THE ELDERIEN CHRONICLES: Aftermath Of Darkness

Sigil

Drax dashed through the forest as his breath shook heavily. He gasped as he tried to catch his breath, but it was becoming almost impossible. His legs were tired, his eyes were heavy. He felt like he was going to die!

"Ah!"

He cried out as he tripped and nearly fell, and the object in his hand gave off a faint glow as Drax continued to run. The object was shaped like a cube and had a large dragon sigil engraved on it. Everything about the object gave off a powerful hue, and the bright moonlight sitting in the sky gave him the light he needed.

"Please, just a little more...please.... give me strength..." He begged something within him as he kept running. 

He had no idea if he was going in the right direction or not, he did not know if the roads ahead were safe, but if it meant escaping from the creatures that pursued him,.it was a chance he was willing to take.

Suddenly, Drax heard a loud growl and stopped. He froze on the spot, as still as he could, and slowly looked around. The forest was pitch silent and the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own breath.

A creaking sound soon followed, and next came the guttural growl. Drax took a step back as he focused his eyes on the darkness before him. The object in his hand continued to glow, but when the growls became louder, the glow slowly began to fade.

And then came the silence.

Drax waited for a moment but nothing happened. His eyes flickered like a flame as he tried to pinpoint the location of the beasts that hunted him, but he could see nothing. 

When the silence and the strange darkness that had appeared were all he could see, Drax decided to keep running. He turned around and was about to take a step when suddenly, a large ice spear flew towards him and impaled the tree just before him.

The force of the impact knocked Drax off his feet and crashed him onto the ground. He fell on the wrong side and dislocated his shoulder in the process. The cube had fallen out of his hands and was giving off a faint glow from the distance.

Drax cried out as he dragged himself to the ground. But what he noticed was that the tree that the spear had struck was freezing. The temperature in the forest had dropped as well and the cold that crept on his skin made Drax shudder.

"They're here!"

He whispered in dread to no one visible. 

"Come. We must go," Drax added and stretched his hand towards the cube. The cube whirred and pulsated, giving off beams of energy.

As it suddenly began to roll toward Drax, another spear flew towards the young man which he barely dodged as well. Drax grunted as he snapped his shoulder into place and stood to his feet.

He took a deep breath, and suddenly, fireballs appeared in his hands. The flames were not enough to heat the forest which was becoming excessively cold by the passing second, and when the Spears melted, Drax looked further.

Standing before him was a man, about seven feet tall. He had pale skin, blue eyes, black lips, and fingers, and a heavy build. He wore armor, made of light metal and his head was totally bald. There were black stripes on his face and he had a large scar on the side of his left eye.

"Why do you try to run, mage? Why do you try to prevent the inevitable? You know you cannot survive. You know none of you can. Why do you seek to delay the inevitable?"

The man said in his cold, icy voice which made Drax shiver. Drax took a step back as his heart raced in his chest. When the man took a step closer, two more men like him appeared out of thin air. 

Drax could see the icy smoke coming off their skin, and each step they took froze the ground beneath them. Coming out behind Drax were two beasts looking like lions, but much larger. They were pale as well with blue eyes and they were angry. They growled and creaked at Drax, who did his best to maintain his stand.

"Give me the cube. It does not belong to you, mage." The man said again.

"It does not belong to you, and your people either. Your master is delusional. He will destroy this world and all that is in it. I cannot let that happen." Drax replied and the man chuckled softly.

"And what can you do about it? Your power is nothing compared to mine, let alone my master. You will not even make it out of here alive. The dragon that exists inside you cannot save you this time. Give up, and join us. Perhaps, you will be pardoned."

The man said again but Drax shook his head in negative. 

Then, the man grunted.

"So be it."

He said and snapped his fingers. The beasts growled and pounced on Drax, but he quickly shot the flames in his hands at them and momentarily knocked them down.

The other two men suddenly formed Spears out of thin air and attacked him. Drax quickly created another fireball and shot it at one of the men who easily dodged it and threw his spear at Drax. He barely dodged the spear but that was when he saw the large man walking towards the cube.

The cube continued to vibrate as the man approached it, sending off Sparks of yellow energy. Drax shot fireballs at the men fighting him and stretched out his hand toward the cube.

"Come!"

He yelled, and the cube suddenly shook heavily. Just as the large man was about to grab it, the cube flew towards Drax who caught it but was not fast enough to dodge a kick that one of the other men gave to him.

Drax flew in the air before he crashed to the ground. His wounded shoulder made him cry out, but he did not waste any moment before he suddenly created a portal. He knew he had to run away from them. He had no hope of defeating them.

The large man created a spear as Drax made the portal and as he stepped through it, the man threw the spear at him. Drax cried out as the spear pierced his shoulder and pushed him to the ground, and as the portal closed up, the spear melted.

He groaned as he struggled to stand, the blinding pain he was feeling made the whole situation worse.

"We are almost there. I cannot stop. Not now. I have to keep going..."

Drax said and stood up. He looked ahead and saw the kingdom of Elderien from the distance. He knew he had to hurry. He had no time to waste. He needed to get there as quickly as possible.

He needed to find Alastair!