waking up

Scarlet struggled to seep into the soaked soil as the heavy smell of carnage clogged the air. Smoldering ash snowed down onto the ruins of the once peaceful town.

Beneath a pile of corpses, my dark form streaked red watched as sparkling white wings unfurled majestically. The golden armor glistened strangely against the light of the fiery landscape. In his stained gauntlet, he gently grasped his massive sword as it dripped drops of brightest blood which sizzled upon contact with the burning ground. Standing upon rubble, the warrior surveyed the destruction he had caused with pride.

In an instant, time seemed to stop as his light burning eyes locked onto mine; the world blurred and dimmed around us. I dared not move in fear of the stained sword that seemed to be singing for my blood.

A flick of his wrist and the weapon was sheathed behind his broad back. Bending forward slightly and shifting his weight, without any warning his body sprang upwards as his wings against the stale air, lifting him high into the air. Peering down from his new position, he nodded slightly to me.

I held my breath, wondering if it would be my last.

But then he was gone.

It took me a while to realize that my body was shaking violently. I felt lightheaded and found myself slipping slowly into unconsciousness.

It felt so nice to be lying there. True, the bed seemed a bit uncomfortable, but moving meant losing the small bit of warmth that she had created. She tried to block out the sounds of animals and other creatures moving nearby that threatened to invade her sleep.

"You need to wake up". The voice was soft and calling, reaching out as if to coax her awake.

Alsai scrunched her eyebrows together as if to shoo away any thoughts of waking up.

Eyes slowly pried themselves open to view the sparkling night sky with its strange designs and bright light streaming down onto her. The ground dug into Alsai's back; she could now feel the rocks and debris that made up her so-called bed. As her waking mind tried to figure out what was going on, she pressed her eyes closed in an attempt to try and remember what had happened as dim colored spots of light danced on the dark inner surface of her eyelids.

A slight shiver raced down her body as she felt humid air blow against her skin. Though it felt only slightly uncomfortable, the smell that accompanied it was unpleasantly tinged with a putrid decay. Wrinkling her nose up, the stink seemed to grow. Blinking open, her eyes slowly adjusted to the light once again to see two dark shapes hovering above her.

Squinting, her eyes finally focused, and she realized that she was staring into the faces of two spriggs hovering above her. Quickly sitting up, she startled the two creatures which sprinted away, slight fear overtaking their curiosity.

It took her a few seconds to realize where she was exactly. Spying Asak, another Ulgorn raider a few feet away scanning the horizon, she gathered a deep breath and pushed herself upwards as the stones of the road bit into her palms.

After standing, she slowly forced her feet to follow each other to him, trying to remember exactly what had happened.