[IC] The Genesis of Ansolera (Guardian Angel Haruki / Marrakt)

[Marrakt]

Callie raised an eyebrow at his unfinished sentence. What did he want to say about himself? Instead of continuing, he just turned the chair around, and the sight caused Callie to gasp and take a step back. She looked back to Merrill when he apologized and she started to ask, with skepticism lacing her voice "What the heck? This is what you wanted to show me?! Why-?!"

Then he brought out a small black rectangular object and held it out to her. Before he could finish his statement though, the outside night sky suddenly lit up. That wasn't starlight, that was fire! Her eyes widened. She realized it.

Those flames where coming from Edhel.

With that realization, Calle shouted "NO! Aunt Jenny! Everyone!!!"

With the object forgotten, she started to dart out of the ruins. The object remained in Merrill's hand. She was intent on heading back to Edhel. She needed to save Aunt Jenny and everyone down there!!!

Bruenor, Freya, Guy!

Her heart pounded with fear and adrenaline,

Please! Please be okay! Don't die!"

[Marrakt]

Callie turned to run, back the way she came. Merrill started to shout to her.

”Callie, wait! Not like this! We need to know what we are up against!”

But she was already moving away. ”Goddammit, impetuous girl,” Merrill cursed as he took a step forwards.

His vision was flooded with images, images dizzying with their intensity.... As he stepped forwards, he lost his balance, falling to one knee even as Callie jumped out of the exit and began running towards her own village.

He saw a colossal winged creature. It flew over Edhel. As the terrified villagers ran, it laughed as it opened it cavernous jaws..... From its breath it came out, a sheet of the purest cold. As it engulfed those poor victims that it caught within they froze, turning blue as their forms became nothing more than statues of pure ice.

But ice wasn’t it’s only power. It opened the palm of its hand as it unleashed a ball of fire. The fire streaked through the village, striking.....exploding in a gout of flames as the people died, caught within this crescendo of fire and ice.

Into this chaos she came.....Callie. She ran through the streets, trying to block out the horrific screams. Trying to ignore the creature as it turned its baleful eyes on her.

“You. I recognise you little one,” it’s voice is both deep and terrible.

Callie....she ran into a house. A house that was on fire. Seconds later, the terrible creature laughed again as it threw a ball of fire into the house. It explodes into a fiery inferno......

Shaken, as the dizzy spells hit him fast and hard Merrill fell, landing hard on the floor. On his leg, the stitches tore and blood started to pour from the reopened wound. Next to him, the globe of light bobbed up and down.

Merrill looked to it in desperation. ”Go,” he hissed. ”Go to her. Light her path. I will follow......go NOW!”

The globe of light suddenly shot through the air, heading out of the ruined vessel, travelling after Callie as fast as he could.

Merrill leaned over, gasping as black spots exploded over his eyes. He reached out....grasping fingers scrabbling to grab the black object he had liberated from the skeleton.

”Gods help us,” he whispered to himself as he tried to drag himself down the narrow metallic corridor.....

[Marrakt]

Callie didn't listen to Merrill as he called after her. She was too focused on the fact that the people she cared about, the people who raised her, are in danger!

When she managed to reach the outside of the ruin, and get to the point where she could see all of Edhel, she gasped. All of it was aflame. This only spurred her to run into the village and see how many people she can get out of there. As she down the hill, she saw a creature flying above Edhel, and it unleashed a breath of ice, before hurling a ball of fire.

By the time she got to the bottom of the village, she found that it was too late. Many were already dead, and the destruction was all around her. As she took in the destruction and the screams all around her, Merrill's words come back to her.

"So now it comes....Death"

Did...Did Merrill know this was going to happen?

...Did he cause this?

She then heard laughter and a wicked voice speak, while baleful eyes looked upon her.

"You. I recognize you little one,"

How could such a creature recognize her?! She never saw such a thing before. Now wasn't the time to ask such a question though. She knew that she needed to take cover before she gets killed. She ducked into a hut that remained intact despite being on fire. The creature threw a ball of fire at the house, and it explodes.

At first it would seem as though Callie's demise was imminent. However, when the debris, smoke, and clear, the creature would be able to see that Callie is still alive. She was indeed hurt if the small burn on her arm was of any indication. But now, her eyes were obscured by white light, and she was now floating above the ground, with an aura, similar to a rainbow, surrounding her. Her magic had gone beyond a simple surge. It was as though all of the times she hid the magic from everyone around her, had come back in full force.

Callie could be heard, clearly struggling against this impressive force of magic that is currently lashing out, "No...! NO...! NOOOOOO!!!!"

A pink spark appears first, and illusory butterflies and flower petals appear around Callie. Then another spark appeared. This time, this spark seemed to match the aura and caused said aura to intensify and grow stronger. Then a third spark appeared. This time the spark was white and when it landed on the ground it seemed to bring forth a creature. The creature resembled a horse with a pure white coat, but it had a horn on its head.

While the aura continued to shine around Callie, the horse looked to her and the creature. Despite the pain and the surge of magic coursing through her veins, she can hear a different voice. It was coming from the horse! But the mouth wasn't moving.

"Child...you cannot save anyone here. The least I can do, is protect you from this blight,"

Then horse bowed its head and the horn began to radiate a light. This light engulfed Callie and said horse, before it disappeared. Callie and the horse were no longer in the same spot.

The unicorn had teleported Callie and itself a mile from the village, back onto the hill where Callie had once stood. Not far from the ruins Merrill led her too.

Despite being away from the creature, the magic surge continued. Callie is still floating above the ground and the colored aura, along with the illusory butterflies and flower petals, are still surrounding her.

[Marrakt]

It was there in seconds, not long after her reappearance. The Will o’the Wisp. The floating globe of light hovered around her, zipping in and back out, almost as if from curiosity.

Behind, coming out of the brush, Merrill saw her, floating above the ground. Regarding her, his expression twisted slightly in a look of sorrow as he came slowly forwards.

I’m sorry girl, his voice echoed to him, inside of his own mind. I’m sorry for what you have seen. I’m sorry for what you will see.

The colours swirled around her, a veritable cacophony of blues, of reds, of pinks, of yellows, and of oranges. Butterflies and petals.....they blew around her in the breeze.

Merrill came forward slowly, painfully, wincing from the waves of pain as they shot up and down his injured leg. One of the butterflies, the colour of amber, came towards him. It was beautiful. Despite himself and despite the situation he was in, Merrill found himself holding his hand out slightly to touch it. His hand came out slowly.....ever slowly, as a wistful expression came over his face.

It occurred to him that in all the years.....he had never seen a butterfly. He had, for all his travels, not seen much, other than death and decay.

Trembling fingers reached out, looking to touch it.....they passed through the form of the butterfly as it dissipated, fading back into the nothingness from which it had been formed.

And then his leg gave out, and Merrill fell forwards, landing on his knees and screwing his face up as another bolt of pain shredded through him. The little globe of light, flying over to him from Callie, hovered over him, almost as if it was concerned. Head down, on his knees, Merrill looked up to her.

”There can be no doubt,” his voice was soft as he gazed to her. ”You are the one. I’m sorry Callie. I’m so sorry.”

And there he knelt, gazing up to her, transfixed and unable to remove his gaze from her.

@Guardian Angel Haruki

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

The unicorn turned to look as the Will O' the Wisp and Merrill appeared from the brush. The majestic white coat being approached Merrill and lowered its head, bringing the horn to his leg. The horn once again shine a white light, bringing a healing energy to the man's leg. Callie on the other hand didn't notice. Her eyes were still transfixed on the scorched town below, and her hands were clasping her head, as though she were in pain.

After Merrill spoke, Callie whirled to face him, while still hovering in mid-air surrounded by the myriad of colored magical energy. Merrill would see that Callie's eyes are completely shrouded in white light.

She mournfully and angrily asked Merrill, "....You knew? You knew this would happen? ...WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!" As she practically screamed the last question, another spark appeared. This time it was a golden spark that appeared near her hands and seeped into those hands. After that nothing seems to have happened.

[Marrakt]

When the unicorn came over to him, Merrill was transfixed by its magnificence. With a small smile, he reached up, touching its white mane.

”Hey there,” he whispered, and for a second, the years seemed to roll off of him — the weariness that belay his young age.

It was, perhaps, a small sight of the person that Merrill could have been under different circumstances. It’s horn began to glow....its radiance pure white. Watching, unable to move even if he wanted to, Merrill could not tear his eyes away as the unicorn placed its horn on his leg. And there, torn flesh mended. His flesh knitted back together, and the blood lessened, first to a small trickle.....and then it stopped bleeding altogether. Stroking its mane, Merrill nodded.

”Thank you,” he whispered simply.

When Callie whirled to face him, her eyes blazing with fury, Merrill turned his own dark gaze to meet hers.

She is so beautiful.

He heard her accusation. Heard her anger. Watched as the energy coalesced in her hands, and Merrill bowed his head for a second, remaining on his knees despite the healing of his injury. Then he looked up, meeting her gaze once more, expecting her to strike him down.....destroy him.

It was not an unpleasant thought....to be free from all of this.

He shook his head. ”No,” he said simply, letting the words hang in the air for a second.

Swallowing, he maintained his gaze. Dark eyes met auburn and held them..... For a moment, he felt his own soul shrink under that gaze.....under the hatred that radiated out from them.

It was time. Time for his own truth.

”I saw it just after you left. The village...burning. I saw the creature, the winged creature. I saw you run into the house. I watched it.....you....”

Swallowing again, Merrill broke eye contact, looking down. ”I.....I can see echoes of the future Callie. I can’t control it.....it controls me. I see things....”

His fists clenched together. Fingernails bit into the palm of his hand as he closed his eyes.

”Some would call it a gift,” he almost spat his contempt onto the ground before he opened his eyes, looking to her once more.

”A gift.... to see people you care about die in front of your eyes, knowing there is nothing....NOTHING you can do to stop it. To be hated and turned out by your own kin because they fear you. To be chased....always chased because dark things desire your....your gift.”

Trembling now, Merrill looked down. A sharp pain in the palm of his hand made him look down....down to where his fingernails had pierced the flesh, drawing blood once more.

”This is no gift Callie. No gift....” he sounded tired now. So tired.

”I have been running now for longer than I care to remember. Running from village to village, never being able to stay in one place for long, afraid that I will bring the dark things chasing me to them. I’m tired now Callie. I just want.....to rest.....for one day.”

Tears formed in his eyes, and for a brief moment, Merrill looked very much the scared and frightened teenager caught up in circumstances he could not possibly understand....for a second the burden forgotten.

Only for a second.

Wiping his eyes, he stood now, coldly looking to Callie as he whispered.

”I saw, in my visions, a girl who could use magic. The first I have ever seen.....the only one alive for all I know. I knew she would....play a part in fighting the dark. A darkness from the north. But not this....”

He gestured towards the smoke in the distance.

Shaking his head, he whispered.

”.....never this. I am sorry Callie. For everything that has happened. For everything that will happen. One thing I learned to my cost.....”

He turned away from her.

”The visions. They are never wrong, no matter the cost. No matter how much I wish it to be.”

@Guardian Angel Haruki

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

The unicorn simply gave a nod to Merrill after he thanked it.

Callie stared at Merrill as he spoke, the auras still radiating angrily around her. At first she did want to strike him down, but instead she listened as he spoke. Her own eyes of white light softened despite the still raging and wild magic that surged. She could see how tired, angry, and scared he was. It was not as different as what she was feeling now...

She started "That's...That's not..."

What was she going to say? That it wasn't fair?! For her, or for him? Or for the both of them?

She then felt the surge act up again, and she yelled in pain, clenching her head once more. She screamed "GODS! MAKE THIS STOP!!!"

Another spark appeared, but this time her entire body seemed to start shifting and changing on its own in this aura. As though to reflect the true nature of her magic and her inexperience with it, her body shrinks down and shifts until the 18 year old is now a 9 year old.

[Marrakt]

And not all the visions in the world could have prepared Merrill for the sight of Callie shrinking......transforming into a nine year old child standing in front of him.

He stared at the child, his eyes widening in surprise and shock.

”Your magic....” he began to speak, before shaking his head. ”We need to find out how to control it, find someone to teach you....”

His voice trailed off at his own ridiculous statement. There was no one else left alive to teach magic. Those few who had survived the ravages of the plague had been hunted down and brutally murdered by the many magic haters left alive. Wizards, spellcasters alike had all been exterminated by those who had believed, rightly or wrongly, that they were responsible for the plague.

Between her unstable magic and his own abilities of divination.....the two of them would be killed for what they had and what they knew.

Merrill’s brow creased in fear and frustration. They were alone. Both alone now. They could turn to nobody, trust nobody....and here he was standing in front of a nine year old, looking up to him. He held his head in his hands. Things were spiralling out of control. He didn’t know what to do....where to go.

Despite everything, despite the visions.....he wasn’t ready for this.

And then the roar could be heard. Emanating from the village, yet it was getting closer.

In the distance Merrill could see a winged silhouette against the silvery radiance of the moon, blotting out the smoke that billowed upwards from the ruins of Edhel.

”We.....we don’t have time,” he held his hand out to her.

”We must run!”

His voice had a slight tinge of panic as he looked to the unicorn, his eyes reflecting his desperation.

”Can you do anything to help us?”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Callie blinked at Merrill confusedly, the aura still raging and her eyes still shining white, when he stared at her wide eyed and made his statement. She couldn't help but start to ask "What...? But there's--" She stopped when she realized that her voice sounded different. She looked at her hands and noticed that they were smaller than normal. Her eyes grew wide once more and she asked in a scared tone, "What happened to me?!"

Then there was a roar and she turned to see the creature's silhouette against the moon. She looked back to Merrill when he spoke, and when he outstretched his hand to her, she took it. She felt her feet touch the ground but aura still raged.

When Merrill asked the unicorn, it gave a nod and answered the both of them telepathically, "While there may not be much time, there is something I can do," The unicorn then bowed, pointing the horn at the both of them, and Callie noticed that the shadows suddenly started to cling to them, and it significantly dimmed the aura of colors, petals, and butterflies. It was like a magical cloak was placed on the both of them.

"I have given you the gift of stealth. Please use this to your advantage and hurry. I will do my best to use what time is left to distract the beast. Go, now!"

Callie nodded and answered "Thank you," and she hurried off with Merrill in tow.

Unfortunately, while they moved away from the scene, trying to be as fast and quiet as possible, another spark appeared. This time, it seemed as though her magic was retaliating against being hidden once more. This time, the aura of colors seemed to have changed. Now there was a bright white light emanating from Callie, blinding those who are too close to her.

[Marrakt]

The roar sounded closer. The unicorns horn glimmered once more, and Merrill looked down to see his outline begin to fade along with the nine year old Callie’s.

”Thank you,” he said, then looked at Callie. ”No time,” he said, grabbing her hand and running.

And run they did. Across fields and open grasslands. Behind them, the roar sounded once more as the creature came closer. Overhead the moon shone bright and there was nary a cloud in the sky.

It was the perfect conditions for hunting.

Behind them, a second explosion of light could be seen echoing faintly against the night sky, and the creature roared again, although this time there was a tinge of pain to its voice. Merrill shook his head, hoping that the unicorn had managed to escape the grasp of the enraged demon.

”We need to get out of the open,” Merrill gasped, his lungs burning from the running.

Dark eyes scanned around desperately, looking for something.....anything that would allow them some sort of cover from the marauding creature. And then he saw it.

”There,” he pointed to the side.

In the distance, very faint but there nonetheless were the shadowy outlines of what looked like they were trees. Lots of trees.

”We can seek cover under the trees,” he panted, breathing heavily. ”Hopefully there we can find a hiding place.”

And then she exploded into bright white light. A white light that started out as a spark from Callie but grew larger and larger, first encompassing her body and then expanding to consume him. Shielding his eyes from the light, Merrill cursed.

”Callie..we really, really need to find a way of controlling your magic. If I didn’t know any better I’d swear that it was deliberately trying to get us caught.”

As they continued to race towards the shadows of the forest, outlines that although close seemed so desperately desperately far away, he continued.

”Callie, if it catches us, you are to run and you don’t look back,” he breathed heavily. ”You are of the most importance. You have to survive no matter what. I’ll do what I can to give you that chance, do you understand me?”

His face was flushed red from the exertion.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Callie ran as fast as she could. Unfortunately, being a nine year old child meant that she wasn't as fast as she could be. Despite her heavy breathing she could hear the roar of the creature from before. She heard his words about getting out of the open and she looked towards where he pointed, at the trees in the distance. She nodded before the spark and white light appeared.

She didn't really know what else she could say regarding her magic. She couldn't control it and if she could get rid of it, she would.

When he told her to run and not look back, she yelped "What?!" She then protested, panting with heavy breaths, "No...! I can't do that! I can't just leave you behind with that thing!" She then looked to the trees, and she urged "Come on! We're almost there!"

Another spark appears, but this time, it was a faint blue light that settled onto her burn wound and it started to slowly heal itself.

[Marrakt]

The trees, despite their attempts at closing the distance, they remained impossibly far away. Leading Callie, Merrill shook his head.

”We do what we have to do. I have my part to play in this, as do you. Nothing in the world can change that.”

And then it came. The vision

She stands before me. She looks me in the eyes as she steps closer.....closer.....she.....

He saw. And the vision came.

Lying on her back, her eyes stare up at me sightlessly. And I stand there, knife in my hand. Blood, her blood drips from the tip of the blade, falling to the floor.

Merrill’s mouth drops open in shock as he runs, whispering the words, ”No. Gods no.”

Hair of auburn, heart stealer,
I see you, I kill you.

The roar from behind shattered the vision, destroying his train of thought. Looking behind, Merrill stared in horror as it exploded out from the night sky, bearing straight towards them. Claws outstretched, fangs gleaming, its eyes burned with malice and hatred.

”Move!”

Pushing Callie to one side, Merrill rolled to the other. He felt claws scrape across the back of his leg and cried out in pain. Coming back up to his feet, he saw Callie on the other side.....beyond the twisted creature that stood between him and her. The creature advanced on her slowly, its face twisted into a grotesque smile, leering as its sharp teeth reflected off the light of the moon.

”You belong to ME,” it intoned, stepping towards her, claws reaching for her.

Climbing back to his feet, Merrill came towards it from behind, limping slowly as he favoured his injured leg.

”HEY YOU,” he shouted, reaching into his pocket, drawing forth.....something.

Something that he didn’t want to use unless it was an emergency.....and this certainly counted as that.

Laughing, the winged creature turned to face him.....as Merrill threw something into its face. There was a bang and an explosion of white light. The creature screeched as it clawed at it’s face, tearing at its eyes as it swiped at him with its free hand.

Rolling to one side, Merrill yelled as his leg crumpled, yet he was lucky....the momentum taking him underneath its taloned claw. Rolling onto his back, he climbed back up, ignoring the pain from his reopened injury as he looked to Callie.

”If you have any tricks left, I suggest you use them NOW!”

He called out as he looked at her, and once more he saw her, lying on the ground on her back, eyes staring at her killer accusingly.....

@Guardian Angel Haruki

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Callie kept on running, her answer to his comment about doing their part being, "But I don't even know what that part is!!! How can I even do that if I don't know?!"

He clearly knew more than she did, and she knew she was going to be lost if he died.

Then he lets out a shocked 'No', and though Callie wanted to ask, now wasn't a good time.

She gasped and screamed when something was thrown at them and she was shoved out of the way. Before she even knew it, the thing was standing between her and Merrill. She found herself sitting and trying to back further and further away from the creature still sitting. She couldn't help but let out scared whimpers as she backed away.

Of course, Merrill had gotten its attention and threw something at it.

Callie watched in fear as Merrill fell, missing the taloned swipe. When he called her to do something, she saw another spark, this time it was red, and it seeped into her fingers. She could feel fire in her hands, and she pointed her hands at the creature, sending flames it's way, and after the fire, came a blast of radiating light from her right hand. She desperately hoped that this would be enough to get rid of the creature.

[Marrakt]

”I’m sorry. There is nothing I can do.”

Merrill walked away from him, leaving the man in the street, his hand outstretched, looking for coin and help that he couldn’t give.

How could I tell you?

Merrill’s mind screamed at him as he walked away. Nothing I could do could help you. The beggar would be dead within the week, a knife plunged into his gut. Merrill knew not who wielded the knife, but it might as well have been his own hand.

He turned the corner, his vision blurring. The rain poured, coming down from the heavens, soaking him to the skin. Walking into the alleyway, Merrill leaned against the wall, sliding down it, head looking up to the sky as the droplets continued to fall.

”I’m sorry,” he whispered.

He reached his hands up, running his fingers down his face, scratching furrows in his face as the tears fell. So much death. He had seen so much......so little he could do. He would have saved them all had he the power.

But he did not.

The visions....they always came true.

Finally, as blood mixed with the rain in the alleyway, Merrill’s hands fell as the stinging pain came from the tears he had ripped into his skin. Bringing his hand back up to his waist, he touched the hilt of something attached to his waist. A knife. A knife carved with the hilt of a dragon. Closing his eyes, he whispered again, ”I’m sorry.”

And then the knife was free from its fastening. Turning it in, he placed the tip of it against his chest.

”Its the only way.....”

Seconds passed. A sharp pain from his stomach. The knife fell from trembling, nerveless fingers, clattering on the floor of the alleyway. Holding his head up to the sky and the rain, eyes closed, Merrill laughed.

And as he laughed, he committed the beggars face to his memory. He committed the faces of all those he had seen die to his memory, to live there for the rest of his life.

”I’m sorry,” he whispered once more breathlessly. ”The world may forget you, but I will not. I will remember.....always remember.”

***

Merrill watched Callie. He watched her as flames burst from her fingers, striking the creature in its chest. As it screamed it’s agony, he continued to watch her. Not the girl she had transformed herself into, but the woman that she was. Time had hardened him beyond his years, turning him into the cold and emotionless person he had become, yet......

......he committed her face to his memory. This one. This one would hurt the most. It would kill him, and he did not need any visions of the future to tell him that.

Shaking slightly, as the creature reeled from the blows, clutching at its eyes even as it tried to smother the flames, Merrill ran forwards, ignoring the pain from his right leg.

”Come on.”

He grabbed her hand, and once more they ran.

The forest came, and as the demon roared once more, they burst through into the thick foliage.

Great oak trees, standing the size of two houses, shielded them suddenly from the outside world. They loomed over the two as they crashed through the forest and into its depths. Their tops blocked out the moon, and they cast great shadows over those below it.

Breathing heavily, Merrill held out his hand, and the globe of light whizzed through the air, hovering over his palm. It shedded a small amount of illumination around their surroundings. On either side, large bushes could be seen amidst the bark of the great oak trees. The foliage was thick here, almost too thick and dense to penetrate.

With the exception of a small dirt path leading its way deeper into the forest.

”I guess we have no choice but to go deeper....”

An explosion to his right cut off Merrill’s words, followed by the orange flicker of flames and thick smoke that started to billow in their direction. His eyes widened in fear as he coughed, covering his mouth as his eyes started to water.

”Its trying to burn down the forest....to smoke us out. We must run!”

As the flames started to get closer, Merrill looked to the young Callie, his eyes showing the fear that he felt inside of him......

@Guardian Angel Haruki

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

After the fires disappeared, Merrill had once more grabbed her hand and ran. She ran to keep up with him as well, and soon enough they managed to make it into the forest. Once they were shielded by the trees, Callie breathed heavily to catch her breath. Her aura was starting to dim as Merrill brought out the Will O' the Wisp. Ahead of them there was a single dirt path and she nodded in agreement with his comment.

However, it quickly turned out that they were not yet safe.

Off to the side, there was an explosion and a fire began to blaze, consuming the forest and all in its path. Callie looked to Merrill as she too coughed and her eyes teared up. She could see the fear in his eyes, and she immediately remembered something her Aunt used to tell her,

Trying to stay composed, the now 9 year old Callie told Merrill "Wait! We need to stay low to the ground! If we just run, we'll end up suffocating from the smoke! Cover your mouth and nose with your shirt or some cloth," She quickly followed her own advice and pulled up her shirt to hide her nose and mouth.

As the aura starts to fade even further, one more spark appeared. It was like the spark that summoned the unicorn appeared, but this time, it was a gray color, and when it landed on the ground, a square mechanical being appeared. It looked at the both of them, before it flies off.

Callie wondered if that will get the demon to leave them alone, or be enough of the distraction.

Either way, Callie told Merrill, "Let's go, now!" before she moved, staying low to the ground as well.

[Marrakt]

Merrill looked at the strange being that Callie had summoned. He watched it as it headed back in the direction of the winged demon.

”Your magic is powerful, but uncontrolled. It is like a wild tempest. We need to find....”

The smoke thickened and Merrill coughed, unable to finish the sentence. Taking his own shirt, he nodded as he held it to his nose and mouth, blocking out the thick smoke. Staying low, he went down the dirt path, staying close behind Callie. On either side of the thick brush, the shadows danced, weaving in and out, illuminated by the flickering, burning inferno that raged not far away.

”I don’t like this,” Merrill whispered, taking the cloth away from his mouth for a second.

”There’s something else here.....something I can’t quite put my finger on. Something is wrong.”

For however many hours they travelled, Merrill lost count. Yet as they did traverse the winding trail in the forest, travelling deeper into its depths, the smoke lessened, as did the raging fire that burned through the undergrowth. Eventually, as the rain began to fall, the sensation of smoke lessened altogether, becoming nothing more than a slight annoyance.

Nor did the flying demon make another appearance. Perhaps whatever it was that Callie had sent at it had delayed it enough for them to make a getaway. More hours passed before Merrill finally stopped, lowering the cloth from his nose and mouth.

”I think we’ve gone far enough now.”

In front of them, the forest trail continued onwards, the muddy path disappearing into the shadows ahead.

”Perhaps we have come far enough.....to rest now,” he nodded, exhausted.

Looking to Callie, his dark eyes gleamed.

”I don’t know what to do about your form. Maybe another surge like before will restore you?”

He sat on the floor, crossing his legs as he continued to watch her curiously.

”I will watch over you while you sleep,” he said, wincing slightly at the sudden pain from the gouges on the back of his leg.

What he didn’t say though was that still, at the back of his mind, there was the strange feeling that something was wrong. There was something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, something out of place around them.....

@Guardian Angel Haruki

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Callie coughed as the smoke thickened. With her shirt over her own mouth and nose, she hurried away from the inferno with Merrill. When he mentioned that there was something off and something he didn't like, she asked him "You mean...Something else is in this forest?" She didn't like the idea of having to deal with another monster other than the demon that was pursuing them earlier.

Soon they reached a point where Merrill thought it would be safe to stop. She held her arms as she felt the rain pour down. She commented in regards to a surge, "I don't think another surge is possible right now...." Now that she thought about it, she felt exhausted. Was it because of the large amount of surges and what happened this night that wore her out?

When he told her that he would watch over her while she slept, she noticed his leg was bleeding and she asked him, "What about you? You're still hurt..."

[Marrakt]

Merrill nodded at her comment about the surge.

”Its not a surprise. I would imagine that magic expenditure of that sort would be draining, let alone using that sort of energy when you are not that practiced in it.”

Standing up after catching his breath, he lead them slowly away from the track, Merrill went into the undergrowth for a little bit. The rain continued to fall now, and he could feel the damp of his clothes pressed against his skin. It was, most decidedly, an unpleasant sensation.

Looking back to her as he pushed some of the foliage away with his hands, also holding a path open for her in some of the thickest areas, he nodded.

”Besides unlocking the doors on the plane, was that the first time you had used magic?” he asked in a soft tone of voice.

Letting her pass, Merrill then let the foliage close softly behind them as he continued to push his way deeper into the thick brush.

”It is wise to stay away from the path tonight Callie. I would also advise not setting up a camp fire,” glancing back to her, a small smile crossed his face for the briefest of seconds. ”Sorry.”

They walked for another half an hour. Merrill’s feet were burning, let alone the gash on his leg, a gash that caused him to walk with a slight limp. Finally, the two arrived in what seemed to be a small clearing in the depths of the word. It was a round, circular clearing, surrounded by the thick trees and brush that had been typical of the forest in which they were trying to traverse.

When Callie commented on his leg, Merrill merely smiled that ghostly smile. ”I have suffered worse Callie, I can assure you of that. This is nothing but a slight injury, it won’t stop me.”

Looking around the clearing, he nodded.

”We’ll be sleeping rough tonight. Tomorrow will hopefully be better. I will see what I can scavenge from the land around us, and tomorrow, I will teach you to hunt.”

Beginning to limp towards the edge of the clearing and the shadows that lay beyond, Merrill suddenly stopped. Turning his head back to her, there was a strange expression on his face, one his features had not worn before.

”Callie.....once I have taught you to hunt, I will take you to the nearest village. From there, I suggest you head into the wilderness. Travel east, you will find safer refuge there than the lands here. I......I cannot travel with you. I’m sorry.”

His face torn, he looked away from her, hesitating for a second.

Perhaps once I can defy the visions. Perhaps once, they will turn out to not be true.

The only way that he could be sure of that though was to leave Callie. To leave her and go far far away, to where she would never see him again. It was the only way.

Yet the truth of it, it wasn’t the vision of her death that terrified him....it was the vision he had seen immediately before that that had scared him to his very core.....

From the shadows, the watcher watched. It watched, and it smiled as it’s eyes glowed red......

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Callie followed after him into the undergrowth and away from the road. She ignored the fact that the rain made her feel cold and her clothes were sticking to her thanks to the rain. She nodded a thanks as Merrill the foliage so she could move past them. When he asked about her using magic, she was silent before she answered, "Other than the surges I've had to suppress and hide for so long? Yeah. That was the first time I actually used magic,"

After advising her not to set up a campfire, she shrugged at his apology and answered "It's fine. It's not like I can anyways," As they walked on, Callie's legs were burning. She had clearly run more than she ever had in her life, and she was not used to it.

His brushing off her comment about his leg injury only worried her, but she didn't say anything. She didn't have any bandages, and she was pretty sure that any magic she had left was not going to be able to heal him. She blinked in confusion at his mention that he was going to teach her how to hunt, and that he was going to leave her when he was done.

She pointed "Woah, wait a minute! You just suddenly burst into my life, talk about some weird stuff and that there's something I'm supposed to do, and you're just going to leave like that? Not to mention..." She then gestured to herself and she added "I don't quite know what happened to me, but whatever this is hasn't worn off like the other surges! I'm getting the feeling that I'm pretty useless like this,"

[Marrakt]

Merrill winded at her protestations. Looking away from her, to the darkness of the wilderness that beckoned, he swallowed. I wish I could tell you why, even as I wish that I could stay, he thought to himself.

But he could not. Such was the nature of the “gift” he had been given. And Merrill cursed that gift. He cursed it with every single thing that he had. Every single fibre of his being......wishing that there was another way.

Swallowing again, he kept looking away from her as he replied.

”I wish I could explain Callie, but just trust me when I say that it is for the best.....”

I want to stay. Now he brought his eyes to meet hers. I have been alone now for so long that to find company, even if only fleeting.....it has been more of a balm to my soul than you could ever know. But he did not speak the words. He saw Callie, lying there, dead before him, bloodstained knife in his hands as he gazed down at her, his heart shattered.

If there is anything.....anything at all I can do to stop this from coming to pass I will. This time I must cheat fate. I MUST cheat fate.

The smile on his face was resigned, his eyes haunted.

”It is the only way Callie. You will find your destiny and you will learn to control it. This.....this is outwith my ability to do. I’m sorry.”

Turning, he disappeared into the brush before she had chance to answer him.....

***

That I had the power to just dissipate here in the blackness, to be no more, to not think or feel, I would. I would take it again and again and again as I allowed the blackness of oblivion to swallow me.

Merrill was lost in his thought as he pushed through the undergrowth. In his right hand he had already gathered provisions from the wilderness. Mushrooms, leaves that he knew to be edible. It wasn’t going to be a kings feast by any stretch of the imagination, but it would be enough to tide them over. One thing that Merrill had learned to do, and learned to do well, was hunt and forage. It was the one thing that had kept him alive in all of the lonely years he had spent by himself. When you only had yourself to account for, and nowhere to turn to, one quickly learned to become self-sufficient.

It was easy enough to do, to find enough provisions for the both of them. And at this precise moment, Merrill was hunched over a small brook that was in the heart of the forest. In the water was a skein that he was filling up. They would survive the night, if nothing else.

It was something, at the very least.

When the voice echoed from behind him, feminine yet venomous, Merrill immediately knew his mistake. He had become complacent in their flight from the demon that he had blinded himself to the other dangers out there.

”It has been too long Merrill,” the voice spoke as a dark form detached from the shadows behind him.

Closing his eyes in disgust and horror, Merrill turned slowly to see the figure of the one he knew stood before him. He said one word, and one word only.

”Dulcimae.”

The face of his killer stared back at him.

***

Merrill was not the only one who had paid a heavy price for his insttention. So caught up in the events that had unfolded, Callie had not noticed the slight movement from behind one of the oak trees. A dark, long form slithered out from the undergrowth.

Sliding it’s way towards her, the shadowy form came closer to her from behind.

Closer, ever closer.......

Reaching the back of her foot, it slid under the folds of her clothing and began to climb up her leg, a sudden wet and slimy sensation against her skin......