War of SIN * * * * * * * * * * * *
By the Unknown
I am called the Unknown, and I have a tale to tell you. The story I am about to tell you is not about me. I don't believe you are ready to know who I really am or where I truly come from. My story is about an unfortunate being who had the misfortune of having not only his mind stolen from him, but also his soul.
Of course, I won't tell you outright where he comes from or how he came to be. That would be too simple. I will start at the point the point that he wakes up. At the point that he knows himself only as SIN.
Edenia
SIN opens his eyes slowly, a dull throbbing shooting across his entire body. Despite himself, he smiles through the pain. He doesn't understand why it's funny, but the aching and smell of blood makes him laugh out loud. Slowly, he pushes himself to a sitting position, the demonic grin ever present. Around and above him, a massive thunderstorm rages on, but he was oblivious to the slashing cold rain.
The smell of blood is thick in the air, despite the high winds, but it wasn't just his own blood. Around him, bodies litter the ground, nine in total, literally floating in a pool of crimson liquid which was quickly becoming thinner from the rainfall. Those who were more intact than others he recognised as soldiers. But he doesn't remember the fight. He doesn't remember where he'd come from. He doesn't remember anything. The only thing he can recall is someone calling him SIN.
Getting to his feet, the pain already fading away, he looks around. He is in the middle of a large field, a small city on the horizon. SIN isn't amazed that he can see something so far away perfectly despite the sheets of rain and ominous darkness. It seemed like it was perfectly natural to him.
He raises his hand to wipe away the rain from his face and finds that his hands are actually massive claws wrapped in bandages and stained with blood. He sniffs it carefully and instantly smells human blood, though what's a human, he doesn't know.
Moving much too quickly for someone his size should be able to, he started toward the dark city ahead, letting the scent of death regretfully wash off of him. But as much as he wanted to wallow in the demise of his mysterious attackers, there were more pressing matters at hand, such as finding out where he was and how he got here. Deep within him, he knew that finding the answers was going to be both difficult and painful, but that only made him grin wider, sharp teeth gleaming and eyes flashing dangerously at the strike of lightning.
Moving low to the ground, using his powerful arms to propel himself forward, much like an ape, he made it to the city in very little time, and noticed immediately the smell of living beings. He noticed that men wearing ceremonial robes and carrying weapons such as scimitars, katanas and bo sticks were patrolling the perimeter and instantly recognised them as guards.
He slowed to a crawl and slid behind a bush, watching as a pair of guards moved towards him, chatting quietly amongst themselves. SIN felt his skin twitch, wanting to attack these would-be assailants before they could attack him. But he managed a restraint, not wanting to cause some alarm, and waited until they passed then sprang forward silently, using his claws to scale a building beside him.
One of the guards heard a faint scrapping and turned around but found nothing. "Something wrong?" The second asked.
The second sighed, "Thought I heard something."
"Should we check it out?" The first asked, obviously a lower ranked.
But the second just shook his head, "It's probably nothing. This is the smallest city in Edenia and nothing here worth of value. Who would attack this place?" He made one last look behind him started his patrol again.
The first just nodded slowly and followed the first guards lead, moving quickly to catch up.
SIN watched the exchange from above, a grin on his face.
Escaping detection was almost as fun as being found.
Karee Soma Nyrull softly closed the door to her home, not wanting to alert either of her parents or siblings of what she was about to do. She took one last look at the ruin that was her home and quickly disappeared into the shadows. The rain had just stopped and the clouds giving way to the moon, it's soft light barely showing her way.
"May the Gods forgive me." She muttered, feeling the guilt once more weigh down on her for her actions. But her family needed the wealth that he promised them. She only wanted to help even if it meant damning her soul for eternity. So she pushed the guilt to the back of her mind and continued walking quickly, watching for guards.
Karee followed the road until she crossed an alley, which she quickly entered, letting the darkness cover her. She moved silently, expecting to hear the cry of some guard or perhaps her mother at any second, but as the many times before, there was nothing.
After several feet of darkness, she came to a fork in the alley. She knew that the left headed to the main road which would head up to the main square while the other would head toward the river that rushed by the city and provided its citizens with their water.
Instead of taking a road, she moved to the left building and pulled back a plank from a boarded up window and slipped inside, the cool air wrapping around her. As she turned to pull the plank back, she saw a shadow fall across it. Glancing up, she saw something huge silhouetted by the moon. Gasping, she stepped back and brushed against something large.
Turning around in terror, she found herself faced to face with a huge Shokan, his four arms folded. He had tanned skin with green stripes along the back and limbs. He wore spiked shoulder guards and black pants striped red. On his lower hands, he had one 5 inch claw. He was what she would call her worst nightmare. "What did you see girl?" He asked, lowering his 7 foot body so that he could look her in the eyes. "Were you followed?"
Karee couldn't speak at first. She'd seen the Shokan at least a dozen times, but he never failed to unnerve her. His name was Malock and he seemed to delight himself in the terror he brought on her. Finally, she got her voice and pointed a quivering finger out the window. "I saw a shadow that moved. On the roof across the alley."
Malock moved toward the window and glanced out then scowled. "I see nothing." He said, turning back at her. "Are you trying to play me for a fool or are you simply letting your feeble mind get the best of you?!"
Karee backed away, convinced that he would kill her for the sheer pleasure of it. Then she felt a cold hand touch her shoulder. She almost screamed as she snapped her head around, finding the tall gaunt man standing behind her. He wore a long black robe lined with blood red silk. On his head, he wore a black and red turban with a blue pearl set in the center. His skin was ash gray and he had a twisting black goatee, but no other hair visible on his face. His eyes were grey and emotionless, even as he gave her a sickly smile.
"Now my dear Malock…" He said with that dead voice, "Our young friend has been most helpful to us over these past months. Without her scouting out guard positions and revealing potential hiding places, we would have been delayed for at least a year."
Karee swallowed hard, the guilt pushing down on her harder than ever.
"I still don't trust her Azgard," Malock said, "She may have revealed our plans and given us the wrong information. How can we trust her?"
Azgard smiled that sick smile again and grazed his long skinny fingers across her cheeck, making her wince. "Simple Shokan." He said, moving his gaze from her to him and back, freezing her with that dead stare. "She's too scared to do anything but follow our orders."
Then suddenly he took his hand away and turned, but she could still feel his cold touch on her face. "But now is not the time to question her motives as the time is coming quickly upon us. Soon, the invasion force will be here and this city will be ours. None will expect us to come through the smallest city of the Edenian empire." Azgard said.
"Then may I get what I was promised?" Karee said hopefully.
The sinister man stopped and turned to her, solemn faced. Then, slowly, an evil grin sliced across his thin face. Karee didn't like what that smile meant.
"Of course you may get your promise." Azgard said, "I promise that you and your family would be free from the aggressions about to occur and would be given the treasures of heaven." Then the smile grew darker and his eyes flashed with malevolence. "And you will have it."
Karee suddenly realised that Azgard meant to kill her family before the invasion started. With a defiant "NO!", she turned to run, but massive hands grabbed at her. She was lifted high into the air as Malock laughed at her screams. She knew he would enjoy killing her, she just hoped it would be quick but somehow she knew it wouldn't be.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow fly toward the window she'd entered. With a tremendous crash that caused the sinister man to stumble away and her would-be killer turn in amazement, she saw what could only be described as a monster.
SIN was enjoying his night. He'd made a game of following the various guards around the city, spooking them then quickly vanishing into the shadows but was quickly becoming bored. These were obviously not skilled warriors. He could have killed any one of them without any trouble or alerting any of the other guards.
So he was prepared to leave the city when a scream rang through the air, behind him. Acting without thinking, he turned and charged toward the sound. His acute hearing immediately pinpointed the scream from the hole that the young girl he'd seen earlier had gone through.
With a final push of his arms, he dove from the two story building and smashed into the boarded up window, his arms instinctively coming up to protect his eyes. It took less than a second for his eyes to adjust and he liked what he saw.
The skinny man in dark getting off the ground didn't look like much of a problem but the large four armed beast looked like fun. But he was holding the girl in front of him, almost as if to protect himself with her.
SIN let out a low guttural laugh.
"What are you laughing at funny boy?" The four armed guy rumbled.
SIN didn't answer, at least not in words. He stood up full height and folded his arms, glaring at the four armed man, the grinning as widely as ever.
"You wanna fight?!" The beast man roared, "Then lets go!!!" And he reared back and flung the girl at him. SIN's first impulse was to shred the flying body in two as he charged his opponent, but the sudden scream made him realise she was still alive. Acting against his own will, he caught the limp body and rolled her to the side then flung himself into the battle.
SIN chuckled as a fist smashed into his face, making his teeth clatter. It looked like he was about to have some fun anyway. He moved quickly and slammed his knee into the giants gut, forcing a gush of air from his lungs and he doubled over in pain. SIN then broke his arms from the giants grasp and slammed them down on the base of his neck. He cackled at the satisfying crack he heard.
The giant fell on his face but was back on his feet in no time, fists flying as he howled in rage. "You will pay for your impudence, fool!!" He screamed. SIN blocked the punches in quick motion and then took an opening and slashed his claws along the bottom right arm, drawing huge amounts of blood.
The giant grunted in pain and used his bottom left arm to cradle the wounded appendage. He then shot both upper arms forward and grabbed SIN by the neck and waist and lifted him over his head.
"You will DIE!!!" He yelled.
"No." SIN said, his voice sounding like a mix between a growl and gravel scratching against each other. "You will die!" With that, he plunged his claws down and tore off apart of the beasts face, hot blood spraying all over the place. There was another howl of pain and SIN was released. He landed in a three-point crouch and slowly licked the blood from his claws, a demonic smile on his dark face. He was enjoying the blood, which was thick and rich, but the fight wasn't nearly what he thought it would be.
The four-armed monster staggered back, holding his face with one hand and bracing against the wall with the other, his lower arms still wrapped together. SIN lowered himself, preparing for the final lunge, when the beast suddenly charged forward, shoulder out and head tucked down. This move caught SIN off guard, who was plowed into and carried into the stone wall, which cracked from the impact.
"I will not be BEATEN by a simple beast like you!!" The monster roared, pushing his bulk against him, cutting the air off. SIN looked into the monsters good eye and grinned madly. "What is your…?" But he didn't get to finish his question as SINs claws rammed into his belly, slicing up intestines and part of the stomach. The beast gasped and pulled away, enormous amounts of blood pumped out and onto the floor.
SIN laughed loudly as he pushed off the wall and slammed into the beast with incredible force, knocking the giant to the floor. "No more fun!!" SIN chuckled, "You die!!"
The beast looked up in shock as SIN raised a bloody set of claws and then rammed them down into his throat, slicing up the jugular and wind pipe. He choked for a second, eyes slowly rolling back then spasmed and died.
SIN looked around, pleased with the battle, even if it was too short for his tastes. Sniffing tentatively, he picked up the girl he saved and something else. Something that smelled of evil power. Then he heard a scream deeper in the building.
Moving under their own will, his arms shot him forward, twisting around corners and corridors, following the screams and the smell of both people until he finally burst through a wooden door and landed in a room that was filled with weapons. It was illuminated by a swirling blue portal and on the other side he could see a field of moving darkness.
And at the entrance of the portal, a tall skinny man in a black cloak was struggling with the girl, trying to toss her into the portal. The man looked at SIN and gasped. "How did you get by Malock?!" He said in shock. "He was the best I could find!"
SIN grinned and lowered himself, preparing to pounce. "He dead. No fun." He muttered regretfully, "You die too."
The man looked at the portal and then at the girl. Then he twisted her around and held her between them, a knife appearing in his hands as if from magic. It occurred to SIN that he was probably a sorcerer and had great power. "Don't move or I will kill her." He said.
The girl looked at SIN in fear, completely paralyzed. For the briefest of moments, SIN hesistated, feeling a strange feeling in the back of his mind. Most would call it sympathy but SIN was a stranger to that feeling. But he then locked eyes with the sorcerer and grinned again. He lowered himself once more.
The sorcerer realized that SIN was still going to attack and tightened his grip. "I will kill her. I have killed before and will not hesitate to do it again." He ordered. His voice was strong and confident and SIN knew he spoke the truth but something about the way the girl shook told him something else.
Slowly, SIN reared back, preparing for the jump, smile still on his lips. "She dies. No matter. You still die." Then the smile grew. "You die worse." Then he sprang forward, keeping low to the ground. The sorcerer yelled out in surprise and pushed the girl forward, hoping to block SIN. But the girl simply fainted and fell to the floor and SIN leaped over her prone figure, claws outstretched and a vicious roar escaping from his throat.
The sorcerer grunted in surprise and brought up his arms. There was a flash of light and a blast of fire burned into SINs chest, knocking him out of the air and he landed on his back with a grunt. The smell of burned flesh and feeling of cooked skin made SIN laugh insanely, pounding the floor in mirth. "Good. Need fight." SIN said as he got off the floor.
"Impossible." The sorcerer said, "You can't still be alive!!"
"I am." SIN said simply. Then he leaped again.
The sorcerer yelled out something and a brighter blast of fire shot out, tagging SINs shoulder and sending him into a spin into a stack of axes which snapped like twigs. Some of the wooden handles caught fire and smoke quickly filled the room. SIN lay among the fire, feeling the fire spread across him.
Azgard stood at the front of the small fire, looking into the smoke. He didn't see any movement or hear that chilling evil laughter. But he didn't stay alive for the past 700 years by trusting death. He brought both hands forward and summoned a huge firestorm that erupted from his fingertips and blasted the corner away. He heard the sound of burning wood and sizzling hot metal, but nothing moved in the raging inferno. And that haunting hideous laugh was gone.
Finally satisfied that the beast was dead, he stopped his barrage of flames. There was silence between him and the fainted girl as he waited for the monster to barrel out of the fire and attack again but nothing happened. Only the sound of the blaze and the soft humming of the portal could be heard.
(At last, I can finally proceed with my plans.) Azgard thought as he turned to the girl, preparing to finish her as well. (Malock was a hard loss, but it's not like I wasn't planning on killing him myself when the mission was done.) Almost regretfully, he raised his arms into the air and light filled his palms. (Pity to have to kill such a pretty young thing.)
Suddenly, the ground behind him exploded as two large hands grabbed the back of his robe. Azgard gave out a loud exclamation of surprise as he was hauled backward, the deadly energy shooting from his hands and smashing into the ceiling above him. The last thing he saw were large stones falling toward him. He did the only thing he could.
He screamed.
Karee woke dizzy. She remembered very little of what happened. Azgard and Malock were going to kill her and her family then some monster came smashing in. Then she ended up in Azgards arms, pulling her somewhere. Then the monster attacked again and then nothing.
She got up slowly. The ground was shaking slightly and she didn't think it was because she banged her head. Looking around, she saw a large fire in the corner of the room and behind her was a cave in. Karee saw tatters of a black robe poking from the stones and realized that the evil sorcerer was dead. Beyond that, the portal shimmered palely. It looked like it was weakening.
"Hello?" She called out timidly, afraid what else might be around. But there was only silence. Deathly silence. Karee got to her feet slowly and started toward the door when she heard the pile of rubble move.
Karee turned around just in time to see a large hulking form push off the heavy rubble and pull up a thinner limp body. It's eyes gazed around the room until they spotted her and she saw a dark grin cross its face.
(Oh no!) She thought frantically and she turned to run but whatever it was coming after her was a lot faster. It blocked her exit and hunched before her, looking at her with dark but inquisitive eyes. (It's going to kill me now too!)
The monster slowly moved forward, sniffing the air. It then stopped and nodded to some unspoken voice. "You live." It said then moved to the side, letting her by.
At first Karee didn't understand then she realised that he was letting her go. "But why?" She asked. The monster looked at her for a second then shrugged before moving back to the corpse of the sorcerer. Karee looked down the dark corridor that would lead to her freedom then looked back at the monster who was sniffing Azgards body.
Finally, she started down the hall, but had taken no more than two steps when she heard footsteps and saw the light of torches moving towards them. (The guards!!) She thought happily, then she realised what it would look like to them. They would try to kill the monster who had saved her and many good men would die trying. But in the end, they might kill him.
Moving quickly, she entered the room and ran up to the crouching monster who was presently licking burns on his arms. "You! You have to leave now!" She said. The monster only looked at her stupidly. "They're coming! They're going to kill you!"
The monster smiled and nodded his head. "Fight! Kill them!" He said.
Karee shook her head in frustration. "You cannot kill them, they are good people. They are my people."
"No killing?" The monster asked, a befuddled look on his face.
"No. No killing." Karee said then pointed at the slowly fading portal. "Go through there. The sorcerer has many bad guys there who will fight you."
The monster smile reappeared only more evil. "Fight bad guys!! Kill them!" And without hesitation, he leaped through the portal and disappeared in a small flash of light seconds before the portal itself closed.
At that moment, ten soldiers burst into the room and were awed by what they say. A burning mess in one corner, a dead man half buried in rocks and a dirty young girl who looked like she'd just witnessed one of most terrifying things in all the realms.