Darkness.
A pitch-black sky of mothers filled Kade's vision, the euphoric sensation of release sparkling in the abyss before spreading into the surrounding nothingness.
He had expected a sight like this in death — but it had not yet arrived. This was still the spell's wicked game. Soon, it would stir him from this peace.
And soon enough, the abyssal emptiness began to glimmer. Like the birth of a universe, small sparks of light erupted in the void, stars stretching across the expanse like a heavenly tapestry.
In this ethereal state, Kade's mind drifted — guided by the spell — and he began to dream.
He saw monotonous peaks dotting the land like a volley of ancient spears, and vast and deep canyons yawning across the earth, as though to swallow the stubborn land that refused to rise.
Jagged slopes of natural spires caught the early light of dawn, their shadows stretching long across the ground, the night retreating into their vanishing shade.
And far away — blanketed in the overreaching shadow of one of the fiercest mountains — lay a scattered net of camps. Box-like structures painted blood-red and pristine white. Long flags fluttered quietly in the cold morning breeze.
The camp came alive as if sparked by the first rays of sun that chased away the last clinging shadows. In a field of short grass, soldiers emerged, clad in red and white armour — all marching behind a knight who stood tall, bearing himself with regal command.
Trailing behind him was a troupe of squires. Each bore a weapon — sword, spear, or bow — prepared for battle.
All but one.
A young man, colder than the rest, uneasy. He shifted as he walked, weaponless. His back bare.
Kade's thoughts ignited—a fool. No weapon, yet he dares to walk into battle?
Yet as he watched in this dreamlike state, something tugged at him.
Familiarity.
And when the young soldier finally lifted his gaze from the dirt—
Kade saw himself.
Instantly he was awoken, his senses bloomed with the familiar, the cold breeze penetrating his garments, the smell of unearthed soil and petrichor, he heard the shuffling of armour together and the laugh of brothers in arms. Kade silently watched the backs of the squires in front of them, the subtle motion of their march bringing him to reality.
'I guess this is what it feels like' Kade had always thought that the spell would be more violent and dramatic, this is oddly calming.' The dreamlike state and peacefulness that graced him was nothing like the descriptions and tales of the mysterious spell.
And above him the blue sky didn't feel any more fake than his own back at NQC, truly it was even better then earth, the blue felt a little more wonderous and deep, and the air against his throat was softer then the first breath he had ever had.
The manifestation of the dream was like a small pocket of heaven for an outskirts grunt like him, yet Kade returned to his resilience, keeping his stride as to not fall behind, he of all people knew to not let his guard down. After all the trial was designed to test him. The test being a withdrawn effort to politely kill him, So Kade kept alert.
Before he dreamt, he was sure that death would be inevitable and hadn't changed his opinion that much, 'If I'm here to die, I might as well die fighting. Like I've always done.' giving up didn't suit his fate, it was the few things he had control over in life, so he might as well try his best.
A sharp whistle cut through the air, snapping Kade from his thoughts.
The squires ahead of him slowed, boots thudding in practiced rhythm as the formation shifted slightly. Dust kicked up from their steps, the Vigor of the young soldiers being wrought into the ground as they stood tall.
Kade quickly seeing commotion began to mirror his comrades, his form lacking in elegance, effort, and passion. He stood out like a saw thumb, but not important enough to warrant correction by the leading commander, who seemed distracted by his own brilliance.
"Squires! We are in a land far more dangerous than the city and its surrounding stretches, if any new warrior of the war god were to die here without a single mangled corpse to their name, they would be worse than scum, but weak!"
Kade's eyes squinted at the bizarre speech, but the young men and women beside him only seemed to perk up more.
"Under my command, you shall more blood than you ever did at our glorious city, you shall bath, yes Bath! in it, so squires, organize yourself among my elite soldiers, and become their best weapons and meat shields you can, that is an order!"
"YES SIR!"
"MY LIFE FOR YOU COMMANDER!"
"RODGER"
"ANYTHING YOU WISH!"
the cheers and screams of his companions pierced his ears, hiding away behind the shield of zealots, Kade covered his ears and tried to distance himself from the crazed bastards. And quietly muttering.
"I take back everything I thought about this, even in death the spell would send me to mingle with the insane, I've already had to deal with enough stimulant-addicted freaks."
Quickly remembering his position, Kade slipped back into the cheer of his comrades, feigning enthusiasm. He'd dealt with the insane before and knew there were only two real ways to handle them: slug them until they stopped talking… or nod along and pretend to agree.
Given the circumstances, only one of those was remotely realistic. So Kade eventually separated from the fellow squires, the bright wide smiles on the face and the jubilation in their voice creeped him out, and looking away to a quiet space to himself was a task in of itself.
A small storage box lying against a distant tent called to him, and he separated from the crazed crowd. Alone with only him and the wind, the rustle of the soldiers was still active in front of him.
Upon the throne that was the four by four wood box, Kade gathered his thoughts, 'location, in the middle of nowhere, accompanied by a force of about...100 soldiers,' most looked mundane, yet the commander who spoke before seemed a little above them in presence and looks, he along with a couple of the more vigilant warriors around him were probably awakened.
To the identity of them, seemingly zealots and worshippers of the war god, none of them seemed remotely stable and all acted like death, glory, and violence was the greatest gift to man, 'I only knew that the gods were dead, it's something that made sense for earths current state, but war god...' the image of the wide eyed followers screaming their lungs out did make him thankful that the divine died long before he came of being.
"And as for myself-" He knew that aspirants had something to help them on the first trial, a kind of aspect, knowing it would be pivotal to not dying instantly. Kade focused inward on words like self, status, and information. And shortly, shimmering runes appeared before him.
He was not the most literate individual, so trying to understand the foreign symbols and system of the runes at first seemed impossible. But then like a switch in his head, it just clicked, and the otherworldly words before him started to make sense.
Name: Kade
True Name: -
Rank: Aspirant
Soul Core: Dormant
Memories: -
Echoes: -
Attributes: [Scarred], [vigilance], [guardian]
Aspect: [Heretic]
Aspect description: [ A heretic who fights along the blessed with ill intention, opposed to their gods and their lives, a fool who cannot assimilate into the will of a higher being, a heretic who defies the laws of divine and a coward that hides in their insignificance]
"...."
'The spell labels me the crazy one instead... A heretic, well the attributes give off the idea that they might be useful, so I've got something going for me'.
Although having about 100 warriors beside him was a fantastic defense against nightmare creatures, if anything he had gleaned about the spell, is that it was always there to challenge the victims equally. So that only meant the horrors that were to most likely arrive would be far more threatening than any normal aspirant.
The commandeered and combined union ship between the soldiers that Kade saw was a strong force, so he would have to prepare for something stronger than that, perhaps a horror with enough claws and tendrils to render them to shreds, or a simple avalanche to crush their hopes and dreams.
Either way, the spell was right, for wanting to live for as long as he could manage, for these people he was a heretic, and it would stay that way.
A yell sounded once again. One of the commanders now barking orders from the other end of the camp. The squires were beginning to shift again, their idle chatter turning to nervous tension.
Kade stood, brushing the dust from his hands. Whatever came next, the spell had already cast its judgment.