The sun sets over the city of Luro leaving only the fires of hanging torches to light the dreary street, empty of all signs of life. A sense of unease lingers inside Ilian's heart. This is not normal; Kally really scared this place, he assumes turning back to the orphanage, his first and only home he's known. He steps back to get more of the building. I'll come back later with Kally; we will only be gone until everything calms down. We will be back before you know it.
He smiles, tears slowly falling down his face. "We will think of you every night," he whispers, "Goodbye, for now." He turns away, walking towards his destination. Kally has to be in the Tower. Our secret safe place, and it's also the best spot to watch the stars. He turns into an alley leading west. I just have to go through the entire town. We live in the east part of town, and the Tower is next to the west wall. Fastest way is through town square, but the guards may be there searching for her. He sneakily crosses the next street.
And if they find me, I will be questioned, stopping me from finding her. Long way it is then. I have to reach the Southern wall, away from all of the guards. He makes up his mind, passing through another alley. One more street until it's a straight line to the wall.
He reaches to the end, looking around the corners, watching his path. He spots four knights north heading north and three guards south heading south. Perfect, he thinks running across the street, entering a dark alley. There are more guards out, he ponders. I guess I should be more careful from here on. He smiles, reminiscing the past two years. I'm really glad we snuck out a lot. I probably would not have left home if we haven't. Distracted, he stubs his foot on a wooden crate. Gasping in pain, he quickly puts his hands over his mouth.
He stopped, looking around to see if anyone heard. Nothing, he lets go, sighing in relief. Focus, He lightly slaps his cheeks, no more daydreaming. He turns, looking at his feet for his first step, and continues on.
Stopping just before the alley ends, he hears the sound of metal drawing near. Ilian looks around for a place to hide but there was nothing big enough to prevent his sighting. Oh no, I'm stuck, He panics, I can't hide. The footsteps get closer. Too late anyways, he tenses up and closes his eyes. Please don't see me, please don't see me, he prays as the footsteps start to reach his alley, yet they pass, growing silent in the distance. With a sigh of relief he opens his eyes, taking time to calm down and continues moving forward down the road.
Ten minutes pass of dodging between alleys when Ilian makes it to where the barracks once stood. All that is left is a flat empty plot with rubble from the surrounding half collapsed buildings. How did I live through this? He questions, How could Kally cause this? Nothing about this makes sense. All the more reason to find her. Backing up from the scene he turns towards his path, but as he faces the gate, two guards turn a corner in front of Ilian, spotting spotting him from the distance.
"In the name of the king, stop!" They scream out, charging towards a stunned Ilian. Halfway and I got caught, at the place it started at of all places too! Ilian frustratingly thinks, I am not giving up yet! I have to find her! Without another thought he dashes across the road into the closest alleyway, tumbling nearby crates as he passed hoping to slow the guards down. The guards scream towards Ilian who can't hear over the sounds of wood on stone.
After what felt like a long chase, Ilian stops to catch his breath. I... I think I lost them. He looks around, unfamiliar with where he is. Dang it, I'm lost, He thinks, How did I get lost in this place! I know everything! He sighs in frustration and defeat. You know what, I'll just walk, I will reach a wall at some point. Off in the distance he hears footsteps running closer, and a loud horn. Never mind, running. He takes off once again in a random direction.
Once he leaves the alley onto a road, he looks both ways in search for the wall and finds it left of him. At least I'm going the right direction. His thought was interrupted by more shrieking horns. Crap, He fears, they know where I am at. He continues, road after road, alley after alley, as the wall starts angling itself closer to where he was running. Just a bit more. The horns are now non-stop, as if they want the entire town to witness this chase.
He makes it to the wall as the night becomes drowned by the howling of both screams and horns of the guards. Alright, He looks around for a hole, Not here. Have to keep going. He continues alongside the wall, making sure it stays left of him. He turns towards the town seeing a light glow above the rooftops. Just as I thought, they woke the people up. They maybe got a few hours of sleep at best.
After a bit more of walking the horns fall silent. Finally gave up searching for me it seems. Ilian turns towards the now brighter light. Too bad everyone in town is awake now. Can't wait to hear about this moment. "Kid escapes grasp of well trained soldiers." Ilian begins to laugh. "I should get a medal for this. I can't wait to tell Kally." He spots the hole soon after calming down and squeezes through the narrow gap entering an area inside the stone wall.
A portion of the wall was designed and used by smugglers when the border was being built. All plans regarding this storehouse disappeared. The storehouse itself reaches to the top of a guard tower split up into levels big enough to barely fit two average humans. The higher up it is, the more illegal the items stored are. Ilian and Kally only go up three fourths of the way as most of the stuff hidden there are jewelry and counterfeit coins they use to play shopkeeper and due to Kally's fear of heights.
She has to be here, it's the only safe place for her to hide. He climbs up level after level, searching for any sign of her yet found nothing. Come on! Where could she be? He questions as he finishes searching their usual play area. As if to answer he hears rustling and bumping higher up. Please be her, he prays.
He climbs to where he heard the sound. Darker than the other ones, He squished between the first wall of crates, and a lot more stuff. I wonder what is inside them. Another bump further down. There you are. He squishes his way between crate stack after crate stack. "Kally," he whispers while slowly creeping to the scuttling sound, "is that you?"
Another shuffling sound followed by a thud just past the next stack. Just a bit further. Ilian slowly moves past the final stack. "Kally, it's me," Ilian speaks reassuringly. "You don't need to hide anymore. I'm alright." He turns to where all the noise was made only to find a featherless bipedal creature attempting to enter a tilted crate. Well that's... disappointing, Ilian thinks. He looks around the space trying to find any sign of Kally to no avail. Guess she's not here, He gloomily thinks. I better get home then. I'll find her tomorrow. He turns around to face the way he came when he notices a shaded figure lunging at him from above latching onto his head, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud and a crack.
Ilian yelps out in both fear and pain as his head hits the hard wood planks. "Ily!" cries his familiar sounding attacker.
"Please get off me Kally," Ilian wheezes in pain. He feels the grip around him get tighter as his pleas go disregarded. "Ok," He hugs her back, "I'm here now."
After what felt like hours, the pain Ilian feels recedes enough to hear Kally's subsiding whimpers. "Feeling better?" Ilian asks. She just nods. "Then can you please get off me now? I have something for you." She slides off to the side keeping him in her arms. "You know I'm not leaving, you can let go." He says.
Hesitantly, she backs off, hanging her head in sorrow. Ilian turns and opens his bag, finding the papers with ease. "Lya gave this to me before I left," He begins, "She wants us to be happy and knew what we have to do." He pulls Kally's paper out of the bag, offering it to her. "Here, you should read it instead." Kally looks up and slowly takes the paper. As she reads Ilian spots tears falling down her face onto the paper below. Her hands tense up crumpling the paper in her palms as she pulls it closer to her chest. "I was thinking about heading out tomorrow," he continues, "I was spotted at the barracks and they sounded the horns. The whole town must be searching for us right now and I don't want to risk us getting caught." She nods.
The two sit there in complete and awkward silence for what seemed like an hour until Kally spoke with a whisper. "Do we have to leave?" She asks. "I don't want to leave."
"I don't want to either." Ilian replies, "But we have to. We can come back in a rotation or two if you'd like."
Kally perks her head up, eyes red and exhausted, and manages to perk a little smile. "Promise?" She asks
"I promise." He answers.
"Ok. Tomorrow then." She slowly lays down on her side and rests her head on her hands. "Thank you." She says as the sleep rapidly overwhelms her senses.
Ilian turns back to his bag and sees a crushed blue box inside. I put her gift in my backpack? Better give that to her after we leave the city. He turns to look back at Kally who is now sound asleep on her back. This must be the worst birthday she will ever have. He turns back around and closes the bag. I promise to you Kally. "This will be the last birthday you cry on." Ilian looks up to a glowing hole in the wall. The guards will not rest tonight. Better be ready to run. He lays down on his back, staring at the wooden ceiling. Closing his eyes ready for tomorrow.
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Ilian wakes to a loud bang. He bolts up just as the wall starts to shake. What is happening? Were we found? Quickly, he grabs his bag and rushes to Kally who is now sprawled everywhere. "Kally, we have to go." Ilian shakes her semi-violently.
"Ubh-huh?" Kally responds still deep in sleep.
Ilian shakes her more viciously. "Come on! I think we were found!" He say in a panic.
"F-found? Why would we need to be found?" Kally grumbles half awake. "Did we miss class again? I promised Lya it would never happen again." She rubs her eyes and looks around. She eyes her surrounding first with confusion, then with sheer terror. "It wasn't a nightmare?" She rapidly turns to Ilian. "Please tell me it was a nightmare!" She jumps up and embraces him tightly as tears start running down her face once more. "I didn't do it! I couldn't have!" The room shakes once more as dust starts falling from the floor above. "I want to go home." She begs.
"I'm sorry." Ilian says, hugging her back. "But we have to leave."
"No!" She screams. "I don't want to!" She lets go and starts to weakly punch Ilian on his shoulders.
"Kall-"
"NO!" She screams louder. The rooms shakes stronger. Kally stops her assault. "What was that?"
"I don't know." Ilian replies. "I think it's the guards. They must have found the hole and are trying to get in."
"But," Kally whimpers, "Isn't that our only way out?"
"It's our only safe way out." Ilian says. "There should be other ways out but you will need to be brave if we want to use them." After hearing those words Kally look up into Ilian's face knowing what he means.
"No no no." She starts attempting to break free from his grasp. "I will not be going up! I went high enough already! I do not want to go up more!"
Ilian struggles but continues to hold on tight. "It's the only way Kally!" The room shakes again, this time with a noticeable boom coming from outside. Both of them freeze at the sound.
"I'll go up more." Kally says terrified.
"Lets go now." Ilian responds equally in fear.
The two start making their way to the pathway up, every once in a while a bright light hits Ilian in the eyes, through the various holes along the wall. It has to be morning. Only the sun is that bright, He thinks. Another boom from outside leading to more intense rumbling from the room. The two make it to the walk way up when Ilian notices the bright light moving across the wall. What? That's not the sun? What is it then? He wonders as he leads Kally up the floors. It takes a while for the two to make it to the top, each floor they go up the less Kally is willing to continue and the harder Ilian pleads with her to advance, only to be interrupted by the occasional thunderous noise.
One more floor, Ilian thinks, Then we can know what is happening outside. At the top is a trap door. Ilian looks it over to see if it is locked. Once he knew it wasn't he tried to push it open but it wouldn't budge. "Kally," Ilian turns. "Can you help me with this, I can't get it open." Kally shyly climbs up and nervously puts both hands on the door ready to push. "On three, ok?" Ilian says. Kally nods back. "One, Two, Three!" Both of them push with all their might just as the wall started shaking. Kally loses her balance and slips onto the floor, but Ilian manages to push the door enough to stick his hand through, leveraging himself underneath and pushing with all his might until it fully opened. He looked back to Kally.
"Are you alright?" Ilian asks. He reaches out his hand.
"Yes." She responds, taking his hand.
As both stand and look up past the now opened door they see to their confusion, a night filled with stars.
"But, it's not night." Kally says in disbelief. "It can't be night. We saw daylight."
Slowly the two climb out and faced where they saw the light, only to find no bright star lighting the sky, but a blazing sea of fire laying over Luros' many rooftops burning all to ash and coal. A vibrant glow appears and vanishes just as swiftly near the far off castle followed by a loud boom.
"We uh..." Ilian speaks up through his fear. "We should hide." He grabs Kally's hand and turns towards the wooden hatch door yet feels resistance from the petrified girl. "Kally!" He yells. "Kally please! We need to go!"
He moves in front of her covering their burning home. Grabbing onto both of her arms Ilian starts to shake her from her trance. "Kally!" He squeaks, voice breaking as tears start falling from his eyes. A dark line goes past her eyes right befor she looks up to his face, and begins tearing up as well.
"O-our home." She whimpers.
"Now's not the time." He answers. "We need to get back in and hide."
"B-but Ly-"
"Kally!" He starts to beg. "Well find her after! Please!"
"O-ok." She replies helplessly.
Ilian quickly takes her hand again and drags Kally back to the hatch.
As he struggles to open it back up he glances up to Kally about to ask her to help when he sees a bright star in the burning sky and all he could feel is fear and desperation. Without thinking he musters all of his strength and lifts up the hatch enough to get Kally through.
He glances up one final time to see the star had vanished. With a sigh of semi-relief he squeezes his way inside and lets the door shut behind him.
Racing down to the lower floor he catches up to see Kally cowering in front of some crates hiding from the outside light.
"Kally," Ilian begins, "It might be safer if we get lower." She nods and struggles to stand up with quivering legs. She reaches Ilian just as her knees give out. Ilian quickly grabs the shivering girl and braces to make sure he doesn't fall back to the floor. Immediately knowing she is safe from falling Kally breaks down bawling.
"It's my fault isn't it." She cries.
"What?" Ilian questions puzzlingly.
"It's all my fault!" She continues bawling. "Everything! Our home! Those people! You! It's all my fault!" She starts punching Ilians chest in a fit. "I did it! It's because of me!" A poof of dust blows off of Ilian with the latest punch. "But I don't want this! I never want this! This is not fair! This is not fun!" Larger more condensed dust clouds appear growing darker with each consecutive punch.
"Kally." Ilian speak.
"I just want to wake up!" She continues. "I want to wake up to Lya's breakfast! I want to walk to school with you!" The punches start to hurt Ilian. "I want to play more games! I want to learn more cool things!"
"Kally!" Ilians yells louder flinching through the pain.
"And I really want more of granny Raetha's biscuits!" She yells louder. The clouds now appear pitch black, each hit pushing Ilian a little further back.
"Kally!" Ilian pushes Kally away and smacks her face bringing her out of her teary rage. Her cheek now glowing a bright red.
She lowers her head, tears still dropping to the floor. "Sorry." She says meekly.
"I'm sorry too," Ilian says back moving closer to her, "but we should get to the lower levels. It should make it easier to run away."
"Yea." She replies motionless.
"Once whatever is happening outside is done we can go out and look for Lya- I mean mom." He grabs her arms and wraps her into a hug.
"When we find her we should take her with us." Ilian proposes. "We can travel as a family or stay and build our dream home."
"That would be nice." Kally's heartbeat slows down as she starts to relax.
"Let's go. The faster we find a spot the faster tomorrow will come." Ilian says.
"Ok." Kally replies.
The two break off the hug and start heading down floor by floor until a light buzzes past the tower and a rumble shakes the floor beneath their feet.
"Hide!" Ilian whispers.
The two jump inbetween a pile of crates and a stack of worn barrels just as the light appears once more and freezes just outside the tower.
Adrenalin and fear build up inside of Ilian. Come on! Leave! He pleads in his mind watching the light on the back wall. Suddenly, as if hearing him, the light vanishes. Ilian sighs with relief, nods to Kally, and starts to rise as the wall facing the city explodes in a ball of light toward the two kids.
A gust of wind and a flash of light quickly rush past Ilian as he hears wood and metal shatter next to him and a loud smash from behind. Slowly turning around he sees every box and barrel from the new hole to the back wall had vanshed from right next to him along with Kally. "KALLY!" He quickly looks behind him to the back wall to see a tall lanky being made of pure yellow light.
"So that's your name." The creature speaks cracking its thin, spiky neck slouching closer to the person it smashed into the wall. "I must compliment you Kally." It speaks in a raspy, scratched voice as if it never hydrated in it's life. "You're the only one who lived long enough to get a name." It intimidates.
"It's a shame that you won't have to use it anymore." The creature raises it's right hand, changing it's lengthy fingers into sharp blades. "It took me a while to find you too. Over 10 years. Never once did you use your abilities after losing your pendant. Until now that is."
Kally, while her body limply dangles in the air as her attacker holds her head to the caved in wall, coughs in agony as the creature squeezes it's grip. "Don't worry little chosen; your suffering will end soon." The creature readies it's hand.
"No!" Ilian screams, dropping his bag on the ground but quickly stiffens himself as the creature turns it's head and glaringly side eyed him with it's crimson red eye.
"Oh?" It speaks up. "A new contender?" It gradually turns to face Ilian, still gripping Kally's face with his left hand. "And who are you?" It tilts it's head in amusement. Ilian can only muster nonsense out of pure terror upon seeing the front of this creature. Nothing about it could consider it as alive; every part of it's body looks stretched and mummified with a pointy face the shape of a birds' beak. "What is it?" It peaks with no mouth. "Afraid to answer? Doesn't matter either way, this girl will still die." He points one of his blade fingers at Kally.
"No!" Ilian steps forward reaching out to Kally.
The creature slowly moves it's finger down. "So you want her to live?" It mocks. "Alright, I'll amuse you. I'm in a joyous mood as it is." It lets go of Kally, dropping her to the floor. Ilian starts to move closer but the creature reacts faster. "Not yet! I never said she could live yet." It continues to toy. "The only way for her to live is if you kill me." It opens it's arms wide. "So come and kill me."
Both stand there for a few seconds. "Oh right!" The creature springs alive. "You need a weapon first! How silly of me!" In a blinding flash of light Ilian finds a sword clattering on the ground in front of him.
"Now." It's tone lowers as if reveling in the moment. "Pick it up."
Ilian stands frozen, unable to move or think as he stares at both the sword laying in front of him, and the menacing figure ahead of him.
"Well?" The creature demands.
A few more moments pass without anyone making a move.
The creature scoffs. "Guess you're all bark." It turns it's attention to the unconscious Kally laying at it's feet, casually raising it's blades hand. I.. I need to do something. I have to do something. Ilian thinks. The creatures starts the swing towards Kally. I have to move NOW! Ilian unconsciously burst forward at full sprint, picking up the sword as he passes, and swings at the creature screaming at the top of his lungs, but it stops the blade mid strike with it's arm. Ilian can feel it's joy as he can only guess it's maliciously smiling at what he just did.
"Not bad, for a child." It speaks up. "Let's see how you handle death."
It throws Ilian with the swing of it's arm, but before Ilian can land the creature appears right next to him and punches him through the floor smashing into barrels on the level below.
Ilian bounces off of the ground in sheer pain only to see the creature right next to him again. At this moment, Ilian understood the beating was just beginning.
The creature kicks Ilian two floors up smashing through dozens of silver filled crates in the process, reappearing right next to Ilian before he could catch his breath, grabs him by his shirt, and throws him into the nearest wall, cracking the stone on impact, dropping the sword. Ilians' vision started to fade, the pain being unbearable to let him see, yet he could still sense the creatures presence. It appeared right in front of Ilian and grabs him by the throat.
"Oh," It begins, "don't pass out of me yet. Here, have a little gift to keep on going." Ilian starts to feel lighter, all the pain has gone away yet he still feels like throwing up.
"Wha-" Ilian was interrupted by a punch to the gut. He feels something grab the back of his head the moment before the ground starts speeding closer to his face, smashing through the floor again onto the one below. The creature slowly floats down the other hole in the wood.
Finally some time to breath. Ilian thinks as he stands up. Wait how am I standing?
'You're welcome by the way.'
Ilian freezes and stares at the creature. H-How are you in my head! Ilians' mind screams. 'Marvelous isn't it.' It avoids the question. 'No one can lie to me. Your mind belongs to me now. Think of this as payment for that gift.' The creature laughs. Ilian lunges forward again only to realize too late he had lost the sword. It laughs harder as it catches Ilian by the face and smashes his back into the ground.
"Oh this was fun." It speaks. "I really did enjoy my time here, now if you would excuse me." It moves it's head close to Ilians' ear. "I have a Chosen to kill." He whispers before throwing Ilian out the hole in the wall. In one last effort Ilian grabs some debris and just after his body leaves the tower into a freefall, he chucks the rock right at the creature's head, but doesn't get to see if or where he hit it before it appears right above him once more. Using it's entire body it stands on Ilian and plummets through a burning building to ground level. The pain slowly starting to return leaving Ilian stunned.
"You though a rock was going to stop me?" It speaks. "After the beat down I gave you you still though a rock could do it?" Its voice sounding more and more insulted as each word goes by. It steps off Ilian, inhales, then exhales. "No, I'm not mad enough to kill you, but you clearly will be annoying if I let you live." It growls and looks up into the sky. "FUCK!" It turns back to Ilian, point's a finger at him, and a yellow string appears and attaches to Ilians chest dissolving after it becomes taught between the two.
"There…" It raises it's blade hand once turning the entire arm into a pike. "I'll find you in your next life."
Ilian now can feel half of the pain from the injuries. His vision fading in and out as he struggles to continue the fight. Kally, I'm sorry. He reaches up to the tower, reaching towards the whole he was thrown out of, reaching towards a shadowy figure standing right behind the wall. What?
Before he has time to ponder more he hears Kally's voice to his left as she bursts in between Ilian, and the creature right when it swung.
"You ass!" The creature backs up, lifting the impaled Kally with it. Filled with fury he pulls yanks Kally's body off his arm and lifts her to his face.
"I was supposed to enjoy this moment! The final breath of a fighter! It would have been a great story to tell the kind! But no! You had to butt in and ruin this art!" It throws her at the wall, smashing through a layer of stone. "Now I'm pissed!" It walks towards the rubble. "And since you were going to die anyways might as well make it hell." It vanishes from Ilian's view.
"Kally."" Ilian can barely muster a word. "No."
Light glows in the direction where Kally was thrown, and Ilian can barely hear the sound of explosions. He tries to reach in her direction again but he can't feel his body anymore with all he could taste is his own blood and his hearing fails him completely
Using the little bit of sight left, he watches as the creature and a shadowy figure fight right in front of him. When… did they… get… her- His vision completely goes black.