A small town of wooden buildings, some no more than shacks.
The subtly alluring scent of a field of freshly bloomed flowers.
The distant chatter and steps of a village full of people.
Onyx rolled the stem of one of the colorful flowers in his hand, the thing skinny and small like the rest of his body. Where was he? How did he get here? Why-
In the distance, the field of flowers he laid among providing his diminutive body a measure of camouflage, he caught sight of a group leaving the village. Horns sprouted and curved from the bodies of all but one, all carrying basketed supplies. That exception was a lone downtrodden woman, not at all happy to leave with those who surrounded her, but not a drop of resistance put up.
Onyx's hand went up from the stem to the flower itself, petals crushed within his curling fists as a horrible heat bubbled within.
They worked the fields that provided their harvests.
They hunted for the meat that filled their stores.
They built all that there was here.
So why was it that these invaders could come and take as they pleased?
Why?
XOXO
Screams and war cries filled the air.
Blood and bodies hit the floor.
Rage and desperation twisted the faces of all.
Marika raised her hands, skinny and small like the rest of her body, weighing the pair of shortswords within them. Where was she? How did she get here? Why-
An axe, raised overhead and wielded by a rageful man that might as well been a giant compared to her, rocketed down towards her head. She shifted, body nearly moving all on its own, leaping past what should've been a fatal swing and sinking both her blades into his neck. With a twist she tore them out, kicking off the collapsing man and leaping deeper into the chaotic battlefield she found herself in.
She stabbed, slashed, and weaved around blows, her restless assault guided by a faint thrill.
Bit by bit, furthered by each corpse left in her wake, a smirk wormed its way across her face, confusion completely replaced by that thrill.
It didn't matter why this battle was being fought.
Nor the desperation of those who fought it.
All that mattered was enjoying every moment of it.
XOXO
Marika opened her eyes, watery skies greeting her.
Never had she fought at such a young age. Never had she wielded such weapons. Never had she been in the thick of such a battlefield.
But that was no mere dream or hallucination.
She rose, shifting coming from her side. Onyx, who'd been laid out in the shifting blue grass beside her, did the same, parts of his dark armor clicking as he messaged his forehead. Their gazes momentarily met but no words were exchanged, a silence falling over them.
All that spilled blood. That callous disregard for all others. The simple yet powerful thrill that spurred on actions that fell in line with what would be expected of only the most bloodthirsty warriors.
All of that, familiar as parts of it had become throughout her life, were not her experiences but his.
"Is it common for children to partake in war where thee hails from?" Marika questioned, tracking some of the distant animals that ran through this place.
"Had a dream too, then?" Onyx answered with a questioned of his own. "Not a good sign."
On that they agreed. They had little issue distinguishing what belonged to the other now, but as memories began to bleed over, so too would the emotions that charged them. If that blending wasn't stop, things could very well end up as he suggested.
A new being at the helm of this body, their individualities stolen from them completely, or the both of them imprisoned within it for eternity. There could be no fate worse than that.
Something needed to be done and soon. She would not be ripped away from one eternal imprisonment just to be subjected to another. And if she wanted to be sure something was done about it, some common ground needed to be established. For this man could neither be forced nor steered towards something he didn't want.
"This place." Marika said. "It provides no quarter for lies." She hadn't been sure at first, but it was something she noted. More than once she'd attempted to do so and each time found herself rendered speechless. So long as this place housed her, she could tell no lie.
A rule that was indiscriminate.
"Why create such a place? What benefit does thou find in placing restrictions upon thyself?"
"You misunderstand the nature of this place. After all, how do you decide what is you want?" Onyx said, more shifting coming from him. "This place is all of me, unconscious and conscious. I can exert control over it." The flowing waters suddenly shifting, racing past them before settling once more. "But saying I created it is like saying everyone has total control of whatever impulses come along in their day to day."
"As for the restriction, well, it would only be viewed that way by someone who wants to lie, wouldn't you say?" Marika grimaced, no small amount of amusement crossing over from him. "But there are plenty of other ways to tell one if you really want to. I'm sure the eternal goddess won't have any trouble figuring out how."
And there it was again. He didn't hesitate to goad or insult her, both things she had not suffered for as long as she could remember, but none of what should've accompanied such acts were present. No anger. No rage. No disdain.
No hatred in any of its form.
How was it that they could share in the same disgust and anger when it came to the idea of their possible fate yet none of it found its way to her? As he said, unintended or not, she was the primary instigator behind their circumstances.
One of the nonsensical things that she didn't quite understand but would work in her favor.
"I would make a request of thee." Marika said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. Onyx had straightened to a cross legged sit, that armored mask of his burning away to reveal a raise brow as he rested cheek on fist. "The Golden Order, mine's life creation. Destroy it."
Surprise reared up, overtaking his intrinsic curiosity. "Not going to ask me to try and make sure you survive the separation of our souls?"
She'd considered it. Being freed of Grace and her physical form, unbelievable as it was, still equaled a near total loss in power. However he intended to go about it, there were few results that could prove favorable for her as she was now and even fewer things she could do about any of it.
So long as her goal was completed, she had little issue facing that reality.
"There exist fates worse than mere death." Marika said, specifics kept to a minimum. "Will thou fulfill mine request?"
He shifted, face raised from fist and arms crossed. "Do you really think I'd, what, take down an entire society just because you asked?"
"Thou art a strange being." Due to his power and their very first meeting out beyond all that was known to her, Marika had likened him to the Outer Gods. They may never directly form within the Lands Between, but their influences could be found in many places especially without her efforts to stomp them out.
Why a being with power that could rival such forces saw fit to descend personally and cripple themselves in the process? She'd yet to find an answer, their shared connection bringing little insight into anything beyond his immediate actions and possible principals.
There was only a single thing she'd concluded.
Unlike those distant beings, who's one and only goal was a limitless spread of their influence, the being which harbored her cared little for anything beyond itself. The curiosity was a genuine thing that could be turned into preferential treatment towards even the lowest of beings but should that same curiosity be drained before that could take place, he'd leave others to their devices heedless of their opinions, wants, or fate.
He was the epitome of selfishness.
"Perhaps seeing it done may make for a good time." Marika added, quoting the man's foolishness back to him.
With a chuckle he nodded. "It certainly could."
He pressed his hands to his knees and rose to a towering stand before turning away, flames spreading across his form as he walked away.
"Will thou see it done?" She asked once more.
"Well, this Golden Order of yours seem pretty intent on attack anything that isn't one of them, including me." He said, glancing back her way. "Who knows, there may not be much of an Order left once I'm done seeing all this land has to offer." A shrug was the last thing she saw of him before the flames obscured his form completely, nothing left as it dissipated.
This approach of hers still felt odd. Wrong even.
Godfrey. Dear Godwyn. Her other children. Perhaps there had been a time long ago with Radagon in which she did so, but speaking plainly with another was no longer commonplace for her. Rather contradictory as it seemed, it now appeared to be the best way to get what she wanted.
Marika turned away from where Onyx had been, looking up towards the watery skies.
She still didn't see the sense in a place of his own creation placing a restriction on him, but like he said, there were ways to get around it.
She'd long since accepted death as a consequence of achieving her goal, Radagon and that simple minded drive of his having forced her into a corner during what had been dubbed as The Shattering by those who remained.
Marika took one of the slow deep breaths that so often preceded Onyx's bouts of meditation, raising a hand. The faintest trail of a pale golden light came to life and raced between her fingers, dissipating before it could make it around them all as she intended.
But that was before this.
There was a possibility this energy, unstable and flawed as it were, and his abilities could get her what she wanted without the price of death being paid.
She need only bide her time.
XOXO
We're back with some nuggets of these two's respective backgrounds. Not sure how deeply I'll dive into either side since the purpose isn't their origins but something else entirely.
With a good month having nearly gone by and the holidays pulling up, me and the boys have just about finished our programming stint. Well those of us who don't intend on pursuing it seriously. I learned a good bit but its not something I'm super invested in at the moment. I'm just glad to have more free time to write. Not jumping back into a schedule or anything, in fact, you'll probably see some experimental things pop in between chapters for this.
Want to try my hand a writing in first person, some shorter form stories, crossover stuff. I'm planning on trying a bunch of stuff while I settle back into the grove of things. Don't want to ruin this story by suddenly changing the vibe just to experiment.
Either way sorry for keeping you waiting.