The Fallen

Nevreem crawled across the swamp in the gently falling rain, pain shooting through his stomach with every move he made. It was unbearable. He wanted nothing more than to stop, to give up. But he couldn’t. He had to keep going - for her. His vision blurred. He sucked in a painful breath and drug himself forward once more. He squinted through the rain looking for something, anything to help. There was nothing but darkness in front of him. He looked around, blinking the water out of his eyes, grimacing with every movement. Then, in the darkness, he saw it. A blinking light. Hope.

With a new fervor, Nevreem continued to pull himself forward, crying out in agony with every inch he gained. Several times his vision tunneled, but he kept his focus on the light in the distance. One hand clutching the gaping wound in his stomach, his legs limp behind him. Forward. Inch after inch. He ignored the gut wrenching pain. He had to.

And then it was there before him, standing tall in the rain. A castle in the middle of the swamp. The lands around it were lush and filled with plants that should not be growing in the middle of the swamp. The place reeked of magic, but Nevreem did not care. Perhaps there was magic that could save him. Save him so he could save her. He continued crawling through the mud.

“Help,” he called, his voice hoarse. He tried to crawl forward again, but his shaking arm gave way under his own weight and his head collapsed. He gazed at the tower. “Someone, anyone!”

There was a movement in the distance. A door opened. Footsteps fell on a wooden path, the sound dulled by the falling rain. Then water splashed beneath multiple sets of feet. Nevreem gazed up and saw creatures dressed in robes, they’re faces covered in masks, a dark mist swirling off their bodies.

“Please,” he coughed, the metallic taste of blood thick in his mouth. His vision began to tunnel again, darkness pressing in all around him, but this time he couldn’t fight it back. In the middle of the encroaching black, he saw the figures part and an armored figure with an antlered mask stepped forward and kneeled over him.

“I wonder if you’d prove useful…” the figure mused, its voice deep and wispy.

“I’ll do anything,” Nevreem choked out, blood spilling from his mouth. The darkness pressed in and Nevreem felt himself fade from the world around him.

The world burned, screams pierced the air. Nevreem flew, his wings shining in the blood red sky. Where was she? He had to find her. He had to save her. He swooped down, shielding his face from the smoke. The flames licked up at him. He could feel the heat encompass his body. Was he in hell?

No. It was the village. And she was somewhere within the burning chaos. Something stormed the streets down below. Black shadows that moved harmlessly through the flames. There was no time to worry about them.

Nevreem used the current to his advantage and soared higher again, looking, listening, his eyes straining against the bright flames as the sky behind him began to darken. Then he saw her. Running. Something chasing her.

“Kaleen!” he shouted, pinning his wings behind him as he thrust forward, diving as fast as he could. The figure was nearly on her. He had to hurry. He had to reach her first.

He was nearly there. The wind rushed past him, a loud roar in his ears. It was nearly there too. Just a moment more. He just needed a second. And then he was there, but the thing was waiting. Just as Nevreem went to grab Kaleen, the hideous creature turned. Nevreem felt a tug in his stomach. A fresh scream pierced the air. Then he was slammed to the ground and pain like he had never felt before pierced through his body. He watched helplessly as she was grabbed. He reached out, tried to move, but he was stuck.

“Nev!” the woman cried out, and then she was gone. The world burned around him, smoke curling around the spear that pinned him to the ground. It was too much.

The world around him morphed and he was dropping into a pit of darkness, the spear falling with him. He thrust out his wings, but the feathers were stripped from them. Pain coursed through his entire being. He looked at his wings and opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His wings were nothing but bones. Something wet dripped from his open mouth. He touched his fingers to it. It was blood. No. It was some sort of black ichor. He watched as it spread over his hands and up his arms, onto his shoulders. He could feel it crawl up his neck. It felt like rot, and soon it was spreading on his face.

‘I don’t want to die. I have to save Kaleen.’

“What would you do to save her?” a disembodied voice asked, the voice echoing in the dark void around him.

‘Anything.’

Sunlight streamed through a tall window and fell on Nevreem’s still face. His eyes fluttered open as he gasped, jolting upright in a comfortable bed. He looked down at himself, his hands going to the place where he had been mortally wounded, but nothing was there. He raised the linen shirt he was in and examined the spot on his abdomen. No scar. No markings. It was as if he had never been wounded. He then looked at his hands, relieved to see his pale skin instead of black ichor. Once he was certain he was whole, Nevreem looked around. He found himself in a small room that had a desk on the wall opposite the bed, an old wooden wardrobe, and a basin that seemed to have fresh water in it.

Nevreem swung his legs out of the bed and placed his bare feet tentatively on the cold stone floor. He flexed his toes and stood. He took a tentative step forward, arms out for balance. He was happy to find his legs were able to support his weight once again. He went to the door of the room and tried the handle. It was indeed unlocked. He opened it ever so slowly, careful not to make a sound, and peered through a crack. The only thing he could see was a hallway, lit with candelabra on various points of the wall. He listened for a moment, and upon hearing nothing, opened the door further. It moaned in complaint, but Nevreem suspected it wasn’t loud enough to get anyone’s attention if they weren’t in the hallways itself. He poked his head out and found it empty.

“Where am I?” he mused aloud. He stepped back into the room and approached the window. Glancing out, he saw he was on an upper floor of a castle, presumably the one he crawled to the night prior. Was it the night prior? He really wasn’t sure how much time had passed. It certainly felt like it. But then again, his wound was completely healed. Was he unconscious for months?

He saw the castle was surrounded by a deep moat, and on the other side was a luscious garden surrounded by a tall wall of hedges. He didn’t understand how anything like that could grow out in the swamp, but then again, he didn’t understand how he was alive either. He could tell magic was at work, but didn’t want to think about it.

“Well. I suppose I should thank whomever rescued me and be on my way. If magic is at play, and I haven’t been on death’s door for months, then I need to get to Kaleen.”

Nevreem stepped back into the hallway and looked both directions. He had no idea where he was supposed to go. With a shrug of his shoulder, he turned right and headed towards a door at the end of the hallway. He pulled it open and found a circular room lined with shelves that were filled with books. A plush chair sat in the center of the room in front of a desk that was littered with loose sheaves of parchment. There was a robed figure perusing the packed shelves.

“Er - hello. I’m looking to see whomever saved me last night. I think it was last night. Wouldn’t be you, perchance, would it?”

The figure turned, revealing a masked face. The mask looked to be made of bone and had some sort of carving on it. Wisps of smoke curled off the figure. It did not speak, but instead pointed out the door.

“Right then. My gratitude.” Nevreem turned and headed back down the hallway, past his room. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the figure was watching him, but he couldn’t bring himself to look back over his shoulder. Something about the mask and smoke had Nevreem on edge. He walked past a few doors to the end of the hallway and found a set of stairs. He followed them down multiple levels till he found himself on the first floor. From there, he took another hallway until he came upon two large, ornate double doors. Nevreem pressed an ear to them for a moment, listening, but he could hear no sound.

With a sigh, Nevreem pushed one of the heavy doors open. It scraped slightly against the stone floor and the hinges creaked loudly, announcing his presence. Behind the doors he found a great hall filled with empty tables. On the opposite end he saw a raised floor that had a simple wooden throne decorated with various bones. On the throne sat a figure in an antlered bone mask with strange carvings on it. The figure was adorned in dark robes and large pauldrons with golden filigree on its shoulders. The same black smoke wafted off the being. In the place where eyes should have been behind the mask, Nevreem could only see a light blue glow. Nevertheless, he had a feeling the being could see, and its vision fell on him.

“Er, ’pologies for intruding,” Nevreem said as he stepped into the room and walked down the long hall towards the throne. “I just wanted to thank you. For saving me.” He stopped just before the raised platform. The beings glowing eyes bore into him, but it did not speak. “May I ask, how long has it been?”

The figure leaned towards Nevreem. “Only a day,” a deep, wispy voice answered. Goosebumps raced over Nevreems arms and up his spine at the sound.

“Ah, then there’s still time.” Nevreem looked behind him to see the hall filling with multiple figures, all adorned in dark robes and varying masks of bone. They had the same blue eyes and dark smoke wafting off their bodies. “Well, er, thank you again. Is my gear around? I think I should be grabbing it and going now. I’ve already lost too much time.”

“Your armor had been badly damaged, but it has been repaired.” The figure nodded and one of the robed beings slipped out a side door. “It will be brought to you, but you cannot leave yet.”

Nevreem let out a nervous laugh. “Excuse me? Am I a prisoner here?”

The figure placed a hand under its chin. “Not a prisoner, no. But you do owe me.”

A voice pressed in on Nevreem’s mind. ‘Be careful, Nev. This being is…something else. I do not trust it.’

‘Valandriel! Where have you been? I needed you last night.’

There was a sigh only Nevreem could hear. ‘I am sorry I was not there for you. You know I cannot always be by your side.’

Nevreem grunted internally. ‘You’re always around when I don’t need you, yet when I do…’

‘Well I am here now,’ the voice snapped.

Nevreem shook his head and addressed the figure. “Look, I understand you’ve done me a great service, and I will pay back my life debt. But there is someone important to me. Someone I need to save. I have to leave. Now. I’ve already lost too much time.”

The figure stood, towering over Nevreem. “You can’t leave now. The deal has already been made.”

Nevreem raised an eyebrow. What deal had been made? Before he had the chance to ask, the figure that slipped away reappeared, holding Nevreem’s leather armor in his arms. He grabbed it and held it out before him. Just like his abdomen, the armor had no sign of damage. In fact, it looked better than it had in years. He wasn’t certain it hadn’t been replaced and the being was just lying to him.

“Well, you say I’m not a prisoner, so I’m going to just go now. Thank you again. I shall return after my quest.” Nevreem threw the armor over his shoulder and began to walk out the hallway. The figure behind him sat back in its throne. He could feel its ethereal eyes on his back, but Nevreem didn’t look back.

He found the entrance to the castle easy enough. Similar to the great hall, the entrance had double doors that were wide and tall, but these had iron bands across them to reinforce their strength. One door was already open. When Nevreem stepped through, he was hit with a gentle breeze and the scent of a myriad of flowers around him. The sunlight caressed his skin, warming it after being in the cold stone walls of the castles.

‘Do you see this, Valandriel?’

‘Mmm. Looks like a type of druid’s grove.’

‘Really? I thought it was just a noble’s garden.’

‘It may have been modeled after one, but the only way it could grow out here is from magic. It definitely took some time to create this space, and powerful magic.’

‘Do you think it was that thing in there?’

Valandriel took a moment to respond. ‘I think so. Whatever lords over this castle seems very powerful. And dangerous. What deal did you make with it?’

‘I haven’t made a deal.’

‘Well, it seems to think a deal was made.’

‘As I said, I haven’t made one.’

‘Mm.’

Nevreem made his way along the stone path that led into the castle until he came across a wooden bridge spanning the moat. The figures he passed paid him no mind as they tended to the various foliage thriving around the castle. Nevreem looked back once more, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the bridge.

The moment his foot touched, a sharp pain shot through Nevreem’s skull. He doubled over and pressed his hands firmly on his head. “Agh!” It felt as if his skull were about to split.

‘Nev!’ Valandriel called out. ‘Nev! What’s going on? Are you okay?! Nev! Answer me!’

It was too much. Nevreem couldn’t answer Valandriel, nor could he move. His body seized with the pain, and soon he was crumpled on the wooden bridge, curled in the fetal position, clutching his head. His vision faded to black. His awareness momentarily lingered, hearing Valandriel calling for him and the sound of footsteps approaching before he was blanketed in silence.