Legends of Belariath
Sanguine
Essence
“What is it..?”
“That is the Shadows Tear, the void that awaits all of mortality upon their final death.”
The night was quite young when the two had decided to leave the taverns depths, a cool and crisp evening without a single cloud in the sky, not yet though. Those with the heightened sense of smell could tell that rain was to come, to soak the earth with its life giving moisture. However, Sanguine had other plans, plans that would come to fruit with or without the spring rains. The trek ahead of them would be somewhat of a long one, the distance from the tavern from the plot of land that he hoped would hold the great tower he would name “The Shadows Tear”.
Each step through the forest tore a pathway through the foliage and underbrush, leaving lasting footprints in the mud and loam, behind him, his tail lashed, in a nearly irritated manner, though it wasn’t something he could control, and those close to him.. Alexa, knew that. Behind him, in his steps and the shadow the lunar light of the two moons had created, followed his most Beloved, the dark elf, whom in his eyes, was without equal, the reason why he’d taken her.
“Where are we going Sanguine?” Nigh toxic green eyes leveled upon the robust form of her master, where, in the depths of her mind, she thought of what he’d done to her, what he did to her.. and what he would do to her, sending rivulets of excitement running through her form, an emotion she tried hard to keep hidden. “We are going to the lands where the Tower would be built. The land that the Drak Sen who’ve awakened into this world can congregate and unite to serve their Elders unswervingly.. the land that will be our home, away from the tavern..” She was unsure though, there was something about him that she knew was different, something she’d only noticed once before.. and that one time, she was quite honestly.. frightened.
The Lava Scaled one had plans, plans that did not necessarily deal with the land itself. He knew, in fact, of something nearby.. a small farm, a farm that had lost its value to the empire, and within that farm, an aging man who had nothing else to lose. Someone who wouldn’t be missed.. “Beloved.. tell me again, you dreamt once, a vivid dream, a dream where the sanguine humor ran so freely, where your blade ate its fill of life and of flesh. Do you wish to bring that into reality? To make a dream as such alive?”. She blinked in surprise and halted her footsteps, her intense gaze settled upon his dark form. “What do you mean??” The only words that could come from her lips, the rest was a rather confused haze within her mind. What was he trying to do? When he got like this.. she didn’t trust him, not fully.
“You will feed your dreams my Precious, you will become my personal Assassin, and you will rip those of mortality from the coil of which all life lies. Now, we will see your prowess and natural aptitude.. a mans home, a farm we are going to, he has nothing save the grace of death awaiting him. You will give that to him.” Within an instant of speaking those words, he lifted his right arm and pointed in the direction of the decrepit home, a single light illuminating the room he stayed in. There was no thought, just instinct as Sanguine started moving towards the home, tearing through the barren fields where once lush vegetation grew.
Alexas form moved, hesitantly though, she had no second thoughts about killing a man, as she had killed previously in her life. What made her falter in her steps was the question of ‘Why?”. Why was Sanguine wanting her to do this, why was he so insistent on her following through with the debase murder of this man whom they both knew nothing about.. Within the mind of the nightmare, he had everything planned out, he would test his slave in her capacity as an upcoming assassin while taking out what he deemed a worthless addition to the living reality. The winged form spread his four wings, the ever shifting lava hued scales glittering in the night, and summoned forth the threads of mana that would craft living flame, gently caressing them within the folds of those wings.
The fires of the night came forth, forming a single bolt of intense heat sent spiraling towards the intended target, the room in which the man was currently within. This was followed up by something akin to a draconian roar, bellowing out and filling the night with the soul shattering cry. This was all done to frighten the man, which worked out exactly as Sanguine had hoped. He would help his slave and train her, to further her capacities as a thief and as an assassin. The house, already on the virge of falling apart with age and decay, moaned loudly with the tongues of flame licking upwards through the room, easily catching the cloth and wood aflame.
Through this, Sanguine waited below the window where he’d seen the man, the form of Alexa moved fluidly through the darkness that the night instilled upon this track of land, to a window on the eastern side of the home. With skills befitting a thief, she jimmied the window open enough for her to slip through, with the dagger that Sanguine had crafted her brandished within her right hand. Through the haze of smoke, the natural darkness that blanketed the home and the shadows that leapt out from where the flames allowed, she could see the silhouette of the man, her prey.
The horror for this man didn’t end there, as the fires heat took its toll, causing the support beams in the room to come crashing down and collapsing the room completely, making it an impassable inferno. The resulting blast knocked the man backwards, down the stairs, where the crunch of bone and rending of flesh were heard by Alexas keen ears. The prone form of the human lain at the bottom of the stairs, still alive, though delirious with pain from the bones that had broken and shorn through his flesh and muscle, a veritable heap of anguish. Despite all this, Alexa remained calm, though a fine sheen of sweat had made itself known upon her ebon body, the intense heat nearly stifling.
Through the shadows, the form of the would be assassin crept, the ebon bladed dagger flipping about due to dexterous finger in a more suitable position for the killing blow. Her prey was going no where in his current condition, he could barely see or hear the ever moving world around him.. but when Alexa drew close, his body started to shake violently, in utter fear for his life.. “P-please.. d-don’t kill m-me. .. T-this is a-a-all I have.. “. Through those cold green eyes, she gazed upon the man, pushing him down upon his belly, which only inspired him to whimper and shake further due to the pain that ran through his being. She knew what she was doing, however her master, Sanguine, didn’t. His eyes never left her form, wondering why she didn’t eviscerate him, slit his throat, or any other number of ways to murder a person with the satisfaction of pain.
Annoyed with the mans constant sobbing and muffled cries, she brought the dagger up and rather cleanly struck him upside the left temple with the hilt of the weapon, making his world flare with red.. only to fade to the abysmal darkness of unconsciousness. “A rather humane way of killing someone…” though Sanguine, his eyes never leaving the two forms, despite the knowledge of the heat and fire, which started to bring the house down upon the two people. His only concern though.. was Alexa..
Working quickly, Alexa tore through the back of the mans tunic, slicing the tattered cloth rather easily to bare his tanned and welted back, evidence of hard work under the unforgiving elements. Then, in the blink of an eye, her dagger had itself buried between the mans shoulder blades, slicing cleanly through the spine to tear the man free from this existence, not a single cry nor struggle, it was all too easy for the dark elven woman. To finalize, she twisted her hand, tearing the wound further open and shattering bone to make it impossible for those to heal the man if he should be found.
Now satisfied, Sanguine moved to the front door, beside where he’d been watching this entire time and grasped a hold of it, his muscles growing taut and ready for what he had planned. This would be the quickest way out from the house in the condition it was in now, about to collapse upon itself into smoldering wreckage. A testament to his strength, he tore the door from the house and tossed it aside, granite hewn eyes set upon his precious. “It’s time to leave…”
The night had only started as the two walked away from the home, a look of satisfaction, of pride and contentment set upon Sanguines visage, while Alexa, for the most part, couldn’t believe why her master had her do such a thing. Into the depths of the night they disappeared, leaving the house a burning reminder that nightmares truly do live amongst mortality.
~Fin~