I ran, powering my legs with all my might. It couldn't have been more than two minutes, but it felt like hours, and my lungs were on fire. I didn't dare slow down for even a second because I was sure if I did, my legs would give way, and we'd be caught before we knew it. At least the forest floor wasn't muddy; every step in the mud surrounding Darsoon felt like a grasping claw pulling me in deeper with every step, burning my muscles as I fought tooth and nail to escape. However, the forest did present its own hurdles to clear as dying trees dropped leaves and pines onto the floor, making it slick and covering the gnarled roots and branches that littered it.
With every bounded, frantic step I took, the roar of the holy order gained in volume, feeling like hands around my throat. Those war cries that I was so fond of had a different tone to them now; maybe the spell of devotion breaking allowed me to see them for what they were, or perhaps they were just that batshit insane seeing their commander become a traitor. Either way, I couldn't let them harm the baby.
It had started crying again by this point, and I didn't blame it one bit. Running in this forest was difficult, and even though I tried to stay steady, the baby bounced around as I kept it close to my chest. I could smell the burnt flesh on my body now as I felt the skin begin to peel off, but I couldn't do anything about that right now. The main focus was finding somewhere safe to rest, but I could feel myself slowing down as the war cries stuck close behind, even with all their heavy armour on.
I did something stupid in my panic and turned to see how close they were and, in doing so, made a foolish decision. My legs tripped over a branch, and as I dug my foot back into the dirt, it caught a pile of slick leaves, causing me to lose my footing as I tumbled down a small hill. I gripped the baby tight and used my arms to keep it as safe as I could as I rolled, colliding with the debris of roots, branches and rocks as my back slammed against a tree at the bottom. The tree felt like a stone wall, knocking the wind out of my fire-filled lungs as I gasped, unable to breathe to breathe in. Screams from the baby shrieked across the forest as I clambered back to my feet, but it was safe but also not safe. Safe from immediate injury from the fall, but the holy order had caught up at the top of the hill. I was slower than I realised.
Kraxal stood at the top of the hill with unbridled rage and bitterness that churned for years, and he was finally allowed to release it all. Then, other brethren showed up with blood-lusted visages, carefully sidestepping down the hill. Hell was descending upon me, and I was running out of time.
I tried to run but realised what I had previously thought had now come to pass. I stopped running, and now my body refused to run again. There was no other option, so I just did what I could, moving my legs with what little energy I had left, which wasn't much at this stage.
"You betrayed us all! You'll burn for your heresy, Oathbreaker!"
I didn't dare turn around again, but I knew it was Kraxal's voice. His throat was dry and raspy as he screamed with raw zealousness that just aggravated his throat more.
In all my years of existence, I was always under the protection of the Purifying Flame, always safe in some way, shape or form, but I was now alone, and I felt that fear cling to my back, dragging me, trying to slow me down, begging me to give up!
"Fuck that!"
It wasn't just my life at stake; I had another life that was far more important. So, fear had to take a break while I endured through this dilapidated, dying forest, where even the light started fading away, giving way to the night, but that was a lucky break in this hellhole I found myself in.
Even with my mind occupied with running, It still raced with ideas of retaliation. The holy order could keep chasing me in the darkness, but it leads them open to a counterattack. I may be old and exhausted, but I didn't get my rank within the Purifying Flame for nothing. I could disarm one of them and kill a handful more before they even knew what had happened. My only real issue was Kraxal. I'm not ashamed to admit it, but he was a better swordsman than me and combined with his younger age, I'd be dead in minutes. Fighting wasn't an intelligent idea, at least not with Kraxal nearby, who still bellowed with fury.
My only suitable option was to keep moving, but I was fading fast, and I never managed to get running again after winding myself at the tree. I could even swear I felt sinister fingertips brushing past my hair, eager to grab me. I prayed for help, prayed to who? I don't know, but I prayed anyway, begging for something, anything to help me escape these fanatics who used to be brothers. I called, and someone answered In their own sick, twisted way in the shape of a hundred and fifty feet high cliff with rocks and a river below.
It was an option, but every step I took meant one less step to make the final decision. So I jumped. I closed my eyes and hugged the crying baby tightly, waiting for the water, but I felt a tugging, tearing pain instead. My long, greasy, greying hair was grabbed viciously as my body stopped falling and crashed into the rock face, lacerating my hands as I tried my best to protect the baby. I looked up to a sight I wish wasn't real. Kraxal stood hunched over, furious fervour in his eyes, with a fistful of my hair as I dangled helplessly.
"I have you now, you fucking oathbreaker!"
He was so strong, I'm surprised my hair managed to stay attached to my skull as I dangled by it, but Kraxal, with a single arm, held my eighty-kilo body suspended in the air. He didn't even just hold my body's weight but actually managed to start lifting me. His power defied all logic, but I guess this was the power of faith and the pain of betrayal. I had seconds until I was captured. I looked at the baby, who cried enough for us both, and I had a thought.
"If we were destined for a horrific death upon the purifying pyre, then why not decide our deaths instead?"
I made my next decision, and with it, I kicked my feet up on the cliff face and kicked off with all my might. Kraxal was either too stubborn to let go or didn't expect me to try what I did, but we both fell down the cliff into the rock waters below. Kraxal didn't take his sight off me for a split second as we plummeted. I did see some holy warriors look at us with wide eyes and agape mouths, helpless to do anything but watch as my vision turned black.
"Did I die?"
I had that thought for a second until a much worse thought entered my mind.
"Did the baby die?"
In the gloomy, dark water, I kicked my tired legs for dear life. The only sliver of grace was a sliver of moonlight that gave me a fragment of reassurance as I reached the surface. The rush of water overpowered me as it pushed me further down the river, but I just held the baby above the water as best I could as it coughed up water and continued screaming, but what a sweet sound it was in that moment.
I dragged myself ashore, soaked and cold and weakly stood up. I just wanted to roll over and die, but I still lived, so I had to carry on. What surprised me was that the baby and I weren't even injured from the fall. My hands were cut, but that was the worst of it, although we were both soaked to the bone, and hypothermia would be an issue.
I started to carry on until I heard a pained voice nearby. Kraxal lay broken; his legs and arms snapped and jutted off in such a horrific manner. He must've fallen on the jagged rocks below and been smashed. My biggest obstacle lay incapacitated, a mere fragment of the man he once was, and I couldn't help but feel sadness. I edged closer to him, not even sure what I could've done to help, but even through his weakening, shallow breaths, he still stared with hatred, not at me this time, but at the crying baby I held in my arms. Even though he was on death's door, he was still focused on his mission as a lieutenant of the Purifying Flame.
The warriors atop the cliff were gone now, and I began to hear a commotion from them as they tried to figure out how to descend the cliff to reach me. I gained valuable time and had to use it wisely, so I turned around and kept moving. I turned to see Kraxal one last time, but he still stared with those unblinking eyes. Unblinking because he had died, but I didn't realise it until later when I thought back on it more.
I couldn't even jog anymore, so I just walked, putting every ounce of energy into every step, and every step proved to be its own battle. I could've laid in the river and had the current drag us to save my energy. It was a thought that had briefly crossed my mind, but I was worried about passing out, and I needed to be in control of where we travelled, so I had to walk to keep some semblance of control.
It wasn't much longer until my mind grew hazy; my body was running on fumes, and I was beyond exhausted. It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes since I ran from my once brothers, the order of the Purifying Flame in Darsoon, but I was just... done. I had nothing else to give anymore, and my memory even grew fogged by this point. All I can remember is slumping against a tree as the flicker of what was torch lights ignited in the distance. I tried to carry on, but instead, I fell inwards as the baby's cries slowly faded out, and I fell into unconsciousness.
End chapter