Tilte: Tiles of Creation

Chapter 2 -- Song For the Dead (first section)

Author: William D. Gregory

Rating: PG to PG-13 (for horror content.)

Disclaimer: This is original fiction. The world and all character's contained in it belong to the author.

Tiles of Creation is set in the world of Anhop, which is a fantasy world based on D&D RPG own by Wizards of the Coast.

By William D. Gregory.

The nauseating smell of battle pierced the black smoggy air. The dead and the dying littered the road, their moans and wails creating a devilish song.

Elawyn looked down at the impression of a woman's body left in the mud. Kneeling down, she ran her hand across the preserved expression of pain left by the woman's face. She could feel her pain as she touched the mud.

The shouts of a guard brought her back to reality. Looking up she saw him waving his glaive in the air, shooing the crows away from a long line of corpses next to the wall. Elawyn hung her head, saddened by the sight. Turning her attention back to the road. "Its time," she said to no one in particular. Elawyn gently pushed her hands into the muddy impression and closed her eyes concentrating on the image of a woman who fit into the impression. Opening her eyes brought the horror of battle to her.

Elawyn watched the events at the gate replay before her. Her mother had taught her how to use the Sight to gain a glimpse into past events but never had it been this clear or real. She normally felt as though she was looking through a window-this time she saw through Miranda's own eyes. Elawyn shrugged, it must be the newness of the happenings. She could feel Miranda' s fear as she tried to escape the road. Abruptly pain ripped through Elawyn 's shoulder as the arrow tore into Miranda. The image began to fade as the present came back.

Bewilderment crossed her child like face. It didn't tell me what I needed to know. Looking back to the wall, she saw the line of corpses shrink as friends and family claimed their loved ones. Elawyn pushed her hands back into the impression. "What happened to you?" An odd tingling sensation raced through her body. Bending over, she ground her hands deep into the mud and continued muttering, "What happened to you?" Elawyn felt a strange energy hidden deep within the impression. She pushed her hands deeper into the mud while concentrating on the source of the unfamiliar energy. Without warning Elawyn shot upright screaming in pure agony as the energy tore through her body shredding muscle fibers and imploding blood vessels while clawing at her soul.

Elawyn gasped explosively believing it would be her last breath but the pain was gone. She felt as though she was spinning and tried to steady herself but found that there was nothing to reach for. Looking around she could see nothing but empty blackness. I must be dead, she though while trying to reconcile this experience. Her mother has told her that using the Sight could be painful but nothing she had learned in her short life could have prepared her for this. Unexpectedly, Elawyn came to the realization that her eyes were closed. Slowly she opened her eyes and gazed at her hands. They appeared to be normal. Elawyn looked up at a bizarre new world; as far as the eye could see, a silent world composed of a billowed grayish white mist stretched-out before her. Everything felt still, there was no breeze to push the mist around yet it moved. Even when a large bank of mist rolled over her, she felt no movement.

"Where am I?" She questioned the mist.

"You are here." Her own voice bluntly answered her. "And you are there."

"Where is here?" Puzzled, Elawyn tried in vain to bring meaning to the answer. "How can I be here and there at the same time? And what do you mean by here and there?"

"Tally not or ye shall be forever imprisoned." The gravity of her situation sank in. She was not dead, but within the Sight itself. Her mother had told her it was possible to actually step into the Sight, but it was dangerous to do so. Many had tried, but very few had returned and those who did return were forever changed by the experience. Elawyn knew she had precious little time to find the answers she desired. If her spirit didn't return to her body soon she would be forever trapped here. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she repeated her question. The mist did not answer. She screamed the question again and again nothing came forth. Sadly, Elawyn turned her focus back to her body lying in the road.

"What was that?" Other then the sound of her own voice, the mist had not made any other noise. Now she heard something. An odd noise floated towards her. It seemed to come from every direction. Knowing she was short on time, Elawyn franticly ran forward. She felt as though she was running in place, the mist seemed not to move and she questioned if she was really moving. I have to be moving, the sound is getting closer, she thought. A deafening scream of untold suffering stopped Elawyn dead in her tracks. Cautiously she moved forward. Another scream sliced through the mist while piercing her soul with an unspeakable agony of prolonged suffering. Steeping forward a blurry object came into view. Realizing this was the answer she sought, Elawyn began running towards it.

The mist parted revealing a horrific sight. Laying face down in the mist was Miranda. A black horse like creature with a gray shrouded rider stood over her. Elawyn recognized it as the same creature she saw in the abbey courtyard. Two hazy black arms ending in twisted demonic clawed hands reached down to the girl. With cruel efficiency the hands slowly cut Miranda's soul into tiny pieces that were devoured by the beast. Each time the hands cut, Miranda would wail in unparallel agony. Elawyn became nauseous as she watched the beast feast on the poor girl's soul. The hands stopped cutting as beast turned to look at her. It grinned devilishly at her as the hands came closer. Elawyn tried to back away but found herself unable to move. Slowly the hands inched towards her. In vain, Elawyn tried to back away from the approaching hands; her mind desperately tried to find any escape route.

The pain she had felt earlier returned. Looking down she witnessed one hand slowly penetrate the right side of her abdomen. Reaching inside of her, the hand lovingly grasped her soul, squeezing and shaping it into a long cylinder. Each squeeze brought a new level of pain to her as Elawyn began to give into this horrible fate. A single claw of the other hand lopped off a small chunk of her soul causing her release a scream worse then the one that had led her here. Elawyn looked back to Miranda's body, a small portion of her soul still remained; however, it seemed to be regenerating. The beast gazed at Elawyn then to Miranda. Returning its gaze to her, the beast smiled devilishly as it consumed the first chunk of Elawyn's soul.

Elawyn's mind raced, at first she though this would be a painfully slow death. But seeing Miranda's soul regenerating before her eyes confirmed that this would be an ever-lasting fate. First the beast would carve up Miranda's soul and while it regenerated, the beast would do the same to her only to have the cycle start over again and again for all eternity. She screamed again as the hand sliced another chunk from her. Elawyn found herself rapidly falling into a pit of despair as she came to terms with her fate. Another slice and she screamed once more. From somewhere inside came strength and the will to fight. "NO!" Elawyn yelled. With the strength of a giant she knocked the hand holding he soul away. Lunging forward she grabbed the last piece of her soul cut from her before the beast could devour it. The beast roared in anger, drawing back one of its hands. Violently it slashed her across the belly threatening to disembowel her. Elawyn reeled backwards. Holding the wound closed she began to run. The beast made a sadistically happy sound as it gave chase.

Stumbling through the mist, Elawyn search in vain for an exit. Her mind raced with fear as she tried to fight off the debilitating effects of massive blood loss. She could feel the beast closing in from behind. Her mind seemed to wander as the beast came within sight. Images of her life passed by until the sight of her body laying in that muddy road next the impression Miranda fixed itself in her mind. The beast grabbed her by the shoulder spinning her around. Elawyn scream, but instead of incoherent noise the words of a chat rang out. The beast lunged towards her but found nothing but the billowing grayish white mist to grab.

End of Chapter 2 - First Section