Possession | | ONC 2024

Chapter 1

The brilliant orange sun still slightly peaked over a bustling town. A nearby blue hootie whistled a peaceful welcome to the pair of familiar figures who entered the capital of Redbrook, Pali. Their mirrored steps and winsome giggling down the main road caused nearby folk a momentary distraction from their daily chores of seed planting, weed plucking, stock collecting, bread baking, egg picking, meat hanging, metal molding, herb pressing, and the rest. In other cases, ale drinking, palm reading, and vapor breathing, though those were more suited to the nightly crowd far on the outskirts of town.

A lady named Chanta offered a wave as she hung bedspreads out to dry.

Karissa, a bonny yet lanky miss, nodded back with a grin. The girl beside her, however, made no effort to reply. Her figure kept straight like a board while her mind wandered back to where they had just been.

"Rayla, you should smile back," Karissa said quietly through her grin. "Your vexed expression will make them worry."

Rayla had been nothing but distraught since the day prior. The two had been employed by a rancher and his wife to purify their cursed farm that no longer produced any harvest. For at least two moons, their lands had remained barren, dried up like dust, dispelling all liquids, and oddly enough- completely black. A curse was an easy rumor to believe, but unrealistic to those who knew curses well. They were rare. A more explainable cause was usually the case. And as fortune had it, Rayla, the mage, had studied hexes for many years. Upon receiving the request, the sisters prepared promptly. They knew how to dispel curses, but a curse it was not. The moment they stepped forth from the portal, they sensed its presence.

With a few words and a dash of blessed water (primarily for display), a long black and gray striped cobra emerged. Belly brimming with fangs and a hadean aura. And a demon head on top. Twisted horns protrude above a pair of full black eyes. It was, in its definition, a Kaifidi. A hybrid demon serpent of the Realm of Ruin.

Its goal was simple: absorb the energy around, bringing decay and death. And it would do so until its size could compare to an entire capital. In this case, the Kaifidi was discovered in its youth. With a quick chant, Rayla had dispelled it.

Its body recoiled and contorted in twists and knots as the rotten flesh dissolved. Not even a pile of bones remained. But an uneasy energy did. Rayla had knelt down to the dirt that still remained tainted black. She listened, and Karissa watched silently. There should be nothing, and yet there was something, ever so faint. An evil aura lay deep past the surface and the crust. It was a feeling Rayla had felt more and more, growing ever so slightly- The Realm of Ruin. The seal that had once been created to close off the Realm was weakening. Demonic creatures had begun to seep through.

"Rayla-" Karissa had noticed her sister's silence. "Don't let your mind wander. As I said, there is no need to worr-"

"There is a justified need to worry!" Twisted bobbing curls were followed by a jerking head and sharp stare. "I am worried." Rayla snapped.

Nearby villagers looked over in their direction, now more curious than before. Commotion meant gossip and gossip was gold.

"Shhhh. They don't need to know that." Karissa said in hushed tones before rolling her eyes. "Sometimes you are too transparent."

"The seal is cracking. If it continues-"

"Demon's can slip through anything. It happens."

"Why do you deny the feeling? Do you not feel the stare of those thousands of eyes? Do you not sense the hellish souls seeping through the dirt like an odorous erosive gas?" Rayla stopped and turned. Her eyes bounced between her sisters'. Karissa never had a half-witted moment. Her sisters always teased- she was all of them combined into one. Karissa was undoubtedly the best of them- the smartest, quickest, strongest. Her denial now was certainly not ignorance. "You're afraid."

"I am not afraid." Karissa scoffed. "Even if it is cracking like you say, Verona will just reseal it. Like the last."

"I fear that is only delaying an ever-growing problem."

"Your worry is an ever-growing problem." She nudged.

Her jest fell short. Rayla tried a small smile. She believed in Verona's power. Resealing the seal was simple. What caused worry was that regardless of fixing it, it continued to falter.

They moved quickly through the streets like ghosts with a secret- while life in the busy capital resumed. Known as the Mages of Redbrook, they were used to shouldering many secrets. It was their job, their duty, as explained by King Grashit. There were only six Mages in Vazrandin, and the sisters comprised more than half. If there was a problem, they solved it. As of late, they focused on more straightforward tasks: running their shop and dispelling any demonic creature that had escaped from the Ruins. As Rayla said, it was a reason to worry. If the seal was breaking, the cause was just as important as finding a solution. If sister Verona could not withhold the Realm of Ruins, who could?

"It will be fine. I promise."

Rayla wanted to trust in her sister's words. Together, for years, they had defeated any demonic being that had slipped out of the Realm of Ruin. For years, they had protected Vazrandin from the evil of the depths below. Together they had continued to grow. But so had the shadows that lurked beneath. She could feel their restlessness, their hunger. They craved to escape, to break free. Time was an enemy to be feared. Soon, the seal would not be enough to keep Vazrandin safe.

Karissa stopped upon the steps of a tiny hovel built within a stone slab.

Paint was edged into a wooden sign that dangled overhead. White layered petals decorated a floret that sat an inch above the words "Mageia Mage."

"Will you tell Verona?"

Karissa rolled her eyes, sighing.

"Yes. I will tell her. But no one else. Information is as dangerous as fire."

"Make sure you do." Rayla turned back toward the road. "I will return after my studies."

"Rayla." Karissa's arms found her hips. "Margrave cannot know."

Rayla opened her mouth to argue.

"By the Ruins, Rayla! I knew it!" She gasped. "You were going to tell him?"

"He's King Grashit's academic and my apprentice. It is my job to teach him what I know."

"But we know nothing yet! To speak of things we know few answers to is a dangerous game."

"I know what I saw- what I felt. The unease. The unsettle. Like an itch crawling up your nape."

"If that is what you felt, sister, I would be foolish to ignore it. I hear your warning. We will tread carefully and with haste. But until we understand the extent of the problem, we must tell no one." Karissa took Rayla's hands into her own. "Promise me this."

"I can promise this."

"Good." Karissa exhaled heavily. "We will talk more at supper." She twirled around and disappeared into the shop. Rayla wiped some dust off her dress, hoping the remaining strands of worry would be flung off, too. But as she arrived at the gates of the King's castle, her senses alerted her of a looming shadow. A figure in metallic armored garb, carrying a golden shield etched with a teal paragon iron. A Paragon Knight. A trained warrior of the Deep Rock Kingdom. Not just any. Rayla knew this face as they did hers. It was the personal guard to King Civon: Sir Rowland the Red. A man she had not seen since her parents' death.

~

Current Chapter Word Count: 1,302

Total Word Count: 3,031