Descendants and Foes rise of the Rephaim

He can’t make you go on this fools errand!” Said Crissa, Alriks wife, as she paced back and forth “didn’t you tell him?”

Alrik, Sitting on a stool, hand clasped, replied “Since the battle he’s been difficult to get alone. Every time I’ve tried to talk to him he gets pulled away or I get interrupted. This was a big win for him— for us! And for the Empire.”

Crissa continues to pace back and forth until she hunches over clinching her stomach in pain ”oh…ow”

Alrik jumps up and runs over to her immediately. “Crissa! Are you ok? Here sit, please.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She says as she sits on a nearby stool. “I just need to rest a while”

Alrik kneels beside her gently rubbing her stomach.”I understand how difficult this is, and I know this isn’t the time to—“

“well I don’t understand!” Crissa interrupts as she pushes his hand away. “Can’t he send someone else? And what’s more why can’t he go himself!?”

Alriks eyes fall to the ground as he lets out a long sigh. Never looking up he replied “Larsen has done a great deal for us, you know this. The least I could do is be there for him when he needs me”. He pauses, finally lifting his head toward her, he stares deep into her eyes and says “ I promise, once I return, I will talk to him.” He kisses her forehead and continues to pack his things. He walks out the door leaving Crissa with her head held low, gently sobbing.

As Alrik makes his way toward the ports he is warmly greeted by Larsen.

“Commander!, did you think I wasn’t going to show up?” Alrik said with a smile.

Larsen gives a quick chuckle and says to him “ Yes I thought maybe I’d have to drag you aboard myself although I can’t say that even I am strong enough to lift so much extra weight” Larsen playfully taps Alriks stomach and they both laugh.“No, I’m here to see you off and to let you know how much I appreciate you doing this for me. Even more I appreciate the trust you have for me. You’re a loyal friend, not every man gets one of those.”

Just then, one of the soldiers rushes over and interrupts their conversation. “Commander Alrik sir, the ships are prepared for sail”.

“Good, let us be on our way then” Alrik replied as he looked back at Larsen placing his hand his shoulder and giving it a few taps.

As The soldiers board the boats, Alrik hesitates for a moment. He observes the sea as it’s waves gently beat agains the bottom of the ships, he looks out toward the sun dipped below the horizon. As the fleeting colors of dusk began to fade away the charcoal-black rocks circled around small pools of water shimmer confidently. He turns to gaze back toward Brovia and gives a gentle sigh before turning to board the boat.

As the boats set sail, Alrik sits quietly on deck appearing to be in deep thought. A soldier approaches and sits next to him. “Permission to speak freely commander?” The soldier asked as he opens up a canteen.

“Permission granted” replied Alrik.

As the soldier takes a drink from the canteen, wiping his mouth he replies “Sir, this scout mission doesn’t seem to be something the Emperor would permit, especially so soon after a battle. Who gave the orders?”

“Commander Larsen, he believes now is the perfect time to scout the western world for resources.”

“Do you agree with him Commander?” The soldier asked with a raised eyebrow.

Alrik looks at the soldier, and then looks away as if having been mentally defeated and says nothing more. After sometime Alrik stands up and speaks to the men on his ship.

“Men, quiet yourselves!” the clamor slowly subdues. Standing in the center of the deck, Alrik continues, “This journey is one of unknown obstacles. What may befall us upon arrival I do not know. We must stay vigilant. We are here to make a claim on territory, to expand our domain for our sons and for our sons sons. I am well aware of the bravery and might aboard these ships, you have proven yourselves, but the battle is not yet over. What ever happens, it is…was, and always will be an honor serving with you”

“Here, here!” Shouts a solider. The rest of the troops simultaneously follow suit “here here!”

Alrik and the troops embark on a 7 day journey before finally arriving within miles of the western boarder. Soon dark clouds began to roll in as the wind picks up speed.

“Sir! We’re running straight into a storm!” Said a soldier as he rushed toward Alrik.

Alrik. Raising his voice so that he may be heard over the wind replied “ We only have but a few more miles at sea, we will make it”.

The boat began to roll from side to side as the temperature dipped. Dark clouds obscured the moon. The boat heaved and tossed in the raising swell. Lacerating rain stung their bare arms as the rain-shroud passed by.

As the ship jolted to the side then crashed down, Alrik, along with the rest of the soldiers, grabbed on to any part of the boat they could find as they all were nearly tossed over the edge. In a state of panic soldiers began calling out to the god of the sea.

“Dear Neptune, have mercy on us!”

“Great Poseidon, spare us of your wrath!”

As a few soldiers struggle to let down the sails they slip on the drenched deck. The boat rose with the swell, rising upwards to its destruction. It was thrown up onto the lip and hovered there as time seemed to freeze. The boat then plummeted down into the dark depths, swallowed whole in a final, terrible, squeak of timber.

All of the men, including Alrik, violently plunge into the sea. After what seems like an eternity, a few of the men emerge out of the water and began swimming in the direction of the shore. The waves continue to work against them, appearing to launch them further away from the shore with each swell. Alrik finally approaches land, coughing and gasping for air, and runs far up-shore to get away from the massive waves. He collapses onto the sand, his chest rhythmically rising and falling as he inhales and then exhales. He stares up into the night sky for a moment, thankful to be alive.

After a while more of the men begin to come ashore and Alrik rushes down to help them up. Each of them are coughing up water and frantically inhaling the air that tactfully escaped them.

Soon the veil of rain is lifted allowing the brilliant moonlight to to shine through. Alrik looked out over the thick line of white-gold sand and behind the sand was an endless, seemingly impenetrable forest, stretching out for miles. It’s dark and foreboding presence seemed to suggest that it is unsafe to explore at night.

Alrik turns to address the remaining soldiers and says “we should camp here for the night, we won’t make any progress through that forest as dark as it is” the body of soldiers all nod in agreement. Alrik sets himself up on a nearby rock and gazes up at the sky. The blue moon illuminated the tenebrous sky with the stars ensconcing themselves behind the dim, gray clouds. His mind began to flood with thoughts as he tried to relax. He slowly become more anxious and worried but managed to tame his mind enough to drift off to sleep.

The next morning Alrik awakes to the smell of wood smoke drifting through the air. He reluctantly rose to his feet, shaking off the grogginess he felt. “ Has anyone patrolled the area yet?” Said Alrik to a nearby soldier, with raspiness in his voice.

“Not yet sir, we went only a little ways into the forest to find wood to burn and caught from the ocean what we could for food” the soldier replied.

“Fine, I’ll go and scout out some of the land” Alrik replied as he walked over to a nearby pile of wood.

“ you shouldn’t go alone Commander, I’ll go with you, and a few others should come along as well”

Alrik looks at the soldier and nods as he begins to sharpen a long stick with a rock “Fine, make Spears for yourselves then. Anyone who stays should continue to gather fish and wood.”

“Commander!” Shouted a soldier as he jogged toward Alrik “My father is carpenter and has built various structures in Brovia as well as a few items for the king personally. He has taught me a great deal of his work and I am certain that I could build a raft which would allow at least a couple men to return to Brovia for aid”

“Go and do as you have said” Alrik replied as he smiled and placed both hands on the soldier.

Alrik and a few of the soldiers, armed with amateur crafted spears set out to scavenge to area. As they approached the umber-brown, ancient forest they could tell It reeked of age. Its woody incense was from centuries of snapping branches crashing to the forest’s floor and rotting silently. The composting, organic smell rose up in waves. Every sprawling tree passed under acted as a symbol of a watchful guardian, a silent sentinel. They ventured deeper into the tangled heart of this primeval forest, hoping that it would reveal its dark secrets.

The further they went, the more mystical and spellbinding it became. Huge roots spread-eagled the ground. The foliage became thick and lush, forming an arch of fairytale-green above their heads. Arthritic boughs, gnarled with age, dripped their bounty of nuts onto the path. Briars, brambles and berry trees flanked the trail, making it impenetrable on either side.

Soon they arrived at a wide glade, where the trees seemed to have fell away at the root, revealing the clear blue sky.

“How do you suppose these fell Commander?” Asked one of the soldiers, bewildered at the sight of the up rooted trees.

Alrik doesn’t respond as he cautiously continues to walk forward with a confused expression on his face.”do you here that?” He asked looking back at the soldiers.

They unanimously look around intently and listen, shaking their heads in disagreement as they fail to hear anything.

“Exactly!, nothing. No birds chirping, no animals rustling around, nothing at all. It’s silence is alarming.” Said Alrik. “Let’s go further”.

The men advance further into the mysterious forest. Soon the discover what appears to be a a giant birds nest! Umber brown vines tactfully weaved and bonded together with a substance they had never seen. The nest looked to be 13ft in length and about 7 ft in width.

“What kind of bird could have crafted this!?” Said one of the soldiers.

As Alrik studied the nest he replied slowly,”A.Very.Large.One” .

“Sir it’ll be dark soon” warned another soldier “we should head back to camp while we still have daylight”.

Alrik nodded in agreement “ You’re right, we’ll start out even earlier in the morning tomorrow, bring the others and maybe set up camp in the glade instead.”The men head back to the shoreline to inform the others what they discovered.

Back at the camp the men who remained behind have prepared a fire and a large amount of fish ready to be cooked.

As Alrik makes his way over to a spot near the fire he can overhear a conversation between a few soldiers

“And then there was this massive birds nest! It had to be at-least over 10ft long!”

One soldier comes and sits next to Alrik and hands him a few fish and a stick to cook them on. “ so what do you make of the nest and the trees sir?”

Alrik takes the stick and the food and replies “I’m not sure, but I figure we’ll move camp over to were we found the trees, then from there see what else we can find” . The soldier nods in agreement as his eyes drift away from Alrik.

The breeze blew warm as Alrik lay gazing into the night sky. The aroma of the ancient forest mixed with the salty water was thick and the starry night above was a painting more sublime than any mortal man could create. However, the clarity above is not reflection of Alriks state of mind. As he lye there, his mind again is ambushed by a parade of thoughts. He considers Crissa and how he desperately needs to return to her. In his heart he lets out a brief prayer just before dozing off to sleep ,

“I don’t know if there is a god or if there are numerous gods, but if so please have mercy on me and on my wife. Get me back to her, I beg you” .

The next morning Alrik rises before the rest of the soldiers and motions for them all to get up quickly. The men, in one accord, begin to march deep into the daunting forest until the get to the opening discovered the day before.

“ We will settle in here” Alrik instructs,” a few of us will scout the land out further north, while the rest of you scout to the east and to the west. Don’t travel to far and be on guard at all times.”

All the soldiers give a quick nod in agreement as they set out to fulfill their orders. After a while, Alrik along with the soldiers that accompanied him the day before arrive again at the nest they found. They move in close to examine it once more only to find that something is different. The nest is no longer on the ground where they found it but has been strung up a few feet into the air, suspended but thick vines.

“Something moved it!” Shouted one soldier.

“Can a bird do this?” Questioned another soldier.

“A better question is why would a birds nest have been on the ground to begin with?” Suggested Alrik, gazing at the nest and the vines. “A bird would have built the nest in the trees. There are no broken branches to suggest the nest fell, I assume it was built here on the ground with the intent to be hung up later. Perhaps this isn’t a birds nest at all!” .

“Then…what built it?” Asked another soldier fearfully.

Alrik look at the soldier intently, a deep expression of concern befell his face. He then replied “ I have no idea. But we have to keep moving. We came here for the purpose of scouting the land and I intend to do just that.”

The soldiers all look at each other before hesitantly following behind Alrik. After sometime of pressing through the forest the men begin to smell something.

“What is that?” Said one soldier as he scrunched his face signaling displeasure.

“ What ever it is, its putrid!” Scoffed another soldier holding his arm up to his nose to block the stench.

“Maybe the others found some sort of animal to cook?” Suggested another soldier.

“What animal smells like that, and what’s more we’re to far away from camp to smell anything”

As they continued the odor became increasingly potent. The smell, similar to sewage or waste, was nauseating. As they continued further, they came to a huge opening in the forest to find an open field filled with piles of dead animals. All animals, from large to small, tame to ferocious, from the birds of the air to the creeping things on the ground, all appeared to have had the main parts of them removed leaving only heads, feet, and entrails.

Alrik and the rest of the soldiers gaze in horror at the sight before them but before they can react, emerging for either side of the wide glade, are four giants! Each one standing at varying highs, they resembled in almost every way human men but their statures were triple that of any human. They carried enormous, fierce weapons on their backs which also resembled the weapons the men had used many times themselves.

The soldiers eyes widen in fear at the sight of the men. They scurry to escape but before they can, one of the giants sprints and crashes his body into a tree causing it to uproot and fall directly in the their path. The men frantically search for another way out but they are blocked in every direction. Alrik takes up his spear and faces the giants attempting to fight them. He charges toward one, thrusting his spear directly into its leg with as much force as he could stand to muster up but it doesn’t even break its skin.

The giant lets out a chuckle as he grabs Alrik by the shoulders and lifts him until their eyes are level with one another. As Alrik stares the long, brown haired, brown eyed giant in the face the fear that washes over him is paralyzing. His life hangs between the massive hands of this mysterious being. Time seems to come to a halt, with everything in the atmosphere freezing for a split moment while the giant decides the fate of the frail man between his fingers.

“Set your eyes on this boys, there’s even more of them!” Said the giant as he dangled Alrik in the air to display to the rest of the giants. “ The Lord will be happy to hear about this”. The giant gazed around to the rest of the giants and to the soldiers and said “ Alright you slackers, what are you waiting for? Lets round them up!”

Simultaneously, the giants began gathering up the remainder of the soldiers, one by one and took off away from the glade. It was as easy for the giant to gather the fully grown soldiers as would be for an adult to gather a small child.

The soldiers squirm viciously in the grips of the giants attempting to get away, but their efforts were futile. A few of the men began to cry and plead with the beings to let them go, promising to never disturb their land again with no avail. Soon they arrive at what appears to be in the likeness of a castle, yet it’s hight reaches the heavens standing nearly 100ft tall at its highest points. The trees surrounded the castle like great armies defending their citadel. Their armored trunks reached out in the air protectively. This great expanse of green enhanced the castles eeriness and beauty as its portcullis made out of hard iron guarded the passage. Sentinels silently walked the walls keeping watch. The circle towers had a spiraling stair case. The steps were uneven so to give the defenders an advantage. Colossal trebuchets stood ready to unleash their hinged fury. The grey stone seemed eerie yet it enhanced its beauty with the brilliance of the sun shining down upon it.

As they approached the entrance, guarded by two other giants, an incomprehensible sensation of dread befell them. The building gave off a feeling that If this fort of stone could talk, you'd beg for deafness. It’s as if it has so much to say yet no ears willing to hear. No soul willing to feel the torment that lies within.

As they entered the castle, they passed through a great hall used for feasting before arriving at the doorway to a massive throne room. Upon entering, they walked down a long straight bridge suspended over a sea of fire, glowing with orange, red, and yellow hues which made the darkness of the stone room appear even more ominous. The bridge eventually led them to a circular platform suspended over the fire so that if any of them were to step too far in either direction, they would fall to a blazing doom. Straight ahead of them were two flights of stairs which had an appearance of bronze leading up to a sinister throne.

The throne is a high back chair made of a deep dark oak finish with a red velvet cushion. Behind the throne are two thick bronze circles one large and one smaller giving the appearance of a circle within a circle, with two thick bronze stakes positioned so that they make an “X” within the two circles. At the very top of the largest circle hangs a bronze plate in the shape of a human skull with ten steel blades fanning out behind it.

Seated upon this inglorious throne, is a colossal being wearing a long red velvet cloak. It wore over its face what looks like the skull of a bulls head. The being looked to be about 18 or 19 ft in height. Beams of sun light shown in through the roof, directly onto the throne, and the being, giving it all a foreboding charm.

“My Lord” Said one giant as he gave an elegant bow before the throne “We’ve found others”. The giant pushed Alrik forward and the other giants followed suit pushing the rest of the men onto the platform.

With out saying a word, the being on the throne extended its hand straight out and, with a flourish, waved it of to the side indicating to the Giants that they were to line the men up side by side. The men were forced to line up next to one another as the being stood and started down the flights of stairs.

Finally reaching the platform that the men were standing on, it spoke with a very deep, daunting voice “ Who sent you?”

The men all remain quiet until they began to be struck on their backs by the giants.

The monstrous being asked again “who sent you?”.

The men still refused to answer. The being, silent for a moment, said dispassionately, in mid turn, “kill them” as he started back toward the throne.

Starting at the opposite end of Alrik, The giants began thrusting their Spears through the necks of the soldiers. One by one the soldiers let out gurgling squeals as the Spears pierced their throats causing blood to gush out onto the platform.

One soldier, fearing for his life, confesses “Wait! Please I’ll tell you!” He cried out frantically with tears running down his face “ We come from the Brovian Empire directly east of here. We were sent here to scout out the land for resources. Please, don’t kill me, I’ll do what ever you want just please spare me!”

“Who sent you?” The being asked as it began to walk back toward the platform. The way it’s long cloak draped onto the floor, coupled with smoothness of its gait, made it appear as if the being had been floating rather than walking.

As the soldier began to answer “ His name is—“

Alrik interrupted and said “—It was me. We are here by my orders”.

The being, opening its cloak, walked over to Alrik and stood right in front of him. Alrik arched his neck back as far as he could, looking up at the being at such a close proximity was like staring toward the top of a Beech tree, with each of its legs being similar to the trunk in width. As the being stood in-front of Alrik looking down upon him, it menacingly tilted its head slightly before pulling out its own steel sword ranging anywhere from 9ft to 12ft long.

Placing the sword right over Alriks shoulder it’s paused and said to him “No plea?”.

Alrik, with his head arched high shouted “Death comes to all men, but it is I who decides how I will accept it. If my fate must come today, It will not come cowering to you, beast!”

The being, seeming to pause only for dramatic effect, thrust its sword across Alriks shoulders, cutting his head off in one clean sweep sending it rolling across the platform.

Alriks body sits upright for a moment longer with squirts of blood shooting out with each lingering beat of his heart.

The remaining soldier shrieks in horror as he watches his commanders last drops of blood drain out onto the floor. In a state of panic he begins to worship the being, falling prostrate onto the floor and begging for his life.

“Have you learned nothing from your leader?” The being said sarcastically.

As he turned toward his throne, he grabbed Alriks head placing it on top of a stake he wielded on his backside and said to the giants “Kill him”.

“No! No, please I beg—“ the soldier cried at the top of his lungs before a spear is placed through his throat.

As the being sits back on his throne, it says to the giants “Ready the ships, it’s time to claim our rightful belongings”.