Rise of The Fallen (unedited Version) (COMPLETED)

chapter 36

–kora– 

frozen in place and unable to move I stared at the hanging body before me.

The xandisian man was tightly secured against the wooden post by ropes around his arms, legs, waist and tail that seemed to have severely cut into his skin leaving deep raw cuts, no doubt due from him struggling to break free. 

Most of the blood across his body from the markings and ropes was dried meaning he's been here for a while. There were trails going down all across his body to the end of his feet and his tail was limp, sagging against the ties that bound it. 

Despite all the symbols that seemed to have been cut into his arms and legs the one on his chest seemed to be a lot fresher. It seemed more like a twisted image of an animal skull than any kind of xandisian writing that Elazar showed me, and fresh white paint also covered a majority of his body. The only places that weren't covered in paint were where his blood had dripped and washed it away.

Unfortunately I hadn't really learned how to write in their language so most of the symbols were illegible to my eyes. 

Besides the bloody injuries covering the poor guy's body he also seemed to be quite thin and Malnourished, how long has he been stuck like this?

Turning my head to gaze around at all the bones on the ground, I quickly took notice of how they were specifically placed in a sort of pattern. Most of the skulls were surrounded by smaller bones that encircled them and were all faced outwards away from the victim.

It reminded me of some kind of ritual sacrifice that you'd see in a movie…

Hesitantly I stepped closer, looking at the symbols carved on the body while question after question wracked my brain. Why was this guy bound here? What do these symbols mean? Did other xandisians do this? What's the reason for inflicting such a cruel punishment? Does Elazar know about this? Was he involved somehow? Would he know what they're symbols say?

As I got within three feet of the body, the eyes shot open and its head lifted with a growl making me nearly scream, and jump back a little.

He's fucking alive!?

The man's growling quieted as he looked at me with glazed eyes before lowering his head back down, seemingly too exhausted to keep it up. His dried lips muttered words that I couldn't quite catch as he stared blankly at the ground below him.

I gave my racing heart a moment to calm down as I looked at the horrendous state the man was in. He's still alive. Did someone leave him here like this to die? But why-

Hesitantly I stepped closer but the xandisian didn't move nor look at me. "Hello?" I greeted in xandisian.

Small mutters under the man's breath were my only response. "D-do you need help?" I asked bending down a little to get a better look at his face.

Still no response, he didn't even look at me or seem to register my existance, he looked completely out of it almost like he was in a trance as he continued mumbling. I only managed to catch a few words he spoke as I got a bit closer. 'Hungry. Pain. Pale one.'

Pale one seemed odd, was he talking about me? Maybe he did register my appearance, either way I knew he was suffering. He's hungry and in pain, but should I help him or walk away? 

I glanced around the forest in uncertainty. If I leave him here he will die. But what if this guy is some kind of criminal among his people? If I free him I could get in trouble with Elazar…but there's also a chance he's one of El's people. Leaving him here to die just seems wrong. Criminal or not I think his punishment has been severe enough.