A Journey's End

[Eggles the Beagles 252]

Rozaliya knew that this day may very well be her last, this was not an unfamiliar thought to her of course. Thinking to herself the countless times where she had prepared for such a thing, to never come home that is. So when she wrote letters to leave behind in her cozy quarters at Carnatia’s keep just as she had done before, she never thought that this may be her final time of this ancient process of which had now become habit. “Perhaps I’m a fool for even writing these now…” She half mumbles with a chuckle. Even then she places the letters neatly on the desk, making note to tell a guard where they should find such things in the event of her absent over a week.

 

Rozaliya was just leaving the Carnatian keep when Katherine and Nemir rushed up to her, both seeming out of breath. “We saw them,” was all that Katherine could say through heavy breaths.  Rozaliya seemed confused as she looked over to Nemir for an explanation. “Hauxir and Rodney,” Nemir started, she was just as exhausted as Katherine was.  Rozaliya’s eyes widened, raged filled her as she raised her ironclad hands to grip both of her friends’ shoulders, “Lead the way, they mustn’t evade us this time!”  With this, the trio began to hurry out of Kovagrad.  They eventually found themselves deep within the mountains of the dwarves, two figures were visible through the drifting snow.

 

Rodney and Hauxir had turned to face the trio slowly approaching them, “Fire a warning shot.” Hauxir muttered to Rodney with a raspy voice.  Rodney nodded as he slowly blinked, twitching while doing so.  He raised his arms, sparks beginning to flash before his palm in a numerous amount. They gathered in number and intensity for some moments before the charged bolt would shoot out towards the ground before the three.  “Turn back now,” ordered Rodney as the three women stepped backwards from the warning shot. “... Or face death.”  

 

Angrily, the trio drew their swords and slowly crept closer to a snowy slope, they all glared up to the two. “We’re not leaving,” responded Nemir as vulgar comments flooded out of Rozaliya’s helmet towards them.  Katherine remained silent, nervously looking between Nemir and Rozaliya as she firmly grasped her sword.  A wicked grin came across Hauxir’s rotted visage as he raised a grotesque hand to point at Rozaliya, “Is.. Is t-this her, Nemir?” he’d ask almost excitedly. “What in the **** is wrong with him?” Rozaliya muttered to herself, readying her blade.  Katherine stared up at Rodney and Hauxir with wide eyes as Nemir began shifting to her right, slowly unclipping a grey potion from her belt.

 

As the three slowly began to move closer, Rodney raised his palm to face them with a mild twitch. A sizzling sound would be apparent as more sparks flashed before it, gathering quickly as a bolt formulated. When done, such would arc away from him towards Nemir's right side. She promptly dropped to the floor from the bolt’s power, twitching and squirming in the snow due to the pain.  Her sword and potion fell as well, landing in the soft, cold snow.  Katherine seemed frozen in fear as Nemir fell down, she watched as Rodney looked over to Rozaliya who was shouting up a storm of slurs and comments at the two, cautiously inching closer. “Come on!” she’d shout.  

 

Rodney would glance up to the sky then, letting off a soft grunt as his eyes narrowed. A rumbling noise soon became apparent in the sky, a pressure being felt around the trio. A flash of light was seen as lightning striked down in the snow in front of Rozaliya, followed by a clap of thunder.  It made the armored woman shoot backwards, her helmet flying off as she landed in the snow with a grunt and a few muttered curses.  Hauxir let out a sickening laugh as this happened.  He quickly strode towards Rozaliya, unsheathing his sword with a twisted smile.  Rodney followed behind him, drawing his blade as well.  He glared towards Katherine as sparks zapped from his sword, slowly getting closer to her.  Katherine seemed tense, she rose her sword upon looking at Rodney, not even noticing the elderly man who had appeared behind him.  Rodney had gotten close enough to Katherine to attack, he swiped his sword at her.  Her blade met his which sent a shock through her body, causing her to jerk back and into the snow.  Rodney took a step closer to Katherine before grimacing and twitching his body, he jolted and shook before dropping to the ground with the elderly man glaring at him, “Dammit, Rodney..” he muttered.

 

“You oughta fokin’ grab your ankles and kiss your rotted ass goodbye right now!” shouted Rozaliya to Hauxir as he stood above her.  He brought his sword up to swing down at her with inhuman strength.  The sound of metal clashing together echoed around them as Rozaliya’s sword flew out of her hands and towards Katherine.

 

 Nemir finally managed to push herself up, hunching over while clutching her side with a pained expression shown upon her visage.  She weakly grabbed her sword and dragged it behind her while slowly shuffling past the elderly man and Rodney who remained twitching in the snow.  “You’ve done it now, Rodney,” said the old man, still glaring at the man spasming and gritting his teeth in agony.

 

Hauxir raised his sword once more and swung it down at Rozaliya’s head after she had sent him a hopeless kick to the gut.  His sword swung with ease, decapitating the woman.  The white snow around her turned into a deep red as it was soaked with her blood.  Hauxir’s distorted smile remained as he turned to Nemir who looked upon him and Rozaliya’s corpse with horror. “I always keep my promises, Nemir!” he cackled out while turning to flee down the mountainside, disappearing completely as Katherine and Nemir hurried over to their deceased friend’s side.

 

Rozaliya Malinov was born in Adria, 1521.  She died fighting in the year 1566.

Her grave sits beside her father’s in Lorraine.

 

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Where the fight had occurred, Rozaliya’s helmet and sword have been left behind to mark where she had fallen.

 

Spoiler

                                                                                                      

 

 

 

[Eggles the Beagles 252]

After a week of her absence from her stables in Carnatia, letters from before her disappearance would go out the various people who they were addressed to. It could be also be noted that the stables in which were once very lively and noisy, now remains quiet and barren. The legendary banners of Rozaliya Malinov gone along with her even more legendary horses...

 

[winterblood 11181]

Nemir stumbled into her tower exhausted, in  pain, and full of grief.  She gripped her injured side as she slowly shuffled down the steps and into the basement, sliding her right shoulder against the wall for support.  After treating her burns and informing her husband of what happened, she rested in bed full of sorrow and sadness. 

(Will comment more once the letters have been posted))

[JEEGK 1367]

"I did warn them..." Muttered a "man" wrapped in old and torn clothing.