Follow You Into The Dark
Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2023 1:38 am
TIMESTAMP: Cinderfall 3, Ash 123
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When it was that Talon, the current iteration of Arcas, had erected Dawnhold, the whole of Kalzasi could see the brilliance of its light, even if only for a moment. Jae-Seong himself had been high up in the mountains at the time, rendering the sight particularly scenic on his end. At that moment, he had been overseeing the early stages of the construction of what would become his new home. Which, for him, was a strange concept, even now after the construction of such a building had been completed. Still, for that reason among others, he’d not yet wandered far enough away from Kalzasi city proper to visit Dawnhold himself.
Jae-Seong, too, had never been a religious man in general, much less a devotee to any particular deity. And in truth, the divine had always made him wary, especially so in the case of demi-gods– power like that in the hands of those who still maintained much of their mortal selves made him wary almost by default. He was, however, always and forever, a curious sort.
And about Dawnhold, his curiosity stood twofold. For one thing, an entire small settlement had been fabricated effectively out of thin air– such was the nature of divine magic, after all. One's will enacted in an instant...should one be strong enough to direct it. It was a fascinating notion, and he wanted to see the result thereof himself. For another, he and Talon– Arcas, now?– were cousins; the familial tie would've been enough of a drawn by itself. His bias in favor of his own family, too, was almost enough to erase that which he held against the divine…almost.
With this in mind and when he was finally free enough to wander away from the city, Jae-Seong set off toward the direction he recalled the flash of light a while back…which was also in the direction he had been told Dawnhold stood; not wanting to get lost, he’d double checked with somebody who’d already been there. To his relief, it was not an exceptionally long journey to make, but it did involve wandering out of the territory ‘round the city itself that was protected from the Eclipse’s shadowbeasts.
Jae-Seong in particular wasn’t entirely too concerned about dealing with such shadowy creatures, as he’d made sure to acquire illumite some time in the past and could use such a thing to imbue his weaponry if necessary. He did, however, know of a small settlement that was not much of a detour from his path to Dawnhold. Given it wasn’t much of an inconvenience to him, the nobleman figured he ought to stop by and check in on them– they had become dependent on the protection of mercenaries, of late, and would be until the Eclipse's curse finally waned.
The walk there was a quiet one, but alas– such solemn silence was not to last. As he neared the outskirts of the village, a sharp scream pierced the night air. The swordsman stood still as stone, his ears perked in the direction of the sound. In the span of a moment, he heard the rush of footsteps over forested ground and a distraught woman clutching onto something–it almost looked like a small animal?– emerged from the nearby woodland, but she wasn’t alone– almost biting at her heels were two shadow-cursed beasts.
Unconcerned about why exactly it was she’d been out in the darkness or even if there would be more to follow, Jae-Seong manifested his blades and rushed forward to help her. Varnishing each weapon with the sunlit glow of his illumite, he thrust forward, cutting through and ultimately destroying one of them right away. In the same movement, he yelled for the woman to continue her egress; he’d be fine alone, he figured.
Which, his assumption could quite possibly be true, but at the same time, it wasn’t exactly shaping up to be a fair fight. What was at first two lupine shadows became four, then a fifth monster, something serpentine, and finally a sixth, something larger– a lumbering, bipedal giant, soon followed. Being outnumbered was not a foreign concept to the swordsman, and oftentimes his style of swordsmanship served him well in precisely these scenarios, but that didn't make them not inherently precarious.
The way he fought resembled the unfurling petals of a flower in bloom or leaves on the wind; swift and free as a zephyr. He was quick to dodge out of the way of the pursuant monsters' strikes, spinning 'round such that he turned his evasive maneuvers into attacks of his own– he only worried for how long he could maintain this momentum, still not being sure whether or not more would come.
Jae-Seong, too, had never been a religious man in general, much less a devotee to any particular deity. And in truth, the divine had always made him wary, especially so in the case of demi-gods– power like that in the hands of those who still maintained much of their mortal selves made him wary almost by default. He was, however, always and forever, a curious sort.
And about Dawnhold, his curiosity stood twofold. For one thing, an entire small settlement had been fabricated effectively out of thin air– such was the nature of divine magic, after all. One's will enacted in an instant...should one be strong enough to direct it. It was a fascinating notion, and he wanted to see the result thereof himself. For another, he and Talon– Arcas, now?– were cousins; the familial tie would've been enough of a drawn by itself. His bias in favor of his own family, too, was almost enough to erase that which he held against the divine…almost.
With this in mind and when he was finally free enough to wander away from the city, Jae-Seong set off toward the direction he recalled the flash of light a while back…which was also in the direction he had been told Dawnhold stood; not wanting to get lost, he’d double checked with somebody who’d already been there. To his relief, it was not an exceptionally long journey to make, but it did involve wandering out of the territory ‘round the city itself that was protected from the Eclipse’s shadowbeasts.
Jae-Seong in particular wasn’t entirely too concerned about dealing with such shadowy creatures, as he’d made sure to acquire illumite some time in the past and could use such a thing to imbue his weaponry if necessary. He did, however, know of a small settlement that was not much of a detour from his path to Dawnhold. Given it wasn’t much of an inconvenience to him, the nobleman figured he ought to stop by and check in on them– they had become dependent on the protection of mercenaries, of late, and would be until the Eclipse's curse finally waned.
The walk there was a quiet one, but alas– such solemn silence was not to last. As he neared the outskirts of the village, a sharp scream pierced the night air. The swordsman stood still as stone, his ears perked in the direction of the sound. In the span of a moment, he heard the rush of footsteps over forested ground and a distraught woman clutching onto something–it almost looked like a small animal?– emerged from the nearby woodland, but she wasn’t alone– almost biting at her heels were two shadow-cursed beasts.
Unconcerned about why exactly it was she’d been out in the darkness or even if there would be more to follow, Jae-Seong manifested his blades and rushed forward to help her. Varnishing each weapon with the sunlit glow of his illumite, he thrust forward, cutting through and ultimately destroying one of them right away. In the same movement, he yelled for the woman to continue her egress; he’d be fine alone, he figured.
Which, his assumption could quite possibly be true, but at the same time, it wasn’t exactly shaping up to be a fair fight. What was at first two lupine shadows became four, then a fifth monster, something serpentine, and finally a sixth, something larger– a lumbering, bipedal giant, soon followed. Being outnumbered was not a foreign concept to the swordsman, and oftentimes his style of swordsmanship served him well in precisely these scenarios, but that didn't make them not inherently precarious.
The way he fought resembled the unfurling petals of a flower in bloom or leaves on the wind; swift and free as a zephyr. He was quick to dodge out of the way of the pursuant monsters' strikes, spinning 'round such that he turned his evasive maneuvers into attacks of his own– he only worried for how long he could maintain this momentum, still not being sure whether or not more would come.
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"Synskrit"
"Common"
"Inandoth"
