[hider=My Hider] https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oLSdl-CdOBo#t=1266 [/hider] Freda heaved her sword in an arc, slashing against another warrior's sword in a shower of sparks. The warrior recoiled back as they collapsed sword. She twisted her sword down his blade and then forward over the cross-guard - which sent the broadsword through the Knight's faceguard and into his head. She recoiled with a gasp, twisting her head to the side and pulled the sword out from the man's face. He fell down. Dead. Another glance at her echo-less form sent shivers down her spine. The form of a dark shade as it was before. This was all a dream, she knew - she was somewhere but was not awake. She knew it. Even if she had all her abilities of fighting. Freda stood over the giant stone gate, it was open for her now. The only issue was all the warriors of old she found. All corrupted and black just as she was; the angry souls of the dead would assail her wherever she went. They all seemed in an immense influx, even if only a few went to attack her. They swarmed the area, almost - as if some grand event was about to actually begin. Whatever it was, the feeling was ominous but no fear filled her; it was as if something guarded her from it. Or what kept her hidden in the dense mass of timeless warriors. Past the gate and through the grand entrance there seemed to be the remnants of a town here with ancient language no one could try to decipher, yet the spirit that guided her helped with this. It, he, she? Whatever it was, appeared as a young woman, Ellie of all people. Shimmering with light and beyond ethereal. This was certainly -not- Ellie, it just took her form for... her comfort? Freda did not know. She heaved out a sigh from behind her helmet, lifting the faceguard to inspect the walls they were before. [hider=My Hider] pause music :) play this https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ffLbdhP0auc#t=1778 [/hider] "[i]Once there was people here. You see that now, with your own echoing-eyes. You will remember. You came here on my accord, so I may tend to your wounds here. I cannot act on your plain of existence, so call this your 'healing', my Lady.[/i]" The spirit inclined her head with a small smile that was more creepy than anything else. It disappeared only to reappear at the opposing side of the wall. "[i]There was a King who lived here. An Elder, just before what happened here. The world was very young and he was building civilization as you see it -now-. So many years were lost when these people perished under their own timeless waste.[/i]" The spirit landed right beside the warrior, motioning out to the wall. "[i]You will prevent all that, Risley. I will be your guide and guardian through this dark time. I cannot allow this to happen once more. Go to your people and you will see. Rally all you can and... bring me this girl. She will be my key. The Cultists are already clawing at her mind, that and her friend too - I felt it in my power discharge. They are slowly becoming their Thralls. If you ever need me, dream for me, Freda. I will take you into my arms. Now explore, learn. Find. You now come as you please[/i]" She smiles once again, then closed her eyes and disappeared once again - the apparition just vanished before her eyes, the energy simply evaporated. What was she to do, she wondered. Then wondered if the spirit could read her mind, which made her growl. "How can I trust this..." Freda whispered to herself."... It's all so convenient. Yet, it did save me." The warrior sheathed her sword and wandered through the city once again. The place was empty, abandoned, everything had caved in on itself but the foundations still stood. Even standing remarkably well. She was right about how they built things to last, even the street layout was completely alien to her; the signs still stood and the roads were in perfect condition. Yet, she couldn't read whatever the hell was on the sign, so she just took the path upwards to see what she could 'find', as the spectral Ellie said. Almost as pushy as the other girl, she thought. Makes me carry her everywhere. A shallow laugh filled her mouth which she let out quietly. There was a long walk down a corridor of houses and dilapidated shops but sooner or later she hit some large set of stairs that lead up into a dense, dense fog. This put her on edge, but there was no way to go back now. The sword exited her scabbard and the woman took the stairs up as slowly as she could. Thankfully, these people built big. The stairs were very, very wide. Almost as if to save space. Or that they had an immense excess for whatever this building was. It reminded her of the Cathedral of Saint Dar almost. Strange. It took her nearly ten minutes of straight ascending to finally hit a flat surface. The fog was freezing to feel and she knew something would certainly be lurking within. It was Salvation, she prayed for. Freda marched forward only to be met by a set of large gates that opened straight for her - as if just by magic. This caused her to halt, half expecting some giant monstrosity to walk out and say hello. Luckily, this did not happen. Begrudgingly, Freda progressed on through the gateway. She made her way into the giant fortress of a place of worship, or perhaps this was just a governance building? A great Palace for a great King, huh. Freda smiled at that and took a few more steps inside before being great with a warrior. One not like the rest, as he had great wings made of corrupted black mess, his feet were that of a Drake's and hand's that of a reptiles. His face was covered in a black cloud that the shade's carried. He called out to his challenger. "You have come! Finally. A challenge. Defeat me and we speak. Lose and you die. Here and there." The creature hissed and threw his wings down, then back - he used this propel himself forward with a lighting fast speed, tearing straight through the air and towards the wood-be hero. She swung upwards with her sword to try and spike the creature but to no avail, she sliced against his armour and recoiled back, quickly getting out of the way of this monstrous beast. The creature held a giant two-handed blade, larger than Freda herself. She concluded that parrying that was probably not going to work. She then just relied on him being slow, which he wasn't. The woman jerked backwards, getting out of range and awaited his first swing, which came quicker than she imagined. He slammed the sword down into the rock just inches away from her, though this gave her time the time to close the distance and slice at his hand. With some amazement in her eyes, she sliced through the ethereal hand and destroyed it entirely - she assumed this meant she "cut if off", somehow. There was no pain from it, it'd seem - it just disappeared. Alas, the large Draconid warrior sent a kick straight for the lumbering warrior and sent her flying. She scraped across the ground for quite awhile before she came to a slow halt, gravity helping quite the bit. A coarse sigh came from her and as suddenly as adrenaline filled her, she fell to the ground and seemed to just lose all sense of being. She closed her eyes and opened them in a totally different world. Freda came back around with a desperate gasp for air and them down to the ground. Her eyes crossed with the sobbing Miriam's in utter confusion, which gave her a few seconds of clarity to collect herself. The warrior came to a stand, then a wobble and then just collapsed down onto her knees. "[i]It was Freda, by the way. Given I know your name.[/i]" She fell back onto her legs and took a pose that of an exhausted woman but she felt... invigorated, the spirit wasn't lying about this at least. Miriam wasn't all too pleased to be in this state but still continued to weep for a good while only to slowly come back around, more when she saw the woman going to collapse, given she felt that was more important to assist than anything else. Yet, she wasn't needed it'd seem. She would smile for a second and nod, perhaps feeling safer? "[i]Dumb name, Southerner.[/i]"