Vaid Empire: Conquest Ch. 01

As his allies quickly decreased in number, it soon became apparent that there was no hope of fending off the Zilrin Chiefdom, as there were simply too many of them. Yet, Dominax cared little, fueled by anger and grief as he fought with everything he had.

A cut slashed across his left forearm, then across his right bicep. An arrow launched into his thigh, while another enemy hurled a stone into his cheek. He sustained injury after injury as they did what they could to take him down, yet he fought on. Nearly every single one of his allies had fallen or been captured, leaving him alone in the middle of a burning settlement and surrounded by warriors who wanted him dead.

A crude knife stabbed into his waist, causing him to finally fall to his knees in defeat and allowing his sword to fall to the ground. His strained breathing slowed as he watched the angry men around him readying to strike, while his blood dripped into the mud. He raised his chin and looked into the sky, knowing that he'd be dead in mere seconds. The hovering metal structure of The Chimira hung high above him, just as it had all his life. "Cendra..Briza.."

The man directly in front of him raised his sword, readying to deliver the final blow.

Yet, just as the blade began to swing downwards, the world suddenly froze, draining of all color. Dominax looked at the incoming sword in shock, completely confused. "Wha...I..." He muttered, beginning to look around.

The pain from his many wounds had ceased, and he attempted to stand up. As he did, however, he was surprised to find that he left his body behind when he raised to his feet. He was standing, yet his body was still kneeling, as if frozen. He looked at his hands with fear and confusion, realizing that he was slightly glowing.

"What's happening...? I...don't understand..." He said, looking around. Was this what death was? He didn't quite feel dead...though he had clearly left his body somehow. The colorless world around him remained perfectly still. Though there was nothing but blood and death surrounding him, the silence was actually...peaceful, in a way.

"D..o..m..i..n..a..x.." a voice rang out through the quiet settlement, before a figure began to faintly appear in front of him.

He instinctively jumped back and readied himself, yet in horror and surprise he slowly began to realize that the ghostly form was identical to the cloaked man who had plagued his dreams for his entire life. Dominax was almost too stunned to speak, watching the strange individual.

The old man was clearly experiencing tremendous strain as he seemed to struggle to concentrate, though Dominax had no idea why. The figure held out a wrinkled finger, before opening his slightly transparent mouth. "Child...prepare yourself...run away... far from here..." He said in a pained voice. "This...is not the day you die..."

Questions rushed through Dominax, though before he could even speak he was back inside his body. Color had been returned to his surroundings, as time appeared to unfreeze. His eyes widened as he realized that the sword had resumed its swing, giving him a split second to barely roll out of the way.

The enemy warriors seemed surprised at his newfound desire to live, though they quickly began to move in towards him.

Hurrying to his feet, Dominax turned around and took off running. There was no time to think, fight, or even grieve. All he knew was that he had to escape, and FAST.

"Looks like we have a runner! Get him!" Chief Manith yelled, noticing one of the last survivors of the settlement.

Covered in blood and severely wounded, Dominax used everything he had to stay ahead of his pursuers as he sprinted towards the closest gate. A small group of Zilrinian warriors noticed that he was heading in their direction and prepared to intercept him. In desperation, he reached out his hand and launched a burst of fire at them, using his power in the presence of strangers for the first time in his life. They jumped out of the way in fear and surprise, granting him an opening.

He passed through the gate and kept running. Three warriors riding Lixidions, large four-legged reptiles with long tails and sharp teeth, took off after him. Dominax quickly realized that he had no way of outrunning them, so he turned in the direction of the river which passed by close to the settlement.

The river was wider than most lakes, making it quite an intimidating target. Yet, there was no other way to escape the Lixidions. Every single one of Nitri's small ships sat half on the beach and half in the water, burning. He reached the sandy edge and dove into the cold water. Immediately, the powerful current swept him away, pulling him underwater as his heavily damaged chest plate weighed him down.

He thrashed underwater, trying to figure out which way was up as his body tumbled and rolled through the water. Arrows began to zip past him as the Lixidion riders galloped down the beach, attempting to keep up with their target.

Nearly out of breath, his head burst from the surface of the water, gasping for air until the current dragged him back down. The riders eventually lost him, and they slowed to a stop while the river carried him quickly away.

Dominax continued to struggle for what seemed like an eternity, keeping his head above the water just long enough to avoid drowning before being pulled back under, over and over.

When he was sure that he wouldn't survive, the current pushed him just close enough to the edge of the river for him to swim with all his remaining strength and finally touch the soft mud of the beach. With great effort, he pulled himself out of the water, digging one hand after another into the slippery mud and using everything he had to drag himself onto land.

With only his legs remaining in the water, covered by his hole-riddled white cloak, he let his bloody head fall to the ground in exhaustion.

His eyes slowly closed as he lost consciousness...