Completed The Missing Hand

[Xen]

The First Day Of Summer
516 A.V.
Nyka, Northern Quarter

The Northern Quarter is Uphis's stomping ground. Something about the quarter attracts fighters of all types—poor and skilled—to the idea of sharpness that seemingly permeates the atmosphere of the place. Even the reclusive viper, Xen, is drawn to the quarter. The place—in some way—calls to his warrior spirit, appeases it in fashions he did not understand.

Xen walks the street in search of the strangeness that attracts him to the Northen Quarter. Around him, as he searched, were dozens of humans in bright clothing. Colors like red, orange, yellow, even green and blue made up the attire of the people here, which is different from the usual dark and bleak colors Xen had become accustomed too.

“ So, these are the people of Nyka,”
Xen says within the confines of his mind.

The vibrantly dressed Nykans began to look at Xen, expressing curiosity towards the leather armor-clad viper: who dares to don black while amongst their bright color scheme. Xen did not understand why the people were paying attention to him—it was very strange—since he had not done anything to warrant it. Though, he did have weapons on him, like a machete-sword and katana. But the rest of his possessions were miscellaneous things and other nicknacks.

“ Strange, the feeling of being watched isn't subsiding,”
Xen thinks as he walks casually.

Xen looks around to see if any more eyes were on him, but no one seems to be focusing on him now. So Xen decides to keep walking close to the flow of people that was near him, just in case someone or some people try to do something to him. The crowds would serve him if he needed to make a quick escape.

“ It is unnerving, knowing that someone is observing my movements. I'll need to lose them in the crowd so that I can be at peace,”
Xen thinks as he moves forward to send his plan into action.

Suddenly, someone bumps into Xen, stopping his planned actions before they could reach fruition and forcing him to stumble back. Luckily, Xen's able to regain his balance and prevent himself from falling, but he quickly turns his attention to the person who bumped him from behind.

A short and slender elderly man stands in Xen's view, his tanned skin donning many wrinkles and the color of his eyes reminiscent of the sea. Beautiful like jade. The elderly man appears distraught as he breathes heavily, seemingly on the verge of weeping.

“ Please help me, they have taken my daughter! Warrior, if you help me, I will pay you handsomely. So, please get my daughter back, please! ”
The elderly man pleads from his heart, hoping that the stranger he'd just met would be kind and help him.

“ Fortune smiles upon all, but not upon you on this day it seems, ”
Xen turns away from the man who was distracting him and taking precious attention from his quest.

“ No, don't do this! They are traveling to the Wildlands wilderness, knowing they can do what they like without being seen by the monks. I fear for my daughter's wellbeing, Warrior. Please take this stranger's request,”
The elderly man reaches into his cloaks pocket and a familiar, jingle sounds.

Xen's ears twitch
“ Well, I suddenly feel motivated to help you for some reason, ” Xen turns to face the elderly man, accepting his request.

[Xen]

The First Day Of Summer
516 A.V.
The Wildlands


“ I don't trust that old man. ”


Xen walking along an open trail recalls feeling something strange surrounding the elderly man who—by coincidence—ran into him and asked for his assistance. However, Xen was beginning to have some doubts, questioning whether or not the man's story was genuine. And if it was truly a coincidence that brought the elderly man to him.


“ Why didn't I notice his strangeness back then? Why do I realize it now? ”
Questions, soft and still, like whispers, linger within Xen and echo into the depths of his mind, questions that would go unanswered for now.


Life flourishes around Xen, loudly and heavily, in the form of birds, blackbirds that occupy the treetops and crowd branches with their numbers. But the birds are not alarmed by Xen's presence despite his intrusion upon their territory. Instead, they seem to be very curious and observant of his movements.

At first, Xen ignores the blackbirds since he was familiar with them and their tendency to be watchful and opportunistic. But as time wanders and flows, pushing forth life and death, he notices their strangeness.


“ First, it was the old man and now blackbirds? Usually, they would not remain so quiet and allow something to wander near them, ”


Xen notes the behavior of the blackbirds as this was the only action he could perform at the moment, especially, since the birds were out of reach and the situation was too strange. Plus, he did not want to engage the blackbirds simply because they were staring and observing him from the branches. However, Xen could not disregard the eerie avian creatures, which reflect his visage within their black onyx like eyes.


“ This day is not mine, ”


Xen's tone is devoid of enthusiasm as he spoke, seemingly like the forest around him. The trees sway naturally in the wind, but the atmosphere held a feeling of desolation and quietude. There is life, but it watches and keeps its distance. The air is clean and crisp, yet a foreboding coldness lingers within it. Xen senses these oddities, which explains his tone and why he could not ignore the signs around him. Signs. The strange old man and his story, the blackbirds, and the missing daughter—including the coincidence itself—were pointing to something he could not perceive.

Finally, Xen breaches the brush, leaving the company of blackbirds and escaping their gaze. Now he did not need to be concerned about the distracting blackbirds but worry about other horrors that could turn what he has experienced so far into eerie and minor memories.


“ I don't see or sense anything at all. I'm starting to think otherwise, ”
Xen's doubts began to grow significantly, which causes his motivation to waver and give way to frustration.


Then the wind shifts in Xen's direction, sending air to kiss his face and nose. But Xen did not experience pleasure, only displeasure because the air held the foul scent of blood and death.

[Xen]

The First Day Of Summer
516 A.V.
The Wildlands


“ That smells awful and because of that, I'm not going over there. ”


Xen covers his mouth and nose from the odor, yet the aroma slithers through the crevices of his fingers and invades his nostrils. So noisome was the odor. Xen decides to retreat from the area, opting to avoid the smell it harbors entirely and search elsewhere before he vomits.

But just as Xen was leaving something moves in the brush. The disturbed plants and movement catch his attention, causing Xen to place a hand onto the handle of his katana and unsheathe the weapon. Then a familiar, haunting silence permeates the atmosphere which causes the air to feel tense and unsettling.

Immediately, the peaceful forest became a hostile world: one filled with ominous and mysterious shadows that threaten to consume all, and a scent of death so powerful it numbs the senses. Amongst this Xen was standing anxiously, he wanted to escape the ethereal foulness that pestered him. But what stopped him was an unknown threat.


“ I know you're there, come out. ”


Xen says sternly and authoritatively, his voice echoing across the darkness and gripping the still silence powerfully. Then the absurd happens a beast, brandishing a severed arm, steps from the shadows, silently and imposingly. It dons rigid, bony protrusions upon its scaly and visibly thick hide while sharp fangs jut from a cadaverous maw.

The beast stood on fours, supporting it were claws that seemingly held an unrivaled sharpness. However, it's eyes, pale, white eyes projects a feral and primal hunger which made all its claws, fangs, muscles appear meager. A mere gaze from this beast carries hints of violence, whispers of death and promises of short, but severe pain.


“ Oh no, you can go back, ”


Xen motions the beast away with his katana in an attempt to send it elsewhere. However, his effort was in vain, for no apex predator would pass on the opportunity to seize the neck of his prey and snap it in two. The bearlike marrow dog crouches and lower its body in preparation for a hunt.

Xen interprets his foes action and then runs. He sprints towards the thick forest brush, knowing that the trees would slow down his pursuer. Behind Xen violent movements and growing is heard, the beast was behind him, seemingly struggling to move its massive bulk across the green.

Xen weaves and darts through the gaps of the trees, passing their massive trunks and displaying his speed. The only physical attribute of his that had not been corrupted by doubt and unease. Xen jumps over a bush that unwillingly sought to impede him as he ran, but a natural instinct saves him, preventing him from experiencing and seeing the ensuing, disastrous consequences.

If the surroundings were like the Falyndarian jungle—harsh, cluttered, and thick—the bush would have sealed his fate and gave the marrow dog a hearty, serpent meal. But not today. Xen refuses to die beneath the claws and fangs of some random beast. So, he ran and ran as hard as physically possible on the legs that have carried him through darkness and the bad and good moments of his life, and upon the sturdy soil and the soft, green grass.

[Xen]

The First Day Of Summer
516 A.V.
The Wildlands

It was the worst, being chased by a bear-sized marrow dog that is.
Xen ran with his life on the line. He jumped over a small bush and stumbled when he landed onto the ground. But Xen quickly regained his composure, fearing the jaws of the creature behind him and continued running. He wanted to avoid letting the beast catch up to him because that was certain death. So, Xen maneuvers through the trees and jumps between the gaps of those he could not go around in an attempt to lose his pursuer.

Lagging somewhat behind him was his pursuer. The marrow dog chased Xen through the forest brush using clumsy and hobbling steps; it did not appear to be in good condition. The beast drooled profusely and panted loudly during the chase and glared at Xen, who it could not catch up to yet. Xen continued to run and did so hard and fast. He felt twigs and leaves crunch beneath his feet while branches slapped his shoulders and face as he did so. But Xen did not care about these things. He just wanted to get away.

Luckily, his stamina had not faltered. Xen was able to maintain his speed throughout the chimes and keep distance between him and the marrow dog. However, circumstances were about to change.

Xen was running and noticed his was approaching a large bush: it was taller than the other bushes he had encountered before and greener with light blueberries and thick thorns. Xen speeds up to place more power into his legs before he was upon the bush and then jumped over it once he was close to it. He is airborne for a moment and then his body lands onto the ground, which collapses beneath his feet.


“ NO! ” Xen flails his arms for a moment and tries to grasp onto tree roots that were protruding from the ground. In his haste, he fails in doing so and falls into the pitfall with his right hand still outstretched. Xen could hear the steps of the marrow dog approaching him as he fell. Too great was his misfortune.


Xen felt utter panic and total despair cascade over him like a murderous hand. He hits the bottom of the pitfall, adding his body onto the tally of bodies it had claimed. Fortunately, nothing was broken or bruised—thanks to the soft corpses of animals and other unidentifiable races—yet Xen was not happy. Forcefully cast into an abyss of death was not something he wanted to experience and he wished to escape the unfavorable circumstances immediately.

The marrow dog tore through the bush Xen had jumped over and looked down into the pitfall. Immediately, it noticed Xen in the pitfall and after judging the depth and width of the pitfall realized that he was out of reach. The marrow dog still snapped at Xen though, despite circumstances and then snarled at him.

Xen crouched and then leaned his back against the wall of earth behind him. His actions suggested that he was not bothered by the marrow dogs aggressive behavior. He knew he was trapped and lamented his fate within the pitfall as he felt it was meaningless to resist it.



“ Is this how I die, stuck in a hole amongst smelling and rotting corpses? I deserve better I deserve a happy and peaceful death! ” Xen shouted; his voice carried a tone of anger and sorrow. The despair he felt overwhelming. “ I want to be embraced by my loved one's, not by the stench of decay and maggots! ” Xen continued; he appeared on the verge of madness.



“ I need to get out of here! I need to get out! ” Xen exclaimed as he began to claw at the earthen walls surrounding him like a desperate animal trying to escape a small and tight enclosure. Xen scrambled around the pit, tripping and falling over the dead as he went on to descend into mental disarray. He felt like he was being forced to walk over all the mistakes he made in life. He felt like they were grasping his ankles and trying to pull him down into the blood soaked earth so that he could feel the weight of his steps and decisions.


“ This can't be the end, right, RIGHT? I was good. I lived honestly. Let me out. I need to get out. LET ME OUT! ” Xen suffered in a state of unrest.

[Xen]

Darkness descended upon the world and painted a canvas of a moonless night. In this world, once illuminated by the sun and blessed with color, Xen sat in utter blackness and woe. He had fallen into a pit of despair and was unable to escape. The walls were too high for him to climb and the blood on them made it so he would not be able to. Xen had tried to climb the wall while he was panicking and screaming but that just made his situation worse. Now he had to deal with exhaustion and fear in a place wrought with death.

Xen looked up and saw nothing, yet he stared into the void above him. He wished to see the stars before he died or at least something willing to cast some light on him. Anything besides the blinding emptiness that encompassed him. He greatly desired solace amongst the horrors around him.

Xen flinched at the sound of something moving above him. He could feel the creature's presence as particles of dirt tumbled onto his face and leather armor. Xen knew what this creature was—the marrow dog—the beast that had damned him to die in a place so forlorn that bodies were allowed to rot before the natural elements. He was truly cursed or had wronged some deity in his past life.

Xen scrambled to the other side of the pit because he did not want the marrow dog lingering above him. He could not see the beast. However, he could feel its gaze and the bloodlust it exuded, which allowed him to locate it in spite of the darkness. The marrow dog walked near the edge of the pitfall to follow Xen; it watched him intently, like a reaper that loomed over the dying.


“ I was tricked. That old man never had a daughter, ” Xen said faintly


Xen placed all the pieces together. The old man's sketchiness, his story about his daughter; the blackbirds and the marrow dog all were linked. Except, Xen could not figure out where the blackbirds fitted in so he assumed they were probably just odd omens that foreshadowed his misfortune. Xen felt like a fool for realizing his mistake now.


“ You are going to die down here, ”


A stranger's voice suddenly rolled in the darkness. It scared Xen and prompted him to look around. He saw nothing nor smelt anything beyond the stench of corpses, blood, and filth. Instantly Xen felt anxious he thought he was alone in the dark, yet there was someone or something in the abyss with him. And he did not know how long it had been there. Xen remained quiet and motionless after hearing the voice. He was trying to find out where it came from and listening for movement within the pit.

For a moment it was silent—nothing disturbed the quietude that plagued Xen—then something moved. Something crept with limacine grace around the side of the pit like it had been cursed with an unbearable burden. Xen listened to the new threat that decided to add itself to his list of troubles. He found its existence very unpleasing and wished for it to go elsewhere. To any place great enough to keep it hidden from him.

Xen held is katana as he focused on the unknown, moving entity. He was willing to take this thing with him to the grave since he was going to die and did not want to do so alone. Then unexpectedly, the worst happened. Xen heard movement on his left and right side and sensed the presences of two other entities near him. He immediately panicked. The visages of horrible monstrosities digging through the earth to devour his flesh appeared in his mind.


“ Face the grave with calm resignation, ” One of the entities said as it inched towards Xen in the darkness.


“ No! Never! ” Xen stood up and engaged the new threat.


Xen strikes the entity with his katana. He does so repeatedly in an attempt to cut it down before the other two entities intervened. But the blade would not fulfill its task in time due to circumstances and Xen's mental state.

The entity advanced onto Xen and grabbed his wrist. Xen pulled his wrist free and struck it with the blade of his katana, which forced it to stagger back and hit the wall. Xen was about to stab the entity with his katana but was interrupted by another entity that jumped onto his back and knocked his katana from his hand. Xen responded by smashing the back of his head into what he hoped was his foes face and slamming it into the wall. The entity stubbornly hung onto Xen as he struggled and the other entity got up and joined the fray.

Now Xen had two foes, one gripping his waist and the other his back. Xen fought fiercely; he kicked, elbowed and punched his clingy foes relentlessly in an attempt to free himself before his strength yielded. Xen felt fear and hysteria gnashing behind every exertion; his muscles burned and mental and physical fatigue built up within him. But he continued to fight until his balance waned and his limbs were sore.


“ Ah, you carry the stench of forlornness, which is a suggestion of a blackened heart. Our god of undeath, Uldr, shall take you instead, ” A voice that belonged to one of the entities preceded a shriveled hand that gently caressed Xen's face. Xen jerked his head away from the entity, showing that he would remain defiant until all resistance within him ceased.


“ I'll have your... un...undead heads... upon a stake. You will...will... rue this night! ” Xen weakly declared as an odd, musty odor suddenly permeates the air around him and takes the last of his strength.

[Xen]

Second Day of Summer

Xen screamed when he woke up. It was the kind of wailing cry that stemmed from a tortured and dying soul. One that was relieved from unbearable darkness yet had the misfortune to get to witness what that darkness concealed. When Xen pushed his body off of a corpse, he experiences the sensation of his hand pushing into dead, cold flesh and his nails tearing through it. Xen grimaced and scrambled to his feet and then vigorously flicked decayed flesh from his hand.

He quickly remembered the undead and their reason for not killing him last night—Uldr. Xen did not know that there was a deity presiding over the undead and undeath. He never considered it, nor believed that such entities reminiscent of corpses would have a god. However, Xen felt he should have expected so, especially, since the likes of his kind had two deities they worshiped.


“ Uldr, I cannot fathom its image or why it would be interested in my desolate life.” Xen thought as he looked upward to the light of day he believed he'd never see again.


“ But where did the undead go? ” Xen asked after he lowered his head and glanced around. At first, all he noticed was the dead and his miserable circumstances then he saw a rope dangling on the other side of the pit. Xen resisted the urge to run and grab the rope because he did not trust it.
The situation was too good to be true.


Xen's hand trembled because he wanted to get out but his mind told him not trust the rope. Logic and instinct started to clash within Xen; survival instinct and experience were at odds. He had outstayed his welcome within the pit and needed to escape before the beast and undead returned. And the means to do so was right in front of him; one that was convenient too convenient, like it had been there the entire time.


“ Time to test my fate, ” Xen thought as he retrieved his katana and then sheathed it.


Xen walked up to the rope and gently grasped it with his right hand. He proceeded to close his eyes and focus on his inner djed. Xen felt his djed course through his body like the water he desired it to become. He then furthered his concentration and compelled his djed into action as he slightly lifted his left-hand. Afterward, djed in the form of res seeped through Xen's and levitated above his hand.

Xen transformed the res to water, shaped it into a ball and then hurled the newly formed liquid upwards. Xen pulled the rope as the water flew through the air and held onto it with all his strength. He was expecting someone or something to pull the rope up while he gripped it, yet that did not occur. There was no action at all. Xen looked like an idiot, especially so, when the ball of water he made fell back down and smashed onto his head.


“ Ugh, ” Xen groaned as he proceeded to climb the rope.


Xen placed his right foot on the wall and jumped to plant his other foot. He grunted at the sudden strain on his arms but endured it and started to walk up the wall while holding the rope. The thought of leaving the pit and feeling the dirt instead of corpses beneath his feet occupied Xen's mind. The thought compelled him forward, inticed Xen to push away the fatigue that gnawed at him.

Xen climbed and climbed until he was able to look over the edge of the pitfall and see the forest floor. Xen grabbed onto the warm soil with his left hand then hastily grabbed with his right. He dug his nails into the dirt for leverage and pulled himself upwards by utilizing his upper body and arm strength. Then in one explosive lunge, Xen managed to escape the pitfall, exhausted and relieved.

However, there was no time to rejoice. Xen leaped upwards and unsheathed his katana as he heard a sound in the bush in front of him. Xen knew he did not have the strength to escape; he was too tired to run. And he refused to expose his neck and back to the enemy. Xen grasped his katana with his hands and undertook a fighting stance with his blade held out and pointed upwards.

Xen waited for more movement and then lunged with his katana. He felt his blade cut through thin branches, leaves, and then something firm. Immediately, Xen stepped back and retracted his katana before the thing tried to grab his sword.


“ Hey, are you done? ” A woman asked.


Xen flinched at the sudden question but quickly realized she was not addressing him but the man who stumbled out of the bushes with a bleeding throat. Xen stepped away from the man and proceeded to walk to his left to get around him. The man desperately tried to block Xen's path with his bloody body, which in turn forced Xen to swing his katana and strike him on his left temple. The last thing he saw as he lied on the ground was Xen walking through the brush with a bloody sword and his lover screaming. He had failed to escape the wretched old man.


“ Please, stop! I can't go back to that old bastard. He keeps me inside the house! I don't want to be a "priceless possession" again, ” The young woman shouted.


“ At least your life has some meaning, ” Xen pushed the young woman forward and urged her to keep walking with the tip of his katana.

[Faradae]

Xen
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E X P E R I E N C E

• Observation +1
• Wilderness Survival (forest) +1
• Detection +2
• Running +2
• Acrobatics +2
• Endurance +2
• Weapon (Katana) +1
• Unarmed Combat +1
• Intimidation +1
• Reimancy +1
• Climbing +1

L O R E S

• Location: Nyka - Northern Quarter
• The People of Nyka: Bright Clothes
• Wilderness Survival: Blackbirds are quiet and opportunistic
• Marrow Dogs: Fearsome predators
• Vegetation slows down pursuers
• Uldr: God of the undead

N O T E S

A nice thread! Though the end felt a little rushed, I still enjoyed reading it. I liked the portrayal of Xen's panic upon being trapped, and am left with a couple of question, as befitting of a Nyka-based thread.
When using your katana, be careful of how you describe usage. Having a perfect battle stance and striking precisely where you intended to without facing any problems seems a little much at novice level, which is why only one point was awarded.

Please remember to edit your grade request to reflect that this grade has been seen to!
If there are questions about the grades, please contact me via PM.