Rise

Ara

'It definitely looks like Jerl was here . . .' 

It had taken Ara nearly the entire day to get to catch up with Jerl. The residents of the slum told her that he traveled to a small village just past the forest. At a glance it was obvious that there was no village anymore. The few buildings left standing had the marks of a long-lasting blaze. 

Ara was watching from atop a small hill with her double-sided spear still in one hand. It was the peak of her ego at the moment, so it made no sense to re-roll and risk using a worse weapon in an unfamiliar environment

Something caught Ara's eye, and she noticed that all around the village were small black moving shapes. After a moment of studying them, it seemed like they were going back and forth from the center of the village. 

'Maybe Jerl is still here.'

Ara moved towards the village, and began to climb the wreckage.

Suddenly, the a few of the black objects converged towards her. Ara slashed them with her spear, and a small explosion of dark liquid covered her blade. 'What are these things?' 

Ara felt her heart beat quicken and a pulse of energy went through her body. She had never felt such a thing before becoming a spark.

As Ara continued towards the center of the ruined village, there were dozens of small battles easily won against the slow moving shapes. Now that she had more chances to look at them, they were simply blobs of black liquid. With each victory, she gained a small amount of power. Eventually she was easily able to jump across the wreckage, a feat no mortal would be able to achieve.

Eventually she was close enough to the center to see the pulsing corpse of a large fanged elk. It was much larger than any elk she had seen before, and with a completely black coat. Its antlers covered most of its head, creating an ivory helmet with holes for its eyes. 

Suddenly a large amount of liquid burst from its body, and a light splatter headed her way which Ara barely managed to dodge. 

The elk's body started to rise from the ground as it stood on its two hind legs, until it was a head taller than Ara. A set of red eyes looked at her from within, and Ara felt a shock go through her body. It took her a second to fight it, and she found that most of the power she had gained from her victories was now gone.

"Ara . . ." A raspy voice bellowed from the elk. Ara didn't know how it knew her name. Two hands rushed out of the elk's coat, and they each snapped off a long fang from the elk's mouth. 

'It's human . . . I think.' Ara took a step back, holding her spear with both hands. "Stand down, I'm a spark."

"Congratulations." The hands took the elk's head and lifted it off, revealing their face.

"Dorin? W-What happened to you?" Ara looked to the ground so she couldn't see his red eyes. The boy she once knew was no more. He was as tall as Lonn, but with red eyes and a circular mouth marked on his stomach. 

Dorin stood still, as if examining her. "I don't know. Yet." 

"I need you to come with me, back to Tur."

"No chance. You have no idea what I've been through to escape that place."

"It's your duty." Ara felt her blood boil at his 'no'. He had no idea how powerful she was now, and there was no chance he could handle a spark. "I'm giving you an order."

"Oh. An order." Dorin started walking towards her. "What if I refuse?"

"Then I will do whatever it takes." Ara brandished her spear, backing up to keep their distance the same. "Even if it means your death."

"So be it." Dorin rushed towards her with a fang in each hand. 

Ara looked to the sun, and spun her weapon to shine in his eyes as she continued to step back.

Dorin screamed, and Ara ran at him the moment he shielded his eyes. 'One strike to end his life.' She thrust the spear towards Dorin's head, expecting it to be a quick end to the deserter. 

Dorin ducked, kicking her legs with a strength she didn't expect to be possible from him. Ara barely managed to stay standing as she was pushed back.

"How can you see me?"

Dorin didn't answer as he rushed her once more, but this time with his eyes closed. 

The two of them clashed, and both of his fangs were enough to equal her spear. They seemed to try to cut into her spear, as their weapons shrieked with each blow. 

Each strike of Dorin's fangs threatened to shatter Ara's stance completely. The only respite was that he seemed to be weakening quickly. Soon enough she began to push him back, and Dorin began to take risks. 

Ara felt her spear cut flesh, but she soon realized that Dorin was close enough to strike her back. With a thrust from Dorin there was now a fang sticking out of her right arm. 

"You have lost a limb, yet you continue to fight. Are you a beast?"

Dorin began to wildly swing his remaining arm in her direction, suddenly acting as if he couldn't see her anymore. Ara stuck to his right side, where there was no danger from such a short blade. 

Ara could feel a sense of victory, at this point she was merely playing with Dorin. "I'll give you one last chance to surrender."

Dorin opened his eyes which had been burnt out. "Never." He rushed her again, but much slower than when they had begun fighting. 

'Lets give this another try . . .' Ara turned the blade towards herself, letting the sunlight reflect onto her body. Suddenly there were five other Ara's each with a one-sided spear, along with herself. 

'Ready . . . FIRE!' All six Ara's threw their spear at Dorin and he managed to dodge the one that her main body threw, but the other five impaled him to the ground. 

Dorin tried to speak, gargling on his own blood. " . . . Again."