[X] Fight
You face the dark, and the horrors it creates, and something wells up in you. A fire you did not have before sparks in your chest, small and bright and hot. The lantern in your hand shines bright, and you know what you must do.
"Be Brave."
In a motion, you shrug off your cloak, letting the heavy material fall to the floor behind you. You stand tall, face firm and hands steady as you stare down at the creature before you. As you watch, two more skulk out of the Dark, pacing at the edge of your vision as if waiting for something.
"Stand fast against that deepest night."
You don't intend to give them that luxury.
"Let your soul shine forth..."
A deep breath fills your lungs, the light in your hand shines brighter than it ever has, and you move.
"... and Fight!"
Golden threads spool in your hand as you launch yourself forward, the shadow-creatures lurching back with pained hisses as your silver light finds their flesh, causing it to bubble and hiss like boiling tar.
Then you are amongst them. The blade of gold in your hand flashes once, twice, as it embeds itself in the flank of the first of the shadow-beasts. You turn as a second launches itself at you bringing your arm between it's teeth and your throat and biting back a scream as too-sharp fangs dig into your flesh.
The beast pays for it's victory though, as your sword goes through it's neck like so much water, it's shadowy body simply melting away as it dies.
You tense as you hear the triumphant roar of the third monster, turning to try and fend it off as it leaps towards your back, only for a flash of blue light to shine forth from your lantern. A solid panel of blue now hangs in the air directly in it's path, and with a horrible hissing cry, it rebounds and hits the floor with a thump, where you easily dispatch it.
For a moment, all is still, and you are suddenly very aware of the intense pain from your savaged arm. Thin rivulets of blood streak down your skin and hit the ground in a steady drip, and the rest of you isn't doing that much better. Breath comes fast and painful, your lungs burning along with your limbs as you feel like you've run a marathon.
"You are not done yet, holder of my heart, my hope."
But still, you stand, and your light still shines.
"Help comes, but you must stay strong."
A bass growl makes you turn, and you find yourself face to face with another of the beasts you just slew, except larger, much much larger. A massive lumbering beast the size of a bear, it towers over you even on all fours.
But you do not falter, raising your blade even as another rush of adrenaline sweeps through your system. The beast screams, and it's breath is like fire and ice and death all at once.
It rushes you with surprising speed. One great paw tipped with razor-sharp shadows hits a hastily erected guard, and something cracks, the sudden pain bringing bile to the back of your throat even as you are launched through the air from the sheer force of the blow.
You bring your lantern in close, protecting it with your body as you hit the wooden floor, more pain blooms, this time in your ribs, and your vision swims as the monster stands above you, triumphant. A terrible hissing laugh issues from the void where it's face should be as it looms above where you lie, one paw raised to end your life with merciless finality.
"Through your bravery, your pain and your sacrifice, WE WILL SHINE!"
Silver radiance blooms from your lantern, the glass door flying open and the Silver mote, now as bright a miniature sun, rises to meet the great beast's paw and stops it dead in it's tracks. The light grows, and grows, and at it's heart you can see a woman in a sundress holding a fist aloft, pulse after pulse of silver, gold and cyan light slamming into the Shadowed beast, stripping the darkness away in waves, until all that remains is a single shadowy mote, the last clinging shades blasted away until only a faint spark of green remains.
The woman turns to look at you, and you see only kindness in her face as she fades away, leaving only the Silver mote and the green, which both gently float down into your lantern, the glass pane quietly closing behind them.
"It came from over here!" Another voice reaches you, the sound of feet on wood registering in your fading consciousness. "It's a... Shit! They're hurt! Athan, bring bandages! Now!"
"We will be with you, now until your journey's end."
Warm hands touch your face, but you can't focus, "Stay with me, alright?! Stay..."
You drift away on a cloud of light.
Prologue: End.
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I hope you've all enjoyed yourselves thus far. I really enjoy writing this, though a lot of it is just me thinking for a while and then basically writing from the seat of my pants. This is the longest part thus far, and I will be having a think about what directions I would like the story to head. I have some ideas, but I don't have anything quite concrete beyond a few vague bits and pieces and something perhaps a little more concrete in regards to my next post.
That said, it should probably be up in the next couple of days. I've a lot of family stuff to do, so if I don't post it until Friday or so, please don't worry.
Thanks for reading!
Joanne.
