Gael's Point of View820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMv8Ti78tc
"Princess Zaraline is truly alive!?" I was shocked, and relieved. She was alive. Against all the odds, she was alive, and seeking out the help ofthe dragons no less!820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIL0I3rBcah
"Yes, milord. A scout saw her heading north in the company of three men, all dressed for the harsh climate of the Weygate Mountains," replied Sir Gendrik. "They say that once she has sought the aid of the dragons, she will return and take her place as queen. She promises our enemies will burn."820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMTabuXC5A
I smiled. That was the Zara I knew. Ever fierce and independent. The north would follow her. And so would I. They Weygate mountains were dangerous. If I rode fast through the countryside, I would be able to catch up with her and her companions. I'd be able to help them.820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKAf3vDbIR
"Tell Karth to ready my horse. I ride north."820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OtP6HQfp6
"But milord, are you sure? Your father will not be pleased."820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBZQOoH776
"I don't give a rat's arse what father is going to be pleased about," I began, standing up. "The woman I love is alive, and needs me. I will go to her."820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsENQPqyuK
"As you say, milord." Sir Gendrik bowed, and then marched off to find Karth. I returned to my quarters to gather my things.820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpT7NoHyqgI
Before night fell, I was on the back of my fastest steed, and racing north. 820Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDH7SBty1Zn
~
I didn't give a single thought or care in the world to how reckless I was being until it was too late.
I had taken a shortcut through the woods to the main pass into the mountains. I snapped the reigns to pick up the speed when I had heard the howls of wolves in the distance. Were they actual wolves, or shadeworgs?
They howls followed me into the forest, and steadily got closer. They were hunting me.
I unsheathed my blade as I snapped the reigns again to pick up the speed even more. I felt eyes looking at me from everywhere.
Fear coiled in my stomach, and made a cold sweat drip down my forehead.
Something lept out in front of me, causing my horse to rear. Another creature crashed into my horse's side, knocking him over, and caused me to fall from his back. I landed on my back with a pained grunt. The growls that drowned out the pained screeches of the horse is what drove me to my feet.
An undead wolf was clawing and biting away at my horse's stomach as it was weakly trying to kick him away. There was no hope for the horse now, but I still rushed forward, separating the undead wolf's head from its body.
I pivoted, blade held aloft as I observed the figures of other wolves in the shadowy foliage. I was surrounded.
Slowly they stepped from the shadows, rotted lips pulled back over yellow canines as they snarled. I realized that I was in fact going to die here. There would be no saving the damsel today, or any day hereafter.
Still, I tried to keep them at bay, slashing my sword through the air. They would jump back, but then another would step forward. They continued to surround me, circling me. All the while, my horse's dying screams filled the air.
An upright figure appeared in the shadows some distance away. The close he got, I realized it was indeed a man, draped in deep brown robes. He held a bladed staff aloft. He stepped into the dim light of the moon, which casted sharp shadows over his pale face. A sinister smile pulled at the corners of his lips.
A necromancer.
"Yes, I think your head will fit nicely," he commented to himself. He spun his staff, uttering words of power. Purple energy formed along the length of the staff, illuminating the area with its eerie light.
The wolves tried again to close in even further, and I swung my sword, driving them back. I was only delaying the inevitable.
That moment I was distracted with the wolves, the necromancer do finished his spell. I looked back up just in time to see a ray of violet energy slam into my chest. The brief second I was conscious thereafter was only unimaginable pain. Nothing that anybody should ever have to feel.
~
I awoke in an unfamiliar location. The ceiling above me was decorated with Elven motifs. So, clearly some sort of elven ruins?
I sat up, realizing that I was naked, and laying amidst a very complicated spell circle. Half-melted candles surrounded the outer edge. Black candles.
In the back of my mind, I could sense and overwhelming amount of force, pooled there, clouding my thoughts.
I looked down at my chest, where a massive purple mark dominated my chest. I ran my hand over it. Numbness. Shouldn't it be hurting?
My hand stopped over my heart when I realized that it produced no beat. It was in that moment I realized I didn't even feel the urge to breath. There was no burning in my lungs.
...Was I dead? I had to be.
The door opened, and the gaunt man with the bladed staff walked back in. He smiled at me, a wicked smile. He was holding a helmet in the shape of a crimson wolf's head.
...He raised me. But I was still sentient? I remembered everything. Right up until the moment I lost consciousness.
I pushed myself to my feet, and walked over to him with every intention on snapping his skinny little neck. Only, as I neared, I felt a force pushing against my mind, willing me to stop.
The force was so strong, that I didn't have the strength to fight it I stopped just three feet from the necromancer.
"Fantastic," he muttered, observing me. He clicked his nails against the helmet. "How does it feel to be the first of your kind?" My gaze darted between the hound helmet and his grinning expression. I wanted so terribly to rip him to pieces. I did not answer him.
"Now, I know you can understand me. I can see the intelligence in your eyes. I command you to greet me," he said, his voice smooth, laced with confidence. Again, I felt that force against my mind. Resisting it felt as though my head was being shredded. So I gave in easier this time.
"Greetings," I told him, my voice gravelly.
"Good, good. Now, tell me your name. Without me forcing you to do so, if you'd be so kind."
"Gael."
"Gael, hmm? I welcome you, Gael. My name is Corithas." He offered me the helmet. When I did not immediately take it, I felt the beginnings of that force in my head, so I took it. I could vaguely feel the smoothness of the metal. I couldn't detect it's temperature.
"Whatever you were previously does not matter now. You are now my first son, Gael. The head of an army that will soon shake the very foundations of this world." I felt a sudden and intense compulsion to put the helmet on. It took me by surprise, and I had immediately done so in order to preserve my mind from the horrible ripping feeling of disobeying the compulsion. "Together, we can usher in an age of peace and immortality for all. A life without the pains of being alive, yet still able to enjoy the many pleasures of being a sentient creature."
Corithas grabbed my arm, leading me from the room. "Come, Gael, we have much to do... Much to discuss."
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