Fan Fiction ❯ Jiikron: Legend of the Two ❯ Destruction ( Chapter 3 )

“Life is not all beer and skittles.” - Proverb

 

-Chapter Three-

-Destruction-

 

 

In the eastern part of the Mul Forest, deep within the dark shadows of the ancient trees, the Akatrialan Castle rose high above the canopy, its gothic towers and pyres looming over the woods and piercing the sky like the jagged thorns of a rose. In the uppermost tower on the north side of the massive structure, two people sat around an octagonal conference table, discussing plans of action. The Queen of the Night and the Lord of Darkness.

 

“The southern villages would be most easily decimated, my lord.”

 

“Hyran and Lasah? Yes. That's what I was thinking, Averna. Now there is simply the matter of who to send to complete the task.”

 

“Feldro has been itching for something to do lately.”

 

“That fool? Not likely. The people of the south may not be warriors, but they are not idiots either. Feldro would make a mess of things.” Andsaca rose from his high-backed wooden throne and paced the room. “I need someone who won't leave any trace of themselves behind. What I need is-“

 

A knock on the oak door interrupted his statement. “Yes?” the Lord of Darkness asked. The door creaked open and a short ave stepped in.

 

“Milord,” the creature hissed, his forked tongue darting in and out of his lips. “You have a visitor.”

 

Andsaca dismissed him. “Who has the nerve to disturb me while I'm thinking?”

 

“I know not, my lord,” Averna said carefully, trying to hide the amusement in her voice. “Would you like me to send them away?”

 

“No. Whoever it is must be rebuked for disrupting me so rudely.” With that he swept from the room, his black cloak billowing behind him like an angry thunderhead. Averna followed in his wake as he strode down the hall, descended the grand staircase and crossed the Entrance Hall to reach the Great Hall.

 

Once he stepped over the threshold of the vast dining room Andsaca lost all thoughts of punishing the intruder. His eyes lit upon a small blonde girl who looked no older than ten. White wings protruded from her back, and her green eyes were indifferently watching a fly buzz around a window. She shifted her gaze to her master when he entered, and didn't blink or falter. A fiendish smile spread over Andsaca's face. His problem was solved. He knew exactly who to send to the southern villages.

 

“Shiva.”

 

~@%%@%%@%%@~

 

If Shiva had been a normal creature she may have thought about her task as she steadily walked through the forest with the Dark city of Akatrial at her back. But she was not a normal creature. She was a being of destruction, which Andsaca affectionately called “Hell's Cherub.” So she did not think. She simply went.

 

Her master had instructed her to make her way quickly to Lasah and Hyran and destroy both villages. He gave no reason, but she didn't need one. He issued her an order; she would carry it out. No complications, no objections, no second thoughts. Her mind stayed clear of any notions or passing thoughts, a dark, empty cavern of void and silence, like the wood she was in. The thick foliage blotted out the moon and stars, and the only source of light was her strange wings which glowed eerily. Not that it mattered; she could cross the country with her eyes closed. She relied on feelings and auras to navigate her path, not senses.

 

And if Shiva had been a normal creature, crossing the whole of Jiikron, for Akatrial was in the uppermost part of the country, and her destination was the exact opposite, would have taken many months. Yet she was not a normal creature. She could have already arrived in Lasah if she had wanted, except it was her not-desire to pretend to enjoy walking through the forest. It was her not-desire because she was not capable of desiring something; and she could only pretend to enjoy walks through the wood because human emotion was not something she felt. She had no explanation for why she had not-desires and pretend emotions, because rationalization was also something she lacked, so she simply did not search for an answer. It was not her not-desire to know, anyway.

 

The trek through Mul Forest, which would have taken a human being days to accomplish, took Shiva only one hour, though anyone who saw her, which included bats and other nocturnal creatures, would have sworn if they could speak that her pace was one of a leisurely stroll. Once she cleared the line of trees she spread her wings and took off into the crisp moonlit night. The moon was at its fullest and it illuminated Shiva's pearly white wings. When she took to the sky her speed increased further, and after only two hours Nisaan Lake, which bordered the northern side of Lasah, came into view. Shiva thought she saw a greenish fin skim the surface of the water, but she wasn't sure, so she ignored the matter and flew on.

 

She landed lightly on the ground in the middle of Lasah. The village around her was small. There were perhaps only seven buildings bordering the courtyard. Directly in front of her was a shop which she determined to be a forge. It appeared that not every occupant of the village was asleep, for a tall man came out of the forge with a sword in one hand and a lantern in the other.

 

“Who goes?” He called. His voice was deep and rich, like her master's, only without all the malice. She pretended to like his voice. He repeated his question when she failed to answer it after several minutes. She remained silent. He would need no reply; in a matter of minutes he would be dead anyway.

 

His shouts apparently awakened several other villagers. They stumbled out of their homes, eyes half closed with lethargy. They all stood in silence for several moments before one man finally noticed that Lasah's intruder had wings attached to her back. He screamed, and Shiva pretended to enjoy his voice too. Then she flapped her wings in a slow, steady beat. With each movement a shimmering mist seemed to fall off of her feathers and spread. A woman screeched, and soon the rest of the village joined in her petrified chorus.

 

“Demon!”

 

“Hell fiend!”

 

“Monster!”

 

The tall man whose voice Shiva pretended to like so much was the only one to say something even remotely intelligent.

 

“Run!”

 

There was no use in running, however, although the plan might have seemed a good one. The fog that was seeping from her wings enveloped the courtyard quickly. The villagers were unknowingly breathing in deep amounts of poison every time they screamed. Within minutes the stench of death was heavy throughout Lasah. Shiva pretended to smile.

 

~@%%@%%@%%@~

 

The last time Kona had awoken to terrified shrieking it had been because his sister had found a spider in her room. This time he suspected it was not the same reason. He rolled out of bed and dressed quickly. Dimly he noted that it was still dark outside. In the kitchen Vitani was peering out of the window; Mikona was at her shoulder.

 

“What's going on?” Kona inquired.

 

“We don't know, son. We can't see anything through the glass; it's become all smoggy outside.” Mikona's face wore an expression of worry and confusion. “I'll go outside and see what's going on.”

 

But before he had even stepped into his boots the back door burst open and a frantic looking Voide ran in. He grabbed Vitani's wrist held a hand out to stop her father.

 

“Don't! If you go out there you'll die!”

 

Mikona looked startled. “What?”

 

“There's no time to explain, just come with me!” He didn't wait for an answer before dashing out the way he came, pulling his student behind him. Kona shrugged and followed them. Mikona had no choice but to do the same. The moment they set foot outside the house it became obvious something was horribly wrong. Kona staggered and faltered as the scent of decaying flesh hit his nostrils. The sickening odor was mixed with another, not so detectable one. Before he could discern its origins, Voide grabbed his upper arm and forced him to keep moving.

 

The four of them sprinted through the maze of tiny houses that made up the outskirts of Hyran and continued running even after they were well into the lush fields that bordered the village. Voide kept glancing over his shoulder as if expecting to see someone following them.

 

When he finally allowed them to stop the swift waters of the Ynla River could be heard ahead of them. The smell of death was less pungent, but Kona was still fighting the urge to retch. His insides felt like they were on fire. One glance at his father and sister told him they were experiencing the unpleasant feeling as well.

 

Vitani swayed on unsteady legs. Her head was reeling with the strain of trying to make sense of their predicament. Her lungs hurt, her eyes burned, she felt nauseous, and she had just run with a speed she didn't know she possessed. There had been a strange mist outside of their window, people had been screaming, and that horrible aroma-

 

Then something in her brain clicked, and suddenly it was all too much. People she knew were dead. It wasn't right. The idea didn't make sense to her heart, even though her mind put the evidence together and sustained it as a fact. Comprehension became too much for her ragged body and soul to handle; she was grateful when the world turned black and she collapsed.

 

~@%%@%%@%%@~

 

“Cantilena, wake up…” A hand gently patted Vitani's face. Her eyes eased open and were greeted by the sight of a concerned Voide. He smiled sadly. “Good morning.” He sat up and the sudden rush of light temporarily blinded her. She had a moment to think about how terribly unfair it was that the sun was still able to shine when she felt so miserable before she abruptly rolled over on her hands and knees and loosed the contents of her stomach onto the ground.

 

Her teacher sighed and pulled her long black hair out of her face. He muttered incoherent words of comfort to her while she heaved, patting her back all the while. She coughed and sputtered into the grass, and every once in a while the bile she threw up would be laced with blood. After her stomach finally stopped rebelling against her, Voide helped her to sit up slowly. Her head was pounding and it felt as though her internal organs had become a giant pin cushion that was trying to break through her skin. Behind her, heavy footsteps signaled that her father was approaching.

 

“Are you alright, Vitani?” His voice was raspy.

 

She shook her head and immediately regretted doing so. Sharp waves of pain blossomed behind her eyes and spread through her skull. Mikona kneeled beside her and placed a large hand on her shoulder. When he sighed it sounded as though things were rattling around in his chest; Vitani had a feeling that whatever was making her lungs hurt had affected her father as well.

 

“How is Kona?” Voide wanted to know.

 

“Not well, I'm afraid. I think he may have gotten the worst of it.”

 

“Was he able to keep any medicine down?”

 

“Only a small amount.”

 

“That's better than none.” Voide pushed a small cup into Vitani's hands. “Drink this as soon as you're able, Cantilena. It will make you feel better.”

 

Vitani nodded slowly and brought the cup to her lips. The concoction inside smelled bitter. It was probably made from some sort of medicinal herb, she observed. Experimentally, she stuck her tongue out to taste it. The flavor almost made her retch again. It was worse than bitter; it was downright vile. Voide chuckled at the disgusted expression on his pupil's face.

 

“It won't hurt you, Vitani,” he teased. “I know it's not delicious or anything, but it will still your stomach.”

 

Vitani was about to argue, but thought better of it. Opening her mouth could mean trouble for the grass beside her. Instead she cast a scathing look at the dreaded drink before plugging her nose and downing the mix in one swallow. She clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from gagging and waited for the medicine to take affect. Sure enough, within minutes, the nausea was gone and she felt well enough to carefully stand up.

 

Mikona steadied her with a hand on her back. “Careful now.”

 

“I think I'm okay now, Papa,” Vitani assured him. Her voice was hoarse.

 

Voide nodded. “That's good. Now we must see to Kona.”

 

A bubble of fear rose in Vitani's chest at the sight of her brother. He was propped up on a boulder some thirty feet from where she had fallen the night before. His face was pale and there was a thin sheen of sweat across his brow. Every breath he took was shallow and labored. He seemed to be teetering on the edge of consciousness.

 

“Is he okay?” she asked in a small voice, afraid of what the answer would be.

 

“He'll be alright if he can take some medicine,” Voide told her. “He just inhaled a little too much of that poison last night.”

 

“Poison…?” Vitani's eyes widen with shock. “That mist was poison?”

 

Her master nodded. “Why do you think you were vomiting blood? That stuff was eating away at your organs. You're lucky you only breathed in a small amount.”

 

The thought of her insides rotting turned her stomach. Is that what happened to the rest of the village? She had a strong desire to never find out.

 

~@%%@%%@%%@~

 

Omigosh!! Breaking news!! This story now has its very own website! Check it out! … Please? *puppy eyes*

 

http://www(dot)freewebs(dot)com/jiikron

 

Make sure you replace the (dot)'s with periods, though. ~_^

 

Cantilena: Latin name that means “song.”

 

Thank you:

Mary - Dice - Mrs. Schaperjahn

 

Disclaimer: This story is a product of my imagination. Any and all similarities between real people/places and those in the fiction are purely coincidental.

 

~The Neko Kami of the Fruit Loops