[Flashback] From Helpless to Merciless [Solo]

[Kiara Killraven]

18th day of Spring, 503 AV The little girl screamed as the men dragged her away. Some how the little girl managed to wiggle free of the two rather dirty looking men and run back towards her home. The little girl couldn't have been more then ten years of age. The girl stumbled as she reached the woman that was standing on the wooden porch of the home the men had dragged her from. Her small body crashed into the woman's body, her arms grasping the woman tightly. Her crying renewed as she looked up and tried to plead with the woman. "Please mommy don't let them take me!" Words continued to stream from the girl's mouth. For a few moments this went on before the men made their way back over to the girl. The woman simply pushed the girl away and turned around. "I'm not your mother", the woman said before she disappeared back into the home she had once shared with her daughter. Those were the images Kiara saw as she was lead from the cell she had been sleeping in for the last few days. Even though the event had been four years before, the images were as clear as if they had just happened. That had been the day her mother had sold her to a brothel. Her life hadn't been easy. It seemed some men found her white hair exotic. They didn't seem to care if it had been a little girl or not. The white haired teen felt her stomach almost spill itself as she thought of her recent past. But it seemed all of that was behind her now. Once again she had been sold. Well maybe not sold per say. Even as such things ran through her mind she was being lead to the blood pits. This place was where you settled debts you were unable to settle through payments of money. After much haggling the owners of the brothel had chosen to send their prized money maker to the pits instead of trying to settle the score themselves. As the girl was escorted into the center of the pit the crowd above let out a roar. The cheer surprised the girl, scaring her, her body starting to shake slightly fear. What had she done to deserve such a thing? She had not been a bad child. She had always obeyed her mother and taken her beatings in stride. Yet her mother had sold her. From that action came where she was now. Her life was going to end. A tear ran down her cheek as she resigned herself to her fate. In the end it would be better then the life she had lived up till now. When she thought about it, the sweet release of death sounded appealing. The man was lead out in front of her made her stomach turn. She remembered his face well. He was one of the brothel's "regulars". In his time visiting the brothel he had taken a liking to Kiara. He would often beat her while he spent time with her. When she would cry it would only make things worse, both his actions and the beatings would intensify. The man grinned at the white haired girl. He knew as the rest of them knew. They would see a girl killed this day. The crowd didn't care who it was that would die. They just wanted blood. Such things excited them as a whole even if singularly they wouldn't have wanted to watch such a thing. The man wasn't fat. He wasn't exactly fit either. Just from looking at the bag of filth you could tell that he was used to an easy life, one of telling others what to do. His pooching stomach was evidence enough. The man that had escorted her to the arena shoved a dagger into her hand and exited. It had been the only thing the brothel had given her to defend herself here. Evidently that all she was worth. The man pulled the dagger he had sheathed at his side and pointed the tip at Kiara. "I dun think I'll kill ye' off tha bat. I' a mind to do oter things to ye' first." The man's accent and words sounded as terrible as ever.

[Kiara Killraven]

The words chilled Kiara to the bone. He had been the worst 'customer' that she had had at the brothel. Even then, his actions had been those of someone that knew that they couldn't put lasting damage on the merchandise. Kiara was just starting to realize that in the pits you could do anything you wanted to your opponent. Even if such things were worse then death. The brothel had been hard on her. There had been many unpleasant things that had been done to her. Many things that would effect her as she grew older. Many things that had already effected her. This man in front of her planned to do things much worse to her today. At the pig's words the crowd roared again. They wanted sex, they wanted blood, and most of all the wanted to watch someone die. Kiara's eyes drifted to the dagger in her hand. It was a plain steel blade. It wasn't something that was terribly expensive and she could tell from the handle that it had seen a lot of use. Again she asked herself why she had been through a life like the one she had. Why did her life have to end this way? Again her body started shaking. But for the first time in her young life Kiara wasn't scared. It wasn't fear that caused her body to tremble this time. As she looked back up at the man, the man who had caused her so much pain over the years, her eyes were filled with rage. In her hand rested salvation. A chance at a better life. If she could win this fight she would finally be free of the life she had been forced into. The young girl took a step forward. The man started laughing and made a comment to the spectators. The crowd seemed to find humor in his words as well because they burst into laughing soon after he spoke. Such words were lost on the white haired girl though. All that she focused on this brute of a man in front of her. Her eyes, once cold and almost lifeless, now shown with a new light. Rage could be seen behind those pupils. A fire so intense it threatened to consume her very soul. This wasn't that same scared kid it used to be. This was an entirely new being. Something of hate an anger. An agent of Wrath. The young girl took another step towards the lout. Each step she took seemed easier then the last. Each step she took she shed that husk that she had come to call life. Before now she had not let herself hope that she could be free. She had not let herself dream that she might control her own destiny. Now the opportunity stood before her. She wasn't going to just let it slip through her hands. Without speaking a word her slow walk became a jog. Soon that too sped up, first transitioning to a run and then a full out sprint. Up came the dagger. She was going to kill him and earn her freedom right then and there. He was going to pay for what he had done to her. They all were going to pay. Even later in her life she couldn't make out just what tipped the man off to her attack. It could have been the gasp of the crowd. It could have been the sound of her foot steps. It might have just been instinct. It might have even been a combination of those things. The man seemed somehow to tell that his life was in peril. The man was able to twist his body enough to back hand her with the back of his hand. The impact of his hand crashing into her face caused her small body to go flying to the side, her footing lost. The dagger went skidding across the ground a few feet from her. The young girl however, was angry enough now that she barely felt the blow. All that crossed her mind was slipping that long blade into this man and watching his life fade from this world. That one thing had her full attention. Nothing else seemed to matter to her right then. In a moment she was on her feet again. The recovered dagger still felt cool in her hands as she raised it again and approached the shirtless man again. This time when she attacked the man she wasn't as careless as she had been the first time. She brought the dagger across the man's stomach. Or she would have but the man it seemed had obviously been in such a situation before. For the first time she realized he might be good at something outside of the man beatings she had received at his hand. Again she tried to bring the dagger to bare, this time slashing at his shoulder. This time he simply moved out of the way as her dagger met nothing but the air. Despite the obvious decent into obesity that the man's body was going through he was still surprisingly agile for one that was packing on the pounds. Kiara stepped back in an attempt to back away from the suddenly energized man. She realized too late that the man had other plans as he stepped in. Right towards her heart his dagger darted. It was instinct then that saved Kiara. It was not training. There was not any thought in the action at all. It was pure reflex. As the dagger closed in on her body she some how managed to bring her's across her body and deflect it enough to only cause a shallow cut on her left shoulder. For the first time in years Kiara smiled. It was a short lived smile. As his dagger was deflected the man twisted his body, turning it and bringing the back of his hand into her face yet again.

[Kiara Killraven]

Kiara's anger was still raw. It hadn't diminished in the least. Yet when that blow connected with her face she almost blacked out. The pain that coursed through her body from that blow was more pain that she had felt in a long time. Definitely the worst she had ever felt without losing consciousness. Her body flew to the ground like a rag doll. The crowd on the other hand roared their approval at the action. For a moment he let off Kiara and basked in the cheering of the crowd. This was a man who had obviously never held the attention of so many. He seemed to be enjoying his first time in the spotlight. Kiara stood up slowly. As she straightened herself she shook her head slightly trying to banish the 'stars' from her eyes. The man didn't seem to notice as she went and picked up the dagger she had dropped. The fat man turned toward her again. She realized all over again just how much she hated the man as he grinned at her. That grin of his held enough malice and ill intent she could feel it cause a chill run down the back of her neck. As she stood there her legs wobbled a bit. It wasn't from the chill of fear that she had felt a few moments before. Even as untrained as she was she knew that her lack of balance was an after effect of the blow she had been given. The white haired girl shook her head slightly in an attempt to clear it of the dizziness that she was experiencing. She could feel a slight trickle of blood run down her face from where the man's fist had broken the skin on her scalp. She ignored it and focused her eyes on the man in front of her. The crowd seemed to like that she had as of yet to die. Still the young girl ignored them. The only thing that held her attention was the man in front of her. Again she charged the man. Her resolve was firm. She would kill this man for the things he had done. She would kill him or she would die trying. Faster and faster she ran. She closed the distance quickly and was soon within the larger mans reach. As before his hand came arcing through the air towards her head. In the life she had lead she had learned not to make a mistake more then once due to fear of the punishment. That trait paid off for her at that moment. After so many blows to the head she had expected for him to hit her there again. As she closed in and that fist made its way through the air she managed to duck under it. As the first passed mere inches above her head she launched herself at the man. The pig was surprised enough that despite his lunge backwards to get out of range of the girl, she managed to land a solid albeit shallow cut across his bare stomach with a side ways slash. Finally she had the man moving back from her. The crowd roared their approval as she moved forward. Her heart ached with the need for revenge and her blade was thirsty for the blood of another. In the little girl moved. Even with her small size and her young age rage fueled her swings with a power beyond her years. Across his chest she sliced again. It didn't matter that he was able to keep out of her way. Still she continued to slash at him blindly at his shoulder, at his hip, at his arm it didn't matter. Whatever appendage was closest was what she attacked. Now the fight started in earnest. Whether it was purely fury that drove her or quick learning. The Kiara that fought the rough man now was utterly different from the one that had been getting beaten moments before.

[Kiara Killraven]

The little girl charged the larger man. It was like that of an animal that knew it was in danger of losing it's life and had nothing left to lose. The white haired girl suddenly fought like one possessed. It is often said that the power of someone's will can substitute skill. The little girl closed the distance between herself and her opponent far more quickly this time then she did the last. Even in her fury she still needed to get well within her abuser's reach in order to be able to attack him. The man watched her as she approached, that menacing grin still dancing openly across his lips. He obviously did not think he could lose to child, much less a female child. It was evident in the man's actions that he no longer wanted to play with his prey. As she moved in his dagger came up at her chest. Luckily for her the height difference between herself and the larger man was enough for her to duck under his thrust. Without thinking she let her body's momentum as she ducked propel her arm sideways. The handle of the her dagger crashed into the man's hand. A loud crack sounded out as handle met flesh. A shout of pain found its way out from between his lips as the man lost his grip on the dagger and drew his hand back. Kiara wasted no time as she dived for the man's fallen dagger. With each of her hands now grasping a dagger she stood back on her feet. A grin slowly spread from one end of the girl's face to the other. The man finally looked away from his hand and back at the girl but moments before he had been tormenting. Now however his grin did not return. For perhaps the first time since the fight had began he realized he very well just might die there in the pits. Above the two combatants the crowd roared their approval at the reversal. The spectators it seemed were a very fickle lot, only interested in the bloody parts of the fight and not really who the one drawing the blood was. The girl rushed in again. This time she swung both the daggers. It was something she was unused to. The man was surprisingly agile as he jumped back out of range of the young girl's furious assault. He was not fast enough to avoid the trailing dagger though. The dagger cut a thin line across the man's stomach. The gruesome fellow pulled continued to retreat from the girl that now bared down on him. His anger seemed to banish his fear. As she came in the second time he stepped in. Kiara's young dark eyes widened in surprise at the man's bold move. The girl did not have time to avoid the fist that arced in at her. The force of his fist hitting the side of her face caused the future assassin's body to spin as it crashed to the ground. Both of the daggers she had once grasped were lost as she fell. She heard the man letting out a string of curses aimed at her but it sounded faint. For a moment she just laid there, blood dripping from her lip where it had impacted one of her teeth. Then reality came crashing back as the man turned her body over. He said something else but again it was lost to her. He began ripping at her clothing as she started struggling to get away from the man. He mumbled something in her ear about what he would do to her as the crowd continued to cheer at the man's actions. For a moment she managed to wiggle free from his grip and slide across the ground but his hands grasped her again as he pulled her to him. Flailing her arms Kiara screamed as she tried to escape. For a moment her hand touched something metallic. That is all it took. Grasping the recovered dagger she stabbed the man in the shoulder. He fell back in pain, pulling himself across the ground as the girl stood up. As she approached the man he began to beg her to not kill him. But in the blood pits there were only two ways you left the arena. Either as a corpse or as the victor. The girl straddled the man's body as she stabbed it again. She didn't stop there. Over and over she stabbed the man as blood and parts of flesh were flung in every direction. Minutes later the white haired girl stood up from the dead body. The entire time she had been stabbing the dead man they had been quiet, stunned at the result of the match. Now stood before them a girl of only fourteen summers and she was covered in the life's blood another. They simply loved it. The crowd let out a cheer that was louder then any since she had gotten there as she moved to leave. The former slave had entered the arena without hope. The girl that left the arena that day was one that was without mercy.

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Kiara   Skills Skill Gain Info. Weapon (Dagger) 3 -- Brawling 1 --   Lore N/A