Darkness in the Past, Zaika's First Post

[Zaika]

Luna Village was a dark, desolate place that often sent shivers down Zaika's spine as she forged for food within. The surrounding forest gave her comfort, especially the grand trees that loomed above, swallowing the destroyed and nearly forgotten town in its shadow.

The spirits still cry here... for how long will they be restless? she wondered as she found a small patch of edible mushrooms. Picking a few, she added them to her satchel of herbs, roots, and a few small berries.

Zaika was often alone in the forest, but did not mind the solitude. She took comfort in the wind, enjoyed the feel of moss and leaves at her feet, and felt refreshed by the feeling of cool, pure water splashing on her face from a stream or pool.

Suddenly Zaika heard approaching footsteps from not too far away. She quickly slipped into the shadow of an abandoned hut, holding her breath as she noticed her company--a pair of molding, grotesque bodies that were at one time living human beings. She prayed her company was only an inhabitant of the surrounding area and would not notice her presence.

[Drake Lugosi Blake]

"Sir! We've reached what appears Luna Village!" A scout from the Methoa Army turned around to face the oncoming traffic of horses. Twelves steeds trotted to the location, and on one of them sat the leader himself, once general of the army, now king of the nation, Dregon.

"Or what's left of it." One of his knights commented to his side. They were all decked out in the heavy armor with the Methoan Insignia etched into their breast plates.

Dregon's bronze helmet was lifted from his head and tucked under his right arm as his cold blue gaze scanned the surrounding area. "These people should have come to our capital, or joined the militia. If they had any combat sense, the village wouldn't have been lost." He shared no sympathy, no love, and no regret for the loss of one of his own towns.

It meant very little that such a town had been sacked by their enemy. It held no value aside from land. Land which hasn't exactly been taken away from them as well. He brushed his graying hair back before holding up his hand, "We rest here tonight men." He turned to his scout, "Gregory!"

"Sir!" The scout stood attention.

"Search the village." He waved his arm across, "Find anything of value and bring it with us, any supplies we can use we'll take. The rest leave behind."

"Yes sir!" Gregory saluted his king and general before making his way towards one of the houses. His form was covered in a much lighter armor, mainly chainmail, to allow quick movement. His helmet remained the bronze color that the rest of the small unit bares.

[Zaika]

Zaika easily heard the troupe of men approach, and the orders they were given by their general. She glared at the soldiers, not enjoying their presence one bit. It would make leaving the village undetected much harder, and could present a challenge should they find any of her footprints. The last thing Zaika needed was someone chasing after her.

Letting her breath out slowly, she took in a deep breath through her cloak to avoid smelling the stench of rotting humans. Carefully she tip-toed through the hut, flinching as her foot landed in the soft ooze of moss and decayed flesh.

Why today? Why couldn't you men have wrecked my fun on a different day? she thought, finally making it past the corpses and to the far side of the hut, against a partially crumbled wall.

She placed one foot out through the window, and turned to bring her other foot over when she noticed something. A glint of bronze armor and a pair of eyes watching her. Zaika froze, waiting to see if she had been spotted.

[Drake Lugosi Blake]

Gregory's breath echoed in his ears, being bounced around in the bronze helmet, not to mention he had been traveling on foot this entire time. This village didn't help any matters either, it put him on edge. It's already destroyed, and the people were already all gone or dead. He turned his gaze to the side as he approached the hut to scan the area once more, making sure there's no one around. Not that there would be, except maybe the ghosts that he might imagine in his head. He reached up and gave a shaken breath as he removes his helmet from his head. Short blond hair fell freely against his brow and he gave a quick shake of his head to free it from it's matted state.

He approached the door with caution; his nose wrinkling up in disgust as he caught wind of decaying flesh. He placed his helmet on the ground outside of the building and tried covering his mouth with his right hand, an effort useless due to the gauntlets he was wearing. "Why did we have to stop here? Why couldn't we stop at a place with life left in it." He was upset for two reasons, the fact that they would camp out in this area, and the fact that he gets the job of studying the area.

He shook his head and peeked in momentarily to take a quick look through of the hut. There didn't seem to be anything other a corpse rotting in the corner. He felt his stomach curl and his face pale at the mere sight of it. He's not meant to look at such things, he didn't join to see such things. "Ugh..." He closed his eyes and placed a hand over his mouth to keep himself from tossing. He took a deep breath to try and calm his stomach however that only caused him to inhale that god awful stench once more which made it worse. He turned around quickly and leaned out of the door before he bent over and heaved out onto the ground outside of the hut.

[Zaika]

Zaika's golden eyes watched the soldier carefully as he scanned the hut, then quickly turned around and retched outside the hut. The elf took her chance and cleared the window, retreating back into the darkness and solitude of the forest.

On foot she was quick and nimble, as most elves were. She ran along the perimeter of Luna Village, escaping the voices of the armored men who had invaded the desolate village. She slid down a small hill and tucked herself next to the base of a giant tree, taking comfort in the feel of its cool bark and sound of its leaves shaking in the wind.

Those humans... they have no right to be in such a place! she shouted, in thought, to the tree. Those arrogant humans, thinking they have something to gain from coming here. They could at least have the decency to bury the dead!

She brought her hand up to the pendant around her neck, shaped in the likeness of a cat. Zaika had no memory of how she had acquired the necklace, nor if it had any magical properties. All she knew was that it appeared around her neck after her tribe had been destroyed--the same fire that had raged through Luna Village.

A strange noise echoed through the forest, startling Zaika. Grabbing a dagger from around her waist, the elf quickly followed the source of the sound back up to the village. Sliding to a halt in the shadows of a completely ruined structure, she stared at the strange create with wonder.

It had short brown fur covering its body, except for a longer portion down its neck and coming from its rear. It was a tall creature, easily two feet taller than the 5'5" elf. It stood on four powerful legs and had dark eyes on the sides of its head. Finally, a strange cloth wrapping sat upon its back, and ropes were tied around its face.

"What type of being is that?" Zaika spoke aloud, forgetting momentarily of her new company, the Methoa Army.

[Drake Lugosi Blake]

"Gregory!" The scout heard his name shouted from the camp of knights. He gathered himself back up and picked his helmet back up before running towards the camp. "Yes sir!" He saluted his fellow knight. Something you have to do when you're the lowest ranking member of the unit. You salute and show respect for everybody else and gain none in return.

"My horse ran off." He waved off in the direction it had gone.

"...Yes sir." Just his luck. He never understood why the knights couldn't get their own horses, especially since they should have tied them off so they wouldn't get away. It apparently wanted to head towards the forest, which is logical when you think about it. It is a horse, and if it's trying to get away then finding solace in the forest is the best bet to go.

Except it hadn't gotten into the forest yet, and someone else seemed to have gotten to it before he had. His brows knitted together in thought and he dropped his helmet as he ran towards them. "Hey! What are you doing to our horse?" He exclaimed, granted... he was a bit frightened. What if it was the enemy?

[Zaika]

The elf had gathered the courage to walk up to the strange creature and pet its back as it grazed on the lush forest grasses below. Not much grew on the soil of Luna Village, but the surrounding forest had an appetizing mixture of greens that would appeal to any herbivore.

Zaika jumped in surprise as a man shouted to her. She turned in quick surprise, moving one hand back behind her, near to her knife stash, just in case she needed to defend. The girl stood in awe at the bronze armored soldier, unsure if he was man or creature with his strange metallic "skin".

"I... umm... i-it's called a horse?" she asked, surprised by the deep and strong sounding name of the creature next to her. It seemed like a more docile name would fit better than "horse". "I-is it yours?" Zaika added, stuttering slightly due to her fear of the man before her.

[Drake Lugosi Blake]

Gregory stopped when he reached the horse and the woman, or what he had thought was a woman. "You're an elf." It wasn't an accusation, it was merely an observation, he seemed a bit surprised to see one out of the forest. From what he knows about them, which isn't a whole lot, is that they usually stick to their area.

"And no, this isn't mine, but it belongs to a member in my unit." He grabbed the reins that were on the horse and gave it a tug. He stopped for a moment to regard the elf for a few more moments, "What are you doing here? The place is deserted you know." Then he thought about what he just said and realized that it could be the very reason why the elf is around here anyway. Possibly looking for valuables to bring back to her city.

He wouldn't put it passed her, but then again, his Majesty had ordered him to do the very same for his own gain. Something he just didn't quite understand. Like why his Majesty would even bother searching for valuables in this town when he has a whole treasure room filled with all the riches he'd ever want.

[Zaika]

What are you doing here? This place is deserted you know.

These words echoed in Zaika's mind as she attempted to process an answer for the soldier without giving away too much about her past. She wasn't even sure anymore what she was still doing forging for food in Luna Village. There were ample places within the surrounding forest that had a tastier, more plentiful supply of berries, roots, and mushrooms.

"I-I'm looking for s-something," she stammered, lowering her gaze as the soldier took the reins of the horse. The elf blushed slightly, catching a glimpse of the soldier's face from beneath his helmet and seeing the shining eyes of curiosity.

"What is your unit doing in this city?" Zaika asked, a bit more boldly. The presence of the horse calmed her nerves, allowing the elf to find her to momentarily find her voice.