they were branded traitors and attacked by the other giants. They fled but someone needs to stop the war, find the true leader of the giants so they can stop whoever was tricking them all.
After hearing this even Gurshik wasn't openly against abandoning our mission to do this, the only issue was we needed to get on top of a moving tower the giants were using as their base of operations. Uriah agreed to take us but only if someone stayed to protect her husband. There was some de ate about leaving someone behind but in the end, laughing, Gurshik stayed behind. He didn't seem confident in us to say the least.
Turns out cloud giants like Uriah can fly! She picked us up and flew into the storm approaching Zot Goran. It started off ok but quickly got freezing cold and as much as I tried to hold onto her shoulder, the wind caught my robes and I tumbled off. Arm flailing in the wind, I managed to luckily catch hold of a loose leather strap from her armour before falling and wrapped my arms up for support, just as we came to the eye of the storm, where the wind and ice finally stopped. Sure enough, at the centre of the storm was a large tower with what looked like two hill giants in reigns at the front of it, pulling it along.
We landed on the roof and Serpentine pointed out a hatch leading inside they found on a previous mission but before we could even think about going down, Uriah showed us what they had found. As she walked to the centre of the roof, she raised her as if to knock of something but when she swung her hand, we all heard the sound of chains rattling. From the centre of the roof, running straight up into the sky was an invisible chain.
Mariah didn't wait with us long, eager to get back to her husband, leaving us to climb the chains. Assuming it would be difficult to climb an invisible chain so we had Seperntine send Monty up to tie a rope on. After six attempts(!!!) He finally managed it and we climbed up, into the clouds, then into blackness.
But not darkness. I've never had issue seeing the dark but this was just black. Everything. As the others climbed up and joined me, we looked around and spotted a giant, different to the others we'd seen so far. Blue skin, massive even by Giant standards, wearing full armour, sitting in a chair wearing a crown of ice. Only, they weren't moving.... chains that wavered with intense heat bound them to the chair and the crown of ice was embedded into their skull, leaving their face vacant and un responsive.
After some cautious experimentation, Demik finally used a pole to touch the crown and immediately vanished. Panicking he might be in danger, we all rushed to do the same.
In a flash, we found ourselves transported somewhere new, reuniting us with Demik. A colossal hallway constructed entirely of Gold, stretching into the distance in front and behind us. Ornate etchings over the walls depicting Giants in all kinds of situations, likely a historical or mythical story being told through them all but I never had the chance to investigate them. In the distance we could hear a storm raging with loud thunder crashes every now and then that shook the entire room.
The only stand out thing, were three giant doorways, all solid gold again, floating in the air behind us. We were all still naturally cautious but the moment we began to open one, the doors flung wide open, releasing an incredible surge of wind, pulling all of us in the room at incredible speed before we could even think to react. With a gut wrenching pull, we felt ourselves twist and hurl through the open door.
As quick as it began, it ended. The wind was gone, as was the golden hall. Steadying myself, I looked around quick, all this jumping from place to place was getting a bit disorientating. We were in some kind of ruined building, debris and broken stones littering the floor, with a derelict tower to one end of the structure, jutting into a dark sky. Ghesh was nearby, as was BB and Monty. But Bliss and Demik were missing. As I turned, we saw the other occupants of the ruins with us, two Hill Giants.
Things got a bit weird here…
Before we could even do anything, one of the giants raised it hands and began talking in a deep guttural voice, then suddenly Ghesh just Vanished! Without missing a beat, I sprinted to attack it, managing to dodge out of the way just in time as a burst of energy lashed out from it. The distraction was enough at least as Ghesh reappeared, just as BB turned herself invisible.
The second giant cast another spell on Ghesh then threw another giant towards me…. One that seemed to go from its head. The first giant then suddenly vanishes in a loud explosion, knocking me back, before reappearing on top of the tower. This was the first point I realised something was wrong, but in the moment I couldn't work it out. The last Hill giants we fought couldn't do any of this yet it felt weird.
Ghesh and Me then each charged the giants still close to us, Ghesh charging one of the originals while I dashed for the new one. Under Ghesh's attacks that one teleported away to the other side of the ruins, again a weird thing for the giants to do, something even the Fire giants never did before. Meanwhile, I rushed the one in front of me but the moment my sword cut its skin, it fell to the floor dead.
Seeing this, the second giant cried out something I didn’t hear properly. Luckily for us, BB, still invisible had moved and was actually close by when he did. The next thing I heard was BB's voice say "wait…". Then, another flash!
I should probably point out now, Demik had a small squirrel with him called Steve. The little talk we had on our journey was an interesting one but in short, he had found a way to revive dead animals. One of which, was Steve. Steve the Fifth to be accurate.
BB was the first to realise it, and with that realisation, the trap we were pulled into was broken, flinging us back into the grand Golden Hallway. Serpentine and Demik with us again, both sporting deep sword wounds, while on the floor nearby was the body of Steve. It turned out all of us had been transported to the same place, only we saw each other as giants prompting us to fight each other. BB, hearing Demik as a giant cry out Steve made her realise and that snapped us all out of it. It did, of course mean, I had just killed Steve….
Frustrated we had wasted so much effort on ourselves and hearing the storm getting closer, We opened the second door and went through the same twisting pull through as the first, this time landing on a grass.
The first test was taxing on us physically, The second was more emotionally taxing.
We were on a grassy field, leading to a cliff over-looking the sea. In every direction, the grass faded into a rolling white mist. Besides the group of us, the only other sight was a large swing with a young Giant girl on. She was pretty talkative to us but was really keen on the swing, until we said we were here to save someone, at which she wanted to help us. Only we didn’t know the Storm giants name or what we needed to do here. We asked where she lived and as she pointed in the distance, we watched the mist roll away and a house almost construct itself where she had pointed. That, along with some other things she said, soon made us realise the girl was Koriah, the Storm giant leading the other Giants, and we were in a memory of hers. The swing seemed to be holding her here.
We each took turns sitting on the swing and saw why it held her here. I volunteered first and… I didn't 'go' anywhere but I could definitely feel I was somewhere else. Somewhere I've been before: the fireworks with Aila. It was such a strange feeling, a warm kind of pure happiness waving over me as I was almost reliving that moment. I was difficult to step away from it but I did and the others went through their own experiences with it too.
It took some convincing but the girl slowly started to remember things and as the memories came back, we watched as she visibly aged back to her normal self, going through memories of her father and her work, wanting to be a great warrior... Once the full realisation came and she remembered who she was, a deep anger set in at being trapped like this. We realised now, as she had aged, the 'memory bubble' seemed to have collapsed and we were stood in darkness again, with only the swing remaining. She sat on the swing, let out a heavy sigh, then vanished before us.
Taking our cue to follow, I sat on the swing again and went back to that day again, that day of the fireworks with Aila, feeling that warmth wash over me again. And I smiled. But then it changed. The realisation came flooding back, all too quick that she was gone and I had no idea where she was. The warmth washed out of me replaced by the all too familiar regret and sadness I thought I had put behind me. Then…. I know it was the swing but, I heard her. I heard her speak to me and felt her kiss. And then it was gone.
Everything is a little hazy after that. I remember falling and seeing the others. There was a weird creature throwing spells. Then we were running.
The next clear memory I have is sitting on eLk with Sunday. She picked me up outside the tower. Everything was still a little too fresh but once I calmed down again, she set us back down. Varis and Baine were combing the battlefield for the other OCF soldiers. They lost some people in the fighting… The giants were leaving now, called off from the fighting by Koriah. The Errant Guard and Soldiers of K'ul Goran seemed to have noticed the change and were slowly pulling back too, as well as the Elves that had got involved in the fighting. But the break in tension didn’t last long.
The ground began shaking and a bright orange light burst up from the ground in the distance, then began tracing across the horizon, meeting up with others in strange movements. The a deep voice that came from, well everywhere, said that the ground was sated. The lights vanished, leaving deep scars in the land. Gradually, people started to notice the ground wasn't absorbing the blood anymore. Whatever has been going on in K'ul Goran seems to have finished. It's anyone's guess as to what happens next now.
In any case, none of us could really look into it for now. There were so many wounded and needing help.
So many dead.
At least helping picking up the pieces in this bloody mess will keep me busy, stop me thinking about her.
