The gaze of the stars above or the cool wind wasn't captivating enough for him to care as he saw his goal at an arm's length.
*Bam*
Brose let go of the bracelets letting them crash to the ground, surrounding him were others who were glad to be done with the task. A few more steps and he finally made it, his legs gave way as his vision went black but he made it to the summit of the mountain.
Before he could take in the rest, his face was met with a ball of ice cold snow that jolted him awake. "Wake up Vhorren, we have a message from Isolde." The source Brose as he turned to face his bracelet. A hologram filled Vhorren's face, his face turning pale with each word he read.
[{It would seem that you took multiple stops on your way up and for that you have to scale that mountain ten times without rest. Any rest will automatically dissolve any progress you make be it at the top or at the bottom.}]
[{Also your food will be at the base. Refreshed after every round you take}]
He nearly burst out laughing at the absurdity but the air made it hard for him to do so. "Hah!" Some crashed onto the cold hard snow, unfazed with the temperature as they let their bodies cool off.
[{Also should you take any more than one rest per hike, which does dissolve you progress, you will be disqualified from this program and be sent back home. This disqualification effect also applies to those who rest for more than five minutes}]
It was a joke and they were the punchline. "What?! Does she want to kill us?" One raised their voice. The task she was asking them to do wasn't easy at slightest and now she was only making it all the more harder. "That's it! I quit." Another added, his tone grim as he flung his arms with resignation.
Though he caught strange glances from the rest, the others wished that they could say it so casually.
[{Ding: You have been disqualified from partaking in the program. Make your way to the base for your punishment.}]
The one who had thought that it would be nothing more than throwing in the towel scowled seeing this. "What do they mean punishment?! If I'm no longer part of the program then I won't take it serve any punishment they give me!" The man pouted crossing his hands with indignance.
Those who harbored thoughts on resigning paused, unsure of what the punishment would be. 'These people want to quit however seeing how hard the test is, they want to first see whether the punishment will be harder than the task at hand. With their subconscious fear of Isolde, they won't be so willing to quit.'
Vhorren mused with a grin as he brushed the snow off his bosom and stretched his arms. His wrists and fingers cracked in response of the purgatory they had been through making him wince in pain. 'Carry this ten times with no rest! That's way too absurd.' Even he found her request to be more than just outrageous and yet he had no other means of going about it.
Leaving would be the sole equivalent of lettuce Jarren have his way thus his pride wouldn't allow it. 'Looks like I'll have to sucker up and get this out of the way once and for all.' He bent down to pick up his bracelets which were as heavy as he had recalled them and with a grunt wrapped them around his wrists.
His body sunk into the snow up to knee level, veins bulging on his forehead as his calm and regal composure was replaced with crude almost man cave grunts. Brose ahead of him did the same and began the trek back down.
'Damn this blizzard! It'll be even harder to navigate if this snow keeps on wailing on us like this!' He cursed as he noted the incline of snowfall further deepening the path ahead of him. The sweat meant to drench his body froze before he could think, his legs utilizing more effort to make through the snow.
Coupled with his hunger slowly driving him to the brink of madness, he felt like giving in and letting it all end. 'Dad! I swore that I would make amends and avenge you and I intend on making my promise.' He swore in his hands as a new flame of determination flashed in his eyes.
...
The snow with hours of trudging finally came out of the scene and what greeted him was the bar rocky paths. 'This won't take too long.' He sighed in his heart as he already had a plan formulated in his mind. Brose on the other hand kept on walking, at times almost falling but he managed to catch himself and push on.
'It would seem that you enjoy this Brose.' Ignovar, the god of flames laughed in his mind as he noted the deteriorating state of Brose's body. '...' Brose didn't bother with an answer as he cast hateful glares at the deity in his mind. 'Oh come on, don't give me that look, if you want to make a fitting pawn then you have to go through the rut to become a worthy piece on the game. If not then I might as well have killed you off long ago.'
Still Brose didn't make a remark as his wrists began to give way. 'It would be better if you remain silent for the rest of this trek. If you're not saying anything noteworthy then it would be best that you leave.' Ignovar's smile instantly disappeared and replaced with something far colder despite the flames that danced around him.
"Don't test my patience Brose. I can have you struck down and end your life in an instant." However Brose didn't seen all that fazed with his words. "If you can smite me with a pillar of flames then Jarren can end me with a thought, between the two of you I would choose the former." Ignovar's face turned sour pleasing Brose.
'He really does think that he can mouth and whine without a care in my head. It would be best to make him remember that there's someone above him.' And yet the thought rather than bringing a smile brought to frown to his visage. '...So what kid?' Regardless of any perspective I see it, you're nothing more than cannon fodder meant to be disposed of with a thought.'
Brose grit his teeth, his gaze sharpening as he laughed inwardly. 'Of course I am. After all it would be idiotic for me to think otherwise like you. Do you actually think that you can challenge Jarren?!' His tone laced with mockery
But rather more hateful glares, Brose was met with chuckles. 'I'm starting to see why Jarren chose you. You really are an interesting one.' The words made his stomach churn. 'What do you mean Jarren chose me? I thought that you were the one who chose me.'' His face showing his shock at such news.
'If Jarren was the one who had me selected to be a champion of the gods then how much of the game does he control?' Brose couldn't help but wonder. 'That's a detail you'll have to uncover in due time, till then you just have to wait and keep on training. For how long till he disposes of you I wonder.'
His words making Brose's scalp tingle as he resented the role that he had to play in the grand scheme of things. 'The hopeless knight of valor and flame facing the endless abyss. Will your ruin be instant or be far slower and more exquisite.' Ignovar broke into playful chuckles that further soured Brose's face.
"We'll see for how long till I bring an end to you gods and that bastard Jarren." Brose's words came off as a joke to Ignovar. "Now I see, for such a fiery unyielding flame, your end will be slow and painful. Filled with nothing but agony and endless torment." Brose was still in disbelief at whether the being that spoke to him was a god of the world he was in or a spectator watching the world come to anarchy.
"What makes your fate any different from mine? After all we have the same end." Ignovar's laughs didn't cease. "There is no difference but that doesn't mean that it won't be magnificent." At this point Brose was sure that he wasn't talking to the same god that had been urging him to grow stronger in the past.
Instead now he was being urged into dying and being snuffed by the abyss that was Jarren. "If you have nothing of importance to say it would be best for you to fall silent." His words strangely met with an eerie calm, not that of peace and serenity but that if deficiency. Something crucial at amiss and he yearned for it to come back but Ignovar had already left.
Looking at the path beneath him, numerous thoughts raced in his mind. Some asking the point of his efforts if what awaited him was eternal damnation and torment. 'No! This has to be one of Jarren's tricks! Trying to persuade me into believing that there is no hope in the midst of this chaos. I'll prove him dead wrong when I claim his head.'
He kept on walking,the early sun casting warm rays of light on his figure melting the dew on the rocks. It wasn't long before beads if sweat drenched his body similar to Vhorren behind him who too was lost in his own mind.
***
The frame of Jarren and Callista came to view far away from where Vhorren and Brose were, a smile on her face while his remained unreadable. "So when I finally step toying with the reflection and finally glance at the magnificence of the original?" Her tone somewhat playful as they trudged through the ruined state of a nearby town.
The carriage they were on en-route to the elves, their beings shrouded in mystery. "Soon but first I'm sure that you would love to face one of Arcania's greatest fighter. After all I'm sure that she's in need of some answers." Callista clicked her tongue, crashing into his figure drawing strange glances from those around them.
While they seemed aloof to the world that fell into ruin, the rest didn't share the same sentiment. Their bodies shivered with fear of an attack from a demonic horde or an abomination swarm. With most of the human kingdoms falling at Redfall or devoured by demons, the dwarves and the elves had become the place for shelter for most.
Branches arched over the carriage as it bumped over some rocks, with a sigh Jarren bothered to snap her out of her state. "You'll have to wait, after all you're way too weak to face me." His tone not proud nor humble as the coach came to a stop. The sounds of soldiers murmuring filled their ears but they paid them no mind.
"Of course I'm not. I doubt that I will ever be as strong as you are but please, eve if it has to be a glimpse or a quick peek. It won't be long." Her tone turning playful as they passed through. "You stubborn little cat. You really do know how to agitate your master." His face flashing a mischievous smile.
"I'm merely working with the toys at my disposal love." She chimed with a warm smile that elicited a smile out of Jarren. "I'm sure that it should keep you quiet for the rest of the trip." And with that he gave a sigh, light and casual and yet the entire world seem to halt at such a banal gesture before everything reverted back to the way it was.
Jarren's gaze drifted to a family huddled not far from where he was, his curiosity piqued with a little kid. "Are you hungry?" His tone warm as an apple flashed in his hands. The kid somewhat fearful didn't dare approach him and he didn't bother too much with her. "You should take what you can around here. After all who knows whether it'll be your last meal."
The apple moving to his lips where he took a light bite.