Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Golden Hearts filled with Despair

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Vasuki

  Pain dug deep into Vasuki’s arm as he waved at a passerby on another horse and wagon. They looked like some of the people that would stop by the Dragon’s Dinn for trade goods, they’re wagon was filled with a shipment that could be heading anywhere. He just hoped that his family would be able to give them the proper chance, should they end up there, and that the town hadn’t been destroyed by Felix. Vasuki looked at the sky above, though it was overcast, birds still flew overhead and deer grazed on the grass in the field around them. He looked back into the wagon as the dirt road straightened out, Audra was fast asleep sandwiched between two blankets and her head on a pillow. He looked back on the road and lightly tapped the rear end of the horse with the reins quickening its pace.

  Thunder roared in the distance. Vasuki looked forward and began to count the seconds before lightning struck, trying to find just how far until they were hit by the forefront of the storm in front of them. On his right was a forest, on his left was an open field full of flowers beginning to blossom, now was as good a time as any. He pulled off the path and carefully parked the wagon in the woods. He took a tarp from the back of the wagon along with four stilts for it, being extra careful to not disturb Audra’s rest. He stabbed a spear of ice deep into the ground, took it out, then placed the stakes in the freshly made holes and tying each corner of the tarp tight around the tips of each stilt. He had effectively made a tent where the horse could stay dry. He didn’t know the people this wagon had belonged to before but he was grateful they had the forethought to pack it ahead of time. He then made his way to the field on the other side of the dirt path.

  Sitting down next to Audra he began to examine the flower he had picked. It was a fully bloomed rose with some thorns growing down it’s stalk. He began to focus his magic in his hand trying to recreate the shape in some capacity. It was something he had never been good at. His mother had been able to create works of arts; statues of people, models of towns, busts of animals and monsters, every winter she would be the one to create giant, complex sculptures of ice in the town square. It would inspire awe from the townspeople and tourists alike, and create a massive boost in revenue when the inn would get busier than ever.

  Vasuki was the exact opposite. The ice he brought out was like yanking on someone's hair and throwing them against a tree. The rain began to dance across the hood of the wagon above them. He reached for the chains of magic that rattled within his mind. He grabbed them and pulled, the ice that formed in his hand was a small stick with a trapezoid on the very end. He breathed calmly before trying to reshape the ice, he could see the general shapes, the trapezoid had become triangles that spread from the center before it cracked. He jumped, losing his focus and causing it to shatter loudly.
  “Mmh?” Audra stirred, Vasuki commanded the ice out the back of the wagon and looked over at Audra, “Are we there?”
  “Not yet, we stopped for the rain to pass.” He replied.
“Cursed rain.” She commented before sitting up.
“You feel any less tired?”
“Yeah, I had a nice dream.”
“What was it about?”
“I was back home, both of my parents were still around and they were actually responsible.”
“It’s definitely harder leaving your family. More than I thought it was.” Vasuki said, leaning back against the wall of the wagon. Audra rubbed her eyes. “I picked this for you.” He said, handing the rose to her. She smiled as she reached towards it.
“It’s really pretty. Thank you.” She said. He waved his hand back and forth, telling her to not worry about it.
“It’s no big deal, just a small gift. You deserve it with all that we’ve been through lately.”
“Any monsters around?” Audra asked.
“Not that I know of, not like we can smell it with all this rain.” He replied.
“You said you’ve been to Daemerall before, you didn’t meet Noelem did you?” She asked.
“No, but Cabana’s told me about him. The good mostly, but a bit of the bad. He’s a Daosr Variant and a damn strong one at that. She said he’s a bit of a recluse that tends to stay by himself but he is willing to help her and that should mean he’s willing to help us.” Vasuki claimed.
“I hope you’re right.” Audra said, admiring the rose.

  Thunder clapped and lightning cracked at something in the distance, the sound of something heavy landed nearby, the scent of ash and another smell, that was oddly familiar, hit both of their nostrils. Vasuki leaned forward and pulled the flaps closed in the back of the wagon, Audra did the same to the opening in the front. They then laid down as the ground began to tremble underneath them. The horse began to grow unsettled but still awaited for an order from the reigns. The growl and the heavy breathing from behind the wagon was all Vasuki needed to know. There was a dragon, and it was hunting. He motioned for Audra to stay as he backed to the front of the wagon, before exiting he balled his fist to her as if to grab something. He slowly grabbed the reins from the floor, got in position and whipped the rein hard. The horse jumped from the force and immediately began to run through the forest, he ducked as the wagon ran over the tent he had made for the horse. He did his best to steer the horse to avoid trees but they were going much too fast for him to control a wagon through a forest. It didn’t take long before the side slammed into a tree and tore the left side wheels off. As the wagon fell it slid through the mud before hitting another tree and coming to a stop slightly leaning over a steep side of a small hill. The crash had broke the horse free and it ran off. Vasuki stood on the wall of the front of the wagon and reached his hand in for Audra to take, she grabbed their bags and took his hand.

  Vasuki looked down the hill, it was around 15 feet or so, he looked back towards the jade colored dragon to see its mouth closed, orange flames jutting out from where its lips met.
  “Jump!” Vasuki ordered as the two of them jumped from the wagon, insane heat hit their backside as they escaped the billowing flames. Vasuki landed a bit awkwardly, and it hurt like hell but he was still mobile. Audra hit the ground but rolled her ankle wrong, she screamed in pain as she fell into the mud. Vasuki ran to her and placed her arm over his shoulder. He quickly looked around and saw a small cave entrance to a cave under the hill. He quickly made his way towards it, staggering in the mud as quickly as the duo could. They felt the weight of a dragon landing behind them, his eyes went wide and he dove into the cave and sat behind a rock as more orange flames soared past them. Vasuki held Audra close to him as unbearable heat seared the rocks inside, it lasted for so long that it felt like the rain that had soaked their clothes had dried up.

  Vasuki listened to his heart pounding in his ears for what felt like eternity, he began to feel lightheaded as he realized he was holding his breath. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the dragon snort before walking away. He looked down to see Audra, her eyes were wide and sweat riddled her brow. He held her close to him as he let out a bit of cold air to cool the cave down, as it was, it felt like a sauna.
  “I got you. We’re safe.” He said holding her tightly, he couldn’t stop his arms from shaking.
  “I’ve never heard your heart beat before...it’s going crazy right now.” She joked.

“Are you not scared shitless right now?” He teased.
“That’s fair.”

A long moment passed before the two of them spoke again.
  “Thank you.” Audra said, trying to get more comfortable.
  “Don’t thank me. We just got lucky this cave was here.” He said scratching her back. “I don’t want to lose anyone else. I can’t lose you, Audra.” He added.
“You’ve been with me since I arrived in Nevenal. I’m thankful for that.” She replied.

  There was a small pause between the two as they thought in silence.
  “How many times have we almost died?” He asked, surprised that the occurrence was beginning to feel common. She shook her head.

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  “Too many times recently.” She shivered.
“Sorry.” He said, slowly making the cold air come to a stop, “Is your ankle alright?” He asked.
“It should be fine soon enough, I think it’s sprained.”
“So, we’re here for the day. I’ll try and find some help when the rain stops.” He said. “Until then we need to start treating it.” He said.

  Audra laid back against the rock wall as he pushed a larger rock under her right foot. He wrapped a bandage around her foot, pulling at the chains of his magic he wrapped ice, made from rain water, around the bandage.
  “So cold.” She complained. He opened their camping bag and pulled out both of their blankets. He wrapped one around her and put the other behind her so her pillow wasn’t going to be a rock while she let her ankle heal.
  “Anything else?” He asked, she shook her head.
“Just wet, but if something comes I’ll need my magic. So I can’t risk drying off.”
“The one time I get to control how much cold air comes off of me and I overdo it.” Vasuki pointed out.
“Dumbass.” Audra joked, the pair shared a laugh as the storm above them got stronger. Vasuki sat next to Audra and handed her a pack of rations. He couldn’t help but admire the woman next to him. She was covered in grime, dirt, mud and she smelled of aged sweat, they both did. They both wanted a bath, a roof over their head, and a fresh set of clothes. Her wavy dark hair still swayed, her eyes were still full of life, her mouth still shot out sarcastic remarks and he loved it about her.
“What is it?” Audra asked.
“I-it’s nothing. He claimed.
“Are you sure?” She wondered.
“Y-yeah.” He said, trying to ignore the heat in his ears.
"What's today?"

"I'm...not sure. Why?"
"Just trying to keep track of it all. I know your birthday was coming up when we left."
"Yeah it was, not a day I'm too fond of."
"Well you know your mom would want you to celebrate it."
"I know that, it's just hard without her." He claimed. He was really wanting to change the topic to something else.
"What was she like?" Audra asked.
"Well..." He thought about it for a while. "How about I tell you when we get to Daemerall?"
"I'll hold you to it."

???

  A young woman screamed as a bladed whip tore the hide from the back of her naked and malnourished body. She pulled against the chains that suspended her, in vain. Her crimson hair was wet with sweat, her eyes changed from hazel to red then back to hazel with every crack of the whip as her magic activated and deactivated on its own accord. The only thing keeping her alive was the contract she had made years ago.
  “Collect her blood.” A hooded woman said to the other hooded figures. Tears fell from the tortured woman’s face as the cultists put jars under her new scars.
  “Erie…” She whimpered. She screamed as hot coal was held against the back of her knees.
“You will not speak of him while you are here. The language of Zerian surrounds this hold. He can not come to the aid of your calls, nor can he hear them.” She cried silently as the cultists continued to collect her blood.

  After the cultists finished harvesting from her eternal blood they took her back to her home. They threw her into the dark cell landing with a thud against the stone floor. She laid on the cold stone and sobbed for what felt like hours, this had been her life for who knew how long and there was nothing she could do about it. They were too many in number to fight off, and even if there weren't as many her body was as fit as a decomposed corpse, it was an exaggeration of course but there was still some truth behind it. She crawled on all fours to her bed where she tried to cover her nude body. Eventually they brought food in and placed the plate on her bed next to her. She slowly ate the shit tasting food, feeling the nourishment immediately erase the pain from her body, before falling asleep.

  Her dreams were plagued with her life before all of this, of course none of the good parts, not even her dreams were a safe refuge. She watched as her brothers and sisters at her home on the Southern Isle were slain by a man that carried the artifact they had worshiped for years. The flames that erupted through the temple, the pain that scorched through her left thigh as the man pinned her into the ground with the same artifact that was covered in the blood of her newfound family. She didn’t know what was worse, her dreams, or the daily pain she felt from her captors. If only she could build her strength, or break through the Zerian barrier...then...maybe then, she could get out. But alas, that was just a dream she alone could not obtain.

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