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A quick intro of sorts into a possible story. Wanted to see if people were interested or not. I really just sat down and wrote this in about 45 minutes or so.
As always, comments appreciated in the Tales from Sin thread. Let me know what ye think, and more may come of this.
In the distance, the once tall and proud spires of man rotted and decayed, illuminated by green flashes of lightning across the sky. The city would have been reclaimed by nature long years ago if not for the cataclysm that destroyed so much of Gaia’s grace, and left smouldering ruins as the price of humanity’s arrogance.
Across the bleak plains between the grand forest that resolutely stood untouched by the storms that ravaged the cities, and the city of ruins where the remnants of society scrounged out an existence that did not recall the beacon of civilization that had stood for millennia before, a single figure strode. The rain ran off the muddied and tattered red robes she wore, falling from the brim of her hood before the shadows that obscured her features. Black boots traversed over chunks of rock and compact dirt that had not been ploughed or seeded since a previous era.
She paused and looked down at an almost human looking figure, made entirely of steel long since rusted beneath the merciless fall of tainted rain. Brushing her boot over what would have been its head, knocking a circular eye piece out of place, the wanderer examined the pinnacle of human technology and desire to throw away all responsibility and care. Her eyes slid across the wasteland, spotting many more of the robotic husks that were abandoned when forces from myth returned to a land dominated by science.
With a sigh she continued forth, hunched over as gusts of wind grew stronger, as if wanting her to stay away from the city, from her prey.
Then she heard it, even above the rain and violent claps of thunder. A man screaming in agony. In the shadows of her hood, her lips curled upwards in a predatory smile, and her tongue slid over her canines, teasing the sharp tip. Climbing up a small incline she looked down over a ledge upon three men, her robe flapping behind her in the wind.
The screaming man, clutching at a bloodied bandage around his thigh saw her, and his scream turned from one of pain to that of terror. The others turned, and their faces paled when they saw her. Without concern for their injured friend, they dropped him where he lay, and ran as fast as they could towards the city, stumbling over rocky outcroppings and rusted husks of the foregone days.
The wanderer leapt down from the ledge, landing gracefully before the man, looking up at him from her hunch. His chest rose and fell heavily as he scrambled away from her, kicking at the dirt, holding up his hand. He pleaded, whimpered, but she only rose and slid a slim blade from a sheath across her back, the handle near her hip.
“You should not have come,” she growled, her voice as much an animal’s as it was human.
“Who are you?” the man screamed, fear and agony making his voice crack, just before her leather boot stomped down on his chest.
The steel tip pressed against the flesh of his neck, a single drop of blood running out from beneath the dark growth of hair on his neckline.
“Scarlet,” she said simply, and flicked her arm out to the side.
Beneath her, the man’s eyes went wide, and one hand flew to his throat, clutching at the skin and sinew sliced cleanly open. The other clutched at the leather of her boot, but Scarlet merely stood her ground, watching his blood wash away in the rain, mingling with the dark puddles of mud.
When life finally faded from his eyes she smiled, a feral grin as her gaze slowly raised itself to the city. Sliding her blade back into its scabbard she strode forth across the landscape, not needing the scent of the two hunters who escaped... she would find them.
As always, comments appreciated in the Tales from Sin thread. Let me know what ye think, and more may come of this.
Tattered Robes of Red
In the distance, the once tall and proud spires of man rotted and decayed, illuminated by green flashes of lightning across the sky. The city would have been reclaimed by nature long years ago if not for the cataclysm that destroyed so much of Gaia’s grace, and left smouldering ruins as the price of humanity’s arrogance.
Across the bleak plains between the grand forest that resolutely stood untouched by the storms that ravaged the cities, and the city of ruins where the remnants of society scrounged out an existence that did not recall the beacon of civilization that had stood for millennia before, a single figure strode. The rain ran off the muddied and tattered red robes she wore, falling from the brim of her hood before the shadows that obscured her features. Black boots traversed over chunks of rock and compact dirt that had not been ploughed or seeded since a previous era.
She paused and looked down at an almost human looking figure, made entirely of steel long since rusted beneath the merciless fall of tainted rain. Brushing her boot over what would have been its head, knocking a circular eye piece out of place, the wanderer examined the pinnacle of human technology and desire to throw away all responsibility and care. Her eyes slid across the wasteland, spotting many more of the robotic husks that were abandoned when forces from myth returned to a land dominated by science.
With a sigh she continued forth, hunched over as gusts of wind grew stronger, as if wanting her to stay away from the city, from her prey.
Then she heard it, even above the rain and violent claps of thunder. A man screaming in agony. In the shadows of her hood, her lips curled upwards in a predatory smile, and her tongue slid over her canines, teasing the sharp tip. Climbing up a small incline she looked down over a ledge upon three men, her robe flapping behind her in the wind.
The screaming man, clutching at a bloodied bandage around his thigh saw her, and his scream turned from one of pain to that of terror. The others turned, and their faces paled when they saw her. Without concern for their injured friend, they dropped him where he lay, and ran as fast as they could towards the city, stumbling over rocky outcroppings and rusted husks of the foregone days.
The wanderer leapt down from the ledge, landing gracefully before the man, looking up at him from her hunch. His chest rose and fell heavily as he scrambled away from her, kicking at the dirt, holding up his hand. He pleaded, whimpered, but she only rose and slid a slim blade from a sheath across her back, the handle near her hip.
“You should not have come,” she growled, her voice as much an animal’s as it was human.
“Who are you?” the man screamed, fear and agony making his voice crack, just before her leather boot stomped down on his chest.
The steel tip pressed against the flesh of his neck, a single drop of blood running out from beneath the dark growth of hair on his neckline.
“Scarlet,” she said simply, and flicked her arm out to the side.
Beneath her, the man’s eyes went wide, and one hand flew to his throat, clutching at the skin and sinew sliced cleanly open. The other clutched at the leather of her boot, but Scarlet merely stood her ground, watching his blood wash away in the rain, mingling with the dark puddles of mud.
When life finally faded from his eyes she smiled, a feral grin as her gaze slowly raised itself to the city. Sliding her blade back into its scabbard she strode forth across the landscape, not needing the scent of the two hunters who escaped... she would find them.
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