- Sparbiter117
- |
- Exalted Heroic Member
With the great interest already displayed in this piece, I have written chapter two! Haha. I figured I may as well upload this despite the lack of interest, since I am enjoying writing it.
Lots of dialogue here, with the intention to build Thanatos' character, whether that intention was realised or not I'm not sure.
Chapter 2 The True Demon
Vita continued down the long hallway behind Thanatos, his hoofed feet clomping on the grey steel floor. He had been staring at the large Jiralhanae's back for several minutes now and had only now noticed a large scar that arced across his right shoulder blade. The mark looked consistent with many other wounds he had seen in the field, wounds from Human fragmentation grenades.
He increased his pace and met Thanatos on his right side.
"That scar on your shoulder Thanatos, how did you come by it?" Vita probed.
The Jiralhanae glanced at Vita and then returned his gaze forward before he answered "The Demon".
No two words had ever made Vita's spine crawl more than those. His mandibles clicked together as he opened and closed his mouth, attempting to find the words to respond with. He reached out a hand and pressed it to Thanatos' chest, halting him. He stopped and turned to the startled Sangheli.
"You have encountered The Demon?" Vita finally said, fighting the tremble in his voice.
"Yes brother. Only once and I do not wish to do it again."
"So the stories are true? Is it truly as powerful as we have been told?" Vita wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer to that question. His only encounter with The Demon was finding his squadron slaughtered at its hand.
"He is a cunning and powerful warrior my friend. Come, I will tell you more when we arrive at my quarters."
The next few minutes were tense, Vita said nothing, but had increased his pace twofold in order to get to the Jiralhanae's quarters without distraction.
The door hummed and whirred, its three sections splitting into their cavities on the pair's approach. Thanatos entered first. He removed the large bandoleer of spike grenades from his chest, lifted it over his head and rested it on a nearby table. Tossing his Spike Rifle on the table as well, he sat next to it, in a large violet, metallic armchair and beckoned Vita to sit across from him. Vita sat, his weight pressed forward on the chair, his hands clasped, eyeing his friend intently.
The door buzzed and hummed once more and its three metallic sections clanged shut. Thanatos took note of this and leaned in to address Vita.
"So you want to know of the Demon?" He put this to Vita sincerely, as if there was reason not to know.
"Of course old friend, please, tell me"
"As you wish. I was on a reconnaissance mission with a squadron charged with protecting the area around the location of the High Prophet of Regret's sermon. We were a mixed group of Jiralhanae Minors, many Unggoy escorted us and Kig-Yar were following on an adjacent path with Beam Rifles. Then there was myself, the only Major of the group and my Chieftain; Proteus. We had been told of a Human resistance in the area that had been spotted near some Forerunner ruins." Thanatos sighed and looked away from Vita.
"Please my brother, continue" Vita spurred him on.
"We watched from a hilltop as the Humans prepared armaments, gathering weapons and loading up their vehicles with cargo. They were the usual camouflaged 'Marines' we have been fighting for decades, with several of the black-armoured soldiers preparing larger weaponry." Another sigh from Thanatos and another brief pause that felt like a thousand years to Vita.
"The Chieftain was convinced we could handle this force on our own and refused to wait for reinforcements. This rash judgement decided my squadron's fate. We signalled the Kig-Yar to start picking up targets and soon, purple jets of light were soaring through the Humans, who were completely unaware of our presence. We sent the Unggoy in next, who charged in, mindless but tenacious. We were starting to pick off targets, lessoning their numbers, we were winning. But as soon as my fellow Jiralhanae and I charged down that hillside...it all went wrong."
Thanatos, who had been avoiding eye contact with Vita for the entirety of the tale jolted his head upwards and his eyes met the Sangheli's, burning with the fury of boiling plasma.
"The Kig-Yar were the first to fall. Four perfect shots from a Human sniper weapon were rattled off in quick succession, passed us by and ripped straight into the trees where they were hiding. Our Chieftain laughed, thinking whoever had fired them had been aiming for us, but he quickly realised that the Kig-Yar had ceased their fire on the Humans. The damn fool." Shaking his head, Thanatos snorted at his old leader and gave a sad and distant smile.
"I saw it first. Out The Demon walked from the ruins, clad in green armour from head to toe , with the stature of a true warrior. It stood smaller than I, or even you Vita, but it had more power in it's demeanour than any creature I have ever seen. It was emotionless and cold, a shimmering, mirrored visor on its helmet that shut the rest of the world out; all that was left was steel."
Vita sat, aghast, his hands clenched together so tightly he could feel them start to numb. He placed them on his knees and waited for the story to continue.
"What happened next Thanatos?" Vita asked gravely.
"I have asked myself that question on many occasions my dear friend. It all happened faster than a Slip-Space jump. One second, I was surrounded by my squadron. Then, a few shots later, the Unggoy were dead and luminous blue blood covered my feet and my hands as I scrambled for cover. The Chieftain went into a rage and attacked The Demon head on. He swung his hammer, but The Demon was too fast, he sidestepped it and fired several sniper rifle rounds into Proteus' head. I watched, uselessly as my Chieftain was slain, blood pouring from his lifeless skull as he hit the ground. As I was about to attack I heard a metallic thud next to me and looked down only to find a Human grenade at my feet. I turned my back on it and covered myself as it exploded, knocking me unconscious. I swayed in and out of consciousness until finally awaking what must have been a lengthy time after; the humans had left and I was forced to call a Phantom to airlift me from my fallen squadron's grave. I will never forget that shimmering visor, those four shots, or Proteus for that matter."
A heavy silence filled the room and Vita's mandibles clicked once again. He clenched them together and rested his large, four-fingered hand upon Thanatos' knee, as if this would offer some respite.
"I am sorry my brother" Vita finally said. "I too have lost combatants and comrades to The Demon. We shall destroy that pathetic excuse for a warrior with our bare hands if we ever come across it Thanatos"
"Do not underestimate it Vita, treat it with respect." Thanatos snapped back "It is a masterful warrior; despite a few minor casualties caused by the Human soldiers, The Demon killed my entire squadron on his own, not to mention Proteus, a powerful and battle-hardened Chieftain. It is a formidable opponent and I wont have you underestimate it and die at its hand like Proteus did."
Vita nodded solemnly "Of course Thanatos, I will heed your advice. Now, what is it you wished to talk to me about brother, before all this talk of Demons?"
In the heat of the moment, Thanatos had completely forgotten about his original reasons for bringing Vita to his quarters and had to shake off his woeful tale.
"Yes Vita, I have some troubling news I wanted to relay to you friend, regarding what we were discussing earlier."
"And what would that be brother?" Vita had already heard enough troubling news with Thanatos' story of The Demon, he wasn't sure he was ready for more.
"I have secured documents that come directly from the office of the High Prophet of Truth himself, these documents call for all Jiralhanae to cast down the Sangheli. It is a call for genocide my brother, to be enacted within the month."
Vita couldn't speak. He had known Truth favoured the Brutes, he had known him to be a deceitful liar, but this was unprecedented, this was treachery of the highest order.
"We must do something Thanatos, we cannot allow this to happen!" Vita stood up with this exclamation, clenching his right fist tightly as he did so. Thanatos stood to meet the intense stare of the Sangheli.
"This is why I have told you Vita. I have already assembled a group of Jiralhanae who are willing to refuse the Prophet's call to arms and join the Sangheli in an uprising against him, you must do the same with your Sangheli; start with the Honour Guards, they will be sure to side with you."
"Thank you my friend, I shall began amassing a force at once. This treachery shall not go without consequence and do not worry Thanatos, I shall be sure to inform my brothers of your part in our salvation. We will wage a war like no other upon Truth and his sympathisers and the weight of any and all blood spilled shall stay his feet as the rest of us ascend on the path to The Great Journey"
Vita pronounced, his voice quivering, not with fear, but with anticipation.
[Edited on 09.08.2011 7:49 AM PDT]