The Mark of Aether

Onslaught

As we exited the tent, away from the perturbed animals and to the crisp outside, disasters crossed my eyes.

The tents that were standing with glee not minutes ago were now nothing but flying fabrics in the rising air. The screams of women and their children painfully rang in my ears. The fear tracing those poor faces tormented my eyes. And I loathed it. Loathed the fact that I couldn't do a thing to save them.

I held so little experience in defending myself, what was I supposed to do with an entire city? And as the umbra warriors roamed, their pets at their feet, I remembered the night we traveled to Vemor. Remembered the rage I felt back then.

But it didn't help.

"We should ask for help,'' I said, tugging on the light sleeves of my dress. The darkness had made the temperature drop drastically, the moon wrapped behind thick, black clouds.

And with little to no argument, we all ran to where our horses were. But none was in sight. In the spot where our horses stood a few hours ago, nothing was left but a torn tree and the broken reins.

"We have to run, and fast!'' yelled Carter above the wind, pointing behind his shoulder.

Like a nightmare gracing earth, a warrior was making his way to us.

With whatever strength I had, I forced my legs to move, trying to evade before cataclysms could take place. Running past thrown trees, cracked branches and a howling, crisp air, I followed the arelesian lord as he led the way.

For a moment, only one, I glanced behind me, checking for the presence of the warrior. And as I saw none, relief rose.

But that relief was too short lived as I turned to see that everybody had disappeared.

The woods were thick and dark, shielding any possible light to enter. From which direction my friends had run, I held no idea. Alone, lost in nothing but a nature bathed in blackness, I stood. I had no idea where to go, what to do, or what to think. The only thing I could pull at the moment was to run.

To where and to what, only Aether knew.

I dashed and dodged through the cracked trunks, jumped over the bumping roots until screams were nothing but mere whispers behind. And it was either I was running farther away, or that death had already graced the lands.

My ribcage throbbed, my lungs screamed in agony. As I couldn't feel the sense of rushing blood in my legs, I stopped. With my hands on my knees, I gasped, taking in great amounts of air. And as I was about to run again, cold laced me.

Like a rise from hell, a pair of cold, skeleton hands wrapped around my neck, lifting me off the ground. I chocked and gasped, feeling burns lining my flesh. My eyes stung with unshed tears, my lungs begging for the air to run in them once again. I started screaming, but he brought one hand to my mouth, concealing my yells as he held me with the other as though I weighted nothing.

I swayed my legs, trying to kick the demon that held me from behind. Biting hard on his brackish hand, I forced him to remove it. Swaying my leg backward and kicking him in the middle, he only tightened his grip. Summoning magic as much as I could afford, I stunned him, forcing him to let me go.

Falling to my knees, I tried to stand and run, but heavens weren't on my side. As fast as I fell, darkness bursted from behind the warrior, lacing me in a cocoon of blackness.

The coldness and thickness of his smoke wrapped around my bones, seeping the warmth of my skin and blood away. The spell had tightened around my mouth and nose, allowing little to no air to enter my lungs. No screams could emerge from my lips. And as each movement seethed, I became slack as dead, my eyelids turning heavy.