The God's Game

usurper pt 1

They say in the face of death, you see your life flash by.

River thought about his father, the man who had never spared him a kind glance. River thought back to the night of banquet, the way Lucian Verlice tried to say something to him. He saw Mireya Huxley and her narrow dark eyes. They were filled with contempt and disgust whenever they were turned on him.

River thought of his memorial tablet at Arcton ancestral hall.

River saw Valour, his stupid face and stupid smile. Their childhood, the golden days of his life .He thought of Ayla and the soul crushing sadness that seemed to eternally haunt her hazel eyes. He saw Azize , her soft plump cheeks and tiny hands.

River couldnt hold her at the banquet.

He thought of Aithan. The kind ,giant of a man who would constantly nag him to eat more. He thought of LouLou , tried to imagine his head rolling off from the chopping block.

River thought of Raven Alistair .

It had been a very short, miserable life . There was not much to remember.

His unrestrained descent to death was interrupted when a hand tightened an iron grip around his forearm. River heard the pop as his arm snapped in two, tearing a gutteral scream from his mouth. Stinging agony surged through it ,knocking him out of breath.

Though it happened excruciatingly slowly, River felt himself being raised. He tried very hard not to cast his gaze down at the watery damnation over his ruined shoulder. Raven Alistair's twisted visage eventually caught his attention from over the pit's edge.

"Your other hand!"

River strained his barely conscious body and fiercely reached out his other arm to Raven, who grabbed it with a monstrous amount of strength . He let out another cry as agony seeped up both of his legs.

"Fuck ! Fuck! Fuck !Fuck!" Cursing, Raven hauled him up over the edge . "Roll over ! Your legs are on fire!"

River had already realized this after experiencing dizzying anguish and the scent of burning flesh. He rolled around violently, trying to extinguish the flames on his long robes.

After a few minutes of frenzied rolling, the flames subsided. Fire had licked his legs up to his knees, leaving them in a condition River really did not want to see just now.

"What the fuck! " Raven grimaced at the sight of his cooked  legs. "The fuck!"

River had not realized he was crying until he tried to speak but only managed to choke out a sad sob .

"Im alive" he sobbed, turned to the side and threw up his dinner .

"You are , you are"  Raven held his disheveled hair back ,which had likewise burnt at the ends. He gently rubbed his back so River wouldnt choke on his own sick.

"My apologies " River wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "That was unslightly"

"I dont give a fuck " Raven deadpanned. "Can you get up ?"

He tried pulling on River's hand to help him up and jumped back when he screamed.

"Its broken , dont touch it"

Raven ran a trembling hand through his hair.

"You have the worst fucking luck Ive ever seen" he commented. " one of the boxes were closer to the edge than the  other two"

"This was indeed an error on my part" River replied "Thank you for saving my life"

"I wouldnt even have your fucking debris to give you a decent funeral  if you fell " he peeped down at the omnious pit of glimmering lava. "Im starting think god fucking hates you"