Chapter 10
The Drakeling Fury
Norenas groaned as the straps of his pack dug into his back. It had been only three days, but
already Norenas was experiencing exhaustion. Apparently the battle had drained him more
than he had thought, and he was cursing himself for not realizing sooner. Hex carried no
pack, because ‘the sheer beauty of one such as me cannot be twisted by something as
menial as carrying a pack’. Norenas was surprised that Talraz, who he expected to be
struggling, due to his life as a priest of Dragaris, was keeping pace admirably. Hex had
suggested that Talraz shift into a Drakeling, but Talraz refused, and Norenas thought that he
had looked very uncomfortable when he said it. The three had said farewell to the others at
the gate to Pilgrim’s Haven not too long ago, but they were all missing Rune, with her
slightly-less-bizarre-than-Hex-but-still-quite-crazy personality, but no-one was missing the
Havoc twins, who creeped them out all the time, and in battle they were terrifying, with
their twin blades swinging as one. The snow fields were hard to travel by day, when you
could see where you were going, but at night they were nearly impossible, for you could
barely see whether or not the next patch would be stable, and the howling winds were
harsh, even by Norenas’ ice elf standards. Hex grinned. “See? Told you it would be bracing!”
Norenas groaned again, “Bracing? Hex, its freezing!” Hex considered for a moment. “Parky
maybe, I’ll give you parky, but freezing? Never!” At that, he walked quickly off down the hill
they were on. Norenas gritted his teeth and swore that, if they ever found shelter, he would
lock Hex out.
A few hours later, and they were still no closer to finding some shelter. Hex had revealed at
the last moment that they were travelling without tents, because, if undead began to
pursue them, then they would have to have the least baggage possible. They had hoped to
find a small cave, or even a small settlement, but so far, all that surrounded them were the
endless ice plains, and no living creature in sight. Suddenly, a howl came from the distance,
and several dark shapes could be seen sprinting towards them. Hex grimaced. “Wolves.
Regular or demonic, I can’t tell, but we need to pick up the pace”. Norenas nodded assent,
before jogging to catch up with Hex. Talraz looked distracted for a moment, but then he
began to jog after them as well. There were no more howls, but after a few minutes they
could hear the scraping of claws on ice, as the wolves began to catch up. Hex yelled out:
“Stop! If we keep running we’ll be too tired to fight!” Norenas stopped, his boots skidding
on the ice, and began to draw two daggers, but as his hands went to grasp them, he
remembered the death of Jeston, and how his power had killed him. He instead reached for
the sword fastened to his belt; taken from Kerneius’ armoury. It was expertly crafted, with
runes engraved along its blade, and a hilt made from the bones of some type of huge
creature. The blade was made of the purest moonsteel, a metal forged by the same race
that forged nightsteel, before it fell into darkness. The blade gleamed dull silver, but as the light
of the full moon touched it, it seemed to spark into life, with a barely contained power rippling
beneath the surface. Suddenly, a wolf darted into the light cast by the blade, but this was no
ordinary wolf. This wolf was an Abomination, it lived among the ranks of Karnan’s most feared
soldiers; the undead were feared, and Karnan’s living lieutenants were spoken about in hushed
tones, but the Abominations were never spoken of, for their name was feared above all else. When
Karnan had conquered Regalsia, he had retreated inside Elran’Daz for five years, and many thought
that he had died, having expended all his power during his conquest. But he was merely preparing. A
resistance had formed among the crushed of Regalsia, including many of those who had cared for
Norenas in his youth, and they tore a path to Elran’Daz, with nearly no resistance. They stood
outside of the great icy gates, and their battering rams pounded against the smooth ice, but then the
gates glided open. And nightmares emerged. Massive creatures that came from the bloody
combination of human subjects gathered from across the land. Ordinary humans were ‘augmented’
with weapons stitched onto arms, armour grafted to skin, and minds driven to insanity. But some
humans had stopped suffering pain from their torture. Some had learned to embrace it, and Karnan
rewarded them by removing their souls and implanting them in stronger bodies; the animated
bodies of the Gelusian Ice Wolves became his royal pack, and creatures made from stitched together
humans became his Holy Legion. The resistance had been torn apart on that day, and another like it
had never risen again. The wolves that now surrounded him were the fallout from that battle, and
Norenas could see why the resistance had fallen.
The wolves were rotting, with patches of muscle bared to the light of his blade. They had patchwork
fur; with areas of bare skin exposed, but the most hideous thing were the eyes. The original wolf
eyes had been removed, and scar tissue was obvious around the eyes. They had been replaced with
the eyes of humans. The wolves began to encroach into the light, backing away as if burnt by the
moonlight cast from the blade. But they were beginning to conquer their fear of the blade, and
Norenas readied himself for battle. A wolf sprang suddenly at Norenas, but Norenas nimbly darted
aside, raking the wolf with his blade as it passed. The wolf collapsed into the snow, yelping in a
surprisingly human voice. Hex shot a crossbow at the wolf, finishing it off, but the other wolves were
quickly becoming a problem. Suddenly, from among the wolves, strode a human. He was clad in
black leather, with a cowl obscuring his face. A cloak made of similar black fur trailed behind him,
and at his belt hung a blade of blackest night. The only piece of skin that Norenas could see was his
eyes, and they burned with a fierce light, promising death and pain. The man spoke out through his
cowl: “Why have you killed a member of my pack?” he spoke in a calm voice. Hex aimed both his
crossbows at the man. “Who are you?” he asked sharply. “I am Abakai, champion of Krilnok, master
of the hunt. And who might you be?” Hex lowered his crossbows. “I am Hex, Champion of Chaos.
These are my companions, Talraz of the Priests of Dragaris, and Norenas of the Ice Elves.” Abakai
lowered his cowl and grinned. “You hold esteemed company, and for that I salute you. But, pray tell,
why do you journey on this night, when it would be wiser to remain in shelter?” Hex grinned. “We
seek shelter currently, might you know of a nearby settlement that we may make for?” Abakai
gestured east. “Last I knew there was a small village that way, only a mile or so.” Hex thanked
Abakai, and then turned to leave. “Wait! I see by your weapons that you are no passing pilgrim, you
are trained warriors, I assume?” Hex nodded cautiously. “Then I must request your aid. My lord
Krilnok has sent me here to hunt a most dangerous prey: the frost giant Ahkor. I would… be grateful
for any assistance.” Hex considered. “What kind of Frost Giant?” he asked. “I’m afraid that he is a
God-Giant. This snowstorm is entirely his domain.” Hex paled. “What do we get out of saying yes?”
“You get the glory of aiding a champion of the hunt, you eliminate a massive threat to your cause,
and you may claim any treasure that the giant may have.” Hex considered again. Norenas looked on
at the proceedings in utter confusion. Frost giants? Krilnok? He had no idea what they were talking
about, but he decided to go with it. “Okay, fine. The Frost giants have troubled this land for too long
anyhow.” Abakai grinned again, then set off on a brisk pace away from them, his wolves trotting
obediently behind him. Hex strode off after him, and Talraz followed. Norenas, after a moment’s
hesitation, jogged to catch up with them.
“Who is Krilnok?” Norenas asked Hex suddenly. “He’s a god, one of the powerful ones. He
commands the hunt, hunting animals and he is patron of hunters in general.” Norenas frowned.
“Why hasn’t he helped already?” he asked. “He can’t interfere; it’s a… creed among gods never to
directly interfere. They only interfere when someone directly challenges them, or binds one of them.
Karnan isn’t that stupid. Krilnok chooses champions from the survivors of Karnan, and trains them in
his realm. He then gifts them with magical abilities and releases them into the world, where they
hunt down targets he sets for them.” Norenas quickly proceeded to his next question. “Who is
Ahkor?” “He’s a frost giant. Frost giants used to dwell in Gelusia, but they migrated to Regalsia after
Karnan took over. Ahkor is a God-Giant, a king of the giants. This snowstorm is his magic. Every Frost
Giant controls a snowstorm, the larger the snowstorm, the stronger the giant. Most Frost giants
serve Karnan now, and they’re the reason why so many people have died of cold. They don’t even
have to attack a town directly, they just intensify their snowstorm. It would make sense why Krilnok
would send a champion to kill them.” Norenas considered this for a few minutes. “If he fights
against Karnan, why does he have abominations serving him?”, “In case you haven’t noticed, regular
wolves are kind of endangered right now. Abominations are easier to come by, and they’re
stronger.” “How does he control them?” “Blessing of Krilnok. His champions can control any animal,
including Abomination animals.” Norenas grinned. “Will he be helping us after this?” “No.
Champions of Krilnok tend to… stick to their own kind.” Norenas shut up after that, pondering all he
had learnt.
An hour or so later, they could hear a faint thumping in the distance. A giant shadow could
occasionally be glimpsed brushing the heavens. Abakai ordered a halt, and the fellowship shuddered
to a stop. “Ahkor is just ahead. We have one chance to ambush him and kill him. Keep him off
balance; otherwise he’ll amplify the snowstorm to unbearable levels. Norenas, you shoot fireballs at
him as fast as you can. Hex, use your explosive bolts, Talraz, change into a Drakeling and lay into
him. I’ll get my wolves to attack him, and I’ll use my own magic to attack him. Ready?” They all
nodded assent. Without another word, he began to dash towards the hulking shape. Norenas called
upon all his power and shot fireball after fireball at the shape. As the fireballs lit up the night, he
could see Ahkor. He was huge, with blue skin covered with crystallized ice. His face was like a mad
artist had attempted to sculpt a human face, with strange jutting areas of bone, craters, and scars
lacerating the huge face. It wielded a massive sword, easily the size of a tall building, and it was
made of the bones of some massive creature, possibly another giant. He roared in anger as the
fireballs struck him, but Norenas continued his steady rain. Hex fired bolt upon bolt, his crossbows
automatically reloading from the hollowed out handle containing hundreds of bolts. Norenas didn’t
see Talraz shift, but he did see a huge dark shape swoop over him towards the giant. Suddenly, from
out of nowhere, a blazing red stream of flame pierced the sky and carved a scorched line into the
giant’s flesh. A massive shadow battered the giant, ripping chunks of flesh from him. Norenas ceased
his barrage to gaze in wonder at the massive creature Talraz had become. He could not see the
details of the creature, but it was deadly in the extreme, and already Ahkor was stumbling. Abakai
was hacking at Ahkor with his blade, while his wolves tore at the feet of the giant. With a stunning
feat of athleticism, Abakai drove a dagger into Ahkor’s leg, and swung himself up, stabbing daggers
into the leg in order to climb higher. But Ahkor was not idle through all of this. As Abakai clambered
up him, Ahkor was shaking his leg violently, and was breathing clouds of ice at Hex and Norenas.
Norenas dived out of the way of the frost breath, but he could still feel the intense chill as it blasted
past him. He resumed his assault, and Ahkor sank to his knees under the brutal assault. By now,
Abakai was almost at Ahkor’s head, and he started hacking viciously at the exposed neck. Ahkor
screamed in rage, causing the snowstorm to intensify tenfold. Abakai drove his blade into Ahkor, and
rammed his hand into the open wound. Ahkor screamed in pain, but Abakai held firm. Suddenly,
Norenas sensed a surge of energy, and he could sense a massive being looming overhead, but when
he looked up, all he could see was blank sky. Suddenly, his attention was drawn back to Ahkor. He
was writhing in pain, and a strange energy field surrounded him. The energy sunk slowly into him,
and Ahkor fell down, shaking the ground with his immense size. Norenas grinned. “No contest!” he
yelled in jubilation, but he quietened at Hex’s sombre face. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “This was too
easy. This was a God-Giant, and we killed him too quickly.” Norenas considered. Hex had seemed
almost afraid of the giant, but he had been very easy to kill. Abakai suddenly strode up to them, with
splashes of lurid red blood against his midnight black armour. “Did that seem too easy to you?” he
asked, wiping blood off his gauntlets. Suddenly, the twang of a bowstring split the night, and Abakai
gasped as a brutal-looking arrow thrust through him. Norenas drew his sword, and Hex readied his
crossbows. A loud roar came from above, and Talraz swooped from the clouds, growling. ‘He’s
magnificent’ thought Norenas as the massive creature swooped by. The Drakeling had midnight
black scales, with a tinge of red. His wings were leathery, and as black as his scales. His teeth were
razor sharp, and serrated. Blood stained them, and Norenas could see further blood on his bone
white talons. The Drakeling shot towards where the arrow had come from, and returned within a
minute with the archer clasped between his talons. Norenas was shocked to see that the archer was
human, despite the fact that Karnan detested humans as a whole. Hex smashed the archer in the
face with his crossbow, and yelled: “Who sent you?!” right into the archer’s face. The archer’s face
was obscured by a black mask, and a cowl shrouded everything else in shadow. Hex ripped both the
cowl and mask free, and Norenas was shocked to see that the archer was a woman. Females hadn’t
served in any army prior to the conquest of Karnan, and to see one now, dressed like a man, was
shocking to say the least. The woman spat in his face. “Ha! Question me all you want, but you will
never get anything from me, scum!” Hex grinned viciously. “Do you want to know something? I
haven’t eaten any pretzels today, and I probably won’t for a very long time. I am VERY crabby right
now, and you do not want to get on the other end of my crossbows. Do you want to know what will
happen to you otherwise? It rhymes with Bill! IT RHYMES WITH BILL!” He yelled right at the woman.
The woman spat in his face again. “Fine. You asked for it” Hex said. He then launched into a
disturbingly detailed account of how he would torture her. By the word ‘flay’ she was pale. By the
word ‘guillotine’ she was shaking. And by the time he said ‘lemon meringue’ she screamed that she
was ready to confess. Hex grinned. “Who sent you?” he asked, his tone hardening. “Karnan. Karnan
sent me. He wanted me to kill Abakai and all who accompanied him.” Hex nodded, considering.
“Who are you?” “I am Dezra, huntress of Karnan” Hex cocked his head to one side. “Who?” “We’re
sent out when Karnan needs someone dead. Abakai has been harassing his abominations for years,
and he wanted me to kill him. Ahkor was little more than a distraction; he’s nothing but a lesser frost
giant. This storm is all Karnan’s doing.” Hex considered for a while, absentmindedly stroking his
crossbows. “Well, now we know everything…” he raised a crossbow and shot Dezra in the face. She
slumped over, her blood staining the snow red. Norenas yelled, “Why did you do that? She had told
us everything!” Hex grinned wickedly. “She’s an enemy, and enemies die. That’s how the world
works” Norenas nodded his head warily, still not convinced. “What about Abakai?” he asked. Hex
grinned again. “He’s gone to the hunting grounds of Krilnok, where he will hunt, or be hunted,
forever.” He made a strange gesture over his heart. “What was that magic he used to kill Ahkor?” he
asked. “It’s called Channeler Magic. Mages who have pledged themselves to a particular god can call
upon his or her power in combat. For example, Abakai invoked Krilnok’s Wrath, a particular spell
that can kill almost any wild beast. Talraz landed beside them, shaking the earth, and after a flash of
light, human Talraz was standing there again. “That was… odd” he said. Hex nodded. “Indeed, but
more importantly…” he levelled a crossbow at Talraz. “What the hell are you?”
Talraz raised his hands in surrender, his eyes betraying his confusion. “What do you mean?” he
asked nervously. “I mean, why aren’t you a normal Drakeling? Drakelings have golden scales, but you
look positively demonic. So, I ask again: Who. The. Hell. Are. You!” he practically spat out the last
words. Talraz growled, his eyes turning red and slitted. “I have no reason to kill you, don’t give me
one. I am your ally, understand?” he said, his voice turning deeper and more guttural. Hex shot a
bolt, the tip just grazing Talraz. “Answer me, or your life is about to become very short.” Talraz
relented, and the demonic features began to recede from him. “Fine, I’ll tell you everything. I
shouldn’t have hidden it from you for so long anyhow. I’ll start at the beginning…”
Talraz was tired. Tired, sore, and cramped. The slave convoy was trundling along the frozen wastes,
a small furrow becoming a minor earthquake in the tight quarters of the holding pens. Erza stirred
beside him. “Are we there yet?” she asked in a quiet voice. “I don’t know, go back to sleep.” Erza
nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. Talraz leaned back against the wall. He and Erza had once upon
a time lived in the same village, before Karnan and his eternal winter came and killed their crops.
The villagers at first turned to woodland animals, but the frost killed them soon after, and then the
fish had died. Mice and rats were a common sight at dinner, and reports of people dying of
starvation were common. In a way, the slavers’ arrival was a mercy, after all, without food, the
villagers would’ve eventually turned to cannibalism, and then they would die when that food source
ran out. All the villagers were weak and starving, and the slavers cut them down without a moment
thought, but Talraz, who had grown up a beggar, knew how to survive, and the slavers thought that
he would be a good acquisition. Erza, on the other hand, had been the mayor’s daughter, and she
had been fed well long after the frosts came. The slavers had found her to be fit too. They had
passed from owner to owner, sometimes with backbreaking labour, other times with cushy domestic
jobs. But a bandit raid had killed their last owner, and they were being shipped all the way back to
Idreah, where they would be sold again. Talraz looked at Erza sadly. This wasn’t a life for a young girl,
hell; it wasn’t a life for anyone. Sooner or later one of them would die, or get separated, and then
they would be alone in a brutal world. Suddenly, a blast rocked the convoy violently, and Talraz was
thrown across the floor, to a chorus of screams and groans. Yells and cries began to sound outside,
the sounds of battle. Talraz perked up. If it was bandits, maybe they would leave them alone, or
maybe it was the resistance, and they were about to be freed! Slowly, the sounds of combat died
away from outside, and the slaves huddled in the darkness, awaiting their fate. Suddenly, the door
swung open, and a man with a long beard and robes strode in. A mage! The mage drew a boot knife
and began to slice their bonds, reassuring them with promises of a warm home and food. The mage
came around to Erza and Talraz, and sliced Erza’s ropes without a thought, but when he came to
Talraz he stopped dead. Suddenly, he grabbed Talraz and shoved him into a side compartment.
“What are you?” he barked at Talraz. Talraz tried to stammer out a reply, but the words refused to
come. “No matter” the mage hissed, “I’ll let you rot here, demon” Talraz tried to call out, but the
words refused to come again. He mustered all his strength for one last cry, and he yelled out: “Take
care of Erza!” The mage glanced back, shocked. He looked like he was about to answer, but then he
suddenly turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Talraz lay in the darkness, shocked. He
could hear voices outside and cheers, but above it he could hear Erza, asking everyone where he
was. He gritted his teeth in rage. He charged at the door with all his might, readying himself for
pain… and then everything went black.
Talraz cracked open one eye, then closed it, the tiny action paining him. The mage must’ve placed a
spell on the door. Talraz shakingly stood, grimacing at the pain. He thought about the mage, and
why he had abandoned him. ‘Demon’ he had cried, and Talraz pondered this. Then he thought of
Erza, and he began to sob quietly. Then he began to feel rage. Why had this mage done this to him?
What had he ever done? He began to feel hate towards the mage, hate towards everything that
opposed him. His hate rose and bubbled, frothing at the edges of his very being. He screamed into
the darkness, expressing all his hate, rage and loss in one incomprehensible sound… and the
darkness screamed back. Suddenly he was surrounded by figures, blurry shapes swirling in the
darkness. They crept towards him, whispering: ‘Join us Talraz, join us in the dark and gloom’ he
stared at them, terrified. Then he grinned. He reached out to grab one of the figures, and the figure
reached out as well. They clasped hands, and the figure grinned. And Talraz grinned back. Suddenly
the figure began to writhe and scream, and it began to sink into Talraz. As the last trace of it was
absorbed, Talraz laughed at his new power. The figures were quiet now, and as he began to grasp
each one of them. Soon the convoy was filled with the screaming of the shadows. As Talraz finished
off the last one, he grinned at the darkness around him. He raised a hand towards the door, and it
burst into splinters. He strode out into the night, the cold wind whipping his rags around him. He
screamed at the night sky, but this was a scream of triumph, a scream of victory and rage. He felt a
burning pain as his body began to tear apart, but as his new form rose from the bloody corpse, he
grinned. He was… magnificent, with scaly black skin riddled with red veins, long talons of darkest
obsidian, and eyes that burnt with glorious hatred. He screamed again at the sky, then spread his
newfound wings and took flight.
Talraz looked up. “And that was how you became a…” Norenas asked. Talraz nodded grimly.
“Demon. I later found out that my father was a demon, and my mother was a human. I can access
demonic magic, but every time I do, I turn further towards the darkness. I am no Drakeling, nor a
priest of Dragaris. My dragon form is simply my true demon form. After five years of bloody
rampage, I calmed down enough to change back to human. Dragaris took me in, and taught me to
control my power. That is the truth of my nature: Half human, half demon, and can’t even choose
which one to be. Hex nodded solemnly. “Indeed. I apologise for attacking you, but I had to know.”
He straightened. “Well, no more time for chit-chat. That village Abakai mentioned is only a little way
away, and I would like to rest. This has been a long night” Norenas silently nodded agreement, and
the trio strode off into the snow, the snowstorm blazing away all traces of the horrors that lay there.