The smell of smoke was the first thing Skye could recognise, it filled the air and floated into his nostrils, causing him to cough himself awake. His eyes were already starting to fill with water as he choked on it.
It was still dark outside but the first signs of morning had started to appear in the sky, the moons were now gone yet the sky was still as bright.
He started to push himself up from the ground with his weak arms, pain shooting through his body and head pounding. He did not know how long he was passed out, but he was happy to be waking up at all.
His head felt like it was being split open, and the constant information being sent through the roots under the ground to his brain was causing it to hurt even more.
It felt like a hurricane was happening all around him, people were running and shouting nonstop. Skye took a second and kept his eyes closed tight and tried to push past the pain and silence the constant data that was flowing in.
It took a few moments longer than it should have but he got there, and now all he had to deal with was the usual pain of having your head bashed against the hard ground. Even with the changes his body went through, he was still human, and humans die from head enjuries.
He began to look around, there were fires everywhere and most of the tents and structures were in rubble on the ground. People were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, some were dragging the injured and others were carrying pots of water.
What a terrible day to not have their pot of infinite water with them.
Skye paused, looking for the name of his teammates in the corner of his eyes. They were still there, but he could tell they were in bad shape by how much of their red bar was missing. Nora was still okay it seemed, so he was hopeful that Tombstone was still standing.
He even wondered how much of his was gone. Just how close did their group come to dying out, and for that fact, why are they even alive. The last thing he remembered was the large body howling to the moon. That monster should have been able to finish him off if it wanted to.
Pushing himself to his feet and wobbling, Skye left the ground to go find answers and see if he could help.
He passed Kai who was receiving the wounded and trying his best to help. Bodies laid around him in different states of agony, yet he looked worse than all of them. His hair was plastered to his face with sweat and the veins under his skin looked ready to burst. He could almost see his Minions flying around him trying to keep everyone alive. He pounded into a body and bright sparks flew out, transferring the pain into him and healing the fallen warrior. His bones began to set and his wounds closed.
Yet he didn't stop, he kept healing and taking all the pain into his own body.
A hell of a man
Skye thought to himself as he limped by. He couldn't move too fast or his head would ring, but for the most part, he was better off than most.
Clare came running in through the front gate carrying two men on her shoulders and rushing to Kai. Her and the Wardens must be collecting those who were dragged into the woods or fell from the wall.
Skye paused and looked around. Why were they alive right now? The big guy must have been the boss and he came in easily. They should have gone wild and destroyed everything, why didn't they?
Suddenly the world started to twist as he thought too hard, his brain swimming in his own head. He began to sway and a fall was impossible to avoid. Luckily Elli blinked into existence next to him and ducked under his arm to keep him steady. Her dark curly hair acting as a cushion for his head as he fell into her.
"Easy now, let's find a place for you to sit. I didn't expect you to wake up so soon."
She slowly lowered him to the ground. He kept his head low to try and not throw up and or pass out. A few deep breaths later and he finally looked up at her.
Her face carried a gash from her forehead to cheek, blood stained her clothes and her eye was shut. She looked like she just went 10 rounds with a bear and was the only one left standing.
"Wha…ah ah Wha-t happened? Why are we still alive?"
Skye spat out, finding a new stutter, most likely from the brain injury. Elli scoffed and stood proud.
"We fought Skye, and we survived."
"You ca ca call this sur-viving? Lo lo look around Elli!"
He waved his hand around to show the damage done, causing his head to send a bolt of pain. Their beautiful fort turned into a hell scape in the matter of a single night.
People died and more would likely die from the complications of their injuries and she proudly said they survived?
"Im breathing. You're breathing. They're breathing. A lot less would be doing so if it wasn't for those who fought and lost their lives today. We're still getting the counts, but I have a feeling this was meant to be a lot worse than it could have been. I've checked the list, three groups are just gone."
Three whole groups were killed, each with 500 or so survivors with them. Skye tried to do the math with his broken brain.
"1000 people, just g g gone, like that?"
He replied, his heart pounding in his ears. He looked around and still saw so many people running around.
"You can't do math very well can you Skye. It's over 1500. At best we lost 20 people. Now hurry up, we're hunting that god damn thing."
She started to walk away from Skye, patting him on the shoulder as she left. He spun his head around to reply to her but made himself retract with the pain. He managed to stammer out.
"Hunt? W W Why did it leave?"
She turned around and gave him that coy smile she did so often right before saying something crazy.
"Because we were kicking their ass. Retreated as soon as things weren't looking good for it and its little beasts I bet. Coward. I would have done the same."
Elli laughed at the idea that they were similar but then stopped abruptly, followed by spitting out some blood.
"Wh..wh-who is going to ha ha hunt it?"
"We are silly, us and our Branded, we're getting revenge. Plus, I think every group is facing something like this. I think we're meant to not just survive it, but overcome it."
She didn't let him reply, walking away and shouting out orders. Skye had no idea how they were meant to hunt this thing down, they hardly survived with their walls. Something she said resignation inside of him, starting to twist and circulate in his blood. It raced to his heart and it began to beat faster.
We're not meant to just survive, we're meant to overcome it.
He felt better than he did a moment ago. He looked up, summing Thorn into his hand and using it like a caine to stand. He spotted one of his Branded running around with a pot of water and called them over.
They dropped the pot and ran over instantly.
"Yes life giver, how can I serve you?"
Skye reached his hand to his head and felt the blood drying in his hair, painting his palm read. He slapped his hand on the young man's chest, leaving a red print.
Swaying and looking into his eyes he, as the Marked, gave his first order to his Branded.
"Get the Dyraids, get your spears. Today we overcame it."
The young man took a few steps back and looked at the hand print on his chest, eyes wide. Skye could tell this was causing a swell of emotions inside of him.
"IT SHALL BE DONE LIFE GIVER!"
They took off running, grabbing everyone they could see, each dropping what they were doing and scattering.
I hope that doesn't become a thing..
Even if it did, that was an issue for tomorrow. Today, they had to go kill some beasts.
—-
They marched out of the gate before the break of dawn, the light of the fires behind them shining into the clearing. Bodies rushed around them and gave them the space the atmosphere called for.
The Wardens marched out first with Claire leading them, a slight limp in her steps. They were the only ones covered with somewhat matching armour from head to toe. Confident strides as they disregard the weight of it.
Behind them Skye and his Dryads followed closely, long spears in one hand and leather shields strapped to the back of the other. Each one had a red hand print painted with the blood of the beasts on their leather chest plates.
And lastly, in the rear, loosely scattered with a hawk-like look in their eye's, the Sagittarius followed behind Elli. They didn't have the same look as the other Branded, which moved like a unit. These were individual hunters joining together.
This was the first time so many of the Branded marched together, often finding it necessary to spread out their forces due to the lack of man power. Things needed to be built, areas needed to be patrolled, walls protected, and warriors needed to be trained.
But only one thing needed to be done this morning.
They had to prove that every bite that was taken from them came at a cost, and a debt was due. The beasts would choke on it.