09-28-2018, 11:06 PM
All pain is not created equal. The sting of nettle does not hurt in the same way teeth sinking into flesh does. Nor does the burn of an ember ache in quite the same day as love unrequited. Likewise, not all deaths are the same. Each leaf that spirals to the earth knows nothing of what new life will arrive come spring. There is only hope that the end is not a final one. There was no such hope in this valley where the dammed had gathered.
Those who had stood struggling for air on the drowned shore now collected, bathed in the ill glow that pulsed from an undead heart. All seemed somewhat roughened by the journey. Streaks and streams of blood marred their hides, crimson gone black in the emerald light. In the midst of it all, the now familiar grey stallion's voice reached them all. It was felt as much as heard, reverberating through the buckskin's skull. Cement the bond.
"What the hell does that mean..."
Silver-blue eyes darted, trying to track the flickering shadows that snickered beneath Carnage's command. What was so funny? He was about to ask when awful, violent screams began to rend the air. Cement the bond. With blood and stone, he understood now. The laughter grew louder as a sudden jerking pain pulled from somewhere in the region of his heart. It was wrong. Like a fish hook catching on arteries, Raul knew exactly when Pangea's earth and Mountain stone met and began their journey up his carotid.
His own screams joined the chorus around him as the foreign bodies fought to be free. Like acid under his skin, his vocal cords strained as the fire inched along his throat. There was a moment of transition, when the shadows grew more solid, found menacing faces of long dead Pangean horses. "You are already ours, brother. Give us our due, and you shall be rewarded. Or don't. We'll have thee regardless." Words slipped like oil on water, running clammy fingers under his chin, over his nose. At last, the pieces found the weak point that they had been seeking.
They tore through muscle and membrane, finding escape in the contracting tunnel of his esophagus. Blood began to choke out his scream. It filled the space, flowing down into his lungs and carrying the dead matter up and out of his mouth. Everywhere it touched he felt the burn of it, blistering like nothing he'd ever felt before. A bone cracking cough spattered viscous blood before him. It stained his lips and teeth where it touched. A wad of mud was hacked up, spit into the verdant heart desperately. Glee painted the ancient masks that twisted in and out of sight, though Raul was blind to them now. Blood, stone, earth. And a voice that had yet to be tried.
Pain like nothing else he'd known darkened the corners of his vision. Viscera continued to flow from his maw, saturating the loam underfoot. Knees buckled beneath the weight of his agony. Finally, darkness found him, claimed him. The phantom entities vanished just as quickly, returning to the corners of his mind that had conjured them in the first place.
Pain woke him from involuntary slumber. Back on the shore that had drawn him forth initially, it was as though no time had passed. The only evidence he held was the raw flame in his throat which he felt with every breath. His muzzle opened, trying to call for the brother who was always nearby, or for anyone else who would listen. The only sound that came out was a whispery croak. His voice was destroyed, as surely as if Carnage had slit the vocal cords himself. He was alone with his experiences now, holding them to his chest whether he wanted to or not. How long the effects of tonight's expedition would remain hidden, well. He couldn't say that either.
Those who had stood struggling for air on the drowned shore now collected, bathed in the ill glow that pulsed from an undead heart. All seemed somewhat roughened by the journey. Streaks and streams of blood marred their hides, crimson gone black in the emerald light. In the midst of it all, the now familiar grey stallion's voice reached them all. It was felt as much as heard, reverberating through the buckskin's skull. Cement the bond.
"What the hell does that mean..."
Silver-blue eyes darted, trying to track the flickering shadows that snickered beneath Carnage's command. What was so funny? He was about to ask when awful, violent screams began to rend the air. Cement the bond. With blood and stone, he understood now. The laughter grew louder as a sudden jerking pain pulled from somewhere in the region of his heart. It was wrong. Like a fish hook catching on arteries, Raul knew exactly when Pangea's earth and Mountain stone met and began their journey up his carotid.
His own screams joined the chorus around him as the foreign bodies fought to be free. Like acid under his skin, his vocal cords strained as the fire inched along his throat. There was a moment of transition, when the shadows grew more solid, found menacing faces of long dead Pangean horses. "You are already ours, brother. Give us our due, and you shall be rewarded. Or don't. We'll have thee regardless." Words slipped like oil on water, running clammy fingers under his chin, over his nose. At last, the pieces found the weak point that they had been seeking.
They tore through muscle and membrane, finding escape in the contracting tunnel of his esophagus. Blood began to choke out his scream. It filled the space, flowing down into his lungs and carrying the dead matter up and out of his mouth. Everywhere it touched he felt the burn of it, blistering like nothing he'd ever felt before. A bone cracking cough spattered viscous blood before him. It stained his lips and teeth where it touched. A wad of mud was hacked up, spit into the verdant heart desperately. Glee painted the ancient masks that twisted in and out of sight, though Raul was blind to them now. Blood, stone, earth. And a voice that had yet to be tried.
Pain like nothing else he'd known darkened the corners of his vision. Viscera continued to flow from his maw, saturating the loam underfoot. Knees buckled beneath the weight of his agony. Finally, darkness found him, claimed him. The phantom entities vanished just as quickly, returning to the corners of his mind that had conjured them in the first place.
Pain woke him from involuntary slumber. Back on the shore that had drawn him forth initially, it was as though no time had passed. The only evidence he held was the raw flame in his throat which he felt with every breath. His muzzle opened, trying to call for the brother who was always nearby, or for anyone else who would listen. The only sound that came out was a whispery croak. His voice was destroyed, as surely as if Carnage had slit the vocal cords himself. He was alone with his experiences now, holding them to his chest whether he wanted to or not. How long the effects of tonight's expedition would remain hidden, well. He couldn't say that either.