[Flashback] Fall From Grace Chpt.1 (Solo)

[Eridanus]

Day 24, Spring of 416 AV
Early Evening
Ruins of Nial, The Wildlands of the Sylira Region

Eridanus reached the dilapidated ruins without much hassle. It was just simple travelling, and no incidents occurred on the way. No bandits, no mercenaries out for him, no strange creatures, no animal attacks. It was completely boring and uneventful, and he could have sworn that providence was totally on his side. Even the horse he was on gave him little trouble despite his general ineptness in riding and handling horse. Heck, even the weather was perfect, neither too warm nor too cold. With all these little miracles happening together coincidentally, it was little wonder the ethaefal thought luck to be on his side. If there was a God of Traveling or Smooth Journeys, that god was most definitely watching over Eridanus.

By the time he stopped his horse nearby when the run-down buildings were in sight, he dismounted and carefully led his horse behind him slowly as he approached the ruins. The moon had just rose and the full celestial glory of the ethaefal was in display for all and sunder, except that there was no one. Thousands of years ago there would most probably be a village, possibly an entire civilization living here, but the apocalypse had destroyed everything, leaving only random buildings and dusty whispers in its wake.

Though there was no one, the ethaefal could hardly allow the low possibility that a thief might somehow appear and steal his horse, and he would most probably be screwed without a proper medium of transport this far away from civilization. It was with this cautious thought in mind that the leth-born began his exploratory search into the ruins, keeping on the main paths while navigating his way through the twisting streets with the reins firmly gripped in his off-hand.

Half a bell passed without incident, and Eridanus was still halfway through the main streets of the city. Though merely ruins, the remaining buildings still spanned a considerable distance, and the mercenary decided to first scour through the larger areas before going into the smaller spaces that his horse could not squeeze through. His main goal was finding a landmark described by his employer that would lead him to the object he needed to secure. No running, no hiding, no fighting, just a simple retrieval job with a generous time limit. It was a walk in the park.

As he covered almost two-thirds of the bigger areas of the city, he spotted a crumbling obelisk at short distance away. It was not in the central areas, which meant that he would have to navigate his way through the winding alleys of the ruins in order to reach it. If this was indeed the correct obelisk the object should be dropped somewhere inside of it. It should be anyway, there were no other obelisks of this height and shape as described by his employer.

[Eridanus]

Tying his horse’s reins securely to one of the poles protruding from the ground near the mouth of the alley he was about to enter, the ethaefal ventured forth, making sure not to trip over the various debris scattered on the ground as his eyes get adjusted to the darker environment thrown by the shadow of the overarching structures.

As he went on and reduced his proximity to the landmark, his ears pricked and he could have sworn he heard something. Stopping completely, he lessened his focus on his sight, instead paying utmost attention to whatever little things his ears could pick out. It could be little critters, or just his paranoia playing tricks on him, but it never hurt to be careful. It was this distinction that kept people doing his line of work alive.

There it is again.

This time, he was ready for it, and Eridanus heard what he believed to be a smatter of short phrases in a foreign language at a low voice. It was a low soft voice, like the person could not decide if he wanted to just speak softly or to whisper. He inched forward again carefully, making sure not to make a sound as he silently made his way forward.

The whispering got slightly louder the more distance Eridanus covered, and he got close enough to deduce at least three or more people having this hushed conversation. One of them seemed to have a urgent sort of tone, while one had a kind of measured curiosity, while the last one had a lazy drawl in his attitude. There could be more, but he could not really tell for his strained hearing offered only this bit of information.

He crossed a corner, and turned into another corner that would lead out of the alley he was in. This was when the voices got much louder, and he cautiously peeked out of the exit, seeing another small clearing up ahead. This clearing was not just a wider square that acted as a cross-junction to several more winding alleys, but also as the open area before the crumbling obelisk that was the target of Eri’s job.

The more interesting fact was that there were several large and brutish looking people about the clearing, some of them sitting down and munching on bread, while some stood side by side blocking the entrance of the obelisk. The ethaefal spent several moments more to observe and people and surroundings, and he counted two by the obelisk entrance, one lounging by the wall at the far end, two in the other corner leaning against an abandoned wagon while drinking from what seemed to be wine-bottles, and the nearest one to him sitting on the floor and chewing on a loaf of bread absent-mindedly.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus sighed. Why were there always people around to complicate things?

Putting on his most diplomatic face and the most harmless and cheerful demeanor he could manage, the ethaefal made himself visible from his hiding place, holding his hands up non-threateningly.

“Hail friends. I am merely passing by, and er, wonder if I can seek shelter in that wonderfully roofed building in front. You know how the other buildings have leaks about them, eh?” Eridanus announced in a falsely cheerful tone. It was a complete lie of course, but there was no need to reveal his main reason for being here.

The nearest grunt to him dropped his bread with shock, cursing as he fumbled for his weapon, and everyone in the clearing stopped what they were doing to look at the ethaefal uncertainly. Most of their hands strayed towards their weapons, yet no action was made. A few stole glances at one of the pair drinking by the wagon at the far corner of the clearing, and it was evident that he was their leader.

That man had a confused expression, as if he was not sure how to react, and without a word he walked into the obelisk. The rest of the men kept their eyes warily on the new arrival, and Eridanus did not move as well, glancing at them carefully but making sure to make himself look as small and innocent as he could.

Tension was high, though nobody knew what to do or how to react.

A short moment later the man emerged from the obelisk with a bent figure in black and gray robes. The figure was hooded, and it seemed that they were in a sort of hushed conversation as they appeared from the obelisk, with the leader of the group inclining his head every few seconds or so.

The hooded person stopped as he observed Eridanus, though his features could not be seen due to the darkness and the shadow thrown by his hoods.

“How were your nightmares about a dagger-wielding murderer like?” A rasping voice issued from the robes.

There was a short pause as the ethaefal’s mind raced to process that question, and suddenly it came back to him. The events that he had almost forgotten about a year ago that occurred in this same ruined city. The dagger that was the parcel he was supposed to be a courier of. The twitching body and the strangling mist. The nightmares that occurred after that of a dagger-wielding murderer.

[Eridanus]

“I… I have no idea what you’re saying,” the leth-born replied, shrugging as nonchalantly as he could as he began to turn around to leave the place.

But, he was too late.

There was a split-second where an expression of understanding appeared on the ethaefal’s face before he erased it, but that split-second was enough for the observant man to catch and process. Without further ado, he raised a trembling finger towards the retreating mercenary and croaked three words.

“He’s the one.”

Upon hearing these words, the men in the clearing instantly put whatever they were doing aside, and those with weapons drew them, while the rest searched for their weapons leaning against the wall or on the floor. The discordant sounds of several different weapons being drawn formed a cacophony of dissonant music, and Eridanus’ cursed his misfortune. He had no idea what was happening, but his heart knew what would be coming, and though he would loathe to admit it the very essence of his body sang with joy at the excitement that was to come.

He was half-turning away when the figure uttered these three words, and the ethaefal drew his cold-iron blade from the sheath strapped on his back. Utilizing his twisted position to give him more torque, he stepped forward with his left leg to provide him the necessary stability to bring the sword forcefully down, unceremoniously splitting the skull of the bread-eating man who was still in the process of standing up.

Without changing his position, he glanced up curtly to assess his situation, and from the corner of his eyes there was a flash of light. Eridanus flung himself to the ground as a ball of fire whizzed past him, dissipating as it hit the old stone walls having missed its original target.

Wizards!

That was exactly what he needed. More magic. Though he cursed more, subconsciously his heart sang even more, and unbeknownst to him there was a savage jubilance dancing in his eyes, the crimson gaze upon his visage beaming with excitement mixed with cruel malice.

[Eridanus]

Quickly recovering from his position, the ethaefal glanced sharply at where he believed the fireball came from, and he quickly backpedalled to the side to prevent an unobstructed line of sight between him and the mage from forming. The robed man was no longer in sight and so he must have re-entered the obelisk. This maneuvering put Eridanus closest towards the other man who was leaning on the wagon and drinking, and this man already had his sword gripped in his hands, but approaching his target warily.

Eridanus rushed forward urgently, as if he had a hunger for bloodshed that must be fulfilled, and as he approached he swung his blade from the typical straight position from ahead with both hands. The man brought his blade up to parry the blow, but the ethaefal’s momentum gave him the power to also release a strong kick a short moment after he swung his blade, and this kick connected, staggering the man backward.

Fire glinted in the ethaefal’s eyes as he continued on the trajectory of his leap, using his rear leg to execute a wide arcing side kick, his body turning as he did so to not hinder the circular motion of the attack. The staggering man was not able to defend against this one-two kick, and he was flung to the ground, his sword clattering below as he tried to re-orient himself to this new proceedings.

The moment the leth-born completed his kick he took several steps forward decisively, planting his leg unnecessarily on the man’s torso, stomping him and causing a grunt of pain. He brought his sword up high, pointing at the man’s throat and drove it harshly into the ground, causing an arterial spray of crimson to decorate the ground beside the fresh corpse as the poor soul twitched. The ethaefal coldly brought his blade back up, flinging his blade to the side to throw any residual blood or gore attached to it and his eyes darted over his remaining opponents who had been making their way towards him.

The other drinker, who was also the leader and the one who drew the fireball at him. The one using a large mace that seemed more like a club than mace who was lounging on the wall earlier. Two more each wielding long swords who were standing at the entrance of the obelisk. And two already taken out of the action.

[Eridanus]

Rushing forward at the one holding the mace, his sudden burst in speed along with his vicious visage caused the hardened mercenary to flinch slightly, and he brought his mace up to bear against the ethaefal. However, instead of running straight the ethaefal suddenly swerved to the side to the stretch of rock that formed the wall that the man had been slouching on earlier. He leaped from his run, kicked off against the wall in a graceful acrobatic maneuver, raising his sword up as he did so.

His unorthodox movement caused him to completely catch the man unawares for he had been guarding his front, and the ethaefal's speed allowed him to dive at the man's flank with a thrust, his momentum and gravity combining to push his sword through the man's torso like shish kebab.

The mercenary gasped in surprise, and his fingers that were rapidly losing strength dropped the heavy mace. Eri's flight caused his body to smash into the man's standing frame after he speared the poor fellow, and like before he used the man's body as a landing pad to cushion his fall.

Immediately on hearing the thud that signified both of them landing, he jumped up and plunged his remaining sword into his chest fatally, twisting it a few times to ensure that he was dead as the man gurgled for a while before rigor mortis took over.

He unsheathed his sword from the man's ribcage and took out the other sword that was speared through his side.

"Like meat, ain't it boys?" He taunted the rest, who were beginning to reconsider attacking him. The two who were standing guard were beginning to retreat to guard their leader, who was pooling another ball of res in his hands.

Magic again?

Well it was time for some sorcery of his own, and he began to look deep within his astral body even as he walked casually towards the trio.

[Eridanus]

It was clear that the leader was not completely familiar with Reimancy due to his frowned expression as he painstakingly pooled the res in his hands, muttering as he tried to throw up a big enough spell to take down the ethaefal. This worked to Eri's advantage as he was not exactly a master at his own preferred magic discipline either.

As he strode, he did muttered a string of nonsensical words, words that meant nothing on their own but actually served to focus his mental processes to throw up the imagery he needed. Tugging on the djed streams in his body he began to set a flow of djed from his upper torso to his legs, some going to his thigh while the majority going to his calves. He restricted the flow that came from his arms, for he would need at least some arm power to swing his blades effectively.

He could feel a slight chill in his chest as the djed streams redirected downwards. Flux was unnatural, for it circumvented the body's natural processes which kept it functioning optimally for artificial purposes. His legs began to feel stronger as more djed entered, and his strode became stronger, more confident.

The leader was done with his spell, and there was a loud cackle as the ball of res floating in the mercenary's hands lighted up. There was a sudden blur as the new fireball whizzed towards the ethaefal, and he leaped quickly, anticipating the motions in the man's wrists. Normally he might not be able to dodge it at this distance, but his magically enhanced strength allowed his legs to provide the necessary power to lift himself off fast and far enough, and the spell whizzed by harmlessly.

[Eridanus]

Instead of stopping, he used tumbled as he fell, using one of his blades to stab into the ground to stop his roll. Taking out the blade, he dashed forward in a lightning fast motion, his figure a blur of motion as the result of his spell came into fruition.

The guards gasped at his sudden increase in speed, and though they raised their blades to defend themselves, Eri's superior speed allowed him to leap to the side in a diagonal motion that brought him not only to the flank of the left guard but also on top of him. It was acrobatics combined with flux, and this combination pushed him high enough off the ground to allow a clear shot at the man's unprotected head.

He angled his blade to the side as he landed, lopping off the man's head as he did, and his companion swore as he swiveled in order to face the ethaefal.

It was too late.

For upon landing Eridanus was off again, running a detour around the headless corpse. He leaped in a diagonal manner, and kicked off against a nearby debris towards the other guard. The man's blade was up to thrust into the ethaefal's flying form, but Eri's dual wielding capacity allowed him to parry the other blade away to clear room for his main blade to thrust straight into the man's neck.

Even as he stumbled into his victim his legs lashed out in a powerful motion to trip the leader, and the remaining survivor fell to the ground together as Eridanus collapsed into the guard.

[Eridanus]

Using that guard as his landing pad just like how he executed his unorthodox attacks on the previous victims, he quickly stood up, pushing himself off the ground with his hands. The remaining mercenary was still getting up, and Eridanus made use of the flux-enhanced strength in his leg to stomp the man down, hearing a few cracks accompanied by a whimper.

He did not keep his eyes off the man as he bent down to retrieve his blades, almost casually stabbing them into the fallen guard to end his life immediately even though he would have died a little while later. It was almost as if it was like an afterthought, and it was tragic that such careless actions can be enacted by one at the expense of another. Life was precious, but only the ethaefal's own, and to him all other lives were meaningless.

"Wait! We're only mercenaries, let me go and I'll give you whatever you want!" The leader appealed, his labored breathing as a result of his broken ribs that might have possibly punctured his lungs.

"Not interested, buddy," Eridanus snarled cheerfully as he brought his main blade whizzing from above, decapitating the begging leader. Whistling as he looked around, he found no more motion and he cleaned his blades using the corpse's robes until they were free of blood and gore.

He did not sheath his blades, but he first began to calm his body down by regulating his breathing, focusing on the stray djed in his legs to bring them back up to their default positions. No point allowing his spell to continue running when he had no need of it. When he was satisfied with the more neutral state of his astral body, he began to approach the monolith, his blades carefully in front of him as he pushed the door open, letting himself into the building.

[Eridanus]

Despite the darkness outside the small room inside the building was surprisingly bright. A large orb of burning fire levitated high above in the center of the room, and he found several more of the robed and hooded people looking at him curiously. The bent figure who Eri recognized as the one who had came out earlier spotted the ethaefal entering, and he began to wheeze in laughter.

Before the ethaefal could do anything, he felt an invisible force push against his body, slamming him against the wall as his blades cluttered on the ground, his hands releasing the blades in surprise. He struggled, but he found himself pinned against the wall by the invisible force.

Two of the nearest hooded figures scurried forward to pick up his blades, hurrying back behind the congregation.

"What do you want?" He yelled in protest.

"You... have indeed exceeded my expectations. I have been watching you, yes... and despite what my associates think you'll do quite well for us. Poacher! Verify outside," the bent figure rasped.

One of the hooded men jogged outside of the room, probably to survey the carnage caused by the lone ethaefal. After a chime or two he returned, remarking, "No survivors" before returning to his original position.

There was a gasped that went around the congregation as the bent figure raised his skeletal hand to point at Eridanus, addressing the group of hooded people gathered there, "There you go. My judgement is always correct."

A deep and masculine voice belonging to one of the hooded men standing further back in the room cleared his throat and boomed, "You made your point, Middleman. Yet I do not see how he can benefit us if all he did was defeat a bunch of poorly-trained mercs."

The group began to titter, and the bent figure shouted a "Silence!" followed by a hacking cough.

"They are not 'poorly-trained mercs' as you claim, Messenger, they are battle-hardened veterans that I obtained with the assistance of Starcleaver's at no small financial cost. However if you wish, we can always test him against our own. Coinsmith!"