Thrysta
03-28-2006, 05:55 PM
The blanket of snow had made the world around her into a blank canvas, with the blood she had spilled covering it like savage art.
Thrysta stood panting with exhaustion, her dwarven enemy facing her. They had come across each other while traveling the white wilderness of Winterspring during the late night, the once-pristine land around them disturbed terribly by their magics and weapons as the two hatefully clashed.
The dwarf’s armor was torn and battered from Thrysta’s wicked spells, blood seeping to the snow from many of the rents and gashes. His large war hammer hung limply in his grasp. Thrysta’s own garments and cloth armor were torn and ripped, her body bearing the agony of many savage wounds. As their eyes once again locked, however, Thrysta could still see fire within her enemy and knew that their long battle was not yet decided.
The dwarf growled something at her in his indecipherable guttural tongue, his face a snarling visage of hate. Thrysta’s own lips curled in a sneer, beckoning him toward her with a taloned hand, mocking the beardling with a mask of contempt that she did not inwardly feel due to the savage battle this one had given her.
With a growling war cry, the dwarf charged. Thrysta focused, her inner mana almost depleted. As the dwarf reached striking range, she screamed, focusing all her hate on his puny psyche.
The dwarf cried out in terror, back pedaling in fear from the gaunt priestess before his stubborn mind overcame the psychic scream. But those precious seconds of terror were all Thrysta needed.
With a screaming prayer to her Dark Lady, Thrysta focused the last of her inner mana into a ravaging blast, searing the dwarf’s brain from the inside-out. With a choking gurgle, the warrior collapsed to his knees, blood leaking from his nose, mouth, ears and eyes. A last death rattle escaping his blood-drenched lips, he plunged face first into the white snow of Winterspring.
Thrysta sank to her knees in exhaustion, a whispered prayer of thanks to her Dark Lady crossing her lips. Channeling her inner energy for a few moments, she restored enough of her mana to summon a small amount of the sickening light that could heal her. She choked back an involuntary retch as she drew the nauseating force into her.
It was a willing sacrifice she made for her brethren, healing them in the thick of battle, but the awful sickening pain it brought upon her made her loathe using the magic for self-healing in any but the direst situations. With a final, wracking cough of nausea, Thrysta completed the flash of healing, feeling her wounds immediately close with the power of the disgusting light.
Her body mending, Thrysta knew she must feed to regain her vitality. Trying to overcome the sickness the light brought upon her, she rose, stumbling to the carcass of the dwarf warrior and collapsing beside it. Leaning down upon him, her teeth found the unprotected back of the corpse’s neck, tearing a bloody chunk away with one savage bite.
But something was wrong.
Thrysta gasped, the bloody meat falling from her mouth as she retched in the snow beside the dwarf corpse…the light was building in her, but she was not calling upon it! Screaming, the intense pain and sickening nausea built in her more and more forcefully.
Falling onto her back in the snow beside the corpse, twitching in seizures of agony, Thrysta tried to focus her mind, to call on Her Dark Lady for aid and supplication. But it was no use…with a final, agonized scream, the building wave of light inside of her burst forth, blinding beams of light shooting into the heavens from her eyes and mouth.
Thrysta’s back arched, her taloned hands scrabbling at the snow-covered earth around her as the beams lit up the night sky. After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the last of the light left her and Thrysta sunk back into the snow, weeping in pain and exhaustion.
At last, she was able to open her eyes, in incredible pain, yet seeming to have taken no functional damage from the searing light that had passed through them. Upon opening them, she discovered something.
She was not alone.
(To Be Continued)
Thrysta stood panting with exhaustion, her dwarven enemy facing her. They had come across each other while traveling the white wilderness of Winterspring during the late night, the once-pristine land around them disturbed terribly by their magics and weapons as the two hatefully clashed.
The dwarf’s armor was torn and battered from Thrysta’s wicked spells, blood seeping to the snow from many of the rents and gashes. His large war hammer hung limply in his grasp. Thrysta’s own garments and cloth armor were torn and ripped, her body bearing the agony of many savage wounds. As their eyes once again locked, however, Thrysta could still see fire within her enemy and knew that their long battle was not yet decided.
The dwarf growled something at her in his indecipherable guttural tongue, his face a snarling visage of hate. Thrysta’s own lips curled in a sneer, beckoning him toward her with a taloned hand, mocking the beardling with a mask of contempt that she did not inwardly feel due to the savage battle this one had given her.
With a growling war cry, the dwarf charged. Thrysta focused, her inner mana almost depleted. As the dwarf reached striking range, she screamed, focusing all her hate on his puny psyche.
The dwarf cried out in terror, back pedaling in fear from the gaunt priestess before his stubborn mind overcame the psychic scream. But those precious seconds of terror were all Thrysta needed.
With a screaming prayer to her Dark Lady, Thrysta focused the last of her inner mana into a ravaging blast, searing the dwarf’s brain from the inside-out. With a choking gurgle, the warrior collapsed to his knees, blood leaking from his nose, mouth, ears and eyes. A last death rattle escaping his blood-drenched lips, he plunged face first into the white snow of Winterspring.
Thrysta sank to her knees in exhaustion, a whispered prayer of thanks to her Dark Lady crossing her lips. Channeling her inner energy for a few moments, she restored enough of her mana to summon a small amount of the sickening light that could heal her. She choked back an involuntary retch as she drew the nauseating force into her.
It was a willing sacrifice she made for her brethren, healing them in the thick of battle, but the awful sickening pain it brought upon her made her loathe using the magic for self-healing in any but the direst situations. With a final, wracking cough of nausea, Thrysta completed the flash of healing, feeling her wounds immediately close with the power of the disgusting light.
Her body mending, Thrysta knew she must feed to regain her vitality. Trying to overcome the sickness the light brought upon her, she rose, stumbling to the carcass of the dwarf warrior and collapsing beside it. Leaning down upon him, her teeth found the unprotected back of the corpse’s neck, tearing a bloody chunk away with one savage bite.
But something was wrong.
Thrysta gasped, the bloody meat falling from her mouth as she retched in the snow beside the dwarf corpse…the light was building in her, but she was not calling upon it! Screaming, the intense pain and sickening nausea built in her more and more forcefully.
Falling onto her back in the snow beside the corpse, twitching in seizures of agony, Thrysta tried to focus her mind, to call on Her Dark Lady for aid and supplication. But it was no use…with a final, agonized scream, the building wave of light inside of her burst forth, blinding beams of light shooting into the heavens from her eyes and mouth.
Thrysta’s back arched, her taloned hands scrabbling at the snow-covered earth around her as the beams lit up the night sky. After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the last of the light left her and Thrysta sunk back into the snow, weeping in pain and exhaustion.
At last, she was able to open her eyes, in incredible pain, yet seeming to have taken no functional damage from the searing light that had passed through them. Upon opening them, she discovered something.
She was not alone.
(To Be Continued)