Dreadful creatures of the night, who feed on the souls of humans. A name held in fear and panic, a war of the children born of light against those of darkness.
Dreadmourns were creatures discovered during the fall of man 300 years ago, and in quantity, they scoured the earth's lands.
However, a discovery was made during the war that these creatures had begun adapting. Evolving into higher sentiments was a law of the order, yet it proved powerful in the case of the beasts.
Their abilities grew in strength, with wits beyond our imagination. The new surge kept knowing at the feet of the king, and he grew nervous about the rapid growth.
Seeing this, the beasts were classified in order of rank. Basic dreadmourns were not included in these ranks, as they had no overwhelming abilities over the knights.
To suck in a soul, they would have to kill the human first. That was the ecosystem of dreadmourns and a hunting plan they followed.
However, the ranked ones were far greater in power and had strength to boast of. It is said that the lowest rank of dreadmourns can suck in bits of the soul without killing, a discovery that surely shook the order.
A blue mist is often seen moments before death, and knights who successfully escaped explain a bizarre concept behind it. The mist or aura, was a catalyst in aiding a speedy drain.
Like a black hole, they drain the enemy's energy and soul, rendering them lifeless in severe cases. Seeing a dreadmourn was surely an omen, but meeting a ranked one was a curse.
As the commoners would say, ye have been cursed by the Eldritch flame. Shen and Thawne were cursed with the appearance of a ranked dreadmourn, but it was the last ranked nonetheless.
Moreover, even a low-ranked dreadmourn was strong enough to end the lives of many. Thawne wasn't blessed by the gods yet, and facing a ranked dreadmourn had no chance of survival.
"Thawne run away!!! It's a Soul Siphon!!", Shen screamed.
Pouncing upon Thawne with a growl, the dreadmourn aimed for the kill. Woodlock's ideas had run empty, and in his last moments, all he could say was a cursing word.
"Shi*"
Thump!!
In dilemma, the child looked at the sky in fright. He thought the attack had landed cleanly, however the dreadmourn's attack…. missed?
"Uhh what's going on here?", Thawne stuttered as he retreated.
"Ha, finally!!! The attack is working at its finest. Didn't I tell you I was that great? Hahaha, eat that you beast!", Shen ridiculed.
Thawne stood amused at the scene and drew back to join his master. The dreadmourn rose steadily, and its mist grew weaker and pale. It wavered within three steps and fell to the ground again, with a growl of annoyance nonetheless.
*I'm quite surprised that the attack worked. Who would have thought an attack to make enemies drunk would actually have an effect? It doesn't change how disappointed I am though, all that flashiness for this, tsk*, Woodlock pondered.
"You seem awfully enthusiastic about this master. Does this really hang as a deal to you?"
"Listen here brat, Soul Siphons are so hard to deal with that I became an archer in the order. Throughout my seven years within the knight order, I have only killed two!! Two!!"
"Those were group fights, but this is surely a new treat. Fighting against dreadmourns is the hardest thing you can do, but winning against one with your strength is legendary.", Shen boasted.
"And here I was, wondering how a knight of the order was so poor. Turns out his skill was lame. Ugh, what am I going to do? "Thawne shrugged.
"What was that?", Shen frowned.
"Uhh… nothing?", he replied awkwardly.
"Enough with the games, the time to strike is now. The effect wears off after a while, and even if it lingers long enough, it's still a dreadmourn."
"The only way to defeat that thing is by slicing its head cleanly. Dreadmourns never die unless you behead them, after all, they were born of darkness.", Shen affirmed.
"Yes!!!"
The dreadmourn rose back to its feet, and with cold eyes of hunger, it chased at them. Grabbing Thawne by the arm, Shen pulled him back and sprang forth.
His sheathed sword drove towards the dreadmourn in defense, and the stale battle resumed in action. Drawn back by the skills of his master, Thawne strengthened his resolve and swiftly got back on his feet.
Clank!!!
"Even if his skill isn't the best, he's the cool one out of the lot. Fighting like that would just heighten my expectations for you, my insanely shrewd teacher."
Thawne picked up his fallen axe and drove his body towards the dreadmourn. In a burst of will, he struck firmly against its scale skin.
The axe scratched through without leaving an injury, as its skin was as hard as iron. Shawn drew the kid aside swiftly and parried another deadly blow. His burned for victory, and with a satisfied smile, he pushed the beast back.
"Follow my movements Thawne. Don't let my teachings ingrained within you be for naught!!"
Clang!!
Shen parried another blow, and sharply stroke the sword upwards in momentum. It struck through the dreadmourn; however, the attack was too shallow to make an impact.
"I have to stop dragging him down. Even If I have no skills within this weak body, I will pursue my dreams. My revenge will not be silent because of weakness."
"Ugh, I can't feel the strength in my legs. I need to help him right now, but I feel so weak."
Thawne fell to his knees and gasped for air. He felt fatigued and weak, and his hands trembled from merely holding the axe. Shen felt weak as he parried the next attack, and his movements grew slow.
"It started draining our souls. I need to get the kid out of here, otherwise, we would all end up dead. At least I lived ten of my shameless years with something to hope for, but he, Thawne is just a child.
Shen's troubled eyes gleamed in hope as he saw Thawne swatting his axe through the dreadmourns jaw. The child looked like he was on the verge of death, and yet those eyes still kept burning.
Huff!!
"I will have my revenge!"