Nevermore

The lies stopped the day I set foot on the red sands of Revina. Words spelled in blood said it all. Return Nevermore! was smeared on a charred bit of cloth; It was tied to the hilt of a shattered blade firmly smothered in the ground. Soldiers brushed past me as I stood stunned by the ill omen. I shook my head as if to clear it of the tangible fear that crept from my heart. Hardly a moment later, the smell of smoke pierced through the air. Through the clatter of steel and footsteps, some fool dared to yell the forsaken truth of our fate.

"THEY'RE BURNING THE SHIPS! THEY'RE BURNING THE-" The voice was cut short, replaced by the sound of a damp thud. I dared to gaze behind me. The ship smoked like a chimney on a winter's night. A golden blaze shone behind my captain. He stood on the very edge of the railing with sword in hand. Blood dripped from the tip of the curved blade sending ripples among the tide. His eyes were fixed on me and tore at my soul. The visage of him contorted into that of the reaper himself.

"To glory, soldier. For Honor and Crown." He neither yelled nor hardly raised his voice. The vacancy of belief stained his message, though he gestured towards what was to be the battlefield. He stood unflinching as the flames licked at the wooden vessel and swarmed around him in a vicious hunger. "Onward Soldier 'til homeward bound." Before the words left his mouth, the fire engulfed him as well. Silently, he became a torch shining light on the destiny that awaited me.

The heat boiled the metal of my armor. I could feel the moisture from my skin fading into vapor. The steel scorched my flesh as a brand of war. It burned deeper than I could understand. I had a moment to ponder this before a shadow passed over me drawing my attention away from my agony. A dark feathered bird soared above me, it's wings outstretched to catch the wind. Then another flew by. And another. They circled over the sands like vultures. They danced to the song of screams of death and the clashing of blades.

My body refused to move and my gaze stayed transfixed on the birds above me in some enchantment of horror. I watched the flying devil land on the hilt tied to the warning. The raven-like creature remained perched motionless even through a gust from the eastern wind. Then the bird opened it's pupil-less eye. The milky white oval searched my essence with fierce intensity. Fear sent shivers down my spine forcing every hair to stand at attention.

The bird lifted it's wings into the air and it opened it's crooked beak. I braced myself expecting the caw of a crow. Yet there was no preparation for the gut retching squeal like that of a dying man. Though the scream was hardly a language, a single word resonated in my skull, engulfing my mind.

Nevermore.

My eyelids flew open as I awoke from a dream. Or perhaps a memory. With heart chasing my adrenaline, I gasped for air. Thick liquid burst from my lips. I coughed, spat, and strained to gain a whip of a breath. My body was ablaze with heat as the stench of blood and decay overwhelmed me. I squirmed only to sear my burned flesh. Steel wrapped around me glimmered in what remained of the daylight. I willed myself to move. I tore off the gauntlets to find my hand blackened and stained. Grains of sand inserted themselves into cuts as the armor splashed into the desert around me. Screams of pain dared to rupture from me, but the stench of death enveloped me again. I scrambled to my knees and sent a spray of vomit splattering around my resting place.

I tore away my breastplate searing away whatever nerves were left in my hands. Seeing the design my heaving had produced sent my stomach reeling again. I clutched my aching belly as another wave of vomit painted the sands. I frantically removed the armor around my legs and feet before scurrying away. My stomach protested against spewing again and thus only a vile burp left my lips. If there was any feeling in my worn torn body the sand burned it away.

Moments stretched into a glimpse of eternity. The day began to fade as I ran past and through the aftermath of lost battles. The victors were undetermined, but the defeated were marked well with a scattering of desolation. I shut my eyes to wander my way through the living nightmare. My limbs stumbled through splintered shields. My skin was torn by remnants of spears and blades. I was covered in blood, bile, sand and scars.

Then my soles were embraced as a soothing cold water washed over them. My knees gave way to exhaustion splashing further into the frigged unknown. Mustering whatever fragment of courage I had left, I opened my eyes. Dark water glimmered with specks of light... Starlight. Waves rose and splashed over me in a crystal like clearness and the droplets whisked away the sand and filth. The blood dripped away and the burnt flesh began to cool. Soon sobs broke through my worn soul; Tears upon tears flowed into the sea of starlight. In my cries for mercy and relief, a single word ringed true.

Nevermore.

The stains of sorrow began to dry on my face as the water continued to return to cleanse me. What came next was neither dream nor delirium. A figure stood among the waves. No. That isn't right. He stood atop the waves. Yes! His feet were planted on the water and where he stood the sea stayed still! An aura of soft light surrounded him as if he was among the divine. No. He is something far more real. Yes! He is something far more true!

I felt the weight of glory fall on me if only from his presence. The radiance of what is holy drifted from him like a perfume. His face was etched with royalty and his eyes glistened like one who has seen years upon years of life. Blood dripped from his tunic and from the holes in his hands. His clothing was torn with a hole the size of a spear head. Slowly, he held out his hand to me.

"Come with me, child." He said. His voice echoed like thunder around me, yet the words were like a whisper in the heart of night. He spoke with terrifying authority and yet peace wrapped itself around my soul. I reached up. Whispering a soft prayer, I took his hand. A smile stretched across his elegant features and he spoke again.

"Return here nevermore."