The all woke up early the next morning. The black sun was as dark as ever. Luke had been thinking about why they weren't being effected by the Soul Forge's power like everything else. Plants were simple organisms, they weren't strong enough to defend themselves against it. Luke and the others weren't being effected probably because they were more complex organisms and, therefore, able to fend off most of the sun's effect.
He told everyone this as they prepped their horses for the journey to Mt. Gigazet. "So because our bodies are more complex, the Soul Forge isn't sapping our life?" Karana asked.
"Yes," Luke said, "but it's only a matter of time before it does. Once all the plant life and lesser animals are dead it'll focus more of its power on us. When that happens, we'll become as withered as the grass we're standing on."
"Then we have to hurry and find all the sacred stones," Ilum said.
Luke nodded. "Our first destination is Mt. Gigazet." After thanking Merlin for his hospitality and saying their good-byes they rode east toward Mt. Gigazet.
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
"I think we need to rest the horses again," Raven murmured, stroking the mane of her steed gently as the animal breathed in and out heavily.
"Not just yet," Luke replied. "We need to get around this stream and then..."
"Luke, they need to rest," Karana intervened. "I know time is essential but we'll not make it without our horses." The girl slipped out of her saddle as she concluded the sentence and led her horse to the muddy, stagnant water that they had been riding alongside for almost half a day.
"One more rest then," Luke conceded. "But they're going to get weaker and weaker as time passes. Soon we may have to leave them behind." He climbed from his own saddle and followed Karana down to the stream.
A collective shudder passed through the group as the reality of their situation sunk in. They were growing tired, their horses could collapse at any moment and worst of all they still had a long way to travel.
Karana was sitting by the stream, watching her horse drink from the murky waters, when a sounds caught her attention. A shuffle of feet, a rattle of branches, an unearthly moan...
She stood up as the others took notice, and Ilum took his place by her side.
"What is that?"
Not a second later, five corpses stumbled at them from the brush, raising either their boney fingernails or rusted weapons at them.
Zombies.
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." Timothy 4:14 KJV
Raven swung her mace at the closest zombie, backing away, closer to the river. A loud crack sounded as the weapon impacted with the zombie's arm but the creature did not falter.
"Zombies are tough," Luke explained, filling one of the creatures with electricity that made its hair stand on end but did little else. "We need to cut their heads off but getting close without being bitten will be hard." The group moved closer together, most drawing their weapons.
"We can take them!" Izuki exclaimed, firing blasts of void that knocked the zombies back but only for a moment before they advanced again.
"We'll end up in the river if we back up much further," Ilum declared, halting his slow retreat. Karana stopped also, by his side and they shot simultaneous bolts of fire and ice.
"Then we use the water to our advantage," Raven decided. She took another two steps back and raised her arms above her head. "If you duck it will make this easier." The others lowered themselves to the ground and Raven brought her arms forward and as she did so, a great mass of water rose from the river and swept towards the zombies. It flowed around Raven and over the heads of her friends to sweep the zombies away.
"Okay, let's move away from the river and prepare for their counter attack!" Luke decided.
(Just so you know, these aren't the normal get-bitten-and-turn-into-a-zombie zombies. Before the black sun came, they were just corpses rotting in the ground. The power of the eclipse brought them back to life. So, if you get bitten by one you won't turn into a zombie.)
Luke began to charge his magic as they ran toward their enemies. With one thrust of his hands he sent a ball of void into one of the zombies' chests. The zombie flew backward and into a tree. Luke heard a loud snap when it slammed into the tree. The force of the impact must have broken its spine. But, even with its spine broken the zombie continued its approach, using its arms to crawl.
Luke quickly assessed the situation. These zombies were already dead, so they could feel no pain. How can they hurt something that couldn't be hurt?
That's when it dawned on him. Healing magic! he thought. Healing magic brings life to those it is used on. These zombies are past the point of death and have turned into the undead. Using healing magic should bring them back to that point of true death.
Luke turned to Raven. "Raven, use your healing magic."
"What good will that do?" she asked.
"Just trust me."
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. She held out her arms and cast a wave of healing magic on the zombie with the broken spine. As soon as the magic touched the zombie its skin went up in white flames. The zombie flailed for a few seconds before the flames reduced its body to ash.
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
"They can't die because they're undead, they're past the point of dead but when you heal them, you bring them back to the point of true dead," Luke explained as he hurled another blast of void to hold the zombies back. Raven brought her hands together until the tips of her fingers were touching and then slowly she moved them apart, creating an expanse of white vapour as she did so. Izuki's eyes widened in alarm and she began to retreat but Karana layed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It wont hurt us," she said with a small smile, "it's still just healing magic to us."
Raven spread her fingers wide and the vapour expanded and then she released it. The magic seemed to roll through the air, its pace almost as slow as the zombies and as it moved it left a trail of sparks. The first zombie was caught up in the web, bursting into flames and then the next and a third. The magic advanced towards the final two zombies who had not yet suffered injuries and Raven felt a touch of apprehension. Would it still harm them? Or would it merely give them life?
Luke placed his hand on Raven's shoulder. Just by looking at her expression he knew what she was thinking. "It will only give them life if you want it to."
Raven looked at him for a moment, the nodded. She turned back to the last of the zombies and threw her magic at them. They burst into white flames and turned int ash just like the others had.
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
Karana knelt beside one of the corpses and muttered a brief prayer, Ilum by her side.
"Please, accept these lost souls, gods above, and give them the rest they deserve. Protect us on the rest of our journey."
She stood and turned to Ilum, worry written all over her face.
"Why must it be so hard?" she asked. She had had no intention of crying, but the stress of the journey and the turn of events was beginning to get to her. She hid her face in Ilum's offered shoulder as Raven and Luke spoke to Izuki nearby.
Why is life so difficult, now? Will we ever succeed?
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." Timothy 4:14 KJV
(If Luke and Raven are going to get together we need to do something with them.)
"So this is all the black sun's doing?" Raven asked.
Luke nodded. "There's no other explanation for it. You've seen what it did to the plants, there's no doubt it had other effects."
"That's scary," Izuki said. "I've never seen a zombie before."
"Neither have I," Luke said. "The only zombies I have ever heard of were from stories of necromancers of old." He motioned to the piles of ash that were once zombies. "Zombies controlled by necromancers aren't this uncoordinated, so it must be the eclipse."
"These zombies may not be the only ones we may encounter in this forest," Raven said.
"I agree. We'll camp here for the night, I'll stay on watch while all of you sleep."
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
One by one, the companions drifted to sleep. Ilum and Karana lay one beside the other, their breathing harmonized and their bodies entwined as they held each other close. A little to their left, Izuki was curled in a small ball and to her left sat Luke; awake and alert. Completing the huddle of bodies was Raven.
She slept with her head on her satchel and her body slightly curled as if to cocoon herself against the dangers of the world. She looked at peace but her dreams were far from peaceful. In her head, the zombies were alive again and they cried out to her, pleading with her to not hurt them, to not condemn them to their shallow graves.
In her dream, as sleepers often do, Raven found that she had little control over herself. An awful smile curled across her lips as she cast the spell to turn the zombies to ash.
Raven awoke, her whole body shaking with the deed as tears ran down her face.
Luke looked to see Raven awake. She seemed shook up about something. "Raven, what's the matter?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I had a bad dream."
"Come sit with me," Luke said. She did what she was told and sat next to Luke. "Tell me about it."
"I dreamed I was killing the zombies."
"That battle was frightening for all of us, it's perfectly normal to have nightmares about it."
She shook her head again. "The zombies weren't what scared me," she said. "What scared me the most was that I enjoyed killing them."
He looked at her then. "You think you're a monster for doing what you did?" Luke asked.
"I wouldn't have phrased it that way, but basically yes."
"Raven," his voice went soft. "Doing what you must to survive is no sin, but killing for pleasure is. I know you would not hurt anyone just for the sake of hurting them. What you had was merely a dream, and dreams do not make a person evil."
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
"Thank you," Raven said softly, her lips forming a weak smile. "Oh I'm so silly. Crying over nightmares like a little girl." She laughed lightly and reached up to smudge the tears across her face. Luke placed his hands on top of hers, leaning closer so that she felt his warm breath against her face.
"No you're not," he said softly, gently. "The world's a nightmare now and you're one of the few brave enough to fight it." Raven wanted to laugh again, her throat bubbling with pure delight but she was caught by his eyes and the touch of his hands against hers. Her breath caught in her throat and a twinge of guilt jerked her away.
What am I doing? Raven wondered, entwining her hands with Luke's and lowering both pairs. Am I falling in love? Now when so many suffer?
