Days of Future Past

Aquilo

The three of you watch as Voah's sword swings down on the imp's shrunken head. A litany to the Pillars on her lips. The shrunken head's mouth seemed to open in a voiceless scream as the sharp steel descended upon it. You blink rapidly, focusing your gaze upon its wrinkled dark complexion, unsure if what you just witnessed was real or a trick of shadow and light in the morning sun.

Voah - Time seems to slow to a crawl as your bring your holy blade down and cleave through the flesh and bone of the shrunken skull. There is a moment of clarity that flashes through you as you feel some of your wounds pulsate. This is what your duty have been for a long time. Destroy the Maleficium where you find it. With no mercy, no hesitation. Part of you knows you should have not let Tarmen claim this head as his trophy. It was yours.
As the skull splinters into hundred pieces, there is a sense of accomplish duty that fills you but a sense that you have strayed from your path. The woman that tasted your blood and looked into your soul, the powerful magik you felt in Sentinel Island and the Allos shipwreck, Omen's bargain and Tarmen's forgiveness. You wander through unknow tracks. A whoosh of power seems to explode outwards from the skull as you destroy it, like a gush of foreboding wind...

Tarmen - ~FOOL...~ the imp's head seems to scream in your mind. You watch with tired fascination as the Arbiter's blade swings down to finally destroy your trophy. Too late you realised that the words it shouted in your mind all those weeks were a warning. ~MINE!~ It was warning you about this place. Where you almost lost your life. Where you have given away your secret to an Arbiter. Too late you realise thet the pull of the Felfar and Slivikhi blinded you to what you held in your hands.
A flash of silver light blinds you as the blade bites and splinters the shrunken head. You groan as your vision swims. You see a great forest burning. Your machete is broken. You are bloody, broken. It hurts to breathe in the hot air. A whirlwind of ash and embers swirls around you. You hear a great roar. An ancient beast rears up and its shadow covers you from the blinding orange blaze. Its claws rake across your face and chest. Darkness comes crashing down...

Alexis - The last few days have been strange. So strange that part of you that once felt the gods were distant and cold, now is not sure of anything any longer. Finding Voah and Tarmen in the crypts two days away from Aquilo, all because of a vision the dead Boyce Blackwolf claimed to have on a Fire-Shrine. Another dead companion to add to the pile. The miraculous arrival of Sir Zane and his Knights to save the survivors from certain slavery and death. Maybe the gods did indeed look down upon the world. But... You have broken your code. For the first time since you can remember. You chose to hide while others bled. While the weak were cut down by the evil strong.
A flash of gold light blinds you as Voah's blade cuts into the accursed dust devil's head.
You stand among the dead in the centre of a burning city. Screams and ash fill the air, almost choking you. You have dropped your shield and are holding your sword in two hands, barely standing up. You cannot tell friend from foe in the pile of corpses around you. Another wave is coming. You will not move. You cannot. Among the smoke a great shadow stalks you, a monstrous coyote howls as its rider circles you. You see a flash of red hair as an arrow takes you on the chest. Darkness comes swirling down...

Gonyaul - Life was much easier when you had few attachments. When all you did was work, eat, sleep and help the occasional person. Bonds bring a different kind of commitment and choices. Especially among these people. Their customs are strange, the constantly war against one another and the world. Against circumstance. Like branches of a tree. Struggling with all other branches for sunlight, to reach above all others. You have chosen to follow Voah. Part of you yearns for her. Somethings you don't learn until you live them.
A flash of red light blinds you as Voah's sword slices into the horrible shrunken trophy.
You are running. The night is dark, moonless. You can sense your pursuers nearby. They are gaining on you. It doesn't matter how fast you run. They are relentless. You hug a bundle close to your chest. A great sadness washes over you and weights heavily on your heart and soul. Your choices have lead you to this moment. It cannot have all been for nothing. All the sacrifices, all the lost friends, all the pain and loss. His voice and evil promise still echo in your mind. After all these years. He is coming. All is lost. You trip. Darkness falls down...