From Life into Legend }{ open

[deraj]

The sun he could no longer feel seared his flesh by day. The cold winds dried it by night. Deraj could only imagine how he would have appeared now, a mere husk of what he once was. To look upon his face would be to look upon eternity itself, ancient, eternal, and enduring.

Endurance, it seemed, was all he had left. Or was this really the case at all? Was it endurance if his only option now was to endure throughout the ages? Was his willpower this strong or was he now something that must merely be?

It was night now and the stars were right at last. The unnaturally large and unnaturally close scarlet moon loomed above him. The unholy light it brought caste strange shadows about the bleak landscape. He was alone or so he thought. He gave a sigh that due to his present state came out as more than a moan that echoed bounced off the canyon walls.

He trudged on until he reached the dead end he had sought for so long. Standing in the middle, he closed his eyes and slowly tilted his head upwards. As he stretched out his arms his red cloak simply fell off revealing a face that was old and new all at once. The moonlight reflected off of his silver armor and illuminated the canyon walls with an eldritch glow.

His steel gray eyes opened and there was perfect silence. Nothing moved, living or otherwise. It was as if the entire world were still.

Then from deep within him came a primal noise. It was the sound of profound suffering. It was the sound of all pain across the aeons in the single instant. With the sound of many voices came things that were far beyond words and the comprehension of mere mortals.

As the last haunting tones echoed throughout the canyon, a low rumbling could be felt. Deraj again gained his composure, dawned his cloak once more, and walked to the end of the valley. As he neared the smooth rock face, it gave way to a set of descending stairs. Here began his descent into darkness.

[laraine]

A cloaked figure halted at a fork in the road. More like a fork in the canyon to precise. The figure, female looked from one direction, to the other. She did this a couple more times before letting out a sigh of frustration. She crouched down, putting her hands to her head.

"Oh this is just great. I don't know which way to go now..." she whined. Letting out another frustrated sigh, she suddenly stood up, her expression determined. "Alright then only one way to decide then!"

"Eenie meanie miney mo.............what am I doing?!" She leaned against a nearby wall and banged her head against it.

" I don't have time for this, any second they'll catch me." She blinked as she heard a noise, what was it? A dog howling? Something it seemed to be in pain. That was for sure. It sounded nearby and that unnerved her. Pulling the hood down, purple eyes gazed around intently. But there was nothing she could see to make such a noise. Brushing a hand through her pink hair she turned back to the task at hand.

"Okay, so which way should I go? This ridge is so confusing.. I hope whatever path I chose will lead me out of here and into a town....."

"Laraine.." the wind seemed to whisper.

It sent chills down her spine and The girl's body became rigid. "Not good.." she whispered. It was enough to make up her mind and she raced down one of the paths before her, not even remembering which one it was. As she ran, she looked behind her uneasily. It seemed the farther she went, the darkness increased. The girl's legs kept the pace as she raced through the darkness. She noticed the ridge around her was rising up to the skies as she ran, to the right she could vaguely see some stone steps. But her fear kept her legs from stopping.

[deraj]

Eerie green flames appeared in the niches along the walls of the chamber. He quickened his pace. Finally my search will be over! A massive door opened into an even more impressive chamber. The instant he stepped within those hallowed walls, great torches were lit by unseen hands. Even with all the light, he could not make out the ceiling for it was so high. One would had possessed less experience might have felt small or humbled in such a place. Deraj had his mind on other things.

He hurried along the carpeted walkway and up the raised dais to the foreboding obsidian throne. On the seat was what he had sought for so long. It was a diadem of white gold. It called out to him. He could feel the pulsating energy of those souls trapped within. At last, eternal youth would be his!

He did not hesitate. There was no moral question for Deraj. The damage was already done. Those souls were trapped and if freed would never find rest. The blood was not on his hands, not that he had to fear judgment at this point.

As he placed the diadem upon his head, light poured out through his eyes and mouth. He went limp as what began as a hum became a chorus of voices and he was lifted off of the ground.

The light ended and he fell to the polished obsidian floor. He gazed upon his face and for the first time in years, he enjoyed what he saw.

[laraine]

The pink haired girl continued to run down the dark road. Her breathing became labored as the run took its toll on her body. But running was all she could do now. The fear inside was consuming her, she knew this but she couldn't fight it. Nothing could stop her from running.

Except for the three figures that suddenly blocked her path. Skidding to a stop, her eyes widened for a brief moment.

"Not good, they found me." She whispered. Before her stood three demons. More or less they were minions, the demons were in animal form. Beasts with out the ability to even change shape, easily manipulated. It seemed as if one was a troll, the other a combination of a snake and spider and the final one a flying insect looking demon.

She smiled, then looked at them cheerfully. "Well now, this is rather awkward. I didn't expect you all to find me so fast. Can't we just try this again and tell the others you didnt find me?" she asked.

"You know the answer better than I Laraine." the snake hissed.

Laraine's smile all but vanished, her face now held no emotion.

"Go." The snake yelled to the bug. Raine turned as the flying demon was trying to escape.

"No!" Laraine hissed, Holding out a glowing arm towards the demon.

But she failed to see the snake appear next to her. Before she could even breathe, the sound of ripping fabric and skin echoed. Her eyes widened as she saw the snake being hold out clawed fingers, something she failed to realize beforehand.

Then she felt the pain. Laraine hit the ground, grabbing her side which started bleed at a rapid rate.

"Hmph foolish girl. Pay attention to your enemies." the snake whispered.

Face full of pain, Laraine stood on her feet and pulled something from her belt. It was a crystal wand. the pointed tip started to glow, and soon the entire wand was emitting a bright white light. When it faded, in her hands rested a crystal bladed sword. She held it tightly in her hands and turned to the two demons left. She was badly hurt, but she couldn't give up now. Not after all she had been through.

"Come and get me." Laraine said softly.

[deraj]

He had made his way back to the surface and had sealed the tomb when he heard the noise of some sort of confrontation not far away. Who would be all the way out here? He went on to investigate, sticking to the shadows as best he could.

Soon a bright light illuminated the dark pathway between the walls of the canyon to reveal a strange wounded pink haired girl standing before two demonic creatures. Now this won’t do, thought Deraj. Grinning, he put his right leg behind him to brace himself and sent a bolt of lightning out from his gauntleted hand. As it blasted the troll off it's clumsy feet, a great thunderclap reverberated across the canyon walls.

[laraine]

Laraine blinked as the troll demon hit the ground after a bolt of lightning hit it. "What the..." she started to say but the other demon appeared before her. Laraine blocked her attack with her sword, feet planted firmly on the ground as the snake demon put pressure against her sword.

"Stay out of this...you have no business here." The snake snarled to the person who was hidden in the shadows.

Laraine managed a small peek behind her to see who it was that saved her. But the demon intensified the pressure on her sword, causing her to almost be brought to her knees. Suddenly the demon swiped at her with her other hand. Laraine managed to dodge and broke free from the creatures hold on her sword.

" I will say this again whoever you are. Do not get involved, not unless you want to make enemies of a tribe of demons." The snake smirked.

[deraj]

"Stay out of this…”
“…Do not get involved, not unless you want to make enemies of a tribe of demons."

These admonitions only served to infuriate Deraj. “I will not be commanded what to do, especially by a lowly creature such as yourself!” When the infernal thing smirked, Deraj could hold back no more. Eyes blinded by wrath, Deraj thrust his right hand upwards and as he did so a skeletal hand burst forth from the ground and grabbed hold of the snake. Thank the gods for unmarked graves in time of war.

[laraine]

Both Laraine and the snake being looked shocked as a skeletal hand emerged from the ground and grabbed the demon.

Laraine took this chance and ran up to the snake. "This is payback..." She slashed her sword and cut deeply into the snake demon. It cried out in pain and tried to wound Laraine once more, but she jumped back. She turned to the man and smiled softly. "Thanks for the help. I'll take care of the rest."

She held out her arm and magic swirled around her arm. It glowed a bright red color and felt demonic in nature.

"You...you half breed!" The snake hissed as Laraine shot the energy through the snakes body, instantly killing it. The troll got to his feet, seeing his friend dead, he looked at Laraine, then turned and ran away.

Laraine was holding her side, watching them go. She turned to the man and smiled.

[deraj]

Deraj saw the demonic light come forth form her hand as she vanquished the impudent snake. Maybe I should have stayed out of this. She isn’t exactly a harmless little girl. At least she is well mannered; she did just thank me.

Deraj gave a slight bow toward the girl, smiled himself and said, ”The pleasure was mine but might I ask why they were after you?”

[laraine]

Laraine continued to smile. "You sure you want to know? Getting involved with me too much is dangerous. But I'm sure you already know the reason anyway. I'm a half demon." She answered, her face changing. The smile faded. "What else reason could demons want to destroy me? To them I am tainted, something that should have never been born." Her smile was back, but it was a bit strained. Suddenly she grasped her side tightly and fell to her knees, the pain becoming too much for her to handle.

[deraj]

“Getting involved with me too much is dangerous…”

It’s a little late to avoid getting involved at this point, Deraj thought and he would have said it to had his new acquaintance not fallen to the ground in pain. He rushed to hold her up. She was loosing blood and fast. He had nothing with which to dress the wound as he himself hadn’t actually bled or had to concern himself with such mortal issues in quite a while.

“Is there anything else I can do help? You’ve lost a lot of blood already. Did you happen to inherit the trait of regeneration?”

[laraine]

Laraine winced and panted a bit. "I can heal others, but I'm afraid I can't heal myself." she managed a slight laugh. "I suppose that's what they call fate, right? Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm built tougher than a human so I can handle this much. For once my demon half is useful for something. I just need to rest for a while ..." She winced and was breathing hard.

"By the way, my names Raine. Well actually its Laraine, but Raine is what I go by." she smiled. "What's yours?"

[deraj]

He was relieved to hear that she would be fine. He laughed at her mention of fate. Fate may be a cruel mistress but she definitely had a sense of humor. He pulled off his cloak and laid it down behind her so she could rest.

“Well met, Raine. Your name is nearly as beautiful as you are. I am Deraj. Here. Lay down. It isn’t much but it is better than this accursed desert sand.”

[laraine]

"Sorry for all the trouble Deraj. And thanks for the compliment." Her smile was still in place, despite the pain she felt through her body. She lied down on the cloak, trying to calm down her heart. If she felt panic she would only lose more blood. She had to relax and let her body do the work. She could heal faster than a human. But that still wouldn't replace the blood she lost. She would have to sleep for a while for it to regenerate. "You are very kind Deraj, helping someone you just recently met out of the blue. A half demon none the less. I am grateful to you. Let me know if I can do anything for you in return okay?"

[deraj]

She was still excited and that couldn’t be good for her body right now, half demon or no. He tried to speak in a soft tone and maintained his smile. She was an all right person. He had no regret in intervening.

He stood up. “Don’t apologize young lady. The pleasure is mine. There really isn’t much else in life other than helping others.” He let out a sigh, ”It is a shame that it took so long for me to realize it… but feel free to sleep if you need to. I’ll watch over you until you awake.”

I wonder how soon they will send more. I can’t exactly leave this girl in good conscience now knowing her plight. Best not to trouble her with more questions now though. It would only excite her.