A Warrior Born
folder
Fantasy & Science Fiction › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
7
Views:
1,567
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Fantasy & Science Fiction › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
7
Views:
1,567
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 5: Rescue
CHAPTER 5: RESCUE
The corridors were smothered with darkness, a darkness that seemed to pulse and seethe like a living creature. Horrid smells filled the air, the scent of old blood mixed with the tang of rotting flesh. Beneath these terrible odors lurked something darker, an aura of fear, hatred, rage, and despair. This was Houskari, also known as The Pit. It was the dungeon of the Hrab, where those who displeased them were confined, to be used as fuel in the wizards’ twisted experiment. Thousands of souls had been extinguished in this terrible place, bound for eternity to objects of power or used to unlock dark secrets from the bowels of the earth.
Several levels beneath the earth, a teenage girl sat naked in a dank cell, huddled in a corner. Her name was Eleesa, and she was the daughter of a great rebel leader. After a long and bloody guerilla campaign, he had finally been caught. The memory of that day would haunt Eleesa forever. Her mother had been slowly flayed as her father was forced to watch, and then resurrected as a mindless monster. Her father had been forced to destroy the woman he loved. Once that was finished, the necromancers had taken him away to the capital, and Eleesa had been brought here. She had lost count of the things that had been done to her. Rapes. Beatings. Devious tortures. Her body was covered with scars from whips and blades and needles. Many times she had been brought to the brink of death, only to be healed of her wounds so that she would remain strong to provide entertainment for the next day.
Footsteps sounded outside her cell and she trembled, suppressing a cry of fear. The key turned in the lock and her heart froze in her chest. The door opened and someone new stepped in. It was a gigantic warrior, clad in bearskin, wielding a huge sword. He glanced around warily, then sheathed the sword and knelt beside her. She shrank away from him, whimpering.
“Do not fear,” he said quietly. “I am here to rescue you. My name is Karanikus.”
Eleesa stared at him, hardly daring to hope.
“Rescue me?” she said, her voice soft and broken. “Take me away from here?”
He nodded and held out a hand to her. Slowly, tentatively, she reached out and laid her tiny hand in his huge one. He drew her to her feet and then gathered her into his arms. They turned and walked from the cell and down the corridors and came without incident to the stairway that led from this section of the prison.
She felt the warrior’s movement stop. Looking up the stairs, she saw a sight that made her freeze with terror. A dozen guards stood there. The guards of Houskari were truly creatures of nightmare. They were undead warriors who had been resurrected by the Hrab. They possessed terrible powers that allowed them to cloud their opponent’s minds, filling them with fear and pain until they could no longer function. Blades grew from their bodies that were coated with a festering poison. No man could face them and live.
“The girl is ours,” one of them rasped.
“Not anymore,” said the warrior. He laid Eleesa on the floor and drew his sword. He stepped in front of her, sword extended, and waited.
“Fool,” cackled the guard. “You cannot kill us. Our masters have made us IMMORTAL!”
“I doubt that,” he said, and suddenly exploded into motion. The guards lunged, their blades extended, their eyes aglow with hatred. The great sword met them at the center of the staircase. The creatures attacked furiously, their blades moving almost too fast for the eye to follow, yet somehow the great sword was there to meet them, moving with even greater speed. Slowly, steadily, the guards were forced back. Eleesa’s rescuer slashed at them mercilessly, tearing holes in undead flesh and severing limbs. The guards could not prevail, but neither could they die.
Now the fight had reached the top of the staircase and the corridor beyond. The guards spread out and attacked from all sides. Karanikus slashed and parried with inhuman speed, but it was not enough. Suddenly a blade slipped through and his arm was bleeding. Another flickered past his defense and one thigh was stained red. The guards’ eyes glowed brighter and they began to whisper softly, driving words of despair and death into his brain. Eleesa watched in terror. Surely all was lost now. Desperately, Karanikus continued to fight.
The creatures mocked and laughed, grazing him with their blades, taking their time. They had won, it seemed. And yet still the giant warrior was on his feet. His blade still flashed. At each laugh, his face grew more filled with rage. His eyes burned with a terrible intensity. The great blade moved even faster, and the undead were not laughing anymore. Now they hissed with anger and something else, something that was almost fearful. For red smoke was beginning to rise from Karanikus’s eyes, and his sword was beginning to shine with an unholy aura. Suddenly, he roared with rage, and the guards were thrown back as an invisible surge of power flowed from him. Then he was among them, and they stood no chance. For the aura surrounding that blade was death to them. Where they had mocked his blows before, they now screamed with agony. Their bodies crumbled wherever he struck. The cursed blades they wielded shattered as they tried to parry. In moments all of them had been destroyed.
Eleesa stared in numb disbelief at the giant warrior before her. He stood, panting, sword in front of him. His eyes glowed a hellish red. The great sword he held was surrounded by a dark halo of energy. He was bleeding from a dozen slight wounds, but it did not matter. Only a handful of times since the Hrab came had a man defeated even one of their elite warriors, and now he had destroyed twelve. Shock overcame the girl, and she passed out
Slowly, the aura of power surrounding Karanikus began to recede. Those shining eyes returned to their normal dark, brooding blue. The dark halo about his blade faded. Karanikus sheathed his sword and turned back to Eleesa. He wrapped her in his cloak, hefted her in his arms, and set out again. He met no more resistance as they fled up the last flight of stairs. He drew his sword and splintered the heavy bar on the prison gate with three inhumanly strong blows. The gates opened, letting a rush of fresh night air, and they were free.
END CHAPTER
Wow. This seems very short for something that took a month to write. Sorry about the long time between updates, I’ve had writers block. Read and review, and tell me if I should have taken longer still. P.S. for Fantasy viewers: Bloody frickin’ razzle-frazzle rudgel cudgel bloomin’ A! I updated it in the wrong story section! Last time, I promise.
The corridors were smothered with darkness, a darkness that seemed to pulse and seethe like a living creature. Horrid smells filled the air, the scent of old blood mixed with the tang of rotting flesh. Beneath these terrible odors lurked something darker, an aura of fear, hatred, rage, and despair. This was Houskari, also known as The Pit. It was the dungeon of the Hrab, where those who displeased them were confined, to be used as fuel in the wizards’ twisted experiment. Thousands of souls had been extinguished in this terrible place, bound for eternity to objects of power or used to unlock dark secrets from the bowels of the earth.
Several levels beneath the earth, a teenage girl sat naked in a dank cell, huddled in a corner. Her name was Eleesa, and she was the daughter of a great rebel leader. After a long and bloody guerilla campaign, he had finally been caught. The memory of that day would haunt Eleesa forever. Her mother had been slowly flayed as her father was forced to watch, and then resurrected as a mindless monster. Her father had been forced to destroy the woman he loved. Once that was finished, the necromancers had taken him away to the capital, and Eleesa had been brought here. She had lost count of the things that had been done to her. Rapes. Beatings. Devious tortures. Her body was covered with scars from whips and blades and needles. Many times she had been brought to the brink of death, only to be healed of her wounds so that she would remain strong to provide entertainment for the next day.
Footsteps sounded outside her cell and she trembled, suppressing a cry of fear. The key turned in the lock and her heart froze in her chest. The door opened and someone new stepped in. It was a gigantic warrior, clad in bearskin, wielding a huge sword. He glanced around warily, then sheathed the sword and knelt beside her. She shrank away from him, whimpering.
“Do not fear,” he said quietly. “I am here to rescue you. My name is Karanikus.”
Eleesa stared at him, hardly daring to hope.
“Rescue me?” she said, her voice soft and broken. “Take me away from here?”
He nodded and held out a hand to her. Slowly, tentatively, she reached out and laid her tiny hand in his huge one. He drew her to her feet and then gathered her into his arms. They turned and walked from the cell and down the corridors and came without incident to the stairway that led from this section of the prison.
She felt the warrior’s movement stop. Looking up the stairs, she saw a sight that made her freeze with terror. A dozen guards stood there. The guards of Houskari were truly creatures of nightmare. They were undead warriors who had been resurrected by the Hrab. They possessed terrible powers that allowed them to cloud their opponent’s minds, filling them with fear and pain until they could no longer function. Blades grew from their bodies that were coated with a festering poison. No man could face them and live.
“The girl is ours,” one of them rasped.
“Not anymore,” said the warrior. He laid Eleesa on the floor and drew his sword. He stepped in front of her, sword extended, and waited.
“Fool,” cackled the guard. “You cannot kill us. Our masters have made us IMMORTAL!”
“I doubt that,” he said, and suddenly exploded into motion. The guards lunged, their blades extended, their eyes aglow with hatred. The great sword met them at the center of the staircase. The creatures attacked furiously, their blades moving almost too fast for the eye to follow, yet somehow the great sword was there to meet them, moving with even greater speed. Slowly, steadily, the guards were forced back. Eleesa’s rescuer slashed at them mercilessly, tearing holes in undead flesh and severing limbs. The guards could not prevail, but neither could they die.
Now the fight had reached the top of the staircase and the corridor beyond. The guards spread out and attacked from all sides. Karanikus slashed and parried with inhuman speed, but it was not enough. Suddenly a blade slipped through and his arm was bleeding. Another flickered past his defense and one thigh was stained red. The guards’ eyes glowed brighter and they began to whisper softly, driving words of despair and death into his brain. Eleesa watched in terror. Surely all was lost now. Desperately, Karanikus continued to fight.
The creatures mocked and laughed, grazing him with their blades, taking their time. They had won, it seemed. And yet still the giant warrior was on his feet. His blade still flashed. At each laugh, his face grew more filled with rage. His eyes burned with a terrible intensity. The great blade moved even faster, and the undead were not laughing anymore. Now they hissed with anger and something else, something that was almost fearful. For red smoke was beginning to rise from Karanikus’s eyes, and his sword was beginning to shine with an unholy aura. Suddenly, he roared with rage, and the guards were thrown back as an invisible surge of power flowed from him. Then he was among them, and they stood no chance. For the aura surrounding that blade was death to them. Where they had mocked his blows before, they now screamed with agony. Their bodies crumbled wherever he struck. The cursed blades they wielded shattered as they tried to parry. In moments all of them had been destroyed.
Eleesa stared in numb disbelief at the giant warrior before her. He stood, panting, sword in front of him. His eyes glowed a hellish red. The great sword he held was surrounded by a dark halo of energy. He was bleeding from a dozen slight wounds, but it did not matter. Only a handful of times since the Hrab came had a man defeated even one of their elite warriors, and now he had destroyed twelve. Shock overcame the girl, and she passed out
Slowly, the aura of power surrounding Karanikus began to recede. Those shining eyes returned to their normal dark, brooding blue. The dark halo about his blade faded. Karanikus sheathed his sword and turned back to Eleesa. He wrapped her in his cloak, hefted her in his arms, and set out again. He met no more resistance as they fled up the last flight of stairs. He drew his sword and splintered the heavy bar on the prison gate with three inhumanly strong blows. The gates opened, letting a rush of fresh night air, and they were free.
END CHAPTER
Wow. This seems very short for something that took a month to write. Sorry about the long time between updates, I’ve had writers block. Read and review, and tell me if I should have taken longer still. P.S. for Fantasy viewers: Bloody frickin’ razzle-frazzle rudgel cudgel bloomin’ A! I updated it in the wrong story section! Last time, I promise.