Grim Ruination, Birth of a Soul (On Hiatus)

The Gifts (2/2)

Svalken was getting bored. He'd killed more of these dumb gnolls then he could count. Some had tried to ambush him but they were all so slow. Not to mention they were as durable as tissue paper. One hit, even a glancing blow, was enough to shatter their skulls.

His boredom didn't last long however. He began to hear rumbling, like large footsteps, coming from behind him.

He turned just in time to jump over a skull flying toward him, only to meet a second that he knocked away with his weighted chain. But a third came from his side and slammed into his ribs.

He was sent flying into the cobbled roads before rolling and hopping back to his feet. He glanced up to the figure who controlled the skulls.
A large gnoll, nearly the size of some of the smaller buildings stood before him. In its hand was a flail with three chains hanging from it. At the end of each chain were the skulls, each glowing a very faint orange in their eye sockets. The gnoll's fur was overgrown and gray.
Svalken could see infernal embers flowing from the sides of its fur. Its eyes were a vibrant blood red and both lacked any irises.

"A Flind? Of course something like you is here." He mumbled to himself. He opened his free hand as a kama formed in his palm. He let the handle of the sickle go as it began to swing from a chain coiled around his arm.

"I really hate you fiends." He continued. He then began swinging the sickle around next to him from the chain. The blade and chain became nothing more than a blur as it sped up, throwing up bits of dust around him.

"You just walk in here like you own the place." The blade began to emit silver sparks, flinging them in a brilliant ring as the blade spun. "It's you kind of creatures," The blades burst into silver light as it spun, making a burning silver ring of souls next to Svalken. "That severely piss me off." He said before waving his hand as the silver ring dispersed and shot toward the Flind like a silver shooting star.

The Flind took half a step back and swung up with its flail, putting the skulls and chains between it and the silver streak. One of the skulls of the flail shot forward and knocked the blade away as it soared forward. The Flind then reared back its arm for a swing when a small weighted chain struck the side of its face. Despite its size, the weight struck with immense force, knocking the Flind to the side and crashing into a nearby building, caving in its stone wall.

The Flind tried to reorganize itself when the same gleaming silver blade lodged into it's chest. The beast roared as it's skin and fur began to corrode around the wound.

The infernal gnoll grasped the handle of the kama and began to dislodge the blade from it's chest when the chain attached to the kama's handle was pulled taught.

Suddenly, the Flind felt itself getting pulled from it's wound, like a fish attached to a fishing hook.
With a grunt, the Flind held it's feet to the ground after it was pulled nearly 10 feet by the force of the chain. He held one monstrous hand on the chain to pull against it without opening his wound.

On the other end of the chain Svalken glared at the flind as it resisted him. His jaw was clenched as he pulled the chain toward him with one arm. He muttered a curse under his breath as he spun and tossed the weighted chain at the flind. The weight burned with silver embers in a glowing arc as the weight curved downward towards the Flind's skull.

With yet another ferocious growl the Flind swung up with it's skull flail to intercept the weight.
"What a waste." Svalken mumbled. Suddenly the embered weight nearly tripled in size, dwarfing the sets of skulls that rose towards it.

As the force of the giant weight fell upon the skulls the bones began to crack. Then, with a howl that pierced the air, all the skulls shattered in a burst of necrotic energy.

The Flind's eyes widened as it bared its teeth at Svalken, its prized weapon having been shattered to pieces. The beast roared as it lunged forward, crying out a curse in an abyssal language. No sooner did the weight, nearly half the size of it's body, crash down on it's back.

The Flind let out a whimper as the lower half of it's torso was completely crushed into the ground; the stone road beneath it splintering into cracks.

The Flind's eyes still stuck on Svalken as he casually stepped forward. The beast's vision was beginning to blur as it's lifeforce began to fade away, the only reason it stayed conscious was it's rage toward the creature in front of it.

Svalken looked the Flind in the eyes as he saw it's soul begin to rise from beneath it's fur in the form of silver embers. He saw the rage in it's eyes, the hatred that it held toward him for beating it so effortlessly.

The eyes quickly turned to shock as it glared into Svalken's eyes which now looked like silver embers. He saw a form appear behind the elf. A being of hatred. A being made of silvery flames. He saw death itself.

Then Svalken spoke in the same abyssal language the beast had. His voice was calm and deadly cold. "Tell Yeenoghu it's best he stays in the abyss, less he never wants to return to it again." He spoke before the Flind burst in silver embers as its soul erupted from its body.

Svalken flicked his wrist as the chains around his arms faded into embers. Under the weight was the flattened lower half of the Flind.

Svalken stood glaring at the soul of the abyssal creature as it began to pull towards him like a magnet and iron. He turned and began to walk away as the soul was forced into Svalken as the spectral arms of many more souls began to pull it in until the Flind was fully absorbed.

Svalken took several more steps before he glanced down at his hand that shook lightly as a few small sparks began flowing from his fingertips. He looked back at the Flind's corpse before continuing his walk. "That mut's stronger than he looked." He mumbled before leaving the corpse in the street, paying it no more mind.