Quendalon/Session32ThorwaldInterlude

The scream was so loud and so sudden it jolted him up and had him running before he even realized what he was doing. He didn’t second-guess his initial reaction however and continued towards the sound.

As he came upon the source, Thorwald stopped. He watched as Fetek screaming in rage hurled himself at Zera Thisse who leapt up into the trees out of his reach. The battle madness was upon the Lunar and it was obvious by the look in Zera’s eyes he was still in no shape to reason.

The two fought each other fiercely. Fetek in beast form had an arrow buried in his left arm and the blood dripped from the wound but he roared in fury and hurled himself into the air at Zera Thisse who stood on a tree branch his face eerily calm and emotionless his bow nocked ready to release an arrow at their companion. As Fetek came within an inch of striking him, Zera jumped up to a higher branch released the arrow and was off onto another tree branch as it clattered off Fetek’s silver armor.

Thorwald knew what had happened and immediately perceived the peril. Fetek must have come upon Zera unawares and was rewarded with an arrow for his troubles. When this happened his own blood rage came upon him and now the only thought on his mind was the death of his assailant.

Both of them, in the grips of their curse. They will kill each other if I don’t intervene… Thorwald realized.

But instead, he did nothing. He watched as Zera skipped to another tree released an arrow that was batted away by Fetek’s horns and barely dodged a murderous blow that would have split his skull open if it connected.

Fetek will kill him if this continues…

But still he made no move. He knew that though physically outmatched Zera was not an easy target. Fetek’s rage made him sloppy and his circlemate would easily dodge the Lunar’s attacks. But the problem was Zera himself. Had he been himself he would have fought defensively until Fetek’s rage subsided. But Zera wasn’t himself and seemed to be less interested in calming Fetek than he was at stopping him no matter the cost. And as Zera unleashed arrow after arrow it was obvious that stopping him would mean putting an arrow through his heart.

I have to stop this!!

An arrow caught Fetek in the shoulder but his own blow landed, before Zera could fully dodge. Though he avoided the brunt of the damage the force sent him spinning through the air. Zera barely regained his senses turned his body in mid air, released two arrows and flipped onto another branch. Turning he leapt high to another tree and then another and fled to the west with the Lunar nipping at his heels.

Thorwald realized he was running out of time. If he acted now he could easily catch Fetek’s attention and turn the Lunar’s assault towards himself. It would not be an easy fight but he felt confident that he could outlast the Lunar. In his mental state he would be sloppy and careless with his essence and all Thorwald would have to do was weather the storm. That was easier said than done but he knew that if he avoided his horns and rolled with the attacks he could eventually get Fetek to tire himself.

But instead he stopped and looked up through the break in the canopy of trees and stared straight at the sun.

This is the moment. This is the dangerous ground I have feared all along. Whatever it is that is wrong with us may kill my comrades if I do nothing. But I remember your words. If you are right, if what you have told me is true, then there is no way my comrades can kill each other. If the bond of our Circle is as you claim, then nothing, not even this can sunder it.

So, sun god… oathbreaker, I will trust you. This once, this one time I will trust these lies you have put into my head. I will trust you because if you are right then we are not demons and our course of action is clear. And if you are wrong, if this insanity that dwells within us is unstoppable, then even if we aren’t demons our course of action is still clear. If you are wrong, we are better off dead anyway.

And so Thorwald looked at his companions and judged that the fate of his Circle rested with the outcome.