When the Stars Come Crashing Down Ch. 02

Chapter 2

A heavy grey fog descended upon the quiet forest and blanketed the region in a layer of thick, near impenetrable ashen mist. The fires that raged the night prior had died down to a simmer, the thick plumes of pillowy black smoke reduced to thin streams of white and grey wisps. A quiet town that once stood at the base of the impressive mountain range was reduced to nothing more than blood-soaked soil and scattered ash in the matter of hours, the only evidence of its existence laying at the feet of the bald orc who peered quietly into the overcast sky.

Beneath him lay a pile of burned, broken and bloodied bodies, the desecrated corpses of the townsfolk who met their cruel fate at the hands of his bloodthirsty orcish horde. His large head tilted downward to bring his amber eyes upon the heap of bones, the top layer of bodies covered in thick dark soot. Tattered clothes and other personal effects were strewn about the razed land that his kin now pillaged, an improbable mass of brutish orcs fanned out all around him in search of food and supplies to aid in their conquest.

Grosh bent slowly to retrieve the head of the man he had struck down the night before, the foolish yet courageous human who had met his end on his back. A slight grin remained on the lips of the man, eyes half-lidded as they were the night prior when his gaze was cast skyward before the sword breached the back of his head. The hole was clean, piercing the back of his skull, light puncturing from one side to the other. The orc held the back of Brecken's head up to his own face and gazed through his handiwork, one eye closed shut as the other squinted to bring the sky into focus through the man's gaping mouth.

It was tough to decipher any details through the fog and the ash that rained from the heavens, masking almost the entirety of the forest in his immediate vicinity. But as the minutes passed and the winds shifted, the silent orc rotated on his spot with his primitive spyglass still in hand until a patch of sky cleared up just enough for him to see into clearly. He was facing the mountain range now as a heavy cloud moved aside, the same mountain range the foolish human saw right before he died. Up on the summit a flicker of color caught Grosh's eye, and he focused on it as best he could, his grip on the skull tightening, eye opening completely.

Brecken's skull collapsed into a dozen or more pieces in between the powerful fingers of the orc's grasp, the shattered bone tumbling into the mangled pile of meat and flesh the orc found himself wading in. Grosh didn't register it with even a blink, both eyes now open and focused entirely on the mountain. Up above him, high upon the summit with a perfect view of the clearing where a quiet town once was, stood a small fire. Grosh motioned toward a couple members of his horde, a pair of burly orcs who were preoccupied with two large iron wrought cages. But they stopped what they were doing and stood by their leader, following his outstretched finger that pointed accusatorily toward the mountain. Without a word the pair returned to their cages and broke the locks with decisive swings from their axes, and with their freed companions in tow, the pair set off toward the foot of the mountain.

---

A small hut of squalor and disease served as the field command center for the tall elf who scribbled furiously by candlelight, his quill flying across the parchment with reckless abandon. The makeshift headquarters in the abandoned fishing village along the coast was teeming with activity as the Royal Aegis set up camp, fortifications and search parties. It had been days since Cid had parted ways with the Princess, and in that time reports from the field confirmed his worst fears: Ashilan was at war, a remote town had been burned to the ground and a member of the royal family was missing.

As the Commander finished penning the document a pair of his Knights entered the dimly lit hut with a peasant in tow, a young human woman covered head to toe in blood, soot and ash. She was quietly sobbing, barely able to remain on her feet as Cid rose to his, the elf towering above everyone else in the room.

"Get this woman some water," Cid said calmly, gesturing to one of his men.

The Knight fetched a leather skin of water and handed it to the woman, who accepted it but did nothing else with it, her eyes fixated on the floor in front of her.

"What is your name?" Cid asked.

"Mary," she whispered, her lips barely moving.

"State your business, Mary."

"I...I think...I think I saw the Princess in the forest," Mary barely choked out, before uncorking the flask and drawing deeply from it.

Cid's eyes went wide, and he hastily stepped around the desk, coming to a halt before the meek woman. He placed a heavy gauntleted hand on her shoulder and curled her head up toward him with the other, forcing the woman to meet his gaze, which was wild with excitement but controlled all at once.

"Are you sure it was the Princess? Think very carefully."

"Everyone else is dead...my family, my home, it's all gone..."

"We will avenge your family, you have my word. But please, focus. Are you certain you saw the Princess?"

Mary took another deep gulp from the skin and exhaled deeply, avoiding Cid's powerful gaze.

"I saw her and another woman in the forest while running from the fire. But there were so many orcs surrounding us, I couldn't stop..."

Cid straightened up and nodded at his men, the pair departing the hut at once to begin preparations with the rest of their forces. The Commander turned and retrieved his quill, hastily poured a wax seal onto the parchment and then stuffed the materials into a small pouch hanging from his waist. He turned back to the woman as he pulled on his cloak, a stark white piece of flowing fabric trimmed in gold to match the ornate black and gold armor he was clad in. The tall elf peered down at the woman, his expression stoic, vivid green eyes coming to life with newfound vigor.

"Show me."

---

The dark-haired half-breed woman strode up the worn dirt path toward the dilapidated stone hovel in the distance, arms wrapped around a thick bundle of wood. She hid as much of her raven colored locks beneath the hood of her cloak as possible and quickened her gait, nearly trotting with the heavy load, her breath short and ragged. The longer she remained exposed the higher the chance someone could spot her, endangering not only her but her charge as well. But she soon found the vestibule of safety, coming upon the abandoned home deep in the forest, finding comfort in the worn stone walls and partially collapsed wooden roof.

Princess Lia stepped inside the dark, musty abode and carefully placed the wood into a neat pile in the small pit located in the middle of the living room. Panting and covered in sweat despite the frigid morning air, Lia removed her cloak and tossed it aside, fixing her hair absentmindedly as she observed the room. The living room was barren except for broken furniture and a few nonessential items the prior occupants had left behind when they made their hasty exit the night before. Lia had shuttered the windows soon after discovering the home, wooden boards clumsily affixed over the openings and nailed shut. Only the tiniest pinpricks of light managed to penetrate the dwelling, which otherwise swam in a sea of darkness.

Lia quietly swept into the adjacent bedroom, a small space that could barely fit a bed and the small elven woman it held. She sat on the edge and observed Edea in her sleep, the blonde woman's eyes fluttering beneath the closed lids. The young woman needed time to recover from the traumatic experience and their frantic escape afterwards, having collapsed at the sight of their shelter the night prior. Her body quivered in response to the low temperature, causing Lia to retrieve her discarded cloak from the living room to cover her with it, stacking it upon the blanket already clinging to her body. The Princess ran a gentle hand through the woman's golden tresses, assuring herself more than her companion that they would make it out of this situation alive.

She returned to the living room and watched as her breath appeared before her, clinging to the air like a stubborn cloud. It was somewhat of a calculated risk to start a fire here given the proximity of the horde, but with the smoke and ash already raining from the sky Lia convinced herself it would go unnoticed; it was either that or let her companion freeze, and the Princess was not going to let that happen. Lia knelt upon the cold stone floor and began sifting through the wood, setting a small pile aside as she tidied up the main pile, constructing it into a small tower. The cold air urged her to work quicker, the sweat beginning to freeze upon her skin.

Lia held her outstretched palm toward the pile of wood, her fingers separated and domed as if trying to catch a thrown item. She had spent some time practicing the night before but couldn't find the newfound power within her at the time, each attempt ending in failure. She closed her eyes and focused on the mountainside temple, her mind's eye casting over flickering images of the desecrated elven bodies, the warrior statue and the giant pyre she and Edea had created. As she watched the images twist in and out of focus, a small sprig of heat touched her palm, in stark contrast to the frozen skin she wore elsewhere.

Her eyes opened and Lia watched as the heat blossomed and grew into a small ball of flame that began to break down as soon as it came into existence. She gritted her teeth and pushed upon that feeling deep within her palm, forcing more energy into the conjured flame, the orange and yellow light it gave off flickering with uncertainty. With a few controlled breaths, the Princess was able to coax more strength from the flame and pushed a thin stream of fire into the wood, the pit coming to life within seconds. Lia fell back and rested on her heels, laboring for air as the flame in her hand extinguished. A small singe remained in her palm, but she was otherwise unharmed during the process, a blessing she was more than grateful for.

She watched the flame eat away at the pile of wood, the heat quickly beginning to fill the small home. A satisfied grin found its way into Lia's lips as her vision began to deteriorate, her eyes unable to focus on the orange flame before her. Her body suddenly felt weak, the exertion of creating the fire wringing every drop of energy from her. She managed to clutch the side of her head before collapsing to the stone floor, unconscious before she hit it.

---

Lia found herself in darkness, on the precipice of a liminal space that made no sense to her. In the distance all she could make out was a black void that stretched as far as the eye could see, but up close the scrambled images of the stone house and the sunken cavern blended together, forming an impossible amalgamation of locales. She could feel a malevolent presence within this realm, a powerful being of untold horrors calling to her from beyond the deep. She couldn't hear it but rather felt it deep in her core, a stabbing pain that caused her to wince each time she was beckoned forth.

She obeyed the call, pulling herself out of the lake and up onto the cold stone floor of the house. The fire she created earlier existed beneath the surface of the murky water, and Lia retrieved a piece of burning wood to use as a torch. She stepped over an incalculable amount of burnt elven corpses in search of the voice, torch held high to illuminate the wooden posts on either side of her, each holding a struggling elven woman with panic-stricken smiles etched on their faces.

The low vibration of the voice intensified as she drew nearer, a melancholic humming of a song that rattled her bones. Lia stopped at a closed door, the wood warped and stained with blood. The song was louder here, a depressing siren's call beckoning her ever closer, the melody on the verge of incessant. She twisted the handle and stepped through the threshold into the other side of the void, her feet falling away as she plunged into eternal darkness. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out, tumbling into nothingness surrounded by eerie silence.

Her feet found purchase upon the cavern floor as the familiar scenery materialized into view around her, the darkness of the cave overwhelming, foreboding. The lit torches offered no shelter or reprieve from the sense of dread that burrowed its way into her chest, but she yearned for the voice that eagerly called for her. Lia could not move, bound once again to the wooden post, though this time her post was joined at the side by another one linked to it with an iron chain, reminiscent of the ones that she had left upon the mountain.

Edea was subdued to the post alongside her, face hidden behind a golden sheath of hair. A splash once again echoed from far across the cavern, the sound so loud it was as if a large boulder had been dropped into a lake. The familiar sound penetrated Lia with another pang of dread, but she was prepared this time, hands clutched together as she focused on the weapon she needed to cut through the rope. But she felt no power here, the familiar flow of energy abandoning her no matter how hard she focused on her dagger.

Out of the darkness came a cloaked figure, striding silently toward the Princess. Before Lia could open her mouth to silently protest, the hood was removed to reveal Edea, who kneeled in the presence of royalty. Lia looked over at the adjacent post and found herself, the frightened Princess staring back at herself. Confused, she turned back to the front only to find Edea had disappeared.

The reality before her was altered again, this time the darkness pressing forward until all that remained was her post and Lia's post next to her. She was flipped horizontally, eyes on an infinite sky of black, still bound in her constraints. She found Edea by way of her tongue, the blonde woman's mouth making a home of her vagina once more. The confusing mixture of fear and pleasure crippled the Princess, and the humming resumed, a powerful resonance infiltrating her core.

"You do enjoy this, don't you my Lady?" echoed Edea from beyond the void, her voice a booming, twisted aberration.

Lia looked over at herself and saw abject pleasure on her own face, her mimic freely expressing the pleasure she herself felt. Even in this hellish realm she could not deny how good that warm tongue felt, watching herself happily spreading her legs for more, greedy for release. Lia dejectedly nodded her head and coaxed Edea on, gyrating her hips to entice her.

"As you wish, my Lady," Edea said dutifully, her tone hauntingly ominous.

Her tongue intensified its efforts, swirling all around and within Lia's swollen lips, tasting her hidden and newfound desire. The Princess could now hear herself gasp and moan, her sultry voice echoing out into nothingness, the reverberations of her heedless enjoyment playing over and over again all around her. The only other noise that broke through her chorus of moans was the sound of Edea consuming her, the report of a wet tongue slapping and slipping through soaked lips being fed directly into Lia's ears as if through a funnel.

Lia entered a realm of bliss within the darkness, her true desire leaking out through the space between her legs. Edea refused to stop, her tongue knowing nothing of rest or fatigue, continuing to pleasure the Princess as she had requested. She subjected Lia to one soul shattering orgasm after another, torturing the woman with what she enjoyed most. Lia's mind was consumed only with the thought of Edea's tongue, no longer fearful for her own well-being if this was what the afterlife had in store. Edea's tongue found the apex of Lia's thigh and pressed upon the tiny button there, causing the Princess to moan and whimper louder than before. Lia had lost count of how many times she had released, but her body began to grow weak, her eyes heavy with exhaustion.

And still Edea continued, her tongue exploring Lia's insides now. Lia let loose a throaty moan, driving her hips down to meet the woman's face. The new sensation was foreign to the Princess, but she enjoyed it immensely, rocking her hips to explore the width of Edea's tongue. But as she did so, she felt the muscle grow within her, slowly beginning to fill her tight channel. Lia felt overwhelmed as Edea's tongue morphed into something else entirely, filling her completely until she felt a sharp pressure upon her stomach.

The Princess craned her neck to look downward into the void, finding not the blonde hair of Edea's head but instead a mass of dark purple tentacles, one of which was stuffed deep inside of her body. The humming was overbearing, reaching a wistful crescendo as the fabric of the realm she was suspended in began to tear, splotches of light fading into her peripheral. She heard a familiar voice behind the wall of noise, her ears straining to make it out. The writhing tentacles went rigid and bristled at the intrusion, the thick one inside the Princess beginning to move again, stretching her insides around it.

"Princess Lia, please wake up!"came the voice as clear as can be, breaking through the darkness to find Lia in her time of need.

---

Lia sat up with a jolt, gasping and screaming all at once, unaware of where she was. The room was dark but not as dark as the realm she had just escaped, her hands gripping the cold stones on the floor. She looked through watery eyes into the dying fire, and upon seeing it became anchored to the real world once more. Her heart was thundering against her ribcage, and it was all she could to prevent herself from collapsing from the overbearing vertigo, focused entirely on her breathing.

"Are you well my Lady?"

The Princess turned her head to find Edea kneeling at her side and flinched in response, still wary of the nightmare that had overcome her. Lia fixed her with an anxious gaze, fingers clenching into fists at her sides.

"Edea, is that really you?"

"Of course it is my Lady. Are you sure you are well?"

Lia searched the woman's eyes but sensed no malevolence coming from her and she tried to relax herself, leaning back onto her palms to let loose a sigh of relief.

"I am well Edea, thank you. I had to be sure."

"You had to be sure of what?" Edea asked curiously, her eyes searching the Princess for clues.

"Think nothing of it," Lia murmured, sending the question away with a wave of her hand.

Edea fell silent and studied the Princess for a moment, allowing the woman to gather herself. The silence that grew between them was uncomfortable, the only noise being supplied by the occasional crack or pop of the small fire that remained in the pit. Edea looked down into her lap and her hands that absentmindedly fidgeted with her cloak, trying to find the words that had escaped her before.

"I never did thank you for the other night. Had you not come along to save me, I would be dead now. Or perhaps I would be worse off..." Edea whispered before letting the sentence die, the silence filling in the blank for them both.

"It is my duty to protect the people of my realm. I was able to save you but how many others were lost in that cave? And your home is now gone, I was not able to save it or the people who lived there. I could only watch it burn from afar and then flee. I am still too weak."

Lia disliked the bitterness that corrupted her tone and she shut her mouth in response, a deep-seated anger burning within her gut. She started to doubt herself and the validity of her journey, wondering if she could ever attain the mythical power she sought. Did such an entity even exist, or have all the ancient texts been nothing more than a ruse? She glanced at her hands in disgust, shaking her head at the singe mark tattooed upon her left palm.