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Fenn
Moon
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2020
The signs of winter were well into play and with them came the desperation of people just trying to survive. Villagers scattered among the woods, their fingers frozen down to the bone as they tried to pluck roots for their soups, chop wood for their fires and kill prey to fill their hungry bellies. It was a hard life yet did offer it's moments of uncomplicated bliss in it's simplicity. There was no bustling chaos of a city, no threats of war from other humans - only the natural balance of nature.
Several layers of fluffy white snow crunched beneath Layka's boots as she weaved her way through the dense trees. Strapped to her back was a woven basket which had barely begun to be filled with whatever edible scraps that the forest could provide, yet her fingers were an angry red from a lack of proper mittens. At least she was layered underneath her heavy wool cloak that provided an appreciated amount of shelter from the raging winds.
As a gust of wind slithered around the forest, it kicked up dusts of snow and tousled the woman's wild curls. The soft red tresses glistened under a small patch of sunlight as she looked up toward the breaks in the sky through the tree tops. Despite that it was still early afternoon, the darkness that winter brought and being secluded in the forest made it feel as though it were always dark. Perhaps she shouldn't venture so far from her home for such little pay offs.
Layka had always been the one of the most curious of the villagers. She pressed the edges of the surrounding territory in hopes of seeing something, finding something, meeting something... The Village of Boulderrest was secluded, alone, cut off from the main functions of the world. They were withdrawn by choice, preferring to rely on the earth and what it provided them than risk seeking convenience through people of their own skins. Loyalty meant little to those who were greedy for money, power and time. While the young woman understood the ways of her people, she did not have room in her heart to share their reclusive desires - not when she yearned for so much more than what a single forest could ever off her.
Shrugging the basket off her shoulder, Layka took a peak down into it with pursed lips. She sniffed her dull red nose and scowled at the meager find. The woman hiked the basket into place, settling the straps on her shoulders before turning to head back home.
It was an easy hike but perhaps a little confusing to someone who didn't venture out of the village often. Layka climbed over a few small rock walls and dips in the mountain edge that would eventually lead back onto the beaten path that lead to her village. The closer that she got though... the more strange she felt.
There was a distant noise - an almost buzzing, that Layka had never heard Boulderrest before. Her steps hurried but stopped altogether when it became apparent that the buzzing was actually screaming. Loud, desperate, endless cries from within the village. The basket on her back fell to the ground as her hands released, instead all her energy focusing into taking off into a run as hard as she could. The aching of her cold toes and fingers were forgotten within the sound of her own racing heart beat.
Metal clanking, deep voices yelling and blood spilling. Layka skidded to a stop at the edge of her village upon seeing the carnage. The tops of the wooden cabins were on fire, people were scrambling away only to be forced to the ground when heavy blades came slashing down onto them. Blood splattered against the same white fluffy snow, staining it red. Pale blue eyes stared in horror at the scene and swiveled all around as she was forced to come to reality that her village, her life, her people were being attacked and slaughtered. Attention zoned in on the deep leathery skin, the muscles, the tusks - orcs.
What should she do? What could she do? It was only a few seconds of stumbling upon the destruction of her people and yet it seemed to be happening in slow motion. Layka was no warrior, no hunter with a weapon - nothing. She wasn't even sure if the tiny blade that she carried to cut tree roots would be long enough to penetrate passed the monster's thick skin and cause damage before inevitably getting killed herself. With that realization of herself, her eyes caught the attention of a distant enemy. Their gazes locked and suddenly the orcen warrior was barreling toward her with a crooked grin stretching around his curved tusks.
Brain shutting off, Layka followed her body as it tried to survive. She twisted on her heel and took off running through the woods. Snow flew up behind her with her heavy steps, feet sinking into the soft snow and making it that much more to run. The only benefit she had was that she easily moved through the trees while the huge man was at least slowed down as his shoulders smashed into the thick trunks. Her breaths heaved out of her in bursts of white fog, mouth hanging open and the cold air burning through her lungs. Tears swelled in her eyes from the air and emotions but she blinked them away in a desperate attempt to see.
With luck Layka managed to earn distance between herself and the threat. With her body barely able to breathe, she dove behind a large collection of rocks which created an overhang above the edge of a shallow cliff. She curled her knees upward, trying to make herself as small as possible and her hands clamped over her mouth to stop her rigid breathing from being heard. The forest was silent in that moment but soon she could hear the faint heavy steps of the orc and his own angry breathing and snorting. She squeezed her eyes shut before peeling them open and slowly turning toward the edge of the rocks opposite of where she entered.
To her horror, Layka was immediately met with the sight of death. Laying in the snow was the body of her own father. His murder having been fresh, his blood continued to flow into the snow as seeped into the snow and onto the rocky ground. Her hands shook as she tried not to allow herself to scream or make noise but tears begun to spill as she stared. The man who had raised her, who had taught her to ride a horse, hugged her at night and kissed her foreheads and thrown her into the air so high that she was sure she could touch the sky...
There was no time to mourn. The sound of the footsteps got closer but the shock and devastated Layka found herself looking over her shoulder to see the massive orc staring down at her from around the rocks. She finally screamed, scrambling backward to escape him as he reached out to grab her. His heavy body placed weight onto the overhang with her to try and get closer.
The ledge trembled under them. Layka looked down at the stone as it began to crack and then back to the orc.. and then she fell.
As the ground gave out from underneath both her and the orc, the beast was able to stop himself from plummeting downward. She was not so lucky and she screamed as she stared at the face of the man who had chased her toward her own demise before she felt her body crash into something solid. Trees? Rocks? The ground? She couldn't tell. She tumbled and rolled, the air being knocked out of her and unable to regain as she was thrown around by gravity.
Eventually the woman landed into the plush snow with a thump and her body laid limp against it. Layka couldn't feel the cold or the pain or anything in that moment. Her brain wasn't even sure if she was alive and even when her eyes open, she remained laying there with her face half submerged into the snow. Did the orc think she were dead? Apparently so, since he did not follow her to finish the job.
