10-21-2016, 02:02 PM
There was another man among them! The oni hadn't caught the scent of prey. It caught the scent of a man!
He darted among the three Khylsty like he was one of them. He wielded some kind of club, although he swung it like a sword but she couldn't tell in the low light. Just in case, Valeriya kept out of his reach should he decide to turn it against them. The three - no - four of them circled the beast, piercing it, stabbing it, slashing at its limbs, hacking at its sinew like they were four heads of one snake. She looked to her brother monk, Illarion, whose cowl had slipped from his head revealing the great brown cross mark on his nose, but the pale man was focused on killing the beast. The rage of death danced in his pale eyes, his jaw was tight with a growl.
The unknown man burst forth, slamming his club into the beast, nearly severing its head. The creature fell to the ground with a loud thud and gurgled, dying whimpers. Valeriya lifted her chin, panting now that it was over, and pointed at Illarion. At the command, he nodded and the two monks went to stand over the beast. Illarion slipped his hood back over his head, covering the sinful bowl of his bared skull. With a great rearing of his arm, and along with the chanting of the brother at his side, he brought down the hatchet with great force and severed the animal's head from its body. The splatter gushed across his sleeves, but he stood and smoothed the cuffs low to the finger tips.
The chanting stopped. He nodded in satisfaction and wiped the hatchet on the fur of the beast. Valeriya stepped in, speaking in their mother tongue: "You will cleanse the beast when we return. I will use the fur for my dress. The skin will go to the drums. The rest of the fur to the weavers. The fat to the oilers. The meat to the cookers."
Illarion bowed to her, "It will be as you say, Eye."
The third member in their group, Marat, grunted, having picked up the blue torch and held it up to reveal the stranger among them. Valeriya looked at Illarion to translate, since she could never understand what he meant. He severed his own tongue in the Awakening, having used it for much sin and purged it from his body.
Illarion read her mind, answering for him. The monk gripped the hatchet in one hand and pointed at the stranger. "He is an Outsider. He must die,"
but Illarion waited for the Eye to command the death song.
Valeriya was ready to wave the permission, but something about the stranger caught her eye. She tilted her head and a thick mass of black hair and braids fell across her shoulder. Her pale gaze narrowed and she curled her fingers toward her. "Come before me. I shall examine you,"
she sheathed the two stilettos back to her thighs, crossed her arms, and waited for him to come forward so she could better look upon his face.
Edited by Valeriya, Oct 21 2016, 02:12 PM.
He darted among the three Khylsty like he was one of them. He wielded some kind of club, although he swung it like a sword but she couldn't tell in the low light. Just in case, Valeriya kept out of his reach should he decide to turn it against them. The three - no - four of them circled the beast, piercing it, stabbing it, slashing at its limbs, hacking at its sinew like they were four heads of one snake. She looked to her brother monk, Illarion, whose cowl had slipped from his head revealing the great brown cross mark on his nose, but the pale man was focused on killing the beast. The rage of death danced in his pale eyes, his jaw was tight with a growl.
The unknown man burst forth, slamming his club into the beast, nearly severing its head. The creature fell to the ground with a loud thud and gurgled, dying whimpers. Valeriya lifted her chin, panting now that it was over, and pointed at Illarion. At the command, he nodded and the two monks went to stand over the beast. Illarion slipped his hood back over his head, covering the sinful bowl of his bared skull. With a great rearing of his arm, and along with the chanting of the brother at his side, he brought down the hatchet with great force and severed the animal's head from its body. The splatter gushed across his sleeves, but he stood and smoothed the cuffs low to the finger tips.
The chanting stopped. He nodded in satisfaction and wiped the hatchet on the fur of the beast. Valeriya stepped in, speaking in their mother tongue: "You will cleanse the beast when we return. I will use the fur for my dress. The skin will go to the drums. The rest of the fur to the weavers. The fat to the oilers. The meat to the cookers."
Illarion bowed to her, "It will be as you say, Eye."
The third member in their group, Marat, grunted, having picked up the blue torch and held it up to reveal the stranger among them. Valeriya looked at Illarion to translate, since she could never understand what he meant. He severed his own tongue in the Awakening, having used it for much sin and purged it from his body.
Illarion read her mind, answering for him. The monk gripped the hatchet in one hand and pointed at the stranger. "He is an Outsider. He must die,"
but Illarion waited for the Eye to command the death song.
Valeriya was ready to wave the permission, but something about the stranger caught her eye. She tilted her head and a thick mass of black hair and braids fell across her shoulder. Her pale gaze narrowed and she curled her fingers toward her. "Come before me. I shall examine you,"
she sheathed the two stilettos back to her thighs, crossed her arms, and waited for him to come forward so she could better look upon his face.
Edited by Valeriya, Oct 21 2016, 02:12 PM.
The Eye of the Khylsty