Sol Grim

The Origin: A War Resumed (Arc One; Completed)

Dalious vs Tihn

At the mistaken name Tihn just rolled his eyes, shaking his head some. In his right hand he held the dagger that he had stabbed Dalious with in a regular grip, briefly wiping it against his pants. In his left hand he held the other dagger in the reverse grip still, beginning to step forwards at a slow pace.

Suddenly he began to move forward at a much quicker pace. His left arm snapped forwards, flinging the dagger in that hand straight at Dalious as he continued to approach, drawing the dagger he kept a hold of back.

Dalious swayed away from the daggar, then backed into a fencing stance. One arm was behind the back and the other defending the attacks. He backed, step by step, blocking and swaying until he saw an opportunity in the footwork. He stepped off and lunged aside, rolling and picking up his second dagger from the ground in the process. He moved back up to his feet and held both blades to his sides.

"What's in the bags?" he wondered.

As Dalious took the time to retrieve his dagger, Tihn did the same for his own weapon that he had thrown just moments before. Rather than keeping it out however, he instead sheathed it once again as his hand went back to one of the bags, briefly reaching inside before pulling out a clenched hand. Once more he went on the assault, keeping the closed hand back as he attacked with the dagger in his right.

Quite suddenly, he flung the left hand out and down, uncurling his fingers. A dark, almost dust-like substance was flung to the ground, and upon impact it sparked before popping with small explosions in a flash. Though the sudden flare of heat was surprising, it didn't actually burn Dalious as it was aimed just before his feet, and was used to distract so that Tihn could suddenly swing in with another blow.

The pirate was expecting some sort of shattered glass or sand when the opponent grabbed from the bag. He focused on deflecting his attacks the best he could, but his main priority was blocking whatever substance the guy was about to throw into his eyes. Finally it came, and he raised one of his daggers across his face and closed his eyes briefly, while turning his head slightly and simultaneously raising his second dagger in a blind attack.

It wasn't what he thought it would be, though, as a spark came from the floor. It didn't phase him, and his blind attack managed to block the oncomers real intended strike in a loud 'clank' that rung through the arena. The attack was so hard as it was blocked that it sent a spiraling jolt through Dal's body, also pushing him back a bit. It was an unnerving feeling that made him sick to his stomach, or maybe that was the night before's rum.

"I had to ask..." Dalious said, spitting to the ground and shaking his head. "Now I'm really not remembering your name."

The brief second he had was enough to gather himself. He lunged forward, faking a strike with the left weapon and swiping the opposite direction with the right. Then he spun around in a half circle in the direction he was already moving, bringing both blades at Tihn.

With Dalious' attacks Tihn began to backpedal, deftly dodging and avoiding the first attack by Drosil. He did so by ducking back and forth and leaning back with his steps. With the dodges his hand went back to his pouch, resting inside of it as the man waited and waited for an opportunity to be presented by Dalious.

"Tihn."

The moment came with the double blow from the pirate, and as it came Tihn once more flung his hand forwards. The strange dust-like substance was tossed forwards, in the path of Dalious' blows. The man leaped backwards as the pirate's blows passed through, and when Dalious' blades inevitably struck even one bit of the substance the initial ignition was enough to send the entire cloud up in a sudden, quick flash of heat and light.

The burst of light blinded the man in an instant, as he came falling back down to the floor. His instinct formed into a roll upon the ground until he was even again. Immediately he tossed a dagger at where he remembered Tihn was, then stood back up with his eyes closed and a clenched face. A bit of blood trickled down his eyes as he put both hands on the hilt of the single dagger.

"You fight...like a pirate," he spoke. The man considered magic and trickery to be cheating when it came to a one on one fight, which was usually why he was always the one in previous contests that used a lot of foolery. His options were limited in this particular fight, however, and he had no choice but to accept it for what it was. "You remind me of myself, mate. That just won't do."

He stood still, both hands still upon the hilt of his blade. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the movements around him. He could vaguely hear the others as they fought, but his senses zoned in on the man across from him.

"Go on," Dalious told him. "Finish what you started."

The dagger that was tossed at Tihn failed to hit its target as the man spun away from it, eyes coming to rest on Dalious once again. With the man relatively blinded Tihn felt no need to pursue just yet. There was no need to be impatient, despite what the pirate may have said to him. Even though Dalious couldn't see, his opponent just shook his head slightly at what the pirate said.

"That comes off as an insult, you know."

He held his dagger up carefully, before drawing the other. There was no need for the powder at the moment, not with his opponent already blinded. He took slow, light steps around the pirate, holding both weapons in a reverse grip. His movements were slow, carefully, as he continued circling around the pirate... before, quite suddenly, he took several light steps that were much quicker than before, circling around the pirate to his back before he suddenly lunged forwards, bringing up both daggers to stab them down towards Dalious' neck.

Dalious remained quiet in response. Everything zoned out in the silence for the moment. He found his mind quickly bringing up a memory he had once played out. The ocean, in all its glory and splendor, was the last time he remembered it ever being this dark and still. He found peace under the waves, where everything seemed to be more simple. He had a glimpse in his thoughts of the tiger shark that once attacked him. He knew it was there with him, but could not see the animal. The rush he felt when it swam near to him and attacked, when his instincts from practicing movements in the waters kicked in. His natural fluid like motion drifted aside and just out of reach from its jaws. He remembered grabbing the fin and being pulled alongside the creature as he found the split moment of time for his escape back to the ship.

He felt that rush now. Just before the attack, his instincts set in. Dalious ducked down and swayed backward out of the way, toward the opponent and then behind him. In the same motion, he brought his left hand up bringing his dagger to the man's throat while his other hand clenched his hair. His blade pressed against Tihn's adam's apple and he paused.

"Yield," Dalious said, somehow finding himself not wanting to kill the man.

Tihn blinked in surprise, eyebrows slowly furrowing. For a moment, he seemed to consider his options, before he sighed and shrugged slightly. Very slowly he brought his blades down, sheathing them with another sigh and giving a nod. "Very well then, if you insist. Well played."

"Really?" Dalious started. "I was hoping you'd have something ill to say, so that I may shower the arena's floor with a spectacle of blood and glory. Fair is fair, though." He released his blade from the man's throat and sheathed it as well. "You fight well Tihn, I will not forget your name. If I do not see again, it is your ugly mug that I will be cursed to have forever embedded within my mind, as you are the last I was to see."

He gave a slight respectful bow, then turned to walk away but realized he was still blind.

"Uh...a little help?"

The Dead and the Dying

Johnny helped in freeing the horses, realizing there was no choice at the moment. He patted Gandalf gently and gave a nod, as Reena made them all run off.

"We'll find them," he assured her, as he grabbed his stack of supplies and followed into the basement.

Dallen stayed closest to the window, motioning for everyone to stay silent. After a few minutes, the first shadows passed by. The sound of the roamers could be heard just outside next, which got louder as more came. One by one the dead walked by, some faster than others. Dallen watched their feet shuffle across the grass. They were as silent as a mouse inside the basement, so Dallen was confident they would get through this.

Johnny stayed quiet near the door to the house, thinking about the special infected he had come into contact with the night before. That fiend could smell them, if there were any in this group. He wanted to tell the others about it, but couldn't at the moment. He just held on to the door and waited for it to end. Couldn't be to much longer now.

"Heellp!!!" a woman's cry rang through the air from the outside.

A gunshot followed. Then another. The momentum of the horde seemed to slightly adjust, now heading directly into the bulk of the few houses. A few more gunshots and screams were heard. Dallen gave everyone a stern look and still motioned them to be silent. Whoever was out there was now on their own.

"Oh my God, run!!" the woman's voice screamed. Another, higher pitched female voice screamed in agony.

Ethan raised an eyebrow and immediately moved over to the window beside Dallen, who shot him an unerved look. Ethan's face turned to worry as he peeked outside, just in time to see the woman run into view.

"Heelp!! Anybody!!"

Ethan's eyes shot wide open as he saw the woman, his wife. The dead were on her trail as she wobbled toward an outhouse, blood trailing down one of her arms. She entered the small unit, closing the wooden door to be met with walkers rushing it. They clawed and scratched the weak wood, as his wife let out a helpless bone chilling cry.

Ethan ran over to Johnny and went for the door, but a confused Johnny stepped in front of him. "What are..."Johnny started.

"That's my wife!" Ethan yelled.

"You can't..." Johnny began again, but Ethan ran out of patience already and socked him a good fist to his face. Ethan slung the inner door open and rushed outside.

"Here!! Here!! Over here!!" Ethan screamed to the dozens of undead surrounding him.

He ran across the field, firing his rifle at any walkers that were to close. He kept at it until he ran out of ammo, then using the gun to push and bash them away as he drew closer to the outhouse.

"Sarah!! Sarah it's me Ethan!!" he yelled.

"Ethan!!"

He shoved off the few at the outhouse door, but with the horde now surrounding them he had no choice but to enter with her and close it back up.

"You found me?" she said, tears welling down her face.

"I knew I would," he said, breathing heavily. "Where are the boys?"

She broke out even harder in tears, as the walkers again began to claw at the wood.

"They didn't make it," she said through sobs, barely being able to speak from utter fear. "You should have stayed away."

She lifted her arm and showed him a large piece of her flesh was bitten off. Ethan's heart sunk into his chest.

A few walkers entered the house that they were all under. Dallen ran over and shut the door, locking it tight.

"Now we have a bigger problem," Dallen said.

The Dead and the Dying

They reached the safety of the houses. Dallen opened up the basement to one and they went inside. There was a small wooden window that peeked over the overgrown grass outside, which was the only source of light in the room.

"I saw the herd coming from the quarry a mile back or so," Dallen told them. "I think all those people went out there to form a plan. They all drove there, some of them must have been infected and no one knew it yet. They've been following the gunfire up to this area. Probably be here shortly."

"Then why are we staying here?" Ethan asked. "Shouldn't we...get the hell out of here!?"

"You'll get tired eventually, these things don't," he replied. "They'll keep coming until they find you. Best thing to do is wait it out, let them pass. They'll move on down the line to the next poor soul. Maybe release the horses, let them chase after them."

"We have others!" Ethan said. "If we just let them pass by, they'll just move on to them. We have to warn them!"

-----------------------------

Johnny trotted alongside Reena as they moved on down the trails. He was relatively quiet, wondering if the girl with him would be able to handle what she had just done. It wasn't an easy thing to kill a man. He remembered the first time he gunned down a rival gangster in a shootout. At the time it was kill or be killed and the guy deserved it, but he still couldn't shake the kid's face from his mind.

"I wasn't exactly unemployed," he eventually told her. "I was a drug dealer. A nobody. The day this happened, yesterday, I was being raided by police. I only escaped because of what's going on now, found James, and here I am."

He looked off to the side, unable to look the girl in the face when he told her. Something caught his eyes as he did, though, and he pointed off into the direction.

"Those are your horses!" he said, pointing to the two James and Ethan were on. They were tied up outside a few houses.

He made his way over and dismounted, pulling out his glock as a precaution. The basement door suddenly flung open and Ethan was there.

"Saw you coming," Ethan said. "We, uh, went to the smoke in the sky and found this guy Dallen. He saved our lives."

"What are you doing in there?" Johnny wondered.

Dallen made his appearance known by coming out. He looked beyond Johnny and Reena and saw a group of birds flying off in the sky.

"They're here," Dallen said.

The Origin: A War Resumed (Arc One; Completed)

Not christopher! Damn he was so young and...youthful. seven hells! Sorry im late to the reading.

The Dead and the Dying

"Six and eight," Ethan said. He wasn't sure himself if it would be them, as nothing he saw could justify it, but he followed through the trees on path anyway.

The large, thick smoke they had seen from the farm earlier was just beyond the nearest trees now. The brush was thick, so Ethan dismounted and tied his horse's reigns to a low branch. He pushed forward, and on the other side of the brush he saw a crashed helicopter. Smoke still rising from it, he raised his shirt over his mouth and approached.

"You! Hands up!" yelled a voice.

Three men in military fatigues came seemingly out of nowhere. They rushed the two and brought them to the dirt, spreading there arms and legs. It happened so fast, Ethan had no time to think.

"Where's all the gear you stole?" the man asked.

"They have horses!" the furthest one said.

"Check 'em."

"Gear?" Ethan was confused. "We're just looking for my family. We-"

"Shut up!" the man stepped on one of his hands, bringing Ethan to silence. He cringed from the pain.

"Nothing," the man called out. "They're clean. What do we do with them?"

"Kill them."

"Wait!" Ethan suddenly found his voice again. "He's just a kid! Let him go, please!"

The man aimed his AR-15 at James and laughed.

"It's a new world stranger," the man said. "There are no kids anymore. No women, children...it's just us and them. It's nothing personal, it's just survival."

A crackle of gunfire rang out through the trees. Ethan buried his face in the dirt and tensed up his body, expecting the worst. When the gunfire stopped, he looked up and saw all three men lying on the ground. Two were instantly dead, but the third was gurgling up blood as he stared up to the sky. A man in a black suit walked by, coming out from the trees. He stood over the dying man and aimed his rifle down at him. He fired off a single shot to the downed man's head.

"Get up," Dallen said.

Dallen began collecting the weapons, handing a rifle to Ethan and one to James as they stood. The last weapon he slung over himself.

"They're coming," Dallen told them. "You have a place to hide?"

"We're...we're looking for my family," Ethan stuttered, accepting the rifle. "They might be near."

"They're dead," Dallen said bluntly. "You will be to if you don't listen to me. We need to find shelter for now. There's to many of them coming this way."

"The military?"

"The dead," Dallen said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Johnny huffed, smelling himself in the process.

"I picked this biker jacket up on the way," he informed her, pulling out a small bag of weed from one of the pockets. "How'd that get in there!"

He laughed a bit when she told him she was a nerd.

"You didn't have to tell me that, I figured as much," he joked.

He followed her to the point of interest, staying near the back and taking as many supplies as he could while trying to avoid any confrontations. He loaded the horses up a first time when he heard the commotion going on inside. He went in to see Reena on the floor, a guy standing over her. He raised his glock and aimed it at the man.

"Move and you're dead," Johnny said. "Time to go, Reena."

Another guy came from the side isle and tackled Johnny. The handgun went sliding across the floor as the man started punching him on his sides. When the attacker raised a fist into the air, Johnny quickly brought his legs up and wrapped them around the arm and his head. His right hand controlled the man's other arm as he squeezed with his hips, pulling tighter and tighter until the guy was beginning to black out.

"Goodnight," Johnny said, as the man went limp.

He tossed his body aside and stood, only now being faced with the same guy from before. This time, he had picked up Johnny's gun and aimed it at him.

"Shit."

The Dead and the Dying

I wish I was better at this.

@alexfangtalon

No worries mate, the beauty of writing is imagination. No ones better then the next, we all just delve into each others minds.

And ok always!

The Origin: A War Resumed (Arc One; Completed)

I taught ol Jack everything he knows.

The Origin: A War Resumed (Arc One; Completed)

Face eater? My gods. Thats a way better idea. Goat face eaters! Seven hells.

The Origin: A War Resumed (Arc One; Completed)

Dalious vs. Tihn

Dalious smiled as he looked upon one of the most beautiful woman he had ever encountered. Her hair was long and white and her eyes golden as the sun. She lie next to the man giggling in his ear, as he gently brushed his hand down her nude form. He had no idea who she was or where she had come from, but her presence was relaxing for the rugged pirate. He touched her soft hair and brought her face toward his for a kiss.

"You're beautiful, love," the man whispered as their mouths connected.

Yet, it wasn't as he expected. Something was off. The woman started licking his face furiously, slobbering all over him.

He suddenly awoke from the dream. There was a small goat hovering over him, licking him to death. Simultaneously the beaming brightness from the morning's sun blinded the pirate.

"...the blooming hell!!?" Dalious shoved the animal off and sat up.

As he wiped his face from the disgusting slobber, he saw a small dirty round man staring back at him. He was holding a bucket of water and shaking his head.

"You're a certain kind of sick, mister," the man spat, then tossed the bucket's water all over Dalious. "Get out of here and leave my Tabitha alone."

"Oh, piss off!" Dalious spat back, shaking off the chilling cold water as he arose. "...Where the bloody hell am I?"

He realized he was just outside of the city in some farming stable, near to the entrance. A few locals were around shaking their heads. Dalious took off his wet clothing and tossed it, now only wearing his sand colored under tunic, sleeveless and armorless. He wobbled around for a moment trying to get his footing back, as his head ached from the night's drinking before.

Dalious eventually made his way back to the arena. By this point in time he was himself again, except still hungover. Being weaponless, he was led through an armory on the way through to the others. He observed the various forms of wood and metal, wondering what kind of weapon he was to face off against. He found a pair of rusty, yet sharp, steel daggars and strapped their sheaths around either side of his waists. It had been awhile since he held steel, but as he gripped the leather handles the feeling came back to him quickly. He spun the blades around and twirled them a bit, until he was satisfied and ready.

Moments later he was among the others he was to fight alongside. As the preparations were beginning, he turned to his side and patted the mage on his shoulder.

"Drosil, shall we wager?" he asked. "Whomever finishes their opponent last buys a round of shots?"

It wasn't but seconds later that they saw what they were up against. A few woman, a few seemingly capable men, and a scorpion folk little person. After he looked at everyone, he paid his attention to the man he would be facing. Similar weapons, though he wore a sort of armor and had various bags attached to him.

"I suddenly feel a bit underdressed," he muttered to no one in particular.

"Begin!"

As the prince went forward, Dalious found himself at a calm walk toward his opponent. He smirked to the man as he unsheathed his daggars, spinning one impressively between his fingers and wrist. The two formed their own circle within the arena pit, off to one side away from the others. He eyed his opponent, cautiously awaiting an attack.

"Nice armor," Dalious said. "It would look better on me, mate."

He spoke to the man to see if there would be any distraction in him, but the pirate paid most attention to his foot work, without eyeing down. Dalious could fight in either stance, orthodox or southpaw, and depending on how the man stepped, he changed his own footing very subtly. He waited until the angle was right, then cross stepped inward the circle and drove a straight blow toward the man's face. He expected the man to duck from the attack, while at the same time bringing his second blade in a swiping manner at the chest.

Dalious' opponent watched him with disinterest as the two circled one another. He hadn't seemed too impressed by the pirate's display of drawing his daggers, nor did he seem too impressed with what he had to say about his armor. He just gave a slight scoff even as Dalious went on the attack. Rather than ducking as Dalious expected, the man brought up one dagger to deflect the more deadly of the pirate's blows while he turned and leaned away to avoid the more blunt punch. Sparks flew as their blades slid along one another.

"I don't think you could make anything look good, mate."

With that the man suddenly moved, bringing up his second dagger in a stab towards the pirate's chest as he pulled the blade he had blocked with back, keeping it readied even as he attacked.

Dalious rolled to the right and out of the way, swinging the daggar in his left hand at the man's heels during the motion. The pirate stanced into a kneel and brought both blades across his front in the form of an x. He huffed at the opponent's comment and blew his hair out of his face.

"Now you've crossed the line!" he said.

Dalious spun the other way, pushing off with his legs and jumping into the air. He brought his blades around in a whirlwind toward the opponent.

The man had jumped over the swing towards his feet in order to avoid the blow entirely, not pursuing Dalious any farther. He allowed the pirate to come to him, flipping both daggers around into a reverse grip and holding them defensively as the man approached. With the pirate's sudden attack his opponent blocked with minimal movement, adjusting his arms back and forth slightly to block with the daggers before suddenly pushing with both forwards to force a lock with Dalious.

"Pretty sure that line was already crossed when you came in smelling like a barn, just so you know."

Dalious gave the man a nerved look and a raised eyebrow. He pushed off from the connection and backed away to sniff his pits. He then nodded in agreement.

"You have me there..." he said. "Damn you!"

He lunged forward again, this time with consecutive strikes from left to right in a rapid motion. Then right to left, and a continuous mixture of the two.

Keeping his daggers in the same reverse grip, the man continued to focus on block. As it became more and more apparent that Dalious was resorting to similar strikes in his speed, the man made his move. Suddenly using one dagger to block, he thrust with that arm to throw Dalious off balance. In his other hand he flipped his dagger around, suddenly stabbing forwards. The dagger sunk deep into Dalious shoulder and was ripped away quickly after he kicked forwards, hitting the pirate in the stomach and knocking him back.

Slowly straightening, the man ran his hand through his hair briefly, before shaking his head slightly. "The name is Tihn, by the way. Doubt you'll remember it, though."

The pirate rolled a bit backward, gripping his wound which was parallel to his previous one. He looked across the floor and realized he had also dropped one of his daggars. He winced and stood back up, cracking his neck and gripping his blade tighter.

"Well, you're right about that Todo," he said. "Lets finish this."

The Dead and the Dying

sorry really lame post lol. I've never actually fallen off a horse, but I have driven one into a bunch of shrubs and bushes before.