Between Worlds

Prologue

*ATTENTION! WARNING! CONTENT HAS REAL WORLD THEMES, AND DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE AS WELL AS LANGUAGE. READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL! *

It was a stormy night. The sky rumbled with vigor and clouds gathered atop the forest. A hooded rider rode a horse down a dirt path road surrounded by nothing but trees and vegetation. The horse's silver mane shone in the darkness as it grunted and pushed on. In the rider's hand laid an oval stone. It gleamed and sparkled as they clasped it closer to their chest. There wasn't much time. They were being followed as it is and no doubt the tauri had been watching this whole time. The rider was tired and weak, but they pressed on. 

The fate of all of Xuara was in this little rock. Further down the dark dirt path they reached a clearing. Fog started to slowly flood in from all sides. The rider reached for the sheath to their sword. They looked around for the slightest hint of disturbance. They got off the horse and put a simple parchment of paper inside the bag at the side of its saddle. "Get this to my sister and the resistance, I'm afraid it's too late for me. I will protect the stone with my life. But that doesn't mean you should lose yours." they said. The horse whined but the hooded rider caressed the horse's head. "It's ok, in the end my end will not be in vain.

For I have seen a future, a future in which this world is ruled with love and peace. Not hatred and chaos. Now go!" They pushed the horse forward and it galloped past the fog with ease as if it just gave way for the horse to leave. But around the rider the fog thickened and then unveiled a single figure. "Did you honestly think you could get away? Freya?!" they asked with poison rolling off every word. The hooded rider pulled down the hood covering their face. She had long hair that hung behind her, fair cheeks and lips. Eyes of white that surprised every enemy she faced. And at the side of her head were ears with pointed tips. A symbol of eleven descendance. "Well maybe you were so slow that I simply lost notice, Rudieus." she spoke sarcastically.

His lips curved into a twisted smile as he unsheathed his sword. Freya did the same. The silence was deafening. With only the sound of the storm and the wind filling their ears. Who would attack first? The first blow is usually the winning one. And then clang. Freya looks to see Rudieus's sword collide with hers in a split second. She held steady and pushed him away. His foot scratched at the dirt as he was pushed away. They sped towards each other. As their swords collided. Two combating forces met. Cling, slash. The sound of metal scratching at each other filled the woods. As they battled at lightning speed, Rudieus sustained many cuts and wounds. Freya was also not without being untouched from battle.

"Dracerus!" Rudieus hissed. Fire burned at Freya's leg. She screamed in pain and stumbled back. Flame engulfed his palm as he slowly approached Her. "Not so powerful now, are you?" he asked with poisonous amusement. She looked up at him with daggered eyes. "This path... that you have stumbled along... Will be your undoing one day" she said with ragged breath. "Yes probably," he replied with sharpness. "But I will be yours." He raised his sword. It glinted in the dim fog. And he brought it down with force. 

In that moment Freya cast her only and final spell. The area instantly brightened, Rudieus was pushed back as energy blew in from all directions. The stone burned in her hand, as her body deteriorated from all the magic. With her every inhale and exhale came pure unrestrained primordial magic. Particles surrounded her, particles that were once part of her, her very being. Rudieus shouted as he regained stature and sped towards her to prevent what she was about to do.

She held out her hand stone on top, she closed her eyes. Her hair flowed unrestrained and burned at the ends as the stone consumed her. Opening her eyes, the stone started to levitate in the air. A beam of pure energy rippled from the stone into the ground. It ripped open a giant hole, a rift in reality. She blasted the stone inside as a shockwave emitted from the epicenter of the rift. "Noo! You wench! You ruined EVERYTHING!" 

He began running towards her, sword in hand. She looked towards him. Her eyes were burned and hollowed out with nothing but those white irises left. But she still saw everything and beyond that. With what magic was left of the stone Freya fought Rudieus off. She blasted him several times across many meters of forest. Leaving much damage in the trees and surrounding areas. Before she could blast another attack the pain of all that power finally settled in. Freya clutched her chest and breathed in sharply, tears in her hollowed eyes. Wielding this much power was not without a price. But despite the pain she held up her crackled palm. Rudieus used way too much dark magic and was protected by the tauri. So, he could potentially survive anything.

Anything, but this. This would be her final act in this world. Sealing away the only one who could wield the powers bestowed and taught by the tauri. In her palm gathered energy was being generated. She was harnessing the stone and her life force. It would kill her, but she was dying already. "H̸̢̻̝̞̗̼̘͇̩̆̈̽̆͝à̴̡͙̭̩̯̘ͅl̸̺͖̦̳͙̯̦̹͍͖͘ř̵͍̹̍̿̍̀̑̓̏̚͝é̴͕̜̙͇͓̳́̍̉͛̍͑ͅͅg̷̛̞͙a̷̢̧̜̩̮̪̕r̷̪̼̋̄͑̓̈d̴̨͔̭͖͍͕̘̬̽̊," words rolled off her tongue. In a language she didn't understand, a cold and ancient one most likely as old as the stone itself. Rudieus cast a shield to prepare for the coming attack. A bright light engulfed them both as Freya cast the spell. A giant explosion leveled most of the forest and mountains nearby. When the dust finally settled, there was nothing but a huge crater in the ground. There were no remains of Freya, nor Rudieus, just a black abyss. 

Thank you for sampling this writing, I hope to have time to write more. But I have time to burn anyways. Also, I got pictures from the web, so apologies in advance if they seem familiar. 

Kind Regards,

BlessedPandemonium (Writer, Author, editor)