From Beneath

[Reinhardt]

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<span style="font-family:'Cinzel Decorative';">From Beneath</span>

<span style="font-family:'Alegreya Sans';">In the year 253 AG, an event, that changed life as we know it, occurred. The ever-so harmonious and orderly Empire of Baria slowly fell to chaos and ruin as the presence of various unfamiliar hostile creatures emerged in random places. These creatures craved blood and flesh, hunting down any prey within their reach, be they innocent or not. The Empire, forced to retaliate, launched a full scale hunt for these atrocious beings, to end this chaos and bloodshed. However, no matter how hard they tried, no matter how many soldiers were sent, these creatures continued to increase their numbers, and with it, the threat of mankind's extinction. But why? Why can't they fend them off? Is it their superior strength? Is it their toughened bodies? Is it because they are far up in the food chain? The world knows but one thing about them. And that is that they come.... From beneath.</span> </p>


<div style="text-align:center;"><p><img src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://heng-frankenstein.weebly.com/uploads/4/8/2/1/48211059/9856263_orig.png&key=7176d9c9056c44a9c48e76de8448561ffc61e20667d1bbd8f4aeac8e156d84ec" class="ipsImage" alt="9856263_orig.png" /></p></div>


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<div style="text-align:center;"><p><span style="font-size:18px;"><span style="font-family:Lora;">A Foreword</span></span></p></div>


<p><span style="font-family:'Alegreya Sans';"> This is an ambitious attempt of mine to create a novel-like story. At first, I wanted to put it up on Wordpress, but somehow I felt that I should rather do it here, simply because it is much more comfortable writing here, than there. And also that I'm rather new to doing these kind of things. I'm open to comment and feedbacks, it is where one would get to know one's good and bad points after all. Do pardon me if I have some typographical, and grammatical errors. I literally have no schedule in writing this, so updates might be quite irregular.</span>

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[Reinhardt]

I

Town of Balerno


12 Cancer, 253 AG


"Wake up kid. You're still alive. Come on, you gotta be.", a masculine voice softly echoed.


There was nothing but darkness in Risha's sight. Yes, I'm alive., she said. Although she could hear the voice and other noises, and smell the smoke that slowly filled the air, she could only see the darkness, and the vast nothingness that it presented. She could feel her entire body, so she was quite sure that she was not dead. Besides, afterlife sure is not like this, right? That was what she assumed.


Then, suddenly, she felt a strong shaking sensation. What the hell?!, she attempted to move, to struggle and to run as far as she can just to escape this shaking feeling, but she not matter how hard she tried, she could not escape it. The feeling was still there, lingering and ever-repeating.


"Hey kid! Wake up, damn it!", the voice from before said, now yelling.


I'm not sleeping, I'm awake!, she tried to shout back but no voice came out of her, instead it was as if she was thinking to herself. And this shaking, stop it!, once more she tried but still nothing. Then, a loud and powerful noise echoed to her, as another shake came equally powerful as to the noise. Pain began to accumulate on her left cheek.


Then she finally opened her eyes, and woke up from her semi-conscious dream. "Ouch!", she yelled, placing her left palm over her now-reddish cheek. "What the heck was that for?", she continued, her sight still a bit blurry, slowly becoming clear.


"Ain't it obvious? To wake you up.", the voice from before said, now revealed to belong to a middle-aged man, who wore metal armor decorated with various scratches and burn marks. He held a bloodied sword on his left hand, the crimson liquid still fresh and dripping. "You're lucky to still be alive.", he continued, as his dark grey hair swayed to the warm wind's mercy, as his hickory-colored eyes analyzed the young lass. Something about him felt heroic. No, it's not his voice, nor was it how he looked. Ah, yes.


It was the crest on his armor. The silver crest of a horse's head behind the northern star. It was the symbol of the Imperial Guard, the daring knights of the Baria Empire, who swore by oath to uphold peace and order, and to protect the Empire's citizens from harm. So that's why he had a heroic presence - he was a knight.


"You done mesmerizing, kid?", the knight spoke again, now standing as he extended his free hand towards her. "Wha-I wasn't mesmerizing!", she swatted away his hand and stood up on her own. Now that she thought of it, what had happened? The last thing she knew was that she was going to head out to the market, and now she's untidy as a pack rat. Her hair was a mess, her skin was tainted with dirt and ash, and most importantly, her clothes were disheveled. Surely, something bad must have happened here.


"So, what-", she said, taking a good, clear look to her surroundings. Homes and other buildings were in flames and ruins, the roads were a wreck, and the square fountain's water is continuously spilling, with the statue crushed into mere pebbles. Various corpses, belonging both to the townsfolk and the Imperial Guard, were scattered around the town. Her hometown was in ruins, and most of the people she had known are either dead or missing. "-happened here?...", her tone was slowly driven to a gloomy one.


"You get angry at me for waking you up instead of not leaving you asleep in this burning ruins, and now you ask questions? What an attitude you have, kid.", the knight replied in a rather taunting tone.


"Just...tell me already.", Risha insisted.


"Name, first."


"Huh?"


"Tell me your name, then I'll tell you what happened."


"You tell me yours first! I'm the victim here! My town's in ruins!"


"Fine. I'm Ureth Ashtide, captain of an Imperial Guard troop.", the knight sighed.


"There we go!", she said mockingly. "I'm Risha. Risha Luchart."


"Well then, Risha, here's what's happened.", Ureth said. "A bunch of Groundhides and Firefeasters sprouted somewhere nearby your town's well. By the time we arrived, we were too darn late. Half of the town was already in fire and ruins. As soon as we arrived, we immediately tried to get rid of them as fast as possible, but we didn't expect that they'd be that many. We ended up victorious, but I lost all of my men, and the town's already in wrecks. Then, I found you lying in a nearby wreckage, barely breathing."


"So, those creature's from beneath attacked us?", Risha said, still uncertain of the man's words.


"One of them's right there.", Ureth pointed to the far east, where a corpse of a Groundhide was laid. The creature was as large as a commoner's house, and had tough, deep sea blue-tinted exoskeleton that covered most of its flesh. Only a few spots, namely the front section of the neck, a small section of the underbelly and on the joints of its six legs were left unprotected by this armor that could rival the sturdiness of thoroughly-processed metal. The creature had no eyes, and its jaws were opened sideways. Although this creature was dead, it still was extremely terrifying - and that was why most of the religious call it a 'spawn of Hell.'


Just by seeing it made Risha skin crawl. It really was scary, who knows what kind of greater horror it might be if left alive? Risha did not bother to wonder, or even think about it. It was a terrifying hostile creature and now it's dead, period. There were more important matters to press, one of which is finding a place to stay, and of course, reflect for a while, after all that had just happened. "Do you-", she said, only to be interrupted.


"You can come with me. I'm heading for Wealdstune but I can drop you off at Durantel, that city's pretty safe, as long as you stay within the walls.", Ureth said.


"Thanks a lot.", Risha said.


Ureth chuckled, as he began to walk the way out of this burning town. "Don't worry about it, kid. Think of it as payment for our - no, my failure as an Imperial Guard."


Risha, then, silently followed him. Every now and then she took glances of her beloved, and now destroyed hometown, remembering those good old times that could no longer be repeated now.

 

[Reinhardt]

II

Path, Outskirts of Balerno


12 Cancer, 253 AG


The two continued on their way, exiting the destroyed town Balerno. Beyond its borders of ash and ruin was a fairly large and clear, yet slightly aged gravel path. On its side, was a worn-out wooden sign with the words 'Route to Peltagrew' engraved upon it. Ureth, without any hesitation, traversed the said path, as Risha followed behind him.


Peltagrew was a town located a forest away from Balerno. It was more populated and covered a slightly larger area. Unlike Risha's hometown, Peltagrew was closer to a city rather than a town - its economical system is more advanced, its structures are made with better design and stability, and most importantly, their very own town guards. Overall, Peltagrew was bigger, better, and safer than Balerno ever was. Going there was not a good idea, for the townsfolk tend to discriminate those who originate from less developed settlements. However, there was no other option - Ureth and Risha wanted to head to Durantel, and the safest path would require them to go through it.


So, they headed there, following the gravel path. They walked silently for minutes, with Ureth in front and Risha behind him. Apparently, they still had to acknowledge each other's personal space and distance themselves from one another. However, slowly but surely, in silence, the tense and awkward atmosphere between them slowly faded away. After a while, they were walking side by side, Ureth on the right, and Risha on the right. They still held a fair amount of distance between them, though. Personal space is something not to be trifled with, after all. Especially with females.


Ureth walked firm and steady, his gaze was focused ahead, on wherever the path was leading them. Risha, however, walked a bit strangely. She stared at the path she tread on, and moved a bit slower. Her eyes were wide open, and obviously showed signs of grief, despite her desire to not show any. Ureth noticed his, and breathed deeply, as if sighing.


"You okay, kid?", he said.


Risha, startled by the sudden revelation of the knight's concern, raised her head. "Err...uh...", she said, as she struggled to think of a good response. The clanking of Ureth's armor, and the noise of their footsteps only made it more difficult. "I-it's just overwhelming. I didn't even get to say goodbye to them. I didn't even get to reconcile with them. I...I....", she continued.


"It's alright, kid. Nobody expected it to happen, not even us. If it would make you feel better, blame it on this damned fool right here.", he said, as he beat his chest with a clenched fist using his free arm. After doing so, he sheathed his sword into a scabbard located on his lower right waist.


"I'll take up that offer, then.", she said mockingly. Luckily, Ureth's attempt to lighten up her mood was successful. It even made Risha chuckle fr a short moment, though silently.


The two continued to walk, further into the path, which soon led them to a forest. This forest, however, was not like others. It was Whiteoak Grove, and much like it name says, all the trees here have white-colored wood. The plants here are much paler than their regular counterparts, though they appear to me livelier than them. Various sounds of life could be heard echoing throughout this place, examples of which are the chirping noises of the birds, and the restless rustling of the leaves. It seemed to be a bit too peaceful for a forest. Caution must be taken when entering it, after all, there is but little knowledge of this place.


Risha and Ureth followed the path, and ventured into the mysterious Whiteoak Grove.

Town of Balerno


12 Cancer, 253 AG


In the ashes and ruins of this humble town, a man drenched in blood and char rose from the wreckage left behind by the gruesome battle between the Imperial Guard and the creatures from beneath. His ragged clothes were partly burnt, as were some portions of his skin. His eyes was full of one thing - rage. This is the fault of the Imperial Guard. They failed to protect the town. They failed to fend off the monsters., he thought.


He limped towards a nearby corpse, one belonging to an Imperial Guard. This dead knight's armor was too bent and broken for use. His battle ax, on the other hand, was tainted by both his blood and the various monsters, but endured and was still perfect for use. The dirty man stepped on the chest of the corpse, crushing the rest of the corpses untouched bones. He then, took the knight's weapon forcibly, that the arm of the corpse was sent flying away in the distance.


"And they will pay for it.", he said with a tone full of vengeance, as he sliced the corpse's head into two with the weapon. The blood-stained man then, left the town, however, unlike Risha and Ureth, he headed the opposite way, to the city of Canvon. The city of the fiercest warriors.