Before The Fall

[Gladuos 869]

Click

here for part one.

The snow falls delicately, slowly and peacefully into the taiga landscape. The trees are coated in snow and the sky is particularly filled with lightning this night. All across the land the monsters prey, they fall upon those unlucky enough to lose themselves in such a damned forest, but it's the sad truth of the world he lives in now. Below his proud mountain home, where humanity was tested.

Gladius stands before the beasts, their faces are pale as the snow falling before them. They sway and stagger as blood trails their mouths, the skeletons begin to crack and break as they walk, yet retaining their form by horrific means. As they take each step, the snow compacts and crunches beneath them and Gladius stares onward, his staff hanging at his side. He closes his eyes as the staff slowly rises into the air by his hand, the diamond cell at its end pointing warily at the monsters.

"There once was a dream,

In this man's heart,

That life was never sullied,

Instead was cherished,

Would not be perished,

And brought to eternal flame.

A keep was built,

So it was felt,

A burden they all could carry,

But darkness fell,

It did compel,

A burden for none to bury.

New burden made,

So lightness fade,

And the man was who to blame."

The poem rushes through Gladius' mind, his eyes are closed as the monsters near him, the darkness of his mind is part of his solution. He opens his eyes, the snow that danced for him moments past, now fly in patterns around a sharpened icy spike, floating like a cloud before his staff. With that, the spike flies forward, impaling a zombie as blood splatters its neighbor. The body of the zombie spasms and flails upon the ground, its mouth begins to snap and growl.

He steps forward and with graceful swipes and swings, Gladius smashes the diamond on his staff into one of the monster's face, the blood falls upon Gladius' face as well, he continues striking at the undead. An arrow plunges into his shoulder, a feeling of pain spirals through Gladius' body. Yet, although different, this is a pain Gladius had also become accustomed to. The staff falls behind him from the impact, the cell falls and shatters upon the ground. Rage-induced, Gladius steps forward and forces his own fist deep into the skull of an approaching skeleton.

He runs. Gladius runs again, pain upon his face. The blood trails behind Gladius, with the horde closely following. "Oh Ulric, is this what you felt so long ago? When you ran to my home dying?" Gladius continues to bleed from the arrow. He pulls the arrow head out, with much force and pain. The blood continues to spill. "The blood.. Would this be my punishment? Oh God? To bleed as I have made others?"

Gladius continues to run into the forest, blood and death closely trailing behind him. The night sky lights up with horrible thunder and lightning. Fear spirals down Gladius' spine once again, not from what was behind him, but from what lied before him. Gladius saw the hulking beast chanting incomprehensibly before him, the fear it induced brought such terror into him, and so he fell.

Gladius falls onto the ground and onto his body, hitting his head slightly against the ground. The image of Gladius' brother and thousands of others occupy the space behind the beast in Gladius' mind. Those whom Gladius loved, his friends, his wife and his brother. The piercing darkness is his eyes, his breath is death and his presence is ever-still fear incarnate. His voice, it is that of a dark thing unlike this world, it is hatred.

All things fade of Gladius sight, only darkness and faint muffled sounds emanate from around him. "As long as I lived, I've promised to him that as long as I could help it, I would not let myself die..." Gladius said as he began to weakly scrape at the ground in front of him by his fingernails. His knees join the battle, Gladius begins to crawl ever forward from his spot, a large puddle of crimson coating the lands behind him.

The sounds of death were but small whispers a few moments ago, before the fall, but now grow to a sailing wind, bouncing around in his ears. Gladius spills the contents of his stomach, his face even paler than usual. The blood rushes in his ears and Gladius only sees the image of his friends and family, but now the beast is gone. What ever cognitive processes are left in Gladius' dizzied mind is this, "Fight. Survive. For them."

In a couple broken attempts and several bloodied expulsions, Gladius warily forced himself to his feet, purpose once again set upon his eyes. He shakily reaches to his belt, pulling forth a rusty iron dagger. "So many lives taken by my hands through this dagger.. Let's hope it will rectify its actions." Gladius thinks as he stares at the dull blade whose bloodied color reminded him far too much of what he had done to so many.

Another monster reaches Gladius, its breath was far reaching, but Gladius turned and with as much strength as he could muster, forced the blade deep into the zombie's forehead. Gladius slowly pulls his own weak pale body forward, dagger in hand.

Click

here for the final part.

[youlovesocks 652]

Probably the most epic read ever. *claps*

[Gladuos 869]

Probably the most epic read ever. *claps*

((Thanks, then read my previous post that this was a follow-up from, Striking of the Moon. I personally liked that more. :P))

[Caln McHarnish/porkchopp2 71]

Hired as my personal writer

[Bircalin 332]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.