Warning: This work has been rated 18+ for language, violence, and mature content.
Word Count: 1003
Chapter 2.1
They didn't find much, frankly, but it was enough to bolster their meagre supplies--which they honestly needed to find somewhere to buy more from. Or at least start scavenging properly. Besides, he noticed that Emrys had been watching him with dark eyes. He'd watched him a lot back at Sage's castle, with those same dark eyes.
Lorne fell asleep thinking about Emyrs and his eyes, and tried not to think about what it meant.
~*~*~*~
A shrill, ear-splitting scream had him jolting upright from his spot by the fire, completely startled awake. Lorne stared about for a moment, dagger drawn until he gained his bearings and lowered it. He found Vena watching him from across the fire.
"What the fuck was that?" he asked lowly and watched as Alvena raised a finger to her lips, silently shushing him. He stared at her and she stared back.
"Wraiths," she whispered, lowering her hand.
Lorne's eyes widened and he darted a look back towards the destroyed village. It was only then that he realised that Sage wasn't there. Emrys was, standing on the fringes of the firelight with his back to him while Cass and Issy were cuddled together for warm, apparently asleep.
Another scream rang out and Lorne winced, gaze flickering towards the village and then back to Vena and the fire. "Wraiths?" he asked lowly, shifting to sit cross-legged on his blanket. "What do you mean, wraiths? I thought they didn't exist--"
"Oh, they exist," the elf said, going back to what she'd been doing--which apparently was fletching arrows. Where she'd gotten the materials to make them, he had no idea, but he wasn't gonig to begrudge her taking care of her weaponry. "They very much exist, though I have never thought to find so many in such a place."
Lorne blinked, frowned and then looked away. "How are...they made? What even are they?"
Vena seemed to seriously consider the question, eyes on her hands where she was fletching another arrow before she glanced up at him. Her expression was grim, gaze sad. "Wraiths are created when one dies in a horrible manner--murder, rape, suicide. Things like that, you know?" She huffed and finished up, setting the arrow aside. She didn't reach for another. "And, apparently, whatever happened in that village back there was bad enough that it created an entire legion of them."
"Fuck," he said, quietly. "That can't be good."
"It's not," Vena said, equally as quiet. "And I'm afraid we can't exactly get rid of them...not with a little magic."
"Or a lot, you mean," Emrys said, not overly loudly from far closer than he'd been a moment ago. Lorne jumped, startled by the other prince's sudden appearance--and his sudden statement. He hadn't been expecting it. "Far as I know," he added after a moment, glancing between them, "none of us here have any magic."
Lorne stared at him for a moment, then heaved a sigh and sheathed his dagger. "I see," he said softly, gaze dropping to the fire. He watched it for a long moment.
"Actually," Cass said, startling him again. They all turned to look at him. "That's not...entirely true."
He stared at the younger boy, who was gingerly sitting up with Issy's head in his lap. How his brother was still asleep, Lorne didn't know--and didn't particularly want to know, to be perfectly honest.
"What do you mean, not entirely true, Cassidy?"
Oh, that was Emrys--and he sounded quite displeased with the yougner boy. Lorne swallowed, watching as Cass's gaze darted towards Emrys and then back to him, then to Vena where she sat fletching another arrow.
Lorne saw Cass swallow and then tilt his chin up just a little. "It means that you forgot that some of us actually have magic, Emrys."
Emrys squinted at him, and Lorne frowned but didn't speak. He just watched, gaze darting between Emrys and Cass, to Alvena and back to where Cass sat, hand resting protectively on Issy's shoulder. He tried not to think about that too closely, unwilling to see his younger sibling growing up.
"And, pray tell, what magic is it that you apparently have?"
Cassidy's face paled, then went flushed in the firelight. "I can't tell you--"
"Why not?" Emrys pressed, stalking aroudn the fire and passing behind him. Lorne tensed, watching them closely as Emrys came to a stop aby Cass and towered over him. "Why can't you tell me? Hm, Cass?"
Lorne saw when Cass swallowed thickly, when the younger prince's gaze darted away, when he bit his lip and refused to answer. Emrys snorted and shifted back, away from where Cass was sitting and from Issy, who was stirring now--just a little, but enough to have them all tense and on edge. It felt like the two of them didn't want to have this conversation with Issy right, with his brother so close to waking up--let along when he was awake.
"Emrys," Lorne hissed and the older prince glanced towards him. "Don't--"
Emrys didn't get a chance to respond because it was at that moment that Issy stirred again and woke, shifting slightly before he blinked up at them. They all tensed as Issy sat up a little, Cassidy's hand still on his shoulder as he did so. He rubbed at his face, still tired, and then squinted up at them all.
"What's going on?" he asked, confused. "Why're you all standing there, staring at me?"
Lorne opened his mouth to speak and it was right at that moment that there was another ear-peircing scream, splitting the night air. Issy flinched, startled, and drew a dagger--one that Lorne hadn't seen before--and looked around in surprise with wide eyes. The firelight flickered, reflecting in his eyes as they darted about the camp.
"What the fuck was that?" Issy gasped, pressing into Cass's side.
"Issy!" Lorne hissed at the same time Alvena shushed them again.
"That," she said when they were all quiet and had heard another scream, "was a wraith."
Lorne winced, but Issy spoke again, voice lowered; "What the fuck is a wraith?" A pause, and then he was pushing up onto his knees in confusion and concern. "Wait, where did Sage go?"
Points:
Time spent:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
Are you sure you want to delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Mark this comment as a review? Points will be awarded to the poster.
Your comment was posted, but it wasn’t long enough to count as a review. Reviews need about four complete sentences (at least 250 characters). Try writing another review that explains your thoughts in more detail — the author will appreciate it, and you’ll earn points for it.
125,028 Literary Works • 672,774 Reviews
Hi Scar! I've got some time this afternoon so thought I would pop by for another review - that, and I'm starting to get quite attached to the gang!
I wonder if you could further integrate the first part of this chapter with the rest of it. The part about what they found and Emrys' eyes is relevant, but having it in a separate section when we've just started the chapter interrupted the flow for me. I would sooner start it when Lorne wakes up and then mention the contents from that first section somewhere else. Otherwise it feels a bit like why did we start a new chapter if we're already in need of a section break, you know?
I was going to try and make a suggestion about this bit, but I can't understand what Emrys is saying. If he's saying that nobody has magic then why would he refer to a lot of magic? It might be just me, but I'm stumped!
The interaction with Cassidy after that is also a bit off I think. Cass refers to Emrys forgetting about the magic, but then can't tell them what type of magic? But doesn't Emrys already know? I think this whole section might warrant a reread.
I'm surprised that they didn't wake Issy as soon as they heard the commotion outside! I'm also not too sure how imminent the danger is. I assumed by Vena readying arrows they were going to need to move immediately but then they sat around discussing magic?
This is continuing to feel like a video game with all these quests but I am here for it! Sage however, is apparently not xD
Happy Sunday - see you for the next part!
Icy
Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!! Had to take a quick lunch break there but I am back to get a start on this second chapter here. We'll see how far along this I manage to go.
First Impression: Okayy so the second chapter is already off to a really powerful start here with the vibes we're getting there. Definitely the type of thing that immediately gets things rolling here and I love that even though it appears as if the village won't be that exciting after all it doesn't take long before things end up getting kicked right up to eleven.
Anyway let's get right to it,
Hmm well that was a lot calmer than I thought it was going to be, both the spending of the night and the items they found. Ahhh I keep expecting something massive to come but we're getting faked out for the moment. I do like that though, keeps us on our toes enough that I'm pretty sure we'll be taken very much by surprise when things actually happen.
Ooooh well that's certainly not good. Wraiths in general never seem to appear to signal anything that's remotely nice if I remember correctly, so this is definitely not going to end too terribly well.
Well that's not certainly not a lovely piece of information to receive, for the ones alive here and both for the villagers that must have lived there. It seems there was quite a violent creature that did this atrocity, or perhaps even something a little more intelligent and humanoid.
Ooooh well that's quite the double reveal there. For starters I was almost positive at least one of them must have magic in some form so that's quite the reveal followed immediately by apparently at least one of them having some sort of magic that they all don't seem to now about commonly.
Well that definitely makes things a lot more intriguing, some secret magic that has the potential to cause some anger among all of them seems the likely candidate for what we're seeing here and that definitely suggests we're about to see something a little special go down here.
Well that definitely is a little bit of extra fun there to see some conflict happen there between this lot. Definitely makes for an interesting moment in the midst of the current chaos going on. Well let's see what this little bit of tension is going to take us towards.
"Emrys," Lorne hissed and the older prince glanced towards him. "Don't--"
Well that's a good moment to end on here. You make good use of these random catchphrases being repeated to make it both hilarious and ever so slightly terrifying at the same time which is always the best use of one liners like that so I am loving this.
Aaaaand that's it for this one.
Overall: Overall, a wonderful place to start this second chapter. Enemies getting more difficult, bits of internal conflict (and is that romance I spy :eyes:) and possibly magic as well. Love this little cocktail so far. Let's see where it goes.
As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Harry