A Segment of Story

I was bored and unoccupied, this happened. Here you go, some story:

Note:   It started pretty seriously but after a while I got bored and thought how would 'the inept 'Asther'' do in this situation, rather than the usual character. So the latter half will probably get completely cropped out.

Edit (May 3, 2017):   I haven't forgot about this place. I'm quite busy but I hope I can find time to write something new and fun. Sincerely, Ecrys.

---

   Caalmarc 17, 3E338

      The winter had passed, but left a hardly recoverable damage on the fields of Galandreim. Most of the crops died from the cold and snow, and soon after that, many farm animals and wildlife starved to death. Small settlements have suffered with hunger and most of the gathered food went to the city of Daegnon.

      The land would fully recover in a month's time, stronger and better than before. As for the wildlife, it might take a little longer. People of Galandreim were used to the calamities and suffering. If the nature itself hadn't held a defense against them, the creatures of night would. Most of the people were born in the valley, lived in the valley and would die in the valley... They didn't know any better. In all of this trouble, the feeling of peace and happiness wasn't that hard to find for the most, especially now that the spring season have showed up in the doorstep, and nocturnal life have settled back beneath the surface after the first glint of bright, clear daylight.

      Thunder clashed occasionally above the sunken dark gray clouds . Rain doused the land with light and fast drops. It was two hours before dusk. Two men were riding their horses on the moist dirt road. Both of them wore dark, thick  cloaks and scarfs to shield their faces. Both were equipped with weapons and light leather armor pieces. A faint, unearthly cry echoed in the forest and the man on the left swore silently. 

      "The night will fall before we reach the city. "   He removed his hood and looked skyward. "Keep your eyes on the sky. Beware the Croaks , friend. They are close by."

      Their horses stopped for a second after they reached the stone bridge over a creek running down from the western mountains of Khalanod.

      "What's wrong, boy?" asked the man on the right and motioned the horse to move, but the animal wouldn't budge a step further.

      A man was lying motionless on the grass, about five yards to the left of the road, beside a large rock. 

      "Why- Wait, who is that?" the other one jumped down from his horse and cautiously moved, dark metal sword in hand, towards the body lying on the ground. His friend followed him, pulling the leashes of both the horses.

      The body was of a man in his early twenties, with pale skin and white wavy hair. He wore unusual looking dark cotton clothes and he had a backpack under him. "Is he alive?" asked the blonde man.

      ---

      Several blurred images and faint sounds followed after one another. Were they memories or just another generation of his mind? He could not tell, he couldn't comprehend what he experienced, not when the flow was this fast. There was one thing consistent: the feeling of cold and water trickling onto his eyelids.

      For maybe hours he was sucked inside a whirlpool of unfamilliar memories, but then he heard a voice that repeated, each time stronger, and he felt a sudden force that shook his body.

      "Hey, pal! ... Are you okay? ... "   "Hey!"   Crell checked the pulse of the man. He was alive. He prodded him on the shoulder with his gloved hands. The man opened his eyes a little, and saw the unhooded Crell with his dark hair fallen on his southern brunette face and his gleaming olive eyes. 

      "Ecrys, some water, come on..."   the blonde man took his flask from his pack and gave it to Crell. The white haired fellow had a few sips from it and got up on his feet. He looked... astonished. He was turning around himself in full circles and breathing heavily, loudly. He gathered the will to speak. "Where am I?"

      "In Galandreim, a little off Algrav, two hours of ride away from Daegnon." Crell looked at him amused. "You look like an outsider."

      "You are... Ecrys?" asked the white haired man. Ecrys answered, confused: "Do I know you?"   The white haired man smiled at first. "No... Not really." Then he burst into silent laughter. "And you are?"

      "Crell." he answered.

      "Can I take a ride to Daegnon with you?" he was acting normally but the gleam in his eyes and the mild grin on his face made him seem strange, especially with those clothes on him. "I have no money."

      Ecrys sighed and nodded. "What's you name?"

      "My name?" the white haired man looked confused, just like a bad liar when he couldn't quickly come up with something witty.

      Ecrys glanced at him suspiciously. "Yeah, what do they call you?"

      "Asther." he said after a brief moment where he stood motionless, dreamy.

      Ecrys  got on his horse and motioned Crell to do the same.

      Crell looked questioningly, but unlike Ecrys, he didn't feel anything off about this 'Asther'. He also jumped on his horse. "Hop on then. I'm not that heavy, I think Razor here can carry both of us at once. We have two hours before-"

      Another, much louder screech has echoed in the valley, then another one followed it. Then two at the same time. All three men looked agast.

      "Croaks! Get into the woods! Away from the open land! Go!" Ecrys shouted to Asther as he and Crell did the same. But Asther stayed motionless, terrified at the sight of two dragon-like dark, leathery skinned, big jawed creatures as the two Croaks swooped down upon Asther. 

      "What the hell is he doing?" shouted Crell and jumped down from his horse.

      ---

      After the first encounter with the dangers of this brand new reality, Asther felt desperate and he knew that he was holding his life balanced on a thin thread. Seconds slowed down to minutes in his mind, he knew he needed to run away, but his instinct told him otherwise. Why? Unless... 

      He knew the off putting feeling in his body wasn't just from being exposed to  cold and dampness. He could feel the vis in the freezing wind, in the sprinkling rain, in the fresh grass ground, in them: Ecrys and Crell ... and now, in those two creatures of the night.

      ---

      "The mad fool is going to get himself killed!" said Crell and sprinted toward Asther, ready to risk his own life. Ecrys swore and joined him, hoping the horses wouldn't freak out and stray off, leaving them stranded in the middle of nowhere right before the nightfall.

      ---

      Asther didn't leave his eyes from the approaching Croaks, not even for one second. In his mind, he decided to try something. He tried to control the beasts. <<move closer>> ... <<come on>> ... <<i'm ready for you>>

      The two creatures swooped down on him. And at the last second, he looked with awe on his face, when he found out that his effort was in vain. It was too late. He felt a grasping force on his right and fell on the ground, started rolling and fell right inside the little creek. He was completely drenched in water. Soon he realized that it was only Crell's tackle that took him down, no injury was caused by the beasts. He heard the cry of one of the creatures, then the large leathery wings flapping furiously, and Ecrys swearing.

      "Begone you god damn corpse eaters!" shouted Ecrys whilst panting with fatigue and fear. He dealt a blow to each one and both flew away leaving a streaming trail of dark blood. "I don't think they'll be gone for a long while."

      Asther got up on his feet, waist deep in water. His clothes and his bag dragged him down with extra weight of water. Crell was on his knees beside the creek. "What the fuck were you doing there? Are you genuinely mad?"

      Asther grinned again. "Thank you, for saving my life." he wiped the water off of his face. "I'm, new here... I didn't mean to get you guys into trouble."

      "You're all soaked. ... We're all soaked." Ecrys came close, wiping the thick black creature blood from his ice blue tinted steel sword. "We'll build a fire, as soon as I get these horses tied to a tree."

      "Man, I think we should move out fast." said Crell with a desperate looking expression. "People are awaiting the supplies."

      "You don't have to worry about me." added Asther. "I'll find my way around."

      Ecrys chuckled. "Why are you so eager to get yourself killed?"

      Asther frowned. Then he raised his open right hand, facing the sky. Closed his eyes. <<come on, come on, come on!!>>

      The thoughts in his mind disappeared. He saw nothing, he heard nothing but the gleaming yellow light in his hand. He felt nothing but that for a short while. He closed his eyes again. He could distinctly see strange shapes in front of his closed eyelids, but he didn't remember ever seeing them before. Then he opened his eyes once again, all the water on and around them slowly dried away and a strange bright yellow powdery aura surrounded the three of them. Rain could not get through it. "I did it!" he cried with enthusiasm. Ecrys was astonished. Crell was curious. "Well done. Where did you learn that?"

      Asther did full turns on the spot again and again, taking the full view of the aura, glistening particles of the light element, very slowly floating inside the surrounding barrier two inches away from his body. "I'll try one more thing before we go... no, make it two."

      He closed his mind again to all that happens outside. When he opened his eyes almost a minute ago, he could see Ecrys telling him, or asking him something, but he didn't break his focus. Then he started to feel much lighter than before. He faced upwards and reached with both of his arms upwards. He felt his feet depart from the solid earth ground and rose four feet over the ground. The light aura was still around all three of them, that was the second thing he wondered.

      After a while, the queasy feeling he felt in his stomach suddenly turned into a  crippling dizziness. Then he fell down, face planted the ground. The light aura disappeared around them. "Well." Ecrys knelt beside 'Asther'. The white haired man opened his gray eyes and got up. "Never doing that again. Let's go."

      Asther and Crell on one horse, Ecrys and all of their supplies on the other, they travelled to the city of Daegnon. 

      Their journey was probably eventless, we'll learn the next time if I continue this, thing, whatever it is...

- Sincerely

Ecrys Ealvor (no relation to the story)