Stalking down the spiral staircase each whisper of a step meant I was a tiny bit closer to being free from this wretched place, no matter how hard it would be – being free from here was my main priority. My wounds seemed to have stopped bleeding for now, by some divine power within me. I kept to the shadows, for if the alarm sounded, which will not be long from now, ill be better hidden from sight. Better not get into any fights I can avoid.
As I make my way down the stairs corridor after corridor passes my way; seems this place is a vortex of corridors all ending in this giant spiral. At the top there must be the ruler’s chamber, I must have been taken to beasts of lower authority. I wonder what the meaning of this place is; it’s very peculiar and probably well thought out – it’s no mishap that all these corridors lead to the same stairway.
As a round bottom plateau reaches my field of sight the alarm howls, screams coming from further above and flying bat like beasts flutter upwards past me in the hollow of the staircase. I hear marching coming from the top of this tower as the rooms of demons empty in discovery of my crime. I’m forced to check out one of the corridors at least until they give up the search.
I pick the next one on my path and silently slay the warden at the end of it – he didn’t even hear me coming – foul beast.
As I open the door a clenching gust of chilling wind nearly freezes my blood – an ice world; and I thought there was a limit to how bizarre this plane could become.
I took a few steps and as I motioned to close the door I noticed 2 guards walking down the stairs having noticed my presence.
“Damn, I was so close”
I slammed the door shut, hoping they would take me for the warden but to no avail – they were curious enough not to have notified their fellow guards and were soon braving the snow with me. I marched on into the blizzard and soon noticed myself being on the top of large mountain face slanting down as a forest in front of me. This cold I would not survive and with no end in sight I had to turn back.
Suddenly the earth shuddered, the ground around us shook and almost instantly after I felt myself flying to my left along with a heap of snow. A giant rock fist left a barren patch of soil where I last stood, with great luck I was missed but my two assailants were now battling a massive snow giant.
He grabbed one of the guards and holding him in front of his ragged face squeezed the life out of him; then throwing him to the side and making his way to the other guard. This time grabbing him in a smooth sweep and flinging his body into the rock face close by. I was glad I didn’t have to take care of those two, but now I was in his sights. This giant yeti was not about to forget about me; as I made my way back to the door thankfully the wind picked up which shoved me into the right direction, all the while slightly slowing my enemy, shudder after shudder behind me his footsteps shook the ground and I felt as if any second now one of his fists were to smash me into the snow – leaving nothing but a red smear.
The open door was in front of me, as it was left, and I made a jump for it as a fist landed right where I would have been. I shut the door and leaned against it in the comparatively comfortable darkness with nothing but the smell of blood in my nose.
Silently catching my breath I struggled to cope with what I had just escaped, not to mention that I was only half way – I still had more dangerous escapes in front of me.
Ready for more I snuck to the opening of the corridor to the staircase and surveyed the area; at the bottom a group of warriors were taking orders, while to the middle of the staircase on the other side I could see another group marching upwards, this was my best window – I had to wait until the group at the bottom left on their search and then I could take on the ones that were left behind.
The plateau had one exit, 2 doors leading into rooms or other sides of the tower and a pool in the centre – where all the blood collected that was running down the stairs; there must be a steady stream running from the ceiling in the chamber below. Must be some kind of ritual area they have there these sickening folk.
The party disintegrated into some moving through the doors and some taking the exit, leaving 4 guards and one lieutenant there.
Having the stone arm rail shield me from view I moved slowly down towards the back of one the guards, having gotten there I slit his throat, leaving the 4 others and my presence in blatant view.
Dark and menacing grins with murderous intent flashed onto their faces, I had no doubt they loved the act of killing and I was even more sure they had no problem dying for their lust for death.
The lieutenant tried to coax my mind to little avail, I was headstrong – it would take a master to crack my temple of thought. He soon gave up and joined his party in a charge. They attacked coming from each corner of the room which gave me the opportunity to slay them one by one, first an axe man swung his weapon thoughtlessly into the wrong direction which quickly became the death of him – taking a dagger to the underside of his head, penetrating through his nasal cavity into his brain. The next of my victims slashed at me with his long sword trying to sever my head clean off. His attempt ended with both of my blades entering his chest cavity from below his ribs – puncturing both of his lungs. The next assailant put up more of a fight by making me parry a few slashes of his short sword and a bump of his shield.
I had to dispose of him before the lieutenant got any closer; fighting two at once was a task I did not want to do.
I ran back in flight towards a wall knowing my attack would not be far behind; with a few graceful steps I launched myself over him using the wall for footing and landed behind him, jabbing one of my blades past his collarbone into the inside of his chest – severing his aorta.
Now the only person left was the lieutenant, not so very confident after seeing his men die such swift deaths. Falling to his knees all I had to do was slice open his throat.
But this was a ploy; as I made my way towards him – entering his aura his power multiplied and I once again felt his pressing conscience on mine – he was trying to persuade me to ram my blades into my own throat instead of his. My actions stutteringly halted to a point where my blades hung in mid air as if an invisible field was preventing their way into his breathing pipe. By focusing my attention on a fictional projectile entering our field of view I tricked him into thinking he had a friend letting loose an arrow into my direction. My blades fell back and with more force than before returned to meet their mark in the lieutenant’s neck – blood spraying and with him gurgling as he sunk to the floor – his eyes accusing of deception.
The room now silent I made my way to the exit and as I reached its end I found myself overlooking a molten world of fire. Only to my left there was blackness undiscovered – this was the path I would take.
“Into the darkness”
The lava world reminded of destruction and of pillaging – a world burnt for pleasure only to be left to become a black swamp in the absence of fertile life and the brutal presence of bringers of death. This place was hell personified and amplified – I cannot imagine anything more evil.
Leaving the gruesome picture I turn to my left and face the road out of this place.
The red behind me slowly fading to black my vision adjusts to my surroundings – from black the stone floor boasts green weeds and even to my left and right I find myself trotting into a dark green jungle. As the darkness truly and wholly engulfs me and I feel as thou my potential followers have given up on my accrual. I am greeted by a spirit dressed in black leather – dark green to match the forest. His eyes slanted and his long hair tied back – he seemed fair, content and determined to achieve his intent. Around him shone a faint white light; just enough not to draw any attention.
He spoke: “Traveller we have been waiting for your arrival – you and many like you have entered this world through the many worlds intertwined with this one. I come to you to clarify your position and give you hope on your journey to our sanctuary hidden in the forest. More help has been sent your way, but brave the jungle alone you still must do. The tower you have escaped from is a beacon of the dark – they have built gateways into other worlds to capture travellers of the ethereal. Souls that brave the realities of their dreams of far out places – where every thought materializes instantly as wished for. You are one of these travellers and you have been caught – only through our help and the experience you have gathered through your past lives were you able to fight yourself free from your oppressors. You used your heart to guide out of the most sinister of clutches, utilizing the rare opportunities you had to evade permanent enslavement; as so many are in this world.
This tower and the burnt world is the empire of a dark force seeking to extend its reign of misery to far off worlds. It seeks to have no end and it has no other purpose but to cause pain and suffering – it is its fascination.
We the Lumina are the opposing force that stands steadfast for peace that wishes to end its reign in this world. It has been seen that the end of the dark in this world is to come soon. This worlds inhabitants have willed it so – the suffering is too great; their master plan of enslavement has gone too far. Nothing can last forever and you and many like you are stepping up against the dark to achieve its banishment from this plane.
Go through the jungle; you will meet one of our guides on your way when you need her most – she will lead you to a sacred whirlpool where you shall be transported to our stronghold. We shall teach you the guide lines of this plane and the art thereof. This is in accordance with your life’s plan – do you accept this invitation?”
“That I do. And thank you for this message, for my road was near chaos.”
“May you walk in the light.”
With a faint breeze and his soft white light he was gone; like an angel disappearing. I was left with the blackness around me, yet with a massive load off my shoulders and at the same time a gigantic source of elation. The past whirlwind of happenings made sense; my role was clear and I had direction to go towards. I even had a greater clarification of my destiny, I was no longer aimlessly walking through chaos, endlessly trying to fend it off and make sense of it; I now knew that all my questions would be answered and that I had a civilization at my back that would see to it that I safely make it to their stronghold and that would educate me in their ways so that this wretched world would no longer torture so many souls. A greater destiny than in my current scope but one none the less. I was to help the people of this plane and in a sense of every plane entwined to this one – that is why I woke up to this indescribable world so ruthless and cutthroat. That is why everything was out to get me. The good and bad seem to have known of my arrival – the bad I had slain so as to side with the force for peace, which is my true home. This world seems to be at the centre of a massive dark stronghold and to gain access I had to infiltrate it thru one of the intertwined worlds – I had been chosen because of my souls abilities among many others that I am still to meet. This will become an even greater adventure than I had thought.
A moment ago all I wanted was to get out and now my world was twisted upside down; in a good way. Fortunately – I don’t know if I could have taken more of the confusion.
I hope I find those orbs again – I felt a bit safer with them around.
The plants on my way seemed to embrace me as the brush became thicker and thicker – more and more the forest showed me its variability in vegetation. This place had an eerie aura; I don’t think the forces of the dark venture this space. Why I feel ill find out later, for now I had to find some fruit to eat, before my myriad of wounds get the better of me. It’s a miracle I’ve gotten this far.