Open A Dance With Death

[Aoren]

61st Day of Autumn, 512 AV

Aoren was not usually one for grand displays of magic but in this circumstance such power was called for. He dove to the side narrowly dodging a dagger aimed for his midsection and darted for a tree. He was running as fast as his legs would carry him.

“Stupid Aoren. Very stupid. Why did you travel so far from Syliras on your own? You –knew- the dangers.” He knew why. He wasn’t able to practice the finer points of his craft without being hunted by the knights if he had been closer to the city. So here he was in the Bronze Wood, a good distance away from Syliras and he had encountered a ghastly creature of the worst sort. He could only hope that he would survive the encounter.

Using his staff as a counter-balance he jumped over a fallen log and managed to pole vault behind the nearest tree. Taking that precious time to focus on the Djed within his body he pulled together the whimsical flows of wind and the burning passions of fire to form a more streamline form of chaotic energy. Aoren watched as the Res in his hands began to crackle and twist as it fought against his control. Wisps of white-blue energy trailed off into nothingness but he kept the core of the crackling sphere of lighting carefully within his scope of power. Without a moment’s hesitation he rolled out from behind the tree and hurled the bolt of lightning at his aggressor.

Everything seemed to slow down in that moment. The trees were illuminated by the magical lightning that rocketed forth from Aoren’s outstretched hand. Five miniature bolts joined together at a central point to form one larger one that etched out a jagged path of fire and destruction toward a hideous monstrosity. For that is what had attacked Aoren. A monster.

Standing not but ten feet away from the young Drykan male was a withered husk of a man. His skin was gaunt and dry as if he had been lying in the sun for days without end. His skin was also pale, nearly translucent in appearance. Aoren had never personally run across one of these hideous creatures. He’d only ever heard stories of them. All of those thoughts were pushed aside as his lightning bolt made contact with the walking corpse at the shoulder. The cadaver howled and was throw several feet back as the force of impact sent it flying.

Aoren felt the strain of his magic take its toll on his body. He would not be conjuring another one of those very soon. He surmised he had enough strength to at least run as far away from this creature as his legs could carry him. He didn’t wait to see if he had effectively charred the thing to a crisp rather he turned and ran. He came upon a line of shrubbery that was slightly higher than his knees and used his momentum to jump over them. He used his staff as a means of support again pole vaulting over the obstacle in question. His eyes went wide as he realized his mistake. He should have taken the time to look over the bushes.

He was at the top of a hill that, while not steep, definitely put a damper on his graceful landing. Aoren used the few seconds he had while he was in mid-air to release his staff and tuck his arms in to his chest. He hit the ground hard not but a moment later. The impact jarred his senses and the momentum of his forward movement carried him onward into a hapless roll down the side of the hill. He slammed into the ground at the bottom of the hill and gasped as he saw stars. Adding insult to injury his staff came down and whacked him in the shoulder. Aoren groaned.

“Great. Landing, Aoren. Work on your landings.” He lay there for a moment trying to catch his breath but he didn’t want to linger for very long. Mustering the will to move however proved to be a more difficult task in his disoriented state. He grabbed his staff and used it as support as he pulled himself into an upright position.

“Whoa…okay. Steady. Easy does it.” The world was spinning and all sorts of colors that it shouldn’t have been. He gripped his staff and waited for the dizziness to pass before hobbling forward. His shoulder stung where he connected with the ground on impact and he was certain there was a cut on the back of his hand. The point was he needed to keep moving.

“Need to put as much distance between that thing and I as possible. Dammit, Lee…why did you have to go and vanish?” He cursed his ill fortune. The one friend he knew had gone missing a year ago. Life in Syliras had been a lonely existence ever since. Many times he had contemplated leaving the city. The only problem was he had no idea where he was going to go, nor even a clue as to how to get there. Wherever there might have been.

So for now he kept moving forward and hoped that he might run into someone else out here who might not be a bandit or other ghastly creature that would devour him whole.