A bundle of white lilies is gently clutched in a gloved hand. Its bearer in an olive-green cloak is carefully strolling towards a row of three stone crosses; each thick base has been pierced well beyond a foot beneath the earth.
Enchanting blue eyes give each cross a fond stare. Soon, the flower-bearer kneels down less than half a yard before the middle one. At least five stems with seven or eight fair white petals on one end are placed in front of every cross.
Fingers within tanned brown leather are then placed atop the nearest carved stone. This red-haired woman with a bewitching visage akin to royalty, despite the dirt and mild bruises on her freckled face, closes her eyes before taking a deep breath. The moment feels slow. The distant howl of the late morning breeze and the chirping of winged critters are quite crisp for her ears.
The burden of grief perhaps encumbers her. And so, she ponders fondly on past days of exploits, for good or ill. Even the eves came with the sweet frivolity formerly joined by those now sleeping under the dug and then spruced earth. Some were wilder and more wondrous than others. The lads bore a hell of vigor to have her scream sinful melodies and nearly had her mind going blissfully blank while either rocking the bed or even making bushes shake. And she thoroughly delighted on their carnal cruelty, a reward for their bravery in battle and just being such fine fellows to get well-acquainted with.
She even mused on one of them being happily married to her, even bless him with a child or two to raise and then carry well his lineage. But such aspirations were quashed by one of the biggest and most barbaric blights of this world. What a loathsome lot, armed and eager to flay and feed upon many; take their trinkets and comforts. Burn the green lands. Poison the crisp waters and the fresh air, even.
A competent hand could have been lent to avert this outcome. Alas, what evil they have all been fighting had split their forces for quite some time. To delay the spread of such darkness and pillaging of the innocent, these three, perhaps even others out there whose corpses have not been found, laid down their lives. Even if their eyes were plucked, their flesh was torn and their limbs maimed, each courageous deed to push back the dreadful tide was perhaps worth the gruesome death to either be a stubborn blockade or give time for those who cannot fend well for themselves to be led away into safety.
Maybe, good fortune is even upon these do-gooders. The fallen ones this lass is paying respects to have pierced something fierce into those armed wretches. And a great curiosity was also discovered, one that can turn the tides back in their favor. Something or someone ancient and rather divine for this world aches to be reawakened, if the shackles are removed and the sinister stupor making them so pitifully weak is cured.
“Their sacrifice will not be for naught,” an armored fellow with a black beard and mustache broke the silence. He, a man nearly on his fifth decade on this earth, can easily tower over the woman if both are on their feet.
She remains silent but only for a few seconds.
“Absolutely,” she sweetly spilled, her voice quite alluring. Her fingers atop the cross are removed. She plants them on her luscious lips before placing them on the cross but for a brief moment. She takes another deep breath.
“They shall all be avenged.”
The tall fellow walks close to be by her side. He too is careful in his steps so as to not disturb his comrades well at rest. The woman opens her eyes just in time to acknowledge his kindness with an open hand just inches before her lovely face. She obliges with a smile and a lifted hand of her own which he meets with a decent grip. She lightly groans while ascending to be off of her knees, dusting them afterwards with her knuckles.
Before leaving this open field beneath a fair sky, surrounded by mossy rock walls and nearby trees, they all look back at those graves. A hand is placed on a respective chest. They all bow in tandem before their fallen friends. Depart, be on recently-fed steeds and ride on, the men and the woman.
A few minutes had passed since they left the grave site.
“We have confirmation of that folk those wretches have imprisoned, where it is being relocated,” declared by another armored bloke with a fine reddish-brown beard.
“Hooded, cloaked, corpse-like, and conquered in gray?” she asked.
“Right on all accounts, my lady,” he reaffirmed with a mild smirk.
Relief is astir in her, though such elegant countenance looks rather solemn.
“I need to free him from his bonds,” she prattled while the hooves keep galloping on.
“And so you shall,” reassured the other rider, the one who helped her back on her feet not long ago.
“But we may need a bit more men to ensure you are not easily disturbed from the sorcery you need to perform, Lady Eden. We need this miracle to work. Too long that these lands have had its share of suffering. Too many good men and women had fed into such ravenous darkness.”
“Very well, my lord,” Lady Eden agreed with him.
“Lead on. I will neither fail you nor our beloved fallen.”
Ride on, warriors and a knightly witch.
Recruit more aid to free a god in gray.
/ E D E A L I A T H 