Skye's Arrival

Feeling defeated after an hour, I get to my feet. I just need to get supplies, then I can leave. I can go back into my hole and try to free myself of this pain. I have a year left in purgatory. All I have to do is get past my sentence, then I can rid myself of this pathetic mortal weakness.

After a few hours of walking, I get to the capital. The city is covered in stone, marble, and the finest wood. Houses and shops of every make, purpose, and design is present, surrounding a great flowered field used for festivals and traveling merchants. The capital of this great nation is call Gumway. It’s mixture of foundations is not by age, but of choice. It’s famous for its blended heritage and motto: Nothing is finer, than mixed lives.

I nearly gag at this. There may be mages, healers, sorcerers, humans, and every other thing you can think of; but there is still those with superiority complexes. I shake my head. I’m always cynical after a switch.

Once I’m in the crowd with all the traveling merchants, I begin my shopping. They may not always be the highest fashion, but they’re more willing to bargain. To be honest, their products are usually more durable. I manage to buy a pair of boots and a pair of sandals, some new clothes more suited to the warming season, and a new bow; I also got some more arrows included with my bow.

I quickly go to the bathhouse and clean myself off, glad to throw away my clothes that have become ripped and covered in blood and mud. When I’m cleaned, I wrap a towel around my waist and walk to the sauna room.

I sit in the steamed room and close my eyes as I relax. Images fill my mind. Rain, such an amount that it never seemed like it would end. Blood, so much that it never would seem to disappear. Metal. Knives. Swords. Bodies. Death. So much death. So much pain.

I snap my eyes open when I feel a warmth begin in my chest. Nope, not today Dawn. I stand up and notice three woman looking at me. I look down, and I appear normal in this body. Nothing is growing out of me, and nothing glowing. They look away when I make eye contact with them, so I stand up and leave. I don’t need to draw attention to myself.

I pull on a pair of loose brown knee length pants up my long cream colored legs, after pulling on my undergarments. I pull on a loose thin sleeved white shirt and lace it with a black corset over it, protecting my hourglass frame. Delicately, I take my mahogany color hair and twist it to a loose fitting bun, allowing whisps of hair to frame my soft face. I smile at my speckled green eyes and purse my pink lips. I bat my full lashes and then roll my eyes, trying to get into a playful mood.

Giving up, I sling my black bag over my shoulder and decide to go enjoy the quieting evening. I go to the vendors and look at sparkling jewelry and potions. I buy a few potions and even buy a silver chained necklace with thin silver leaves delicately carved along it.

After buying some traveling food, I stop at one of the vendors selling fried bread covered in powdered sugar. I take a bite and smile at it’s delicious taste. It has a bit of vanilla in it with a hint of orange. I nearly melt in my skin as I take another bite. When I pick up my second piece, it’s shot out of my hand by an arrow. I look at the empty space in surprise, blinking while I look to my right and see my food pinned to the stall by a green feathered arrow.

I look to my left and see a green haired woman cackling on top of a tree branch near the start of the vendors. She lowers her silver bow and smirks at me. I can see blue runes on her arms and roll my eyes.

The woman waggles her fingers at me. “I smelled you were in town, and decided a greeting was necessary.”

“Alona,” I say as I notice the crowd is now forming around us, giving us a clear space. “How are you?”

She shrugs as she hops to the ground. “Better than Morticia.”

“How do you know about her?” I ask, starting to catch a theme here.

She gives a sharp tsk as she closes the gap between us. She touches my cheek as her red fingernail strokes it. Her olive skin is radiating an intoxicatingly sweet aroma. “Because she visited me during a session with our master.” She looks me over, a smirk on her red lips. “It was rather enjoyable seeing her so weak after all of these years.”

“Would you like me to do the same to you?” I ask, the offer given with a warm warning tone.

“I’m not here to fight you Skye.” She chuckles darkly, “Maybe Dawn would like a turn instead.”

My eyes narrow. “They didn’t.”

She twists a piece of my hair. “Oh yes, they did. Do you know who is looking for you now? He wants to say hi.” She grabs my neck, cutting off circulation as she chuckles darkly, “Let Dawn come out to play.”

Yeah no. “That’s a no from me.” I say as I grab her arm, letting black flames ignite where her skin touches mine. She screams and throws me into a tree, making it snap in half like a twig. I grunt as I stand back up and race at her. My fist connects with her face. She folds backwards while I kick out and spin, making my leg connect with her back and kicking her across the city. By this time we have people screaming and evacuating the town.

Alona comes shooting back at me with blinding speed, grasping my waist as she tackles me. I slam my elbows in between her shoulder blades, making her lose her balance. She falls to the ground as she rolls. She gets her feet under me and kicks hard, launching me towards the sky.

I chuckle as I curl into a ball. “A little feisty today Alona,” I call as I come out of my ball, and rocket towards her as I fall. As I fall, a black glint catches my eye. I pull my arms in as Alona snarls below, quickening my descent. The black thing misses me by inches, but it does leave a lingering feeling of dread in its wake. Considering that I notice this while hurtling towards Alona, says something about that casters level of power.

I aim my fist towards her once I’m close enough. Alona catches my fist and grins, squeezing it as hard as she can, making my bones break. She uses her other hand to hold me off the ground. “You’re so weak Skye,” she taunts. “Tell you what. Accept the invitation my master offered, and I’ll let you go without shattering your bones.”

Ignoring my pain, I wrap my free hand around her throat. My voice is hard as a feral grin spreads on my face, “Tell him I’m declining his offer.”

She screams as white runes cover my hand in a fire that engulfs her, making her disappear out from under me.

I begin to fall again since she’s no longer holding me up. I curl into a ball as I roll, coming out of it on my feet as I straighten. There is complete destruction while people gape at me. Well, that’s my cue to leave.

I toss my still neatly kept hair and take a step towards the city. “Skye Loval of the Celestials.” A deep voice roars behind me.

I stop dead in my tracks and turn around, seeing a being I know only too well. His ashen eyes pull all thought to him, while his body attracts all energies towards him, devouring it without a thought. Just being in the same vicinity of him is taxing. Well shit.