Chereads / Great Lord Of The Night / Chapter 6 - Travelling

Chapter 6 - Travelling

'What have I done thought' Eric as he looked around at the surrounding carnage. It was the next day and there were shrivelled bodies of the slaves all around him and broken bodies in black scaly armour spread throughout the camp, Eric stood alone in the aftermath. Thinking about what transpired before he collapsed, sweat pooled under his arms. The speed of his breathing increased, feeling a wave of dizziness before he vomited. A sticky red and black liquid came out of his mouth. The smell reminded him of being in the mines.

Eric felt like his entire body was reborn, all the aches and pains he felt from his time working in the mine gone. Strangely, he felt like he had an abundance of energy, like he could run 20km without being tired at all. 'Is this a side effect from taking in too much blood from the slaves', he thought. Thinking of the draining the blood from the slaves almost made him vomit again. Getting himself under control, he thought back to before. He remembered the set of 5 stars he saw, and how the black star become dominant, causing him to kill everyone. Even though he could remember being in control, he still wanted to destroy and kill. It was like all the pain and anger he had felt bubbled to the surface, and the black star gave him the power to do so.

Eric controlled his will and looked in himself to see the 4 stars rotating around the black star. The black star was still the biggest of them all, but it felt like a gentle stream calmly flowing down a mountain. Gone was the chaotic rage and anger it felt from it yesterday. Now all remained was a silent, calm star. Looking at the colors, he could guess that they represented elements; Fire, Water, Earth, Nature, as for the black star, he did not understand.

Feeling thirsty, he pulled on the blue star, hoping to produce water to drink. He raised his hands and focused on pushing out the power from the star. *Woooosh* An enormous gush of water sprayed from his hand it was like someone had a powerful hose on full power. Falling to his knees, he felt drained, like he had run for 100 km without rest. Catching his breath, he stood back up to see the water he cast out draining into the ground. Focusing on the stars again, he looked towards the blue it was dim, like it he drained of life. Trying to cast more water, he failed. 'It seems I need to recharge it somehow' thought Eric.

After contemplating a way to refill the energy and coming up with nothing, he would figure it out later. "The transporters who collect the ore will arrive soon, I need to leave," considered Eric. Thinking of this he left, he picked up a spear left from one of the dismembered guards and headed out. Not knowing what direction to go, he walked down the road that left the camp.

The road travelled down a mountain from the camp, entering a forest 1km away. The sun was scorching high above in the sky, Eric didn't feel the pressure as much from the heat like he did before. He suspected it was because of the red star burning within his mind that he had some resistance to heat. Reaching the forest, Eric left the path in case the transporters would see him. Scanning around he saw nothing of note, he pick a direction and walked.

After 2 km of walking in this endless forest, Eric heard groaning coming from below. "ahh I could eat a horse" he mumbles out loud to himself. Suddenly he heard rustling in a nearby bush, a small rabbit like animal jumped out, it looked like a regular rabbit, the only difference was it had 6 legs. Trying to come up with a way to kill this rabbit, Eric remembered the black tendrils he used to absorb the blood from his foes. Reaching out for darkness in his mind, nothing happened. The black star was still there, looking tranquil. 'Since that won't work, I will have to do this with my hands' thought Eric.

Still holding the spear he took from the camp, he readied his aim, watching the rabbit closely. When the rabbit stop moving, he threw with all his strength. The spear flew from his hand like a missile. Blood covered the ground where the rabbit was, Eric walked over to see a dead rabbit killed cleanly, a spear in its head. Feeling overjoyed with the prospect of food, Eric picked the rabbit up and looked for a place to make a fire.

Eric found a small clearing in the trees and thought about making a fire. Stacking wood in a neat pile, he was ready for the fire. Pulling on the red star just a small amount, as he did not want a repeat of what happened with water. A small flame appeared in his hand, the flame danced on his hand; it was like a joyful spirit thankful for being released into the world.

Eric aimed his hand at the wood and willed the small dancing flame on his hand to the pile. The flame glided towards the pile of wood. The small flame grew as the wood burned. After making a fire, he sat down and skinned the rabbit the best he could with the spear and cooked it over the fire.

Eating the rabbit creature, he lay down as the sun set. His eyes closed, and he fell into a dream of stars and shadows.