The stranger withdrew his weapon, just as, “For Teffrin,” emerged from his lips.
Annchi screamed as the man’s blade pierced through a lady sitting closest to him, blood spilling from her mouth. Theo withdrew his sword and charged forward.
A dark hand came from behind the stranger and yanked his head back. A blade slid across his neck, so smooth and quick he almost missed it. He knew it had happened when the stranger dropped his blade, hand coming to clutch his slit throat.
His attacker knocked him to the ground, her curly hair short and coiled tight, her skin deep and, now blood-spattered. He was about to thank her. But he stopped short, fear sinking deep in his spine. The women was dressed in black, in a leather vest and shirt, her arms bare. One arm decorated with a a snake tattoo, running from her forearm up to her shoulder.
Theo raised his sword. “Seize her. Seize the serpent!”
The other knights made no move to do any such thing, while the woman stared at him dourly. “Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
“Theo, this is Emogen.” Annchi gestured towards her, alarmingly calm in the fray. “My guard.”
“This is your guard?” Theo stepped in front of Annchi, brandishing his sword all the while. “A serpent?”
Emogen scoffed, wiping the blood from her dagger on her trousers. “Former serpent.”
“As if there’s a difference.”
“Theo, it’s alright. Em’s in my father’s employ.”
“So you might want to drop the sword, knight, before you take out one of his majesty’s inside men.” She smiled in that slink way only a serpent could smile. “Or women.”
“In the name of Teffrin!”
Theo turned towards the ring, body firm between Annchi and the serpent woman. Out in the ring, a knight sparred with a new intruder, he fell moments later. Beside him, his horse lay impaled on a spear of black metal. Metal that melted into sludge.
“For the abandoned god,” the intruder roared, hands burning as another spear grew in his palms. straight from the forge of sorcery. He raised it, pointing it towards the stands.
Theo grasped Annchi’s chair and wheeled her back, diving in front, shield raised. “Get her out of here,” he demanded the serpent, against his better judgement. “Now!”
The spear lodged in his shield, the force of it knocking him back a step or two. Then it melted, red-hot. He flung the shield aside before it had a chance to scald him. The black metal hit the ground and gurgled like living tar. “Throw me a shield.”
Golden light struck the ground behind the intruder, distracting him from his target. The intruder turned and raised his weapon, roaring out Teffrin’s name once again, only to be thrown aside in a blast of light.
The attacker raised a bow that shone like stars, and felled the mage with one arrow to the neck. As he fell, the spear in his hand melted like magma against his flesh.
Theo was so numb, it took him a moment to realise why everyone was screaming. Why they were standing and shouting and pointing, not at the dead mage with the melted ribcage, but at the attacker with the bow. Because he stood in the centre of the arena, hands and feet sheathed in gold, wings white like a dove stretching from his back. A young man and a wolf by his side.
“Is that a seraph?” Behind him, Annchi’s voice trembled, but there was a delight in her awe.
In Theo, there was only dread. What would bring a seraph to them, of all places? And who was he seeking?
hii my name is abby and i am new to writeblr so i thought i’d take a moment to introduce myself!
i’m 23 and i write stories about lesbians falling in love (i am a lesbian as well)
my current wip is OUT OF BODY, a dark academia ghost romance. here is an aesthetic i made for it!
i will definitely be posting more about it! i’d love to find more friends here so feel free to follow & i’ll follow back. looking forward to meeting you all :)
Love this aesthetic so so much. Welcome to writeblr!!
TRAITS:Paladin of the Vale Knights, Adviser to the Northern Vale, Mentor of the Champion
STRENGTHS: Knowledgeable and Influential
WEAKNESSES: Tradition and Dismissive
EXTRA: The Vale Knights are the only humans who still know True Speak, although it is learned rather than inherent and limited
FIRST IN TEXT INTRODUCTION;
The first time Connor had stepped foot in the Valelands, his mentor, Harlas had been there to greet him. Safety was what the man had given him when he was younger, with his neat beard, large hands and gruff assurance; the only adult in Connor’s life who had ever looked at him like he was meant for something.
It was Harlas who greeted Connor whenever he awoke in a cold sweat, nightmare fresh in his mind. It was the echo of Harlas’s voice that threatened to pull him under.
Your quest is complete, Champion. Well done. He would say, and Connor would lose all air because he knew what was going to happen next, had lived through it time and time again in his dreams. He knew the reward a Champion recieved for completing their quest.
Let us take you home.
They had never lied to him, Connor supposed. But they had known– they should have known– that after everything, how could home be somewhere they were not?
