"Salem! Salem! Salem!"
Water splashed into Salem's face causing him to jolt out of his stupor. He looked around and found himself on the shore near his home village. His bare feet rested in the shallow water and his pant legs were rolled up to stop them from getting wet.
In front of him was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair similar to his that seemed to shine in the sun. Similar to him she stood barefoot in the shallow water but her skirt was high enough that it wasn't a bother. She pushed her glasses up and puffed out her cheeks in mock frustration.
"Were you dozing off again? What in the world do you think about when you stare off like that?"
Salem just stared at her, his eyes wavering a bit as the scene slowly sank in. His face broke into a smile, one of pure joy before his body launched forward to pull the girl into a bear hug. "Sophia!"
The girl gasped as she was practically lifted off her feet before giggling. Her arms wrapped around him lightly back, reciprocating the affection.
"While I am fine with hugs usually Salem, you are starting to squeeze me too hard!"
Salem realizing his mistake quickly let go and took a step back. His hands however stuck to her shoulder like glue, that if he let go of her she might disappear. Taken from his grasp once again.
"It's you… You're still alive?"
His hands shook uncontrollably, at first she was a little worried and perhaps freaked out but soon her big sister instincts kicked in and she placed a hand on top of his.
"Yes, Salem, I'm still here. Your big sis isn't going anywhere. You must have had a nightmare or something, you were dozing off for a long time. Wait! Were you sleeping during one of my lectures!"
Salem quickly straightened up and eventually after making sure she wouldn't disappear let go and waved his hands in front of himself in an exaggerated motion.
"No! Of course not! My sister's lectures never get boring. In fact I am greatly interest in thhheeee-"
"The fog…"
"Yes! The fog! Please continue!"
Salem began nodding his head up and down as he tried to save himself from his sister's wrath. Sophia narrowed her eyes and punched the palm of her hand.
"Doze off again and next time it will be worse than some water hitting you awake."
Salem could only nod his head and made a quick mental note that he is already on her bad side today. That means for the rest of the day he must tread carefully until tomorrow when her wrath meter resets.
He remembered the last time he made her mad by scaring her while she was reading under a tree. She ended up closing her book and lost her spot because of it. Next thing he knew she used her wind magic to blast him all the way to the top of said tree.
She knew of his fear of heights and due to that it took him 30 painful painstaking minutes to get down. He slowly stepped on each branch methodically with a shaky foot. What truly kept him going though was that she waited at the bottom the whole time, he knew if he did fall she would catch him.
A smile appeared on her face as she turned around and spread her arms toward the sea. The sea went on for what appeared to be miles out before it was consumed by a thick impenetrable fog.
A fog which stretched out like a wall which surrounded the island. Keeping everything in it like a prisoner in a cage.
"For the past 200 years the fog has slowly advanced toward us. Legend has it that it started with the shattering of the Tyraness, our world's beacon of light which kept the fog at bay."
Her arms fell to her sides as she took a deep breath in. Salem listened attentively as her sister rambled on. Her passion for history and the world was truly admirable and also adorable. As her little brother she was often the one she would drag along to share this passion with.
"What's inside the fog?"
His sister turned around with a mischievous grin and crouched down low. Her hands made claw shapes, like those of a witch, as she advanced toward Salem slowly.
"No one knows, all expeditions into the fog either never return or the crew comes back mad and mutated. In the end the only thing that comes out of the fog are the beastmen, humanoid beings with animal creatures like big claws!"
She jumped toward Salem like an animal but he remained unphased by her antics.
"I ain't scared of no beastmen, if they ever came out of the fog I would take up the sword and slay every last one."
She delivered a small punch to his chest with a giggle.
"That's the Arkan spirit I like to see. As a village on the shore we are raised to fight from a young age in case of a beastman invasion."
Salem puffed out his chest in pride as her hand retreated back to her side.
"You can always count me!"
"Salem! Sophia! It's time for dinner!"
A 3rd feminine voice appeared off in the distance toward the village. The voice filled Salem with a sense of warmth and quickly he turned around to respond.
"Coming Mom!"
He ran toward the voice with a bright smile on his face. His nose was instantly filled with the scent of freshly cooked soup and his favorite, a steamed potato. His mouth instantly watered over the smell of his Moms cooking and how well she made everything to perfection.
Soon, however, he slowly stopped running as he realized Sophia hadn't moved an inch. Turning around he stared at her back as she faced the fog. She didn't move an inch as her hair and skirt blew in the wind.
"Are you coming Sophia?"
A worried tone clouded Salem's voice as he continued to stare at Sophia.
She didn't move however, it was as if her body just locked itself in that position. No acknowledgement came, not even a voice back. Nothing but the waves crashing against the sand could be heard.
Salem let out a nervous laugh, "Alright Sophie, joke's over… Mom's waiting, you know that?"
His voice went from nervousness to threatening. A quick flip flop which left his mouth while his mind tried to process the situation. Soon however it became clear at what Sophia was staring at; it wasn't the fog itself but what was it in.
A massive fleet of ships could be seen coming out of the fog and heading toward the island, the sails were a bright red with what appeared to be claw marks from a 3 clawed beast. The ships were absolutely massive, even from afar he could tell that one ship could house an entire battalion.
Fear filled Salem and his hands began to shake. "Beastmen-" he only managed to squeak that out at the sight of those massive haunting ships.
They are coming. There are so many. They are damn near 10 times our size. No larger than that. We have to go. We can't win. I should run. I should run… Sophia.
His body began to move toward Sophia instinctively, "Sophia!" he began running toward her, calling out her name in his cowardice tone.
"Let's go! Let's run!"
Soon however he stopped as Sophia slowly turned around. Gurgling noise hit his ears, a disgusting gurgling noise like the body was trying to force something out.
When she turned around her blood began to leak out of her mouth and her eyes. Her chest rose and lowered fast as if she ran a marathon and appeared labored. She stared at Salem with pleading eyes, desperate and scared.
At this point the waves had no rhythm, crashing back and forth, as if time itself was rewinding.
"I thought I could count on you-"
That one line hit harder than the wave that followed.
The ships got closer as the sea turned red and soon a massive wave overtook both Sophia and Salem.
…
Salem shot up out of his sleeping bag in a cold sweat. His eyes met the raging storm out the cave entrance which calmed himself down significantly.
"Harhar- got yourself a bad dream?"
Turning his head right he once again saw the blind seer tending to the fire which kept the cave warm. Salem put a hand to his head and let out a small groan.
"Yeah- it was just a bad dream."
At least that's what he wanted to tell himself. All dreams supposedly had meanings, as the old saying goes, but Salem didn't want to think about that right now.
"What was it about?"
The seer with his clothes still wet from being outside rubbed his hand's together before facing his palms toward the flame.
"It was about the attack on my village... Did you hear about it?"
"Not much, you were muttering in your sleep however, I can only imagine what you went through. I am sorry for what happened."
"No... It's fine, it shouldn't bother me. I'll be fine-"
The seer only nodded his head wordlessly and soon a solemn silence fell between the two.
Despite trying everything to get his mind off it or trick it into thinking about something different the thoughts still rushed into Salem's mind. The image of his sister, the boats, the fog, the sea. All those horrific images which burned themselves into his mind and refused to let go like a curse haunted him.
The way his sister looked at him, was it the same way she did when he ran? He never looked back to see. He just remembers dropping his weapon and running as the ships crashed into the shore. What everyone else did, didn't matter to him.
He squeezed his hand steadily as the flame cast shadows in the cave. In his mind they warped into something more sinister and savage but he knew it was merely a trick of the mind. It didn't loosen the effect of fear it had over him however.
Perhaps I should have been the one to die. Yeah sure I would have died but perhaps it would have given everyone else enough time to truly bunker down. At the end of the day as a shore village we knew it was going to come eventually and everyone else was prepared but me.
Yes! I should have died. In the world where the strongest are meant to survive it should have been me. I could have jumped in front of my sister and took a sword strike. Let my body be a shield so that she could survive.
That would have been my ticket to heaven as well! In defense of my village and perhaps sacrificing myself I would find myself in the sun's golden embrace where I would live in calm and joy forever like everyone else in my village. Then my sister could be here instead of me.
No! You lost that chance, you will never see them again even in the after life. Your ticket to heaven has been lost, they don't take cowards and you know it!
But what if I run back now. Yes! Head back to the village with a sword in my hand and try to take as many down with me as possible! Would that redeem me? Would that stop me from ever having these nightmares again? I-
Bonk!
"Gah-"
Salem held the top of his head which was bonked by the seers staff.
"It looked like you were having self destructive thoughts, thought I should knock a little sense into you harhar- chosen one! You must have some guilt as the last survivor of your village I understand but you were never meant to die that day. No something greater for you awaits."
The seer gave him a small smile and unlike those empty words yesterday there was a sort of zeal in his voice. This time he truly did believe what he was saying, perhaps after yesterday's event he thought about what to say if such a situation came up again and was prepared this time.
It was enough to make Salem perk his head up in stunned silence at the Seers words. The gears in his head turned as the Seer awaited his answer.
What does this old man know about me? About my family? About my village? Clearly old age has gotten to him and he is some nutjob living in the woods after all, yes! That is the only possible conclusion.
There is still time, he can't keep up with me with that frail body of his, if I run I can go back to the village. I can fight like I was supposed to do that day. Like a true son of Arkan village, a village of warriors ready to fight beastmen when the time comes!
Salem with his newfound energy immediately stood up and made a mad dash out of the cave. He had no regard for his own safety as he ran into the heavy storm outside.
Without stopping he glanced around trying to see if he can recognize the path he took to reach here so he can retrace his steps back home. Back to his village.
Maybe I can find other survivors, the seer did say I was the only one but perhaps it was a lie. I am sure there are others, everyone else was always so much stronger than me, braver than me, better than me. We can rally together and push the beastmen out!
He pushed past overgrown brush and branches as he ran straight from the cave. The woods were dark as dark clouds covered the sky but it did not stop Salem. His clothes instantly became wet and his arms became covered in small lacerations as the branches scraped against him while running by.
It's straight, as long as I run straight I can make it to some sort of shore, from there I certainly will know where I am. This is a small island after all, I may not know the forest well but I do know the shore line.
After running for what seemed forever soon Salem pushed into a small clearing where at the corner of his eye he was a flash of metal. A small grin spread on his face as he saw it, a sword.
How it got there, why it was there? None of that went through his head as he lifted the blade and examined it.
Yes! One step closer. My place in heaven is almost secured. I will join you all, I promise, I promise Sophia. As a child of Arkan village I will wash away this disgrace I made. I can still fix it, my mistake, it's not too late.
Salem froze as the ground began to shake. Across the clearing the trees began to move, different from how they danced naturally in the wind, as if something was pushing them out of the way.
He saw two yellow eyes come into view and stare at him like a maniac. A massive creature on two legs which appeared human but the body of a bull came forward. It let out a small huff as it gripped the greataxe in its hand that looked like it could split a man in half easily.
"Be-beastman!"
Salem squeaked out at the sight. Instantly his tone became fearful and he felt his whole body screaming at him to run, to turn tail. His cowardice clashed with his shame as he felt the need to run but didn't.
No! Steady now! This is it! This is the first step on your way back to heaven, to restore your honor! To avenge your village!
With shaky hands he readied the sword in his hand, gripping it with two hands, he got low into a combative stance. The beastman sneered as it charged at Salem like a bull, the ground shook with each step it took and its massive strides made it much faster than Salem expected.
It raised its massive great axe in the air and slammed down where Salem once was. Last second Salem managed to side step out of the way. He prepared to counter attack but the shock wave of the great weapon slamming itself into the floor matched with the slickness of the mud due to heavy rain caused him to stumble.
He lost balance, tripped, and fell to the floor. He was a sitting duck for the beastman, who quickly pulled his weapon out of the ground and instantly slashed it sideways toward Salem. Salem raised his sword and prepared to meet the great axe.
Clank!
His sword flew through the air as it was forced out of his hand. He let out a grunt as his body slid across the floor and his head slammed into a tree.
The world became dizzy, he felt like he wanted to throw up, everything hurt and his body screamed at him to stop whatever he was doing. With his blurry vision he could barely see but he saw it. The beastman walked forward to him and he felt the pressure around his neck as he was forcefully lifted off the floor.
The world became clear slowly again and he could make out what was infront of him, teeth. Sharp teeth and lots of it.
So that's it? That is where my determination, my will got me. I couldn't even kill one.
He wanted to cry, wanted to scream, wanted to bury his head into the ground and never awake again.
That was pathetic, that was stupid, I wish I didn't do it, I hate it. I'm pathetic, I'm stupid, why did I do that? Surely this isn't what my sister wanted, what my family wanted. Now I am going to die a pathetic death without killing a single one after I run away.
I couldn't kill a single one… I wanted to avenge them and die in a flame of glory…
His eyes became clouded with tears as the teeth got closer, closer. As if the beastman was savoring his despair, his weakness, playing with his food.
And just as he thought the jaws of death would clamp on his head and squish it like a grape, a flash of white light shot through the air and covered his vision, where the beastman should have been.
When his vision returned to normal he was instead met with a headless corpse that splashed blood all over his face and clothes. It mixed with the rain and became a watery substance that was slowly washed away.
The massive hand around his neck became loose and soon the body fell to the floor along with him. He instantly crawled away in a panic as if the thing would come back alive or whatever killed it decided to kill him too.
His eyes scanned the surrounding areas looking for what in the world happened, occasionally looking back at the body to make sure this wasn't some sort of trick, a prank. Another way for the beastman to toy with him and give him false hope.
Soon though he did let out a sense of relief as the seer came out of the darkness and closer into view. He used his staff to probe the ground as he walked over the boy and the body of the beastman.
"So you still wish to throw away your life?"
Salem's breath hitched in his throat. Was he that predictable? That prone to childish outburst? Even the seer recognized it.
"This… Throwing away your life, is this truly what you think your family would have wanted?"
Salem could only look down at the floor in shame, not wanting to hear the words.
"There is a way to get your revenge, a smarter path. It will not be instant, it will not bring relief in the fastest manner but it is the smartest. I can make you stronger."
Salem stood up and met the seers 'eyes.'
"Can you really?"
"Yes."
"Then please do."
He is right, this was stupid. I need to be stronger, I couldn't even defeat a single beastman. This is essentially throwing away the life that was given to me by my mother and father. I need to set aside this destructive path for a moment and become greater if I truly wish to get revenge.
The seer upon hearing his response walked past Salem who stood in silence as he processed the events which just happened.
"Come, let us head back to the cave."
Without a single word Salem followed not too far behind. Back to his second chance, his better chance, his smarter chance at achieving a meaningful and impactful death wish.