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paxpaxpax-3x · 7 years

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Lamina {Chapter 4: An age of Blood and Steel

The smell is unbearable, so much so when I wake up I’m almost immediately retching. Though the shock of opening my eye makes me stop. Blood. Lots of it. Organs and limbs and half torn bodies lay about on the floor around me. Hundreds of them, stacked high against the walls with buzzing flies swarming around them and maggots hatching from the rotting flesh.

There are noises too. Cackling laughter, the squish and tearing of flesh between teeth and the snapping of bone followed by the sucking of their marrow. Chattering of voices, the screams of the dying cut short halted by the sickening sound of a throat being crushed or a head being torn away from it’s body, the rest of the scream escaping it’s lungs.

Where the fuck am I? I stand, nearly slipping on the blood under me as I do so and look around properly and lock eyes with something. It’s huge, goat like eyes staring down at me, a large and over exaggerated mandibled smile looking down on me, standing nearly six men over me and a fist as big as my chest balled on either side of him.

“Kanya the Dead, such an honor to have you in my hall.” The thing says, kneeling down and planting its fists on either side of me, shoving it’s face in front of mine. A long scar over one eye, a tattoo covering half of his face and a bald head. I grit my teeth as I remember the face and take a half a step back. “Al’Jahmal Aziz, I was pretty damn sure you died.” He laughs, the sound of it making my ears ring, his fists beating the ground on either side of me, some limbs bouncing on the floor with each hit.

“Died!? A God like me!? There is no such thing as Death!” He grins and lifts a finger, larger and thicker than some of the largest logs I’ve seen to poke my chest, the strength behind it pushing me back a few feet “And it seems to be the same for you. It seems that ‘The Dead’ is a more fitting title for you. You’re not a Mapurus yet lack any organs and have the strength and speed of them. It is certainly something of a sight to see my precious Adi bring a living thing here.”

A Mapurus appears at his side, the same that had knocked me unconscious and no doubt brought me here. It has a crooked smile on it’s mandibled face as it bows to me and then kneels to Al’Jahmal. “Your holiness, I am pleased you have taken an interest in this thing.” Al’Jahmal sneers and turns to Adi “This ‘thing’ is our esteemed guest Adi! You will refer to him as such or I will feed on you just as I did your sister.” He growls, goat eyes flaring a bright red before they shift to me as he smiles.

“There is one thing I would like to see before we continue however.” He turns to Adi, who nods and produces a blade and throws it to my feet as Al’Jahmal stands to his full height, reaching to grab something in a far corner. An axe, somehow even larger than himself, hefted in two hands as he leans down again. “Who is stronger now? You or me?” Just how fucking big is this room?

10 years ago

5 years after leaving the Majinn desert, The climax of the Cer’Embala revolution

The Ghost City of Desta

I sat in the shade of a crumbled building, drinking my looted water from the latest idiot who came at me with his sword drawn. He was a bit older than me, kept shouting something about ‘having honor in his country’ the entire fight. Must have been a rebel who opposed the new monarchy.

Idiots, all of them. I sigh and stand, tossing the water skin onto the corpse and retrieving my blade from his sternum and sheath it, stepping out from the shadow of the building and onto the streets of Desta. Desta was, at least at one time, one of the richest cities in all of the Embala nation, before it took on the connotation of ‘Cer’ and became the ‘Holy Desert’ nation.

The addition to a holy wing of government forced Desta to attempt to acclimate and eventually fail and become abandoned soon afterwards, not being able to meet the High Priests demands of ‘Equal Opportunity’ and having its economy crumble. Or that’s what people say, I never paid attention to things like that in my studies.

Regardless, it was a ruined city, nothing more than wandering raiders, exiles and other unsavory members of Cer’Embalas civilization. There was only one rule here, and most everyone followed it.

If Al’Jahmal shows his face, run the opposite direction.

I walked down the street, walking around the sneering bandit or half rotted corpse being picked at by a vulture, hand always resting on my sword's handle, ready to draw. That was one thing I had learned since leaving home. Never let your guard down, and never let your hand leave your blade, you never know who will becoming from where.

The streets slowly became less occupied and eventually people began to run past me, mumbling curses and prayers under their breaths as they pant and sprint away. “Hey! Sand sweeper!” a voice shouts from in front of me. It’s a group of them, all wearing mismatched pieces of armor and carrying weapons from different nations, all standing in front of a rather large man carrying an axe over his shoulder.

I look around, seeing no one around me and sigh before turning to face them again “I’m guessing you’re talking to me then?” I ask, the hand on my blades handle tightening as I look at each of them. They’re each impressive in their own right, battle scars and worn weapons and armor, all dire and grim looking with their wicked smiles and angry eyes. One of them speaks up “That’s right shit for brains, seems like you’ve broken the rule of Desta.” Another one chimes in “When Al’Jahmal shows his face, run the opposite direction.” At that, the man in the back with the axe smiles, almost as if he were a king hearing praise.

“Right well. You’re in my way. How about you forget about my little transgression and let me by?” I look directly at Al’Jahmal “Or is your prick so small that you have to compensate with that axe of yours?” His smile fades and he looks to his subordinates “Bring me his head.” with that, the henchman all charge, drawing their weapons with angry shouts and growls. I draw my own blade and ready myself as the first reaches me, swinging for my midsection.

Our blades meet though not for long as i through the palm of my hand into his nose, sending him reeling backwards as the second reaches me. He swings high, aiming to blind me or chop the top of my head off. I duck under it, adjusting the grip on my blade and thrusting it upwards into and out the other side of his throat, hot gouts of blood oozing and spurting out onto my face.

A third goes for my arm, making me let go of my blade as I dodge backwards, the first coming at me with an angry howl, stabbing me in the shoulder. “Fucker.” I growl, grabbing him by the collar and throwing my head into his nose, loosening his grip on his blade just enough for me to pull it out of my shoulder and away from him. I lash out with the blade, the tip of it streaking across his armor with an ear piercing sound.

The third comes back at me, a thrust going for my stomach. I grit my teeth and swat it away just quick enough to send the blade down into my thigh, making him stumble forward with a shocked look on his face before I send my borrowed blade into the top of his head, leaving it stuck there until his body hits the ground knocking the blade free.

The second one comes back at me with my own sword, torn from the throat of the first one I had killed. His stance is awkward, not accustomed wielding Majinn Shamshir’s and it’s easy to step into his swing and grab him by the throat and throw him down to the ground, curb stomping his throat in with my boot to finish him.

I pull the blade from my leg with a hiss and gather my own, wiping it clean of the blood as I stare down Al’Jahmal. He’s less angry than I thought he would have been a smile on his face that goes ear to ear as he brings the axe down to carry in two hands. “What’s your name Sand Sweeper?” he asks, starting to approach me his smile only getting broader as he passes the first corpse.

“Kanya Sashar, most call me Kanya the Dead. I take it you’re Al’Jahmal?” He pauses when he hears my name and begins to laugh “Oh I’ve heard of you. You’re the honorless cunt who doesn’t leave a single man alive when it comes to a fight. Lots of blood you’ve left behind Kanya the Dead, lots of people wanting to make your title a reality.” He shrugs “I’m not one for the whole vengeance thing. But to answer your question, yes.”

He lunges forward at a speed I didn’t even think he was capable of, bringing the axe over his head and then back down just beside me. I should be dead. “I am Al’Jahmal Aziz, The Executioner of Desta, The king of the headless, the horseman of wa-” I cut him off with a punch to the face and a shallow slice at his arm before taking a few steps back with a grin. “You’re like a storybook villain monologuing in the time of the hero's defeat. It’s kind of pathetic you know.”

He sneers, standing and wrenching his axe from the ground “You comparing yourself to a hero you honorless fuck?” I snort and shake my head “Nah, I think if anything, I’m just a villain in a whole lot of stories.” He laughs at that and readies himself once more “Well then, let's see who makes it to the next chapter.” He lunges forward again but I’m ready for it, dodging to the side and swinging for his midsection.

He catches my arm and pulls me forward with startling strength, sending his head into the bridge of my nose and breaking it almost instantly before sending a punch to the side of my head, knocking me down and dazing me for just an instant, enough for him to start bringing the axe down on me again. I roll out of the way just in time, standing to run at him and drag my blade across his face as he pulls away screaming.

I keep pressing, swinging for his midsection as he backs away and barely tagging his side, not going more than an inch in depth with the cut. “You’re a fast bastard Kanya, I’ll give you that.” He growls, swinging his axe horizontally at me now. Too low to duck under, too high to jump over, I raise my blade and catch the axe blade, both blade and bone whinging from the force of the blow, nearly knocking me over again because of it.

“Strong too, I suppose that’s how you’ve left so many bodies behind in these past few years then?” He asks, not bothering to wait for a response as he steps forward, a hand shooting out to grab me by my throat and lift me by my throat as he hefts his axe on his shoulder. “Too bad neither of those are good enough for me. There is a reason I have so many titles and you only have one you know.” He says, readying his axe to swing for my mid-section.

I can’t help but grin, my undoubtedly bloody teeth showing causing him to pause as I chuckle “You may have a lot of titles, but your lackeys were far smarter than you.” I grab his wrist with one hand and squeeze as hard as I can, pulling myself up slightly before speaking again “Everyone knows to not let go of your sword, especially if you’re in this position.” I swing my sword hand up, severing his arm at the shoulder and dropping to the ground, thrusting my blade into his heart in an instant, blood pooling and drooling out of his chest as he looks down at me. “You were an idiot Al’Jahmal. It’s a shame i didn’t get your friends names. They were a better fight than you were.”

“Fucker, I’ll kill you.” Those were the last words he was able to say before the breath finally escaped his lungs and his heart stopped beating.

How in the fuck is he alive? How in the fuck is he this huge? How is he a Mapurus? I think, finally being able to hide behind a stack of disorganized corpses. He’s bigger and slower now, but even a punch with his fist would end me. The room itself is huge, so huge i haven’t even reached an edge yet. Where the fuck am I? The sound of the air changing and the axe being swung through the corpses interrupts my train of thought as Al’Jahmal shouts into the room, his voice loud enough to nearly burst my eardrums. “I didn’t know that Kanya the Dead had turned into a coward in the ten years since we met! Come out and fight you insect!”

I dive under the swing, if only barely and start running again, looking at the blade in my hands and hissing. The fuck am I supposed to do with this thing against him? Stab is fucking ankles? “Stop running you and face me you pathetic worm!” I can’t help but laugh and look up at him as I run, ducking under another swing and shout out “You know, you really haven’t changed at all Al’Jahmal! You’re still the screaming piece of shit who talks too much!”

“And you’re still a cocky fuck who takes too much pride in his skills!” he shouts, the axe blade coming down just in front of me as a fist starts to come down right above my head. It’s too fast to move out of the way, to close to make any sort of dodging effective. I grit my teeth and hold my hands above my head, stabbing the blade into the muscle of his hand and grab it with all of my might to slow it down, closing my eyes for the inevitable sound of my own bones being crushed. I’m dead, this is stupid, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead…

I’m not dead. I open my eyes and look up, the balled fist still there hovering above me, shaking to come down though I’m not the one holding it. A walking staff, just barely touching the base of his fist. A familiar voice speaks up, old and raspy. “Now, now Kanya, you aren’t that strong yet.” I look down to see the Old Man, smiling his broken ugly smile and staring at me with his different colored eyes as he taps the cane against the fist again, sending it back up to Al’Jahmal with even more force and speed than he had brought it down with, sending him backwards onto his back with an angry scream.

“I go to the Oasis to see if you had left yet and instead I find three Mapurus bodies and a child telling me they brought you to Al’Jahmal. Now I know you too had a history together but I didn’t think it would be this.” he says with a huff, taking a look at his surroundings and giving me a chance to speak “You couldn’t have come sooner you old fuck!? Maybe before the Mapurus showed up?” I shout, watching him dig into his coat and produce a blade, a longer than normal quadara, completely ignoring me as he hands it to me.

“It took me a long while and a large sum of money to find this one, but it should suit you nicely Kanya. Now, if you don’t mind, finish this nest so we can be on our way.” I blink, taking the blade after tossing my borrowed one away and gritting my teeth again before looking down at the quadara. It’s strange, the blade clean and untarnished, it’s smooth black handle smooth and un-worn, a strange feeling surrounding the blade. A hungry feeling, an angry feeling.

“It’s an angry one Kanya, be sure you learn who’s anger you’re feeling.” The Old Man says before taking a step back and nodding to Al’Jahmal, who’s on his feet now and staring at the two of us and huffing. “No blade can stop me you Old Magi! I’ll kill you after I’m done with this insect!” He screams, swinging his axe down towards me.

I try to step out of the way, but can’t seem to move my feet. I look to the Old Man “I thought you wanted me to live!?” Without me willing it to, the hand carrying the Quadara flies up and swings at the axe. A brilliant flash of red light bursts out from the point when the blades connect and sends the axe to the side, diverted a few yards away from me. There’s a stunned silence between Al’Jahmal and I as the Quadara seems to vibrate in my hand, the Old Man eventually speaking. “That there, children, is the Holy Blade Adira. And she has spent far too long behind a display case and is far too angry to let her wielder be killed by a lowly Cer’Mapurus such as yourself Al’Jahmal.”

Al’Jahmal seems to tense at the mention of it being a Holy Blade and wrenches his axe from the pile of corpses it stuck itself in and seems to prepare himself more seriously. I smile and grip Adiras handle tighter as I look up at him “Try this again on more even footing then shall we?” I ask, readying myself for just a second before running headlong at his ankles.

He steps back, sweeping his axe low at me, Adira vibrating once again and throwing itself into the axe head, sending it away and throwing him off balance, stumbling further back as the look on his face grows more and more panicked as I get closer. I get to his ankles, swinging at one Achilles tendon and cutting far deeper and far more effectively than I was expecting, the immediate area around the cut going dark and turning to ash as Al’Jahmal screams out, looking back and down at me, his large mandibles frantically squirming as the signature clicking of the Mapurus starts to sound from his throat and all around us.

“You will not leave here alive Kanya! I will have my revenge!” He screams, stumbling and toppling over as his leg gives out from under him, making the cavern shake as he and his axe fall, the sound of Mapurus screaming echoing from all around as they begin to appear from the shadows and piles of flesh, all coming with arms and blades outstretched as they come at me. Adira is practically humming as the first of the nest reaches me.

It’s angry eyes and veiny hands going for me before I swing wide, arms flying off at the forearms and skin around the cuts turning dark and into ash. Looks like I don’t have to aim for the neck anymore. I meet ones blade with Adira, another bright red flash bursting out from where the blades meet, sending the Mapurus who attacked and several others screeching away, covering their eyes as a huge fist comes rolling through the crowd, smashing Mapurus as it comes for me.

I run at it, taking the blow and feeling bones crack and breath leave my lungs. Do I even have lungs? I stab Adira into the hand, pulling it out and stabbing it several more times before Al’Jahmal shakes his hand free of me screaming bloody murder, his hand starting to darken and turn to ash as he pulls away. “Bastard!” He screams out, turning his head to face the Magi “You bastard! You said-” He’s cut off by the loud sound of a huge piece of earth being torn from the ground by nothing, held aloft in the air for just a moment before it goes flying into Al’Jahmals mouth, his mandibles wriggling around it. “Now, now hush abomination and accept your fate.” He says, turning to watch me with a smile.

More Mapurus come now, blades and hands all reaching for my neck. I stab one through the throat, grab another by its wrists and throw it through the crowd as I back away, blades dragging across my chest and stabbing into my abdomen. I slash through more arms, pressing forward and swinging wildly all around me, limbs and blood flying about as the screams of the Mapurus echo and eventually die out.

The last Mapurus to live is Adi, apparently one of the first in the attack, surrounded by ash and blood as he squeals like a pig in agony, both arms missing and struggling to crawl and kick away from me until he stops and closes his eyes when I stand over him. I smile and kneel down, making my voice go low as i flip Adira, blade down and hovering above his head as i speak. “I know you’re awake Mapurus.” His eyes shoot open as he screams, mandibles reaching for me as i drive the blade down into his mouth, his body going limp as it pierces the ground below his head.

I stand as his body turns to ash and walk to the front of Al’Jahmal with a smile on his face as I stand less than a foot away from his eyes, his mandibles still wriggling around the bolder, teeth grinding against stone. “Looks like you got ahead of yourself again Al’Jahmal. This time though, I think I’ll remember you, if only because your ugly mug has scarred my mind.” He attempts to scream and raise his remaining hand to bring it down on me but isn’t fast enough.

I drive Adira into his eye, arm hovering and then going limp as his body becomes dark and then ash, leaving a huge mound in the middle of the room of the stuff. I turn back to the Old Man and frown “What was he going to say?”

“Does it even truly matter Kanya? He’s dead and you have Adira to assist you in your quest for vengeance. What should it matter what he was going to say now that he’s dead?” He huffs and the stone that had been in Al’Jahmals mouth lifts and flies over our heads and into the darkness, eventually smashing into a wall and opening up to the outside, a starry sky and a full moon's light shining through now. He grips his staff with both hands now and begins to walk towards the hole.

“How long have you been following me Old Man?” I ask, gripping Adira in my hand and taking a step forward as he turns to me with a tired grin “How long have you been alive Kanya? You have never done anything that I didn’t want you to. Failing to kill Al’Jahmal the first time included.” He says, starting to laugh that turns into a coughing fit, nearly hacking out a lung before spitting out a wad of phlegm onto a dead womans rotting head before speaking again. “I am tired and hungry. Should you have questions they can wait until I have rested from saving your pathetic ass once again. Welcome to the age of blood and steel Kanya. You hold center stage in this act.”

#The mun does a thing

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