The air that would freeze anyone else felt like nothing more than a breeze to me. The fire burning inside my body made the cold bearable as I stood atop the wall—all alone.
The moon cast a pale light over the forest before me. It stretched endlessly in every direction except the west, where the trees gave way to a plain, and beyond that, the sea with its water so clear it almost glowed in the moonlight.
My thoughts scattered like snow in the wind. I kept circling back to one thing—the survival rate of my uncle. He wasn't someone weak. He'd be fine.
Why are you lying to yourself? It is the Shadow Lands.
The thought came uninvited, sharp and cold. I froze, unable to shake the weight it carried. Then, beneath the noise of a hundred other thoughts, another thought surfaced. It was quieter but crueler.
What if he wasn't fine?
"No!" I said, but my voice came out like a raw guttural screech. I was being a fool, overthinking the wrong thing.
The world was silent around me, and yet I heard them again.
Dae'thar ohn'vareth aen ohn'kael el nael.
Every time the whispers came, my head throbbed. It felt like someone clutched my head and squeezed it hard.
Then came a heat, so intense that I felt a fire course deep inside my chest and spread through my veins. I staggered as I caught myself just before I could fall off the wall to my death.
And just as suddenly it came, the fire died. A biting cold replaced it, inside of me. My insides were stiffened and frozen solid.
Even breathing hurt, my knees gave out, and I collapsed against the wall. My vision blurred and darkened at the edges. Somewhere through the ringing in my ears, I heard a voice.
"What…?" I said. I thought someone had called me.
[This body of yours is truly weak, even for a swordsman.]
"Sir Rorik?" I muttered, dazed. But there was no answer—only the howl of wind.
[Hush now, I need a moment to process this disaster. A son of the Emberfell's with a body this weak.. Pitiful. Who did you offend?]
"No one…" I breathed as my chest ached, but the pain had already started to fade. A strange lightness coursed through me. It was foreign yet intoxicating.
I staggered and rose to my feet. The air felt sharper, the sounds felt clearer. Even the moonlight seemed to stretch farther than before. 'Had I… awakened?'
I couldn't tell. I'd never been allowed near the section of the library that held books on veins or awakenings.
Don't delude yourself. You're nothing but a disgrace.
The memory struck me like a hammer and reminded me of my failure four years ago.
Some wounds don't fade—they stay, festering, until they become the only thing that reminds you of who you are.
The wind suddenly stopped, and the world went silent, as if it sensed that something was coming.
[Brat, go to your Lord Commander…Now.]
The voice in my head urged me to move, but curiosity made me stay. Beyond the wall, a faint light flickered between the trees…then something walked out of them..
Its skin was smooth as stone, while its soul felt as though it was jagged as glass; beauty built from broken things.
Was it a vampire? Or a ghoul? I couldn't tell.
I turned to run, but my body wouldn't move. I forced my head to turn and saw its piercing gaze was already on me.
*****
What?
My body felt heavy, as though a weight pressed down on my chest and a dull ache spread through my ribs. I pushed myself off the wall, my breath came out in short bursts as I inhaled the cold air, which bit at my lungs.
As I pushed more, my body moved, and I fell face-first into the ground hard. Pain shot through my whole body, especially my shoulder, as I rolled onto my knees.
"Fuck…" I groaned and rubbed my eyes from all the snow that my eyes caught.
I was just on top of the wall. How the hell was I down here? I had been nowhere near the edge of the wall.
It stood not too far away with its arm stretched towards me. The air flow twisted, and a sudden pull took me off my feet. My body was lifted helplessly and dragged through the air towards it.
This time, its features were much clearer. Pale and leathery skin stretched over bone; veins pulsed with a black substance. Its mouth was full of jagged teeth.
While its eyes glowed with a sickly red shine. And according to the little information there was, it seemed to be a mix between a vampire and a ghoul, as it had vampire fangs and the tongue of ghouls.
Mid-flight, as instinct took over me I unsheathed my sword and in one smooth motion, slashed downwards, and struck the frozen ground. A burst of snow erupted upwards and scattered into the creature's face.
The telekinesis was disrupted, and I fell down hard and landed on my knee. My fingers tightened around the hilt.
The creature hissed as it wiped the snow from its eyes. Then it lunged at me with its claws ready to slash me.
I barely raised my sword in time. The impact was so hard that my arm shook and my strength faltered, but I supported it with my other hand.
I pivoted my hips and redirected the force off my centerline, just as I had practiced a thousand times; even so, my arm went numb from the blow.
The Nosferghoul came at me again, this time it was faster. Even if it was half a ghoul, it still had some of the intelligence that came from being a vampire.
I stepped inside its reach and deflected one strike with the crossguard and drove the pommel into its jaw. It staggered back for only a second as its next blow caught my ribs.
Pain erupted as I stumbled, clutching my side. My breathing hitched, wounds opened.
Warm, dirty blood, spread under my tunic and made me wince and bite.
But I didn't stop, I wouldn't stop. I had to fight, to prove I wasn't as worthless as my family deemed me.
I slashed horizontally on instinct, a short, tight arc aimed at its midsection. The blade connected and cut through it and left a half-inch deep cut as its blood, black like ichor, spilled on the snow.
The creature screeched and swung its hand wildly. The telekinesis hit me again, but this time, instead of pulling, it pushed me back, and I bounced off the ground and into the ice wall.
I had probably broken a few bones from the impact alone, and my sword slipped from my hand as the grip lessened.
"Get…up…" I muttered, spitting blood. The world went in and out of focus as I crawled towards my weapon with hands shaking uncontrollably.
It walked slowly towards me; my state was bad enough that it knew I couldn't do much against it.
Memories rushed back as it approached me, just as I lay down on the ice—I lay on the hard concrete floor of a training hall in The Dragon's Keep.
"Brother…" I muttered as the image of the Nosferghoul overlapped with the image of my brother.
It was a normal sparring match, yet he used essence and injured me. And then mocked me because my body was battered and I couldn't get up.
I gritted my teeth hard as the pain and humiliation from that day came back tenfold. I grabbed my sword and forced myself up.
My left arm hung limp; it was either broken or dislocated, I couldn't tell. But even so, I raised the blade one-handed as it trembled.
It lunged again, but I didn't block or try to attack. I sidestepped, letting its claws graze my sleeve, and turned my blade in a short, rising cut from its hip to chest.
The angle was clean and perfect, and the motion was efficient. The blade cut deeply this time.
The creature shrieked and backhanded me with its other arm. The impact sent me sprawling face-first into the snow as my jaw cracked against the ice.
"Fuck…" I gasped as blood dripped from my lips. My sword lay half buried beside me. As soon as I tried to reach for it, the creature jumped on top of me.
It pressed its clawed hand onto my chest. I could feel the pressure and the sharpness of its claws as a few of my ribs snapped and its claws drew my blood.
It opened its mouth to show the grotesque opening, the mouth which seemed normal, split into four parts, each with countless jagged teeth.
I grabbed the sword hilt, turned it sideways, and jammed the crossguard into its throat. The blade was caught under its chin.
With a hoarse roar, I shot upwards, using everything I had left. The sword slid between its jaw and chest, cutting deep into its body.
Black ichor spilled on my face, and it thrashed wildly as its claws tore across my shoulder and cheek. I screamed, my pain and fury were mixed as I kept pushing the sword deeper and deeper.
A few minutes passed, and the Nosferghoul collapsed on top of me as it twitched. I couldn't move, nor could I breathe properly.
It was heavy and cold. I pushed hard with my trembling hand and tried to get up, but my legs gave out and I fell on my knees.
In front of me was the corpse; my arms were not moving at all, otherwise I'd have smacked it once more.
Amidst all the pain, I felt satisfied. A dry chuckle escaped my mouth as I looked at my bloodied hands.
I wish you could've seen this father…mother and my elder siblings.
I am just a simple swordsman, I have no power, and yet, "you're still dead." I blurted out as I mocked the Nosferghoul.
[Pathetic…yet very stubborn]
The voice inside my head echoed again, this time it was calmer than before.
[You should've been dead already. But perhaps you are worth being alive]
The sun shone from the horizon as I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I was on an adrenaline rush, but before I could swing my sword towards whoever it was, a voice called out to me.
"O-Orpheus…"
It was the Lord Commander. Thank god you finally came.