Pay the price, live the life

_{Listen to this while reading: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB_sZA…}


Human. Male. Of 24 summers. Fairly athletic and tall, a bit on the gawky side. Missing two fingers on the right hand. Ptero incident. Thin black streaks of hair, pale skin and protruding nose. Copper eyes. That´s me. The me I have known for all my life. Raised a warrior to fight for the Guild. But now there was this uncomfortable cold coming from a hole in my gut rivaling with the snow I lay on. Gorra mountains, that cursed ridge that now sealed my fate. My enemy, the large demon gazed at me with patience, waiting for my inner light to diminish. I gasped as the warm of my blood pooled around me, at least some comfort on my way out. My eyes grew tired of the view of those sacred ruins, my eyelids bringing welcome darkness. I no longer felt pain, cold or warmth, that basic survival instict, it all faded. If only that annoying light outside would go too, can´t my end be swift. A girl giggled. It made every single hair on my body rise. A young childs presence entered my mind. Then again, her laughter. Harmless and sincere as can only be a child. Forcing my eyes open I perceived a spirit standing on the ruins. A girl with no clear shape. Her giggles sounded again and like the first domino had fallen things started to change.

The world dropped away below me, now an organ played. At least my mind told me it was an organ, the rhythm increased steadily. The child just stood there basking in her amusement. She had no body or face, yet her eyes stared right through me. Her voice intruding my mind like a ringing bell, clear as the silver river. Her language cryptic to all earthen creatures, it captured my thoughts, wove them together. Death I gasped, unlike anything I had ever imagined. More giggles ensued. The organ now in a duet with her voice. From deep within my chest I screamed, a sound encompassing my very soul. Visions of alien creatures entered my mind, animals of unseen shape. A color flared up, so rich and beautiful it could not be from this world. It beared the scent of a single blossoming rose. This special color stirred something deep within and as such entered my body. Like silken liquid it flowed into my heart and soul, the girl´s chanting now omnipresent. Simulataneously her giggles started up and the melody climaxed. Light and color, images and visions danced all around me, then the organ faded as did everything else.

Sensations of cold water creeping up my back tore me out of this dream. The world pulled me back down, the girl laughed one last time, waving. Rough noises disturbed my peaceful mind. My body shook under me as something heavy approached. I identified voices, calling for somebody. Calling for me. "Wolfram!" they shouted, louder than necessary. Groggily I opened my eyes only to be greeted by a blur. Somebody pushed me up, holding me steadily. Enchanted by the girl´s voice I failed to respond to their worried calls. Cold water splashed into my face, tearing me forcefully into reality. Shaking my heavy head I gazed upon, blinking countless times before perceiving the world as it existed. "What happened? Wolfram, you ok? What´s with the blood." My friends face popped into my vision, concern edged into his strong features. "A-Arcan?" I muttered. My tongue felt leaden and dry, throat rasped. "Get the doctor, he´s got a concussion" somebody called. Apathy engulfed my exhausted mind. With help I gulped down some liquid, only ever started to notice all the excitement around me. Several warriors had hurried to my aid it appeared, my ptero circled in the sky above, crying calls of distress. At least she got away safely. My attacker, the demon who had killed me, his corpse now spread on the ground in front of me.

Arcan, a warrior much stronger and bolder than I ever dared to be pulled me to my feet. "Talk to me Wolfram. How did you kill that demon, what happened to you?" I met his brown eyes, for that short moment something within me begged to tell him everything I had just witnessed. My life that had ended, the Spirit who had saved me, that incredibly beautiful color. But I couldn´t, not until I had figured everything out. "I´m fine" I lied. Subconsciously my hand wandered to my abdomen, no pain flared up, no tissue torn. Yet that moment the demon´s prank had gushed open my guts still lingered in my mind like a dark phanthom. "Are you sure? " The other man quickly noticed my distress, his eyes scanning my battered body for injuries. "Yes, just- just tired" I uttered. Closing my eyes momentarily the dull image of the color crossed my mind once more. "C´mon Wolfram, we´ll take you back to camp, you need rest!" My eyes searched the sky for evidence of what had happened, but no organ sounded and no girl spirit appeared. There was only the large corpse of that demon. Straddled into a seat on a Ptero I stared at the black creature. "Demon"I whispered. To my concern something deep within, a place I had never entered, something stirred. Demon.