Aegis's History

[aegisaaronaragon]

As far as I can remember, it all started what seems like a life time ago. I was in the employ of Tyr, the Norse god of war and justice. ! Was his right hand angel, his arch angel. It is my duty to see that his orders are carried out immediately, without question and to the letter. We are at almost constant war, minions of hell are moving about mankind with a reckless abandon. Corrupting all that can be corrupted and wreaking no end of misery for the good folk of many different dimensions. No, we are not bound by the limitations of space and time as are those of the realms which we watch over. We, that are Tyr's angels of war, are neither good nor evil ourselves. We just are, we are neutral in all things. We keep those that seek to use the power they have been given to force those that do not see as they do, do not believe in the same way, do not worship in the same way into change. We fight for the side that needs our help, whether it is the side of "Good" Or on the side of" Evil". Because whether you think so or not, both sides have the same right to live as the other. It is up to us to make sure that both sides have the chance to live their lives as they see fit, so long as it does not become detrimental to the survival of the other. Now, do not assume that just because we are angels of war that we are all of the male persuasion. We are not, we are of both the male and female persuasion. And even though we are not "born" we do grow in size, wisdom, age and appearance. We are also capable of emotional responses as well as being killed, though it pretty well takes the power of a God or that of a being with the power of or close to that of a God. Tyr did not see it necessary to keep those things from us, he figured that it would be more helpful in our duties if we had them then if we did not. And yes, we do copulate, though it is more for pleasure then for the propagation of our species. Though Tyr has allowed a few of mu brethren and sisteren to have children, it is not necessary for we are created from the very essence of the arcane weave that surrounds every realm. It also allows us in the use of our arcane abilities to draw directly from the Weave and not need the use of items or incantations. We are able to take the power of the weave and bend it to our wills. This can be of great value for we do not have to replenish used items and spend hour reading over tomes of spells. We have been at war now, for longer than I would like to remember. It seems we get one over with just in time to get to the next one. Our blades and our wings are constantly covered with blood as are our clothes. The smell of death is palatable around us, either I or my brethren or sisteren are free from the stains of battle. And the fields on which we stand are drenched with the blood of all races. The ground is soft and our feet sink deep into the earth, covering them with mud and blood. I am not sure what is happening within the realms, it seems that there is some force that is feeding off the worst of the races. Even those that have stayed out of the wars for this long are now beginning to join in. We have not had a chance to rest and it is starting to take its toll. I have been forced to intervene in more than a few quarrels among my own. The fact that we have lost so many in the wars we have fought, many have been close friends and even lovers. I am sad to say that I have even heard talk of rebellion among the ranks, I have had to inform Tyr of those that have spoken of such. I will spare you the detail of his punishment to my brothers and sisters that spoke of rising against him. For even to this day the sight of what I witnessed still haunts my dreams. I have more or less become an untouchable among my own kind for what I did. Whenever I pass groups of those that I used to call my comrades, they stop talking suddenly and the looks that are given are anything but kind. Tyr will never know of the many attempts made upon my life, he would not be able to punish them even if he did learn of them. I have not been sleeping well since then, the faces of my brothers or sisters that died on my blade now haunt my sleep as well. Every night it’s the same, the look of shock and hatred on their races as they die on mu sword. The blood flecked curses hurled forth as the light in their eyes fades and dies. I have learned that we are going to be moving out soon, a new war is raging off to the East. Against my best advice and our losses, Tyr has chosen to split our forces in half. One half is to remain here and finish this war before joining; us in the East. I have tried to explain to him that such an action is ill advised and ill behooves us to do so. But he is my lord, mu master and I must obey his orders and so the forces will be split in half with orders to join us when this war is won. I don't know how long that will take with half the army gone, or how many will be joining us later on. I do not like leaving like this, it’s foolish and dangerous. Not only to those had we left behind, but to those of us who go. The war in the East is not going well, I have seen too many of my brothers and sisters fall to the blades, slings and arrows of the enemy nor have I heard of how the war to the North goes. Tyr has temporarily pulled me from the field to help tend to the wounded and during. It’s a mistake, I have no real skill at helping with healing or comforting those that are during. The field of war is my bailiwick. More and more he is making mistakes in his judgments, I think these wars are beginning to take their toll on him as well. The other half of our forces arrived today ...well not quite the other half; I have since learned that a third of their number was lost to the enemy. A third...that is too many, they should not have been lost at all. Their blood is on my hands for Tis I who ordered them to Stay, who enforced Tyr's order to split the forces, their deaths are my fault. I should have found a way to keep our forces together; I should have stood up to Tyr and told him he was being a fool for splitting our forces up that way. But I didn't, instead I enforced the order and split our forces and now more of my brother's and sister's blood is on my hands as surely as if I had killed them myself. I have to stop thinking about this; it’s going to make me sloppy, going to get me killed. How can I avenge mu fallen brothers and sisters if I lay dead? I have to find a way to keep it from bothering me so. This is war and people die in war! No...No, that thought does not help. Yes, people die in wars, but these are not people, they are mu brothers and sisters. The blood of three hundred of my brothers and sisters is on my hands, their deaths are my fault. I will not let something like that happen again, not when I can stop it. I will not allow so many of my brothers and sisters to die useless deaths again, I will not allow our forces to be split again. I can only assume that the sight of half our forces leaving the field of battle gave the enemy courage and hope, probably thought that we had fled, not wanting to die on that miserable piece of land and so fought harder than they had been. I will not be responsible for the deaths of any more of my brothers and sisters. I am going to have to face Tyr the next time he tries something foolish like that, I know that I may not live through the experience but it would be better than sending my brothers and sisters off to die on some damned fool war. No, if Tyr wants to split our forces again he will have to enforce it himself for I will not have any more of their blood on my hands. Tyr has gone too far, we cannot keep up this pace. He'll burn us out and more. We have already created two areas of wild mage; even we don't know how our powers are going to react to the areas of wild mage. We have also burned out a large area just south of a major sea port. Its magic dead, meaning that any magic in that area fails. Well....I am back in the infirmary again. No, I am not helping tend the wounded and dying, this time I am flat on my back among them. I said that I would not let any of my brothers or sisters die if I could help its, well, .not sure if I did or not, will have to wait and see. I had seen part of our line go down, children by most of our standards. I could see them dying in my minds eyes and just could not stand the thought of it actually happening. I went to their aid without a second thought, dropped in, all screaming fury and winged death. I don't know if I saved any of them or not, what I do know is that something very fast, very hard and very strong shattered my breastplate. I did my best to protect the children. The blood, all that blood, the spray like mist on the air, the gargling screams of someone....something dying drowning in its own blood. The sharp burning, shooting pain in my left shoulder, the red haze followed by darkness obscuring my sight, the sounds growing distant. The feeling of falling and not being able to stop or catch myself. The feeling of falling into the inky blackness of the abyss, falling forever and then nothing. When I first woke, I had no idea where I was or what had happened, all I knew was that I was laying in a building. I could just make out a few sounds, they seemed distant, and then a face floated into my view. It was hard to make out at first out slowly cleared, I know don't recognize them. Their head lifted and I could see their lips moving but could not make out what they were saying. A few moments later a new face floated into my field of vision, they look familiar but I cannot place them at the moment. Long hair, the color of molten silver spills over her shoulders, the look in her eyes is one of deep concern. But concern for whom, it looks like she has been crying too, but why? Suddenly I am hit with complete clarity. The line, the children, the younglings are in danger! I sat bolt upright....or at least I made it halfway, before I collapsed back. Pain was shooting across my chest, it hurts to breathe. My breath is short and ragged and there is a taste of blood in my mouth, but through the pain I can feel a hand on my shoulder and one in my own. I opened my eyes and they drifted back to her, she seemed to be on the verge of crying again. My only thought was that of the younglings, were they still alive, what had happened? I tried to ask but all that came out when I opened my mouth to do so was a horse whisper, she nodded slowly, her voice was soft and distant, I have trouble hearing her. Most of them had been saved, I had bought them the time needed to pull back to the others, she had been on the line with the younglings, one of the last to fall back. Her name is Tisiphone, I can just make out a slight crimson color to her face. She told me that she had expected them all to die that day. That day? How long have I been here, what day is it. ..The war, what of the war? Her head lowered, hair falling down over her face, she said that she had been scared, she had not wanted to die that day. Her head came back up, I can see tears rolling down her cheeks, and her voice had dropped even more. She said that I had scared her more than the enemy had, she had never heard such rage in one voice, see anyone fight with such fury. Stories of that day were stall floating around camp, whispers of the power unleashed in that fight. She had been running back to join the others, when she had turned to look back, she had seen me standing alone against a dark wave, had seen my breastplate shatter, and had seen me go down. She had turned and had started back to where 1 was, not knowing when she had been grabbed by others falling back. He had struggled to get free, screaming and pleading with them to go back for me. She had finally persuaded two others to go back with her, to fight they way to me. She had been sitting at my bedside since then. I smiled to her, it still hurt to breathe, but I had regained some of my voice. I told her I was Aragon, that I was honored to meet her but wish it had been under better circumstances and that I owed her my life. Her head dropped again and the sound that came from her was something between a laugh and a cry, she was shaking like a leaf in a gale force wind. When she stopped she shook her head slowly, but had not lifted it. She said that if I had not gotten there when I did, she and the others would have all died, that I owed her nothing. I sighed, or at least tried to, the act brought on fresh waves that racked my body with pain, when they passed I could see concern echoed deep on her visage. 1 tried to ask her what it was and felt something warm and wet trickling down my side. It had the annoying tickle of an insect, I had thought it to be only perspiration but when my hand came up it was covered with blood so deep red as to be almost black. She had turned and had started yelling at the healers to get over here, 1 could hear the panic in her voice, she had started to get up and I caught her hand again, pulling her back to the chair and told her to calm down that they would be over here when they could. I tried to laugh and only succeeded in making myself cough. Things are starting to get hazy again, I can see darkness creeping in from all sides and the sounds are growing more distant. I tried to get her to tell me about the war, what was happening. I don't know if she had started to or not, for the next thing I knew was nothing but darkness. When I came back to myself, I felt better. It did not hurt as much to breathe and I could actually sit up all the way, though not without some difficulty and did so. It was dark and I could hear the war clearly, it sounded close. That did not bode well for us. I looked around slowly, letting my sight adjust to the dim lighting. Tisiphone was slump in the chair nearby, asleep. I smiled, shaking my head, it was then that I noticed her sword was clasped in her hands. Its blade dark with blood, a small pool had formed around the tap which rest on the floor. I knew not what they had done with mine, but I knew that if I really needed it all I had to do was call for it. You see, my sword and I are linked, connected. I carefully swung my legs out over the edge of the bed and pushed to my feet. Moving stiffly I made my way to the doors, I had to see for myself just how close to the lines we actually were. I felt my heart sink as I looked out the doors, how could we have lost so much ground? Something behind me stirred, turning and reaching for a sword that was not there, I found myself looking into the eyes of Tisiphone. She had apparently she had heard me get out of bed and had wanted to make sure that I was alright. She had smiled slightly, it was a smile that did not quite touch her eyes. I reached out a hand and lightly stroked her hair. Tisiphone, I said, I'm all right; I'm not going anywhere just yet. I smiled softly telling her that she had not needed to sit and watch over me, not that I mind that she did. It was nice to see such a lovely lady watching over me. She nodded slowly, saying I know, but you almost died because of me and the others. We thought we could handle it, we were wrong. I pulled her closer and gave her a gentle hug stepping back I sighed, which it stall hurt to do and the sigh became a cough. When the cough subsided 1 looked at Tisiphone and shook my head to let her know that it was not anything to be concerned over. I told her that it not only was my duty, but that it was my honor and privilege to have done so I have the blood of too many of my brothers and sisters on my hands already, I will not have any more on my hands if I can help ft. I tried to save you and your friends and was only partly successful, the blood of those that did not make is on my hands. I could see a look of shock and disbelief over what she had just heard. She shook her head again saying that the blood of those that did not make it were not on my hands and that I need not, should not blame myself for their deaths. She added that she had seen me risk everything to save them and now here I was blaming myself for the deaths of her friends and countless others. She left that day, she said that she had to get back into the fight and told me not to wait here too long. I told her that I would rejoin the war when I could, that I would not allow it to go any further then what it had without me. I have to get out of here, from everything I have been hearing our losses have been growing every day that 1 am not on the field. Tisiphone come by whenever she can, her reports are not encouraging 1 am getting out of here tonight, officially released or not, 1 have to get back on the field. I managed to find where they had stored my clothes, armor and my sword. I took everything except the armor, there was not much left of it. Even now the memory of its mangled form causes me to trace the scar and think just how close 1 had come to dying that day. I have made my way back to the field, I am having to be a bit more careful then I used to be for I am not as yet back to my former power, nor do I have any idea when I might be. In this weakened state I run a greater chance of getting myself killed, but if I can save some of my brothers and sisters from dying by sacrificing my own life, then ft will have been well worth it. I have seen our forces and our numbers are nothing like what they had been. We used to number in the millions, now I would have to say that we are less than half that. ! Am not sure just how much longer we will be able to hold, these wars have to end and end soon. Before all the realms are lain waist to. I have not seen Tisiphone on the field, but I know that by now she has learned that I am no longer in the infirmary I know not if she still lives, though I pray that she does. Never before have! Met one like her. Bumped into Tisiphone today, she seems distracted, she had been hurrying to somewhere, almost like she was trying to keep from being seen. She looked worried and when we bumped into each other the look of surprised on her face was unmistakable She had wrapped her arms about my neck and started to cry, whispering her apologizes. I still don't know why she was apologizing to me, I tried to find out what she was talking about, but she only shook her head and hurried off. I don't like this, I know she has been through a great ordeal, but something must have really gotten to her for her to be behaving like this. I had wanted to follow her and force her to tell me what was wrong, but she was moving fast. I had tried earlier on to move at the speeds I was used to moving at and only found that it aggravated my wounds, I would never be able to keep up with her, I would have to hope that I would meet her again soon. Watching her disappear, 1 turned back to the task at hand. The war.,.I was intent on making the enemy pay for every life they took from us, for every one of us that had fallen to them, I was going to make them pay with five of their own. Other legion commanders are looking at me rather oddly, I think that word has spread that I left the infirmary without being released. I have to be careful, if word gets back to the right ears, I will find myself back in that accursed place lying on my back. I have been making my way from one part of the front lines to another, reinforcing our lines where I can and laying waste to the enemies when possible. Thrice now I have had to elude our own enforcers, I do not know for sure if they were looking for me. But I was not about to take any chances,! Do not want to be forced Togo back. I am needed out here, not laying on my back in some sterile room on some miserable cot. I have been on the move now for the better part of the year now, 1 think the enforcers have given up on getting me. I have been growing in strength over the past weeks and months and 1 believe I am almost back to my former strength. 1 have been able to move with almost the same speed that I had been able to move at, and have been able to do greater and greater feats of arcane acts. We are still losing ground and forces at an unsettling rate, I have to do something to level the playing field. Tyr will not be pleased but I cannot stand to see many more of my brothers and sisters die, I am going to get behind the enemy lines and hit them from behind. It’s risky I know, but hopefully I will be able to get them to divide their forces and fight a two front war. At the very least 1 will be able to cause enough damage as to hamper their advance. I will be leaving this night, I don't know if I will make it back or not but it has to be done. It’s been a week since I left the front lines and moved to get behind the enemy, their patrols are many. They are protecting their supply lines better than I thought they might have. I should have guessed though, there is also something strange about their patrols. They seem to be looking for something or someone, it’s not just the usual patrols one would expect to find. I don't know if anyone knew of my leaving or not, if they did I don't believe they would betray me to the enemy. The closer 1 get to the rear of their front lines, the tighter the patrols are getting, I am having to be more careful on when and where I strike for it would not do to get caught. I ran across a patrol a few days ago, I had been getting ready to remove them from the equation. Waiting for the last of them to pass by, when I thought the last one had, 1 started to move and stopped. A straggler came up, he or she was unlike any other rearguard that I have ever encountered before. They seemed equally concerned about those he was following as who else might be lurking in the surrounding tree line. It would be necessary to take them out first, then the rest of the patrol. I sat back and waited for the straggler to pass, but as he grew closer to where I was sitting, they stopped, looking around and then watched the patrol. I watched both the straggler and the patrol, when they rounded a bend in the road; he started to move towards my position. At first I thought they had seen or sensed me, but then why not call the patrol back? I got ready to grab them, pulling them into the underbrush and dispatching them. But at the last moment they turned left and passed just a few meters from where I was. I knew that I would Have to take out the patrol, but I was also curious about where this one was heading to. I waited a few moments and then slowly and quietly started to make my way in the same direction. I stayed close enough so as to keep an eye on them, but not close enough as to have been spotted easily. They were not easy to follow, they were twitchy, moving slowly, eyes looking everywhere. A few times I thought I had been spotted and waited to see, but they just kept moving. I followed them to a clearing, there they stopped and seemed to be waiting for something or someone. I decided to give whomever they were waiting for a little surprise, a dead contact. I started to move out into the clearing, I got to the edge of the trees and got ready kill them. I leaped out and covered the distance between them and myself in the matter of a few seconds. Slamming into them I took them to the ground, elbow connecting solidly with their jaw. Drawing my dagger I raised it to drive it deep into their throat, when I heard a sudden panic filled scream. My head whipped in the direction of the scream, I looked in time to see a dark figure slam into me. I was knocked off the straggler and went sprawling with the figure, struggling to get them pinned down enough for a quick killing strike, I could not allow the straggler to escape and warn others. We had stopped rolling and I had brought the blade around to open up the figures throat, whispering "Salvare personalemente da inferno." As I started to bring the blade down, I heard "Aragon...Stop, it’s me. Please don't". I recognized the voice, it was Tisiphone.

[aegisaaronaragon]

I stopped, blade just touching her throat, I got up shaking my head, and I could not believe it was her. I just backed up not really wanting to believe it. I opened my mouth to speak when she cried out" Ordell,no." I turned to see a blade headed for my throat, moving, I dropped my hand grabbing his Wrist, my dagger heading for his heart. Then she was there again, grabbing my arm saying" No, Aragon, don't loll him...! Love him." I managed to pull back enough to keep from burying my blade deep in his chest, the tip did cut into him. I shrugged her off, stepping back from both of them, my dagger dropping to the ground. In shock and disbelief, I watched as Tisiphone stepped to Ordell and checked his wound, then wrapped her arms around him. Holding him just as close as she could, she knew just how close she had come to losing him twice this night. His arms had enfolded her with what looked like the tender embrace of a lover. The revaluation of what I had learned had sent me reeling, my hand reached out looking for something to hold to as did my mind. Finding nothing to hold on to, I settled for dropping into a crouch. 1 could not believe what 1 was hearing or seeing it did not seem possible. I looked back up at Ordell and Tisiphone, holding each other and shook my head slowly. " So it was you Tisiphone, that betrayed us to them. Why?" It was Ordell that answered first, the scorn in his voice was thick. " Look' Angel", she has not betrayed anyone, she is no traitor. It is because of her that you didn't die that day on the field, we could have killed you and the others that she came back with to get you. But we didn't, we let you all live. I could never hurt her and would never ask her to betray her people. I love her." I stood slowly, not looking at either of them and sighed softly. " Then I thank you for my life, Ordell. Love is a very powerful thing." Lifting my head to look at them again, they still held each other close. I sighed again, eyes filling with sorrow. Not for myself, but for the both of them. " I hope you both know what you are doing, the consequences of your love for each other could be dire. It could cost you both your lives." I took a few steps towards them and turned to face Tisiphone. " I will keep your secret, I will tell no one of what I have seen here this night. Just please, be careful." Turning to look at both again, "both of you." I still could not believe what I was seeing there before me, swallowing hard I turned to face Ordell and held a hand out to him. " Take care of her Ordell. Tor if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and kill you, no matter where you run or where you hide. I will find you." No sooner had I turned to walk away from them, then all sense of reality was ripped away. The next thing I knew, I was standing in Tyr's great hall. Turning I saw Tisiphone standing bound in chains before Tyr's throne. He was there and he did not look at all pleased, I shook my head slowly and let it drop. He knew. Lifting my head once again, I approached the throne and Tyr. I stopped at the dais and dropped to one knee, my head bowed to my master. What seemed like an eternity passed, though I know it was only but a few tense moments, before I dare break the silence. " Master, I..." I could feel his eyes turn towards me, could feel the fury blazing within them. I had dared not look up. The barely contained rage in his voice shook the entire hall. He spoke but one word...well spoke is not quite accurate. Shouted would be more accurate. " SILENCE" I fell silent, not wanting to risk his wrath any further then I already had. I could feel his eyes to return to Tisiphone, I did not know was in store but I knew it could not be good. No it could not be good at all, not for him to have pulled us from the field in the middle of a war. I heard the throne creek as he sat back and sighed, that sigh did nothing to relieve my since of impending doom. I knew he was only trying to gain better control over his fury. He spoke again, his voice was calmer but it still shook a bit with his rage. " Aegis Aaron Aragon...Stand and face me, mine Archangel." I did as I was commanded to do, for to do less would have only infuriated him further. To look upon him, one would not have been able to tell that just beneath the surface was a fury held barely in check. " You went behind my back, defied my orders that you were to remain in the infirmary until such time as you were back to strength. You left our lines and went behind enemy lines and engaged in dishonorable acts of guerilla warfare. Attacking their patrols and supply lines and discovered a traitor among our ranks." He turned his attention to Tisiphone, his eyes narrowing as one hand clenched into a fist. " You may not have supplied the enemy with information about our strengths, weaknesses or numbers or even about our defenses and attack plans. But you have consorted with the enemy and during wartime at that. That is enough to warrant your death or at the very least to banish you forever." His gaze came to rest on me once again and his fist slammed into the arm of the throne as he rose to his full height. " And YOU! You discovered this treachery and instead of killing them both, you let them live. Tor that I should reduce you to the ethereal matter from whence you came." I took, a cautious step towards the dais. " M' Lord. Forgive me. But you have said yourself that nothing evil can come of love. Yes it is true that I did let them live, I saw them together and felt the love that they hold for one another. I heard the pain and anguish in her voice when she thought she was going to lose him. I also know that if she had not cried out when he attacked from behind that I would have a blade buried in my back or neck and that I would be dead now. I do not believe that she has betrayed us in anyway, if she had spoken up first, I would have thought her a liar and would have killed them both then and there and not thought twice about it. But it was he who spoke up first and defended her honor, I believe that she is no traitor," Me next thing I knew was slamming in to the wall at the far end of the hall. Tyr had stepped over and with a single swipe of his massive hand had sent me flying across the hall and into the wall. I slumped to the floor, trying to remain conscious, through blurry eyes I could see that Tyr had pulled Tisiphone up and was holding her suspended in air by her shackles. I could just make out what he was saying to her. "...his fate! He choose to defend you and your actions to me, there for he shall share in your fate. Henceforth you are both banished!!" I tried to rise again and only managed to fall back against the wall once again. At Tyr's decree I heard Tisiphone cry out, I could not tell if she was pleading for leniency on her part or mine, not that it mattered. Tyr had made up his mind, it was pointless to beg. I had just managed to force myself from the floor when I heard a pain filled scream. My head came up so quickly that I almost lost my balance and grabbed the back of a nearby chair. I watched as he banished her, there was no anger, no remorse on his face at all. I could not believe how easily he could have banished one of his children as one does a used sword cloth. Talons dug into the back of the chair, it was flung to the side as I approached him. My own rage welling up within my breast, I found my second dagger in my hand. "BASTARD! How could you have done that? She was innocent, she betrayed no one!" 1 was still moving towards him and sent my dagger flying. Tyr just stood there watching me and shook his head slowly. He knocked the thrown dagger away at the last moment. I don't know what 1 had expected to happen, if he had not been a god, if he had been mortal, he would be laying on the ground dead now, my dagger in his eye. I kept moving towards him, my hand now gripping the hilt of StormBringer. I had started to draw my sword, when I was suddenly surrounded by a blinding silver-white light. The pain was almost unbearable as my birth right was stripped from me. The light penetrated every fiber of my being, I felt as if I was being torn apart from the inside. My mind was ablaze with the silver-white fires as my memories were torn, ripped from me. Then as suddenly as it had begun, it was done and I found myself falling in to the blackness of the abyss. I woke on a beach, I don't know where I am. Worst yet, I don't know who I am. My clothes, they look and feel like silk, they are black in color, torn and shredded. Laying in the sand next to me is a sword, its huge and looks heavy. I should take it with me, I don't know if I am going to need one or even if this one is mine or not. I reached out and lifted the great sword from the sand, the handle fit my hand perfectly and it felt as though it weighed almost nothing. As I stood, something slapped against my left thigh. Jumping and looking left and down I found an empty scabbard, out of curiosity I tried to slide the sword into it. It fits as if made for it, it must be mine, but where did I get such a sword and why was I left laying on this beach? Why did I hurt so, every part of me hurt. My mind, my body. I started to make my way down the beach, I had to find someone that might knows where I was...who I was. The further down the beach I went, I could start to hear voices. Sounds of activity as if coming from a village or a town. As I got closer to the sounds and voices, I could hear some talking of a night of un-natural darkness and violent un-natural storms. How crimson lightning had split the skies, how the howling winds seemed to be more cries of -age. The first inhabitant I had encountered was a child...a girl I believe. She was playing with something, some kind of four-legged animal. She was throwing something, driftwood perhaps; the animal would run after it and bring it back to the child. I had to get her attention, to see if she could tell me. I had continued to walk towards her, the animal.... I think it’s a dog, had been bringing the stick back. It skidded to a stop, dropped its toy and yelping ran back the way it had come. I had started to open my mouth to call to her, to ask her where I was or if she knew me. But she had already started to turn around. When she saw me, her eyes grew wide and the look on her face was one of pure terror. She fell on her back in the sand, I tried to tell her that I would not hurt her, but she had started screaming and scrambled to her feet and had started to run towards the village. She had tripped a few times as she ran in the loose sand of the beach. I had just stopped and watched her run, her screams echoing in my ears. Heart sinking I looked down at my hands, hands that ended in talons and that were as white as porcelain. The tattered black clothing. As I was lifting my head, I caught a glimpse of my shadow on the sand.... my shadow and something more, they looked like...wings. I shuddered and saw the shadow of the wings shudder as well. I had been thinking that it was not me she had run from but some beast that had risen up behind me that had frightened her so. I turned to see what it was that had risen up behind me, there was nothing, but the wing remained. It was not the wing of some other beast; it seemed to be a part of me. Reaching around behind me, I had grabbed the edge of the wing and pulled it forward. It was soft, almost like silk, but it was also cold.... like it was not a living thing. So it had been me the child had fled from, my heart sunk more and I sank to the sands of the beach again. What kind of monster was I that I frightened that child so, that I would have wings so soft and yet so cold? I heard voices coming down towards the beach, I need not look up to know that the child had gone screaming into the village and had either told a relative or family member about the monster that had tried to get her on the beach. The voices were getting closer and closer, hopefully I would be able to explain that I had not meant to scare the child or was I going to hurt her, that all I had wanted was to know if she knew where I was or who I was. Or if she could tell me of someone that might know. I had started to look up when something slammed into the sands off to my left; it was a rather large sized rock. Shortly after the first one hit there came a second and a third, they were getting closer and closer. The last one just missed my right shoulder. I started to get to my feet and heard someone shouting, the next thing I heard was the sounds of bowstrings being released. I started to move and felt one of the arrows bite deep into my left shoulder, just beneath the collarbone. The impact caused me to turn, the second arrow striking one of the wings. Staggering, I made my way back down the beach, my left shoulder burning where the arrow had embedded. I was not going to find any answers here. I heard another arrow released and saw it bury itself in the soft sand of the beach, off to my left. Running over the sand of the beach was difficult, the burning pain of the arrow in my shoulder only made it that much more difficult. I would have flown, but I was not sure how to use those wings and did not want to try them with an arrow stuck in me. If I crashed, I might force the arrow deeper. I just kept running over the uneven surface of the beach, the shaft of the arrow bouncing no matter how much I tried to keep it from doing so. Half of the left side of my shirt was covered in blood; I came across a place that seemed to lead up away from the beach. I climbed the short distance up the embankment, when I reached the top I could see what looked like woods off in the distance. I knew that if I could make it to the trees that I would be safe...at least for the moment, I started to run towards the woods and tripped once. I lay there for a moment, teeth clenched in pain to keep from crying out. I forced myself back to my feet and started to run towards the woods once again. Once I reached them I began to make my way through the trees and underbrush, every so often the end of the arrow would snag on a small branch or something sending fresh waves of intense pain shooting through my shoulder. More than a few times I had sunk to my knees with a groan and tried to catch my breath. After sometime of twist and turns, making my way through the woods. I found a tree, its roots exposed and the dirt washed away. It looked like a good place to hole up for a while, and try to heal. When I got to the middle of the hole, I collapsed on the soft damp ground, by this time the whole left side of my shirt was soaked with blood. My vision was growing dim, feeling light headed. I lay back, resting my head against one of the exposed roots and knew only darkness. When I woke, I did not know where I was or could remember what had happened. I sat up and immediately fall back against the damp ground, my right hand coming up to my left shoulder. For a few moments I could not breathe and just lay there in excruciating pain. I remember thinking that I had to get this arrow out of my shoulder and then everything went black again. When I woke again it was dark out, I had no idea how long I had been out this time. Crawling out from under the tree, I looked around the woods and shook my head slowly. Something strange was happening, the woods were no longer as dark as what they had been; in fact it started to get lighter. At first I thought that it was morning and that the sun was on its way up, but as I emerged from the woods I could see that it was still night. I knew that I had to find someone, somewhere that could and would remove this arrow from my shoulder. But I would have to be careful, I did not want another incident like that one. The blood on my shirt had dried and seemed to have sealed the wound for it was not even weeping any more, slowly I made my way down to the beach once again. I stopped at the water’s edge and kneeling down I washed the blood from my arm and hands as best I could, it still hurt to move my left arm. And from what I could see the flesh around the wound had become a nasty looking red, it was also tender to the touch. Standing I made my way down the beach, in the opposite direction of the village. I did not think that anyone would be awake but I did not want to take any chances. I have been traveling by night now for about a week, finding caves or abandoned dwellings in which to spend the day sleeping. I had been forced to break the shaft of the arrow off, now there is only about four to six inches left sticking out. The swelling has increased, as has the redness.... It's actually become an evil looking crimson and is hot to the touch. I have tried a few other times to approach some of the inhabitants of this land and have had mixed results. But the one thing that has not changed is the fact that all I encounter seem to think me some kind of monster or demon. I actually tried to help a couple one night, it did not go as expected. I have heard some rumors, people talking of a demon that helps people; others say that it's not a demon but one of the dark angels that wander the lands. That caught my attention...One of. Were there more that had been cast down? Dark Angels.... I liked that term better then monster or demon. I had decided to start calling myself Dark Angel; it seemed fitting since I was up during the night. This went on for weeks, as I moved about the lands, trying to find some clue as to who I was...what I was and where I had come from. As time passed I had learned to use my wings, they really are things of beauty. I have since learned that they are not living as one would normally think, but they are a living part of me. While being soft and quite supple, I have discovered that they are in fact a type of steel. Which can and will come in rather handy seeing as how I can use them as shields when and if I am ever forced to fight. As far as I can tell, they are, or rather seem to be able to cut through just about anything. There are also blades hidden within my wings, I found this out purely by mistake. I have to laugh at myself about this one...See I was playing around with my wings, thinking how wonderful it would be if I had some throwing blades. I had spun around and had started to bring the wing out to the side when something came off, or rather out of it. Teach me to play with things I don't understand! I have seen from time to time people walking around with others on some kind of chain or walking around looking at others of their kind in cages and chains. I am not sure why this is or even what, but I have a feeling that whatever it is, it’s wrong. I have learned through careful questioning of select few, that the ones in the chains are called slaves. These slaves are forced to work for anyone with enough money to buy them from ones called slavers. The ones that buy these slaves are then referred to by them as either Master or Mistress, depending on the gender of the buyer. I slowly made my way away from that deprived place, the sight as well as the smell was starting to make me sick. I had gone back to the old abandoned building I had been staying in for the last few days. I had to mull through all that I had seen and had learned. I guess I had been there just a bit too long. I was being rudely kick awake and yelled at, I was not sure what or why at first. But when I tried to get up, tried to move my arms, my legs...I found that I could not, they had been restrained. My eyes came open fast and I looked around at the voices I heard about me. At first it was hard to see, the sun was up. I had forgotten just how bright it could be. When my eyes did adjust to the light, I found myself surrounded by several of the slavers I had seen down in the market place. Seems that I had not been careful enough and had been followed. I was pulled out of the building and thrown none too gently into a rolling cage with others. Regardless of our like situation, the others in the slave wagon all huddled on one side when they got a look at what I was. They too had apparently heard of the Dark Angel and none had wanted or perhaps dared to get closer to me. So there I lay on the floor of the slave wagon bound in chains that wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my side and wrapped down around my legs to my ankles to keep me from being able to stand. The rough treatment I had received at the hands of the slavers had caused the wound in my shoulder to open up. An evil crimson puss along with fresh blood welled up from the wound and spilled over the floor of the wagon. My teeth were gritted in pain and a soft growl echoed in my throat, they had taken my sword and scabbard. Would not do to have armed slaves now would it? I am not sure how long the trip back to the market place took, nor do I really care. When we arrived at the place in the market where people sold people to other people, we were pulled one by one out of the wagon. The others that I had been caged with were placed in cages according to gender, males in one, females in another and children were held separately in yet another cage. I was pulled out and dragged to yet another cage; this one had what appeared to be a giant x within it. The door was opened and I was dragged in and bound to the x by my ankles and wrists, they left the chains around my torso there to keep my wings folded against my back. Once they were sure that I was securely bound, they left. My left shoulder hurt, the wound had been forced open even more when they chained me to that accursed x. They did nothing to try to remove what was left of the arrow from my shoulder, nor did they bother to try to bandage it. I do not know how long I had been there, put on display for the passing throngs. I guess you could say that I was their main attraction, the freak of nature that everyone had heard about but no one had ever really seen. All the while I was subjected to their taunts, their jeers and had all manner of things thrown at me. What was left of the clothing I had arrived in these lands with was now completely in tatters and what had once been hair so white as to appear to be molten silver was now a disgusting brownish-gray.