this is chapter 5, and this chapter has some gore and a bit of romantics at the end but nothing serious, just a warning. her it is. enjoy!


Chapter 5


Earen thought he was looking into the face of death itself as the man smiled at him. Earen looked at the man and he said something to him.

“Earendur, son of Shanahea you shall feel the icy cold of death I feel every second of everyday” The man said, and he pulled out his blade and stabbed Earen in the gut. Right as he was stabbed, Earen jerked awake. He looked around. It was still early morning, and the sun was barely up. Everything looked like ice sculptures. The trees, the grass, everything. Earen stood up and stretched. He patted Syril on the nose and threw the saddle on her back. He strapped it on and hopped up. He kicked on Syril’s sides and they continued on their way. Eventually, they came to a sign, but it was covered in ice. Earen tried to break off the ice but the sign’s pole broke in half. Earen smashed the ice off so he could read it, but just barely.

“2 miles till Dirit, the farthest north city. Anything beyond that is death” Earen read aloud.

“Good, we are really close. Let’s get going” Earen said dropping the sign and hopping onto Syril. They rode until they came upon what they thought would be a bustling city. As they rode to the top of the hill, they saw the opposite. It was a frozen ghost town. They rode down the hill and into town, and everything was frozen. Buildings and all. It was deserted. Earen jumped off Syril and walked cautiously around.

“Hello? anyone out here?” Earen yelled as he wandered around. Then he heard laughing. It echoed all around the town, so he couldn’t find the source.

“Look who has come, it is the son of Shanahea, why have you entered my domain? You seek the one you love? I will save you the trouble, she isn’t here. But you will not be leaving this place alive Earendur” the chilling voice said. Then, in front of him he saw a dark figure walking towards him. Earen drew his swords and threw down his hood. The icy wind blew his hair, and felt like it was cutting his face. The figure started to run at Earen, and he ran to meet him head on. The two clashed with a resonating “clang”. The Death knight dropped one of his hands back, and Earen jumped back, knowing what might come. The death knight cursed under his breath.

“I see you learned well from Dir-Tord, but he was the weakest of us all” he said, walking to the side. Earen didn’t say a word, but circled with the Death knight. Suddenly his hand started glowing blue. He threw out balls of blue fire at Earen. Earen jumped out of the way onto a box. He dodged a second by jumping. He landed on the side of the death knight and fired a bolt of light at him. The death knight jumped back with surprising agility and cast another fireball at Earen. He rolled to the side and held up his hand, and a blinding light flashed from his palm. The death knight shielded his eyes from the holy light, and Earen ran forward. The death knight swung blindly with his sword, but Earen ducked and cut off his arm at the elbow. The arm flew away from the power of the strike and the sword skidded across the ice. The death knight grabbed his arm as black steaming sludge poured out of his arm. Earen covered his nose and mouth as the putrid smell invaded his senses. Earen ran to grab the evil blade and cast it away, but as he dived, the sword flew back to the death knight’s hand. Earen crashed to the ground and he felt something make a gushing sound. He opened his mouth, and he spat out blood. Then he felt inside his mouth and his tongue was partly bitten off. Earen spat some more blood out and looked down at the ground as he got up. There was a big spray of bright red on the otherwise white snow. Earen grabbed his tongue and felt the healing energy flow through his mouth. His tongue reattached with a slurping sound, and Earen spat out the remaining blood. The death knight ripped off a piece of his arm and tied it on to stop the bleeding. Earen ran at him, and did a waist high sweep with one of his swords, and did a high downward slash with his other. The death knight dodged the waist sweep but he high cleave got him. More black sludge burst out as the sword cut the death knight’s face and he crashed to the ground. The death knight wiped the sludge from his eyes as he stood up and Earen saw the cut. It ran from his from his forehead at a diagonal angle through his eye and nose, across his mouth and ended at his chin. It looked like it would split in half, but it held. Suddenly a great black horse ran out of what looked like out of thin air over to the death knight. He jumped on and held a hand on his eye.

“You have not seen the last of Zen-Dari, 7th of the 7” he said as he kicked into the black horse’s sides. The beast galloped off at an incredibly fast pace and Earen just fell to the ground breathing heavily. Then he heard that familiar “Clop, clop, clop” of Syril come near him. Earen stood up weakly and grabbed onto Syril’s mane. He pulled himself up onto the saddle and he leaned forward, laying his head on Syril’s neck.

“She isn’t here” Earen whispered, “Will I ever find her?” Earen said weakly. Syril neighed softly and shook her head.

“That makes one who thinks I can find her” Earen said patting Syril’s neck and sitting up. Earen threw his hood back up and they trotted slowly the way Zen-Dari had gone.

“Man I beat him pretty bad” Earen said. Syril neighed and nodded his head rapidly. They trotted slowly along the icy road, when something jumped down right in front of them from the trees.

“What are you doing out here? No one comes out here” said the slender figure. Earen guessed that it was a female by the way she stood and the way her eyes looked.

“I am hunting the death knights, they stole someone from me and I want her back” Earen said, believing her to be trustworthy.

“That is dangerous business, but you are close” She said, trying to speak in a deeper voice, but Earen could see through all of her tactics.

“My name is Earen, and you don’t have to bother speaking like that and wearing the mask. I know you are a female” Earen said.

“Guess there’s no fooling you Earen” she said and took off the mask and continued “My name is May” she said. Earen jumped down but almost fell over.

“Guess I'm not totally better yet am I girl” Earen said slowly standing up.

“What? Not totally better from what?” may said confused.

“No, I was talking to Syril, my horse” Earen said stretching. May walked to Syril and stroked her nose.

“Wow it’s a pretty horse, where did you get him?” May said looking at Syril. Earen went to the saddle bags and pulled out the oats.

“Some friends loaned her to me. I don’t want to give her back but I promised someone I would give her back” Earen said, thinking Koti.

“Would it be ok if I asked you a personal question?” May asked, twisting her hair with her finger.

“Sure go ahead” Earen said clipping the bag onto the reigns.

“I couldn’t help noticing, but you have a lot of scars, where did you get them?” She said advancing.

“Well I have a habit of getting into trouble” Earen said, feeling the scar under his eye.

“No. Not on the outside, on the inside. I have only just met you and I can see it on your face, the way you walk, even in your voice” she said, now about 3 feet away.

Earen was a little uncomfortable now, but held his ground. She walked even closer, and her voice went softer.

“I can help you. I can heal those scars, please, let me help you” she said, now 1ft away. Earen hadn’t realized it until now, he has carried a huge weight on his shoulders most of his life. It started weighing down on him that cruel day when only his step-mother returned, carrying his father’s sword. She ran her soft hand down his cheek, and looked into his eyes.

“Let me heal you, I can lift the weight” she said softly and went to kiss him. Her lips hit her mark, and Earen went back a bit but did not withdraw. He felt all his weight fly off him, but he heard a small “clink” as something touched his armor, and memories came flooding back into his head. The first time he and Leana met, the day they married. The moment she was taken and the look on her face. Earen pulled away, and her arms fell away from him. He hadn’t even noticed her do that. He grabbed the amulet at his chest and a tear dripped down his face.

“You, you are poison. I cannot do this” He let his hand fall from the amulet.

“Yes, let go of her, she is a fleeting memory, I am here” May said, staring at Earen intently. Then Earen’s hand went to his hilt.

“No, you misunderstand me, YOU, you are poison, you only make the weight heavier” Earen said drawing one of the swords. May started backing up and she tripped over a stump, and tears came from her eyes.

“Please, I, I, I” she blubbered. Earen raised the sword high and it flashed briefly as he brought it down on her. She sat shocked, and her feet started dissolving in what looked like black ashes.

“NO! CURSE YOU EARENDUR, SO-!” but her sentence was cut off as her face dissolved into the wind. Earen sheathed his sword, and walked back to Syril. He hopped on and Syril went into a brisk gallop. The amulets clanked on his chest plate as he bounced along. At first the noise was like a thorn in his foot. Now it was the most welcome sound in the world.

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[Sig and avy by me!]