Spirit Of Darkness

[-.-.Lucifer.-.-]

Flames licked the sky above their heads, the stars casting their nightly spell over them. In the middle of the huddle a man with bright red hair stood among the mass of children, all of which were becoming of age. His intense green eyes took in their meek faces, onyx colored horns poking out from the top of his head. Wren scooped his hand into the roaring flames, causing them to settle as a ball of red licked his perfectly preserved skin. Silence fell over the small huddle, parents and elders settling along the outskirts of the ring. It seemed the whole village was listening in on the tale that would be spoken once every 18 years.


"In the beginning..." he started, bare feet poking at the coals in front of him. "Mother earth and Father sky met along the horizon, and the first human was born." He threw the orange sphere in the air, allowing it to scatter above their heads, small specs of burning ash falling around them, becoming cold before it touched their skin. "Loneliness eventually settled along her heart, and she wished to bear a child. She called to the gods, asking for the gift of a companion. Something to hold and cherish." Grabbing a handful of dirt he let the grains slip between his fingers. "So, Father Sky bestowed upon her a man." He took a few moments, staring at the young faces. "Unsatisfied, she pleaded to the stars for a child she could call her own. A Babe that could grow and learn from her own mistakes, one that could carry humanity through the ages." By this time, the eldest had sat down, his face level with the students that surrounded him. "Afraid the humans would become greedy, the gods gave them only one option; to take a life in order to gain one. The couple were distraught, their feelings towards living beings being the same as the spirits in the trees. However, the need for another to call her own was strong, and when a woman sets her mind to something..." He made a soft sigh, as if everyone around had the slightest idea of the power a woman could have if she wanted something bad enough.


Some of the village hunters laughed lightly, only to stop abruptly, for their mates glare had bit deep.


"The first demon to be slain was a Dragon. The mates battled for many days and many nights, each chipping away at the creatures scales. Fire and earth were scattered among the trees, but they never quit."


A hand raised in the air, belonging to a soft featured girl, her eyes icey blue. Long ringlets of black hair fell around her face, causing her pale skin to look even more so. "You were the first born." She pointed out, her voice soft. Her cheeks were splashed with a tinge of red, the cold air biting deep. Raven glanced around her, the young taking in her words and quickly applying it to the present. Eyes widened.


"Correct, Raven, I am the son of the first humans." He cleared his throat, standing again. A jittery air about him caused a small wave of discomfort, but was dampened as he continued to speak. "They fought the beast for many days, and in the end triumphed."


Selix, the brother of the girl who had spoken, scoffed slightly, as if he had somewhere better to be. His hair was dark, like her own, however the black pits that were his eyes stared coldly at the flames. A clutter of black dots along both sides of his forehead formed his Coming Of Age tattoos, his skin a tint of grey.


"We've become greedy." He stated, voice almost as cold as the hues that accompanied them.


"Shut up." Piper hissed, a blond girl with sharp yellow eyes.


Her tattoo was constructed of a thick red line that fell from her bottom lip, down her chin, and branched off at her collar bones. Black slits for pupils scanned the other faces, a sort of annoyance seeming to lace her posture as her gaze fell on Raven, the youngest. Somehow that girl had begun her moon cycle early, becoming of age a summer before she was of actual age.


Piper flicked her locks over her shoulder, thin brows turned down.


"They buried the beast for a decade." Wren continued, ignoring the outburst. They would be dealt with later. "My father came back and dug up the last Dragon, burned the remains, and in doing so--" he paused, taking in all of the eager faces. "--Bore the first of many people in our Clan."

 

[TwistedDreams]

Nymeria sat there with her chin resting on her bare knee's, her dark red eyes matching the two also dark red lines that ran from the corner of her mouth and curved around her left eye. Today had been the coming of age day for the majority of children in the clan, including herself although this year had been strange, atleast as far as she knew, two children had started their moon cycles early, Raven and her own cousin Aemon. Nymeria's eye's drifted from face to face, barely staying on any single person for more then a second. Aemon didnt seem to be at the gathering. Her mind quickly swapped from thoughts of her cousin to the girl, Raven who had just raised her hand to point out that Wren was the son of the first people, Nymeria couldnt remember how many times she had heard about Wren's origins, every single person in the clan knew it, She scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes. Nymeria wasnt a particularly nice person, but that had never seemed to matter as people just naturally gravitated towards her and ever since she could remember she had been one of the popular girls in the clan and had countless suitors lining up for her hand in marriage due to the fact that she was also rather attractive.


"Shh" A voice hissed in her hear. Nymeria lifted her chin up off her knees and turned to see the wrinkled face of her grandmother Loratha and grey clouded eyes, half consumed by the shadows of the fire, staring back at her. "Where is that wretched cousin of yours" Loratha scoffed, the grey in her eyes swirling slowly. "Shh" Nymeria whispered back with a smart sort of look on her face which was met swift strike on the cheek, which no one seemed to notice as the clan was quite fixacted on the elders story. Nymeria let out a quick breath "How am i supposed to know?" she scoffed, a hint of annoyance in her tone. "Oh, that boy, the gods cursed us with that one, always off by himself in the woods, he'll never find a mate" Loratha trailed off, muttering to herself, talking to no one in paticular. Recently Aemon had become increasingly distant from people, which many of the villagers had noticed. He was rarely seen at any social gathering and tended to spend most of his time alone in the surrounding forest, much to the distaste of their grandmother who expected grandchildren from both of them in the near future. Nymeria had even heard some of the other students in the clan say that his mind had been infested by evil spirits and that was what caused his extreme shyness.


((Ugh, i know this wasnt very good writing, i just have a bit of writers block today!))

 

[-.-.Lucifer.-.-]

"Nymeria." Wren breathed softly, emerald hues falling along the young girl of the water. She was a known silvertongue, one with grace and substantial independence, but with that came a sort of cold air about her. A bitterness that people her age seemed to admire. He couldn't place a finger on why, but the inter workings of the young one's social network could confuse many of the elders. "Where is Aemon?" He asked, something flickering in his eyes.


Selix stood abruptly, cold stare matching that of the dead. His bare chest heaved as he sighed deeply, stretching his arms over his head. "Most likely prancing about in the woods." He answered for the dolphin-girl, a small smirk coming to his lips. Razor sharp teeth poked out from his pale lips, and a harsh elbow to the leg made him sneer down at his sister.


"You're being brave again." She pointed softly.


"Raven." Wren's gaze was now biting into her face, pulling her attention from her brother's attitude problem. "Search for Aemon, you're the only one able to search from the skies. He should be here before the feast." With that he turned on his heal and entered the flames, indicating the gathering was adjourned. He took a seat on top of the hot coals, onyx colored spikes protruding from his spine and down the back of his arms. He hung his head low, and the fire that engulfed him shifted and spat into an intense green color.


The circle broke, and many women set to work on preparing the meal that would be accompanied by traditional music and dance.


Piper gritted her teeth, the favorites of Wren being the youngest... because they had more potential. More heart.


Raven stood and stared at their elder for a long moment, something of admiration glittering in her crystal-like eyes. She sucked in a deep breath, stretching out her black wings. She shook out her appendages, loosening the joints with a few soft flaps before Selix shot her a worrisome look. "Be careful. You don't know what that dire-wolf had been up to." His voice was low, and she only flashed him a weak smile before departing.


It started with a run. Her legs working hard, bare feet slapping against the cold ground as she picked up speed. She bound for the treeline, her lungs being filled with the scent of pine and sap. She jumped, her wings catching the wind as she beat them roughly against the bitter air. The muscles along her shoulders and back worked hard to keep her in motion, and soon she was soaring above the canopy, bird-of-prey eyes peering down into the forest floor below.

 

[TwistedDreams]

Nymeria grinned at Selix as she rose with the rest of the surrounding clan, Wren had tasked Raven with finding Aemon, Nym herself certainly didnt have time to be prancing about the woods looking for her queer cousin. As she turned, walking away from the fire she caught sight of Aemon's father, a very large solidly built man who you would certainly not place to be Aemon's father as they had very few similarities. Djon was an excellent hunter and renowned warrior among the clan and Aemon, well he wasnt really much of anything, a quiet and very shy boy. "I'll beat the demons out of him, missing his own coming of age ceremony" Djon was clearly angry with his son, even though Aemon had technically started his moon cycle last summer, there was no ceremony for only two of the many children in the clan. Nymeria turned away and headed towards the loud murmur of chatter that was her freinds, she didnt really feel like hearing yet again how strange her cousin war, in her opinion, he probably deserved to be beaten.


One mile away, all was silent except for the rustling of leaves and the odd Crunch of branches under Aemon's bare feet as he slowly moved through the woods, It was pitch black this far from the village but that didnt hinder Aemon in anyway as he was blessed with extradinary senses due to being born from the spirit of a notirious predator such as the Dire wolf. Aemon eyes swept idly over the tree's as he continued walking through the forest, there wasnt much to do out here but he preferred it to being in the village. He didnt really know why but for the past year he had slowly grown uncomfortable around the other clan members, desiring to be alone as much as he could and his curious mind did not help. Aemon's increasingly long periods of time spent in the forest had annoyed his father, who had told him that if he wandered to deep into the woods he would fall of the edge of the world and into the firery pits below. Recently the possibility of other people, somwhere else besides his village had entered Aemons mind, he had never really put much thought into it as he still partially believed in the ekders stories, the last time Aemon had mentioned life beyond the village to his father. he was smacked over the ears and told to stop being so strange. Suddenly Aemon was jerked from his idle thoughts as he the sound of rustling feathers in the distance caught his ears.

 

[-.-.Lucifer.-.-]

The chatter of the other villagers grew exponentially as the night settled in. Selix had made his way towards the pack of wild girls, mostly because they were standing rather close to the edge of the lake. The constant noise flowing from their mouths never seized to amaze him. Damn girls could talk. For hours, without stopping.


He got his fair share of attention from them, however he never openly searched for a mate. He wasn't one to go looking, something about the whole idea of sifting through numerous women in order to find someone to spend his life with was... tiresome.


He'd much rather watch without engaging, and possibly wait for something interesting to come to his.


He took a running jump.


The lake's edge being a large drop off only a few feet away from the shallows... if he landed perfectly, he could leap over the ledge of sand and dive into the pool of rich water.


Selix did exactly that, the splash he created enough to send large waves of water roaring over the group of females. Sending a grin over his pale lips as he dove into the depths, finding comfort in the freezing water. He had a responsibility as a man now, one of which was to protect the village with all his being. And reproduce.


That second one scared the spirits out of him... because the forest was growing dark these days.


Frightening.


It took Raven only a few short minutes to spot the small glimmer of the dire wolf below the forest canopy. The glowing of his eyes in the dark was, to say the least, easily found in the darkness below.


The bird girl had known of the young lad through many hours spent learning simple battle techniques from the elder hunters. They had started their moon cycles during the same summer, in other words they had begun to develop their abilities at the same time. Growing her wings had been a painful experience, and the screams and cries that had rippled from her chest caused her to advert her gaze from the other boy. On more then one occasion she was seen leaving the medicine hut, face strewn with tears and bandages coating her back, by the wolf-spirit.


She moved quickly, tucking her wings in close to her back and diving below, as if she were plunging into a sea of green. She picked up speed, and just a few feet before the ground, she unfurled her feathers. The wing caught hold, catching her with a slight tug that rippled through her joints painfully as she touched down a few paces away from her peer, feet kicking up dirt.


Her breathing was heavy, small chest heaving as she caught her breath. People sometimes underestimated the strenuous activity of flying... it took more effort then it seemed.


"Being a lone wolf again?" She asked, pressing her back against a tree, the feeling of the bark between her shoulder blades pleasant. "You know, I wonder just about as much as you do." She breathed, rubbing her arms as the cold settles around her, drying the sweat from her skin. "About what's beyond the forest." Raven took a moment to calm her racing heard, the drumming against her ribcage causing her words to be rough. "My mother and father told me there's a big body of water filled with salt. They also said that beyond that there's another forest on the side of a hill, and the top is covered in solid water. Mountains they said." Her smile was weak. Talking about her parents was still painful.

 

[TwistedDreams]

There was a collective scream as the a wave of freezing water drenched the group of chattering girls, which included Nymeria, Heads quickly turned their way, only to turn back to what they were doing a few seconds later. The chilling water had no effect whatsoever on Nymeria as she was born from the spirit of a dolphin and quite enjoyed being in the water.


Aemon stood in the darkness as the sound of wings slowly became clearer and clearer, Sharp claw like nails emerged from Aemons fingertips, causing his finger to sting lightly, blood had stopped flowing when he showed his claws, the first few time had been very.. messy. Now he only a felt a light sting, His breath became heavy and it almost sounded as if he was growling, but only for a second, soon he caught the scent of Raven who, not surprisngly was born from the spirit of a raven. His claws quickly sunk back into his bones as quickly as they had emerged. He guessed that she had been sent, probably by the village elder Wren to get fetch him. He knew he had missed the coming of age ceremony and the gathering around the fire, oh his father would be furious, Aemon knew that he had been trying to arrange for months to marry him off one of the girls in the clan, probably someone with close blood ties to Wren as his father was always looking to further their family line in any way possible.


Sure enough, Raven came gliding through tree's, landing roughly on the ground in front of him. Her breathing was heavy, Aemon figured that flying probably wasnt as easy as it looked. Aemon didnt have time to reply to what she first said as she quickly added that she was also curious about what lies beyond the forest. Aemon grinned "My father told me that there's a great firery pit at the edge of the forest, My Mother told me that there's a great sea of water, created from the tears of the gods and my brother, he told me that there's great beasts waiting to swallow me whole" It seemed like everyone had one theory or another of what was beyond their village, he thought of the stories of theories because he doubted that anyone had actually been that far beyond.

 

[-.-.Lucifer.-.-]

"I'd trust your mother's word any day." She said quietly, pushing off the tree and folding her wings tightly against her back. Her hand came up, and small fingers rubbed her shoulder as she rotated her arm, trying to get rid of the ache. "Your father seems hell-bent on keeping you in this village." She said that, as if there could be other clans hidden sway in those so-called mountains.


"I've seen them." She admitted, crystal-like hues glancing at him as she pulled long black curls over one shoulder and began pressing along the side of her neck, the tendons in tight knots.


Raven was still getting use to proper landings, the concept of touching down safely hard to grasp. If her mother had been there to see to her moon cycle.... she probably would be a master of the skies.


Her mother had been an airborne like herself, a spirit of the wind and earth.


Raven hesitated for moment, knowing well that a curious mind led to trouble. But alas, she couldn't be in denial, for she too was one to wonder about the magnificent secrets of the world.


"The mountains... I can see their faces in the distance when I soar above the forest." She looked up, her eyes meeting the millions of sparkling bugs that were permanent in the evening heavens. "Only when father sky meets mother earth... just before mother moon comes out."


She took a deep breath, the cold that settled around her making the hair along her arms raise.


"I'll show you tomorrow... if you come back to the village with me." She bribed, giving him a weak but genuine smile. "We're going to go hungry if we keep them waiting." She paused, lowering her hands to her sides and rotating her head until she heard a satisfying crack! of the joint. "You don't have to dance. But your presence would be admirable, and I know your father would be furious." The last part struck a chord with her, but she refused to show the longing and disappointment.


He was lucky to still have a father. She could never understand why the dire-wolf would disobey someone who held him so close to their heart.


"Please?" She whispered, and her voice cracked as the wind picked up around them.


She hated the forest after dark.


That was when the dead came out.