Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-14138255-20170320024103/@comment-14138255-20170803220800

  Sneak Preview: The Hollowing of Horace the Hushed  

 Pyrrha’s eyes snapped open and her mouth took a sharp inhale as she awoke from her rest. Shaken again by her bittersweet visions, she raised a hand to her face to nurse a small sob. The Fire Keeper saw this and went to her as she had always done, and placed her hand on her shoulder.

“ Is all well Pyrrha Nikos?”

“ I’d think by now you’d know the answer to that. Oh- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...I’m just so, tired now, I can’t seem to get any good night’s sleep.”

“ Nightmares?”

“ No, just...memories. Even by this bonfire I feel shivers of cold.”

“ Be wary, Pyrrha Nikos. Such things are rarely so innocuous.”

“ ...Do you sleep at all, Fire Keeper?” Pyrrha looked up hopefully, eyes still somewhat red from the tears she shed when she awoke.

The Fire Keeper shook her head. “I’m sorry. Sleep is for the living.”

Pyrrha looked down and lay near the bonfire, hoping to let sleep come again. She resigned on staring at the glowing amber in the bonfire. She shivered from the chill that occasionally interrupted the warmth of the bonfire. So she closed her eyes and pressed her fingers on her lips, recalling a time when she felt warm the most.

In the shadows of the alcoves, Yuria of Londor leaned against the wall looking to Yoel, taking the time to wonder what had become of the ruler they had selected.

“ Horace, easy now, you can’t keet rujisini yuul ii… ”

He couldn’t hear him, he could barely see him. He felt a biting chill in his spine and his movement was sluggish and slow, his legs wet and damp. The last mark was due to their surroundings, which was-

''The side of a mountain? Far below them and far to the distance was a castle overlooking a village. To the right was a large flock of black robed pilgrims, all pitifully trudging along using their walking sticks chained with incense. Horace’s blood boiled and he clutched his halberd as one pilgrim tentatively approached with his hand outstretched to A- '' “ HORACE!” Anri cried, shaking him out of vision, his hands gripping his head trying to have him come to his senses.

He tried to look around, to know where he was, but it was dark and frightening, he wondered where he-

The swamp, he remembered, they were in a swamp. They wanted to...find something. No, someone. No, find something to find someone...who?

A chill once again ran through his back as he heard a screech and turned his head. He saw a boy running through an ornate hallway floating in the middle of the swamp. He ran after ''the boy, along with several others to another room, where they saw a red headed girl running from a...monster. A horrifying creature with elongated limbs and body, a jaw made from a chest with a tongue as long as his arm.

The girl curled in a corner behind wooden pews, but the creature knocked and burst the wooden structure away and lunging immediately at the girl, who screamed as the beast shoved her in its mouth, only stopping when it crunched and chewed at her flesh, blood dripping down to the floor. The boy was despondent and his gaze was far but- ''Wait, the girl didn’t have red hair...Where did he see…?

He then remembered where, he saw it in that other woman. He didn’t know her name, but he knew she was there too. Or there at...when was she there? She wasn’t there when that happened.

The biting cold laid its grip on him…

‘ When what happened?’

He heard a rolling sound, snapping him out of his vision in time to see a tall assailant with glowing red eyes that charged with a large, curved sword. Without any effort, he twisted toward the blade, missing it, and brought his halberd on the hollow, chopping its head off.

His mind was foggy now, and he had no idea where he was, but before he could collect himself he was at the mercy of more of the shadowy warriors, who disappeared as they evaded his strikes, the freezing cold wouldn't go away. His mind raced once more as-

''The man’s hands swept over their heads, the children were kept sullen by the audible screams of those who came before. The man in the clerical robes was fat and his smile toothy, turning to gesture to an abnormally tall man in a long, black, regal garb, obscured by a mesh mask. '' ‘ McDonnell...Sulyvahn! ALDRICH!!! ’

''His rage had found its mark once again, and he leaped toward McDonnell, strangling him with all his- ''He stopped, he heard a gasping coming from his hands, and when he looked down, he stopped. Beneath him was Anri, his gauntlets trying in vain to separate his hands from his throat.

“ Horace...don’t do this…’a hollow needn't be mad.’ That’s what the pilgrim told us, remember? We have hope…” Anri said, trying his best to speak with no air to support him.

His mind was clear at last and he removed his hands from his friend’s throat, just in time for his mind and vision to fog and the cold to take him once more.

He finally awoke from his walking slumber and found himself lying down on jagged rocks, surrounded by bones and swords, while above him he saw a rickety bridge.

“ Horace? Horace!?” he heard in the distance. Anri. His closest friend. But he had almost killed him, he couldn’t understand, how could he even-

He remembered. He remembered everything.

He had to get away, he couldn’t let Anri find him. His time was over, he knew this. He never wanted to kill Aldrich, he just needed to keep Anri safe as he did. That’s why he gave the banner to...to Pyrrha, that was her name, the girl who journeyed with them.

More of the fog creeped in. It faded, it dimmed. He saw more and more varied shifts in his surroundings until he found himself laying on the ground, in a cavern, glowing from lava. He didn’t seem to know however, or care, and where there was once a freezing chill there was only a numb pressure. The curse was at hand. His throat was sore. It had been for so long, and he could never speak, even on the rare occasion when he truly wanted to, needed to. But here, at the very end, he somehow found a way.

All he could say were two names.

 '''Author’s Notes: Guess who’s coming back? Only two weeks left in my class and then I have a more or less free schedule again. Updates will come soon after. Hope you like this small sneak peak. Next chapter will be a bit more low-key as well but longer, and will focus more on character (hopefully) than before. Keep an eye out for the next chapter.''' 