Viktor's Fable.

Viktor never expected his adventure to end like this, come to think of it… He never expected for it to end at all…

Viktor’s eyes slowly opened, the sleep slowly releasing it’s grasp on him. He was weak, tired and more importantly; he was hungover. His eyes brushed around his empty home before he yawned, raising a hand to his mouth. His eyes continued to cruise around the room, more than once his gaze settled upon the empty remains of a bottle of rum. Surprisingly, he had slept alone; which rarely occurred when he was drunk. His hands crept along the ground, fingers brushing through the fur of his rug. His palm pressed against the soft surface as his muscular and rather exposed form rose from the sheets, swiftly moving towards the nearby river he jumped into the freezing water. Pain shot through him, the icy embrace of the water something that he still needed to get used too; despite the constant instance of his clan-mates that the water was fine.

So it was that Viktor went through his morning routine, eating, drinking and cleaning himself ready for whatever the day ahead might hold. Some time later, as the sun was slowly vanishing into the abyss beyond the horizon he found himself alone once more. His hand brushed over the bracelet that adorned his wrist, cracked and bruised fingers brushing over polished and stainless metal. The contrast between his tired and slowly aging skin and the seemingly perfect metal wasn’t lost on him. With a sigh, he threw his head back, resting it against the stonewall which he now sat against. His arms raised above his head as a groan passed through his cracked lips, once more exhaustion had started to settle in. Having spent the last few hours attempting to call upon his former powers; that were now long lost as a direct result of the presence of the oppressive bracelet that resigned him to his fate. He was exhausted, drained of energy and any desire to leave his current spot.

Of course, fate was a cruel mistress and a soft feminine voice could be heard on the wind; “Viktor?~ What are you doing up here all by yourself?”

His eyes slowly dragged upwards, leaving the thought of the bracelet behind as his gaze came to rest upon the soft smile of Eiriana’s lips. His own smirk slowly crept along his features, his eyebrow slowly raised as he offered her an inquisitive look.”And what are you doing here, all by yourself Eiri?” He chuckled, attempting to rise before he promptly sighed and fell back onto his ass. Not that it mattered, for barely a moment later her found her ass resting on his lap. Without request, she sat down on his lap and stared into his eyes. Her fingers traced along the defined and sharp features of his face, his own eyebrows now furrowed as he frowned. “What’re you doing Eiri…”

Another giggle, her eyes rolled slightly as she leaned backwards, her hands resting upon his knees. A cruel, devious smirk spread across her lips as she spoke calmly, her voice was cold and almost unfeeling as her words dripped with untold venom.  “Well Viktor, it just occurred to me that you haven’t exactly been forthright with everything you have told me. Or honest, even for that matter! So I thought I would stop on by and ask you as to exactly why that is?~” Her face pressed close to his, her forehead resting against her own as the cold steel of her dagger pressed against his neck. “Afterall, you wouldn’t want to upset me now, would you? I tend to get very… angry when I am lied too.”

As Viktor parted his lips to reply, the only sound he could make was a howl of pain. His eyes darted down to see the hilt of the dagger protruding from his upper thigh. Her fingers cupped his jaw and redirected his focus back onto her, her finger twirling around the hilt of the blade and occasionally yanking it one direction or another to deepen and widen the wound. “Now now Viktor, I think we should both make ourselves far more comfortable before we continue this conversation. So how about we have a bite to eat back at my place, hmm?” She smirked, opening her satchel bag and producing a length of rope. Within a few minutes she had bound his hands together in front of him, the rope roughly scratching his skin and already causing blisters as she ushered the wounded Viktor to his feet.

Her delicate hand pressed against the small of his back, shoving him in the right direction. Her eyes glanced upwards towards the sky, the stars slowly starting to trickle into existence and the last thing shades of blue paving way for the darkness of the night sky. Her eyes drifted back down to settle upon her prize, whilst to an untrained fool he wasn’t worth much she knew that the information he held and the stories he knew could usher in a new age or bring the current one crashing down with fire and sword, flames and chaos.

They walked for some time, silence surrounded them only to broken by the occasional chirp of the crickets. Viktor’s focus was entirely set upon the horizon, only responding to the nudges, shoves and occasional kick from Eiriana as she encouraged him in the right direction. Minutes crawled by and slowly turned to hours and even Eiriana was starting to feel the effects of the trek whereas Viktor, exhausted already, was close to passing out. With a sigh, she yanked on the rope. Causing Viktor to stumble and fall unceremoniously on his ass. Her hand slowly crept along his shoulder, gently applying pressure as her eyes locked on his. “We are going to rest here, if you try to run I will hunt you down and make sure you die slowly.” Words that she well and truly meant.

Viktor’s eyes stared into the fire that she built, the sticks crackled and the flames leapt up into the sky. His hands were wrapped around the now empty bowl of gruel that she had offered him and he had, despite himself, devoured it as swiftly as he could. “I am not some weak and pathetic thrall Eiriana, you won’t hold me for long.”

The only reply that she afford him was a soft laugh, a titter more than anything as she shook her head. Her eyes rolled as she leaned backwards and pressed her palms against the rug. A snap suddenly caught her attention, her head snapped to Viktor who now started to rise. The remains of his rope restraints dropping to the ground as he clutched a dagger in one hand and his wounded leg in the other. Standing herself, her hand slowly drifted to her sword, wordlessly drawing the blade. Their eyes locked as they began to pace in a small circle, both sizing up their opponent as neither wanted to fall this day. Eiri’s advantage was obvious, even a fool could see that with such an injured leg Viktor would struggle to keep pace with her.

She lunged, an attempt to seize the initiative that was met by a well struck parry. Viktor’s dagger raised, catching the sword on the handguard as he threw his free hand. A short by simple jab connecting with her nose, causing her to stagger as they returned to their positions. They paced once again, prowling like predators as they continued to watch each other’s movements. There was no rush of combat, not heavy handed hits; this was a fight of patience and strategy as both had more than their fair share to lose should they fail to take the other down.

Viktor was fighting for his freedom, his chance and right to be a free man whereas Eiriana was fighting for personal gain but if he managed to get away? No doubt he would hunt her down with all his friends and everyone he could afford with his clan’s coffers. Another lunge, Eiri’s blade passed over Viktor’s cheek and peeled away a few layers of skin as he barely managed to avoid the attack. His hand swept upwards, dagger slicing through the air as the blade shot along her hand. Not only did it strike home but the blade carried through, separating the woman from one of her pinky-fingers.

She staggered backward, staring intently at her hand with a look of shock. At least, it was shock at first. Moments later the gaze gave away to anger, hatred burnt within her eyes as she attacked without thought. Abandoning reason, planning and any sense of self-preservation as she went for him. He managed to hold off the first few of her blows, steel clashed against steel as he desperately fought to keep her away. A kick to the gut sealed his fate though, her boot slammed against his solar flexes as she brought the sword down into his stomach. She ensured the blade went deep, slamming it home through skin and muscle alike before kicking him down onto his back.

She approached him, a grin on her lips as she crouched down and ran the remains of her hand through his hair. “The worst thing is, Viktor… I am not going to let you die.” With that, she rose to her full height. Before she curb-stomped him, her boot slamming against his face and all but shattering his nose as she knocked him unconscious.

When he finally woke, he awoke to a world of pain. His hands were locked in shackles above his head, his body suspended in the air and a small pond beneath him. He was surrounded on all sides by thick sandstone walls, iron bars to his front with a locked door proved that he was most certainly trapped within a cell of some sorts. The rattling of his chains was more than enough to grab the attention of Eiriana and before long she joined him, her hands wrapped around the bars of his cell as she pressed her face against the metal poles. “Awh~ And you look so cute where you’re asleep, don’t worry I treated your wounds so you won’t die from that. Anyway, now that you’re awake why don’t you tell me what I want to hear? Lets start with the basics, you know who I am after so why don’t you tell me everything you know~”

Silence was her only reply, his head dropped as he stared at the floor beneath him. His eyes noted the bandages that were wrapped around his legs and stomach, no doubt she had taken the time and energy to ensure that he wouldn’t bleed out like a butcher’s pig. His head slowly raised once more, as he hawked a glob of spit at her; which fell just short of it’s target. It splashed upon the ground, as Eiri glanced down before looking back up at him. She sighed softly, “Really? Do you have to resort to such childish methods? I thought better of you Viktor.” She turned away from him, yawning as she stretched and winked over her shoulder. “I will see you soon darling.”


The hours dragged by yet again, as Viktor felt his bones click and muscles strain in protest at their unnatural position. This became the least of his worries as he suddenly felt himself being raised. His eyes drifted up to see a hatch above him open and the chains holding him begin to drag him upwards towards the light. As he rose, he wasn’t entirely sure what was going on but when he saw the wooden walls that surrounded him and the occasional tree that seemed dotted around what could be compared to an arena his eyes went wide. The sun beat down on him oppressively as Eiriana appeared by his side to close the hatch, lowering him a bit more to ensure his feet pressed against the ground. She smirked, before she delivered a firm slap to his naked ass which caused Viktor to growl in protest. “Damn it Eiri, just let me go and we will forget about this.”

Another giggle, a maniacal and cruel undertone to this one as she pressed her hands against his chest. “You always know how to say the sweetest things Viktor, always know exactly how to make a girl blush. Your words truly are honey sweet?” She couldn’t help but laugh with the apparent joke being lost on Viktor, his frown was replaced by a look of pure fear as she dragged a large bucket of honey into view. She smirked, raising it up and pouring the sticky substance over his bare and exposed body, taking a moment to admire how the sticky substance clung to his muscular form. Slowly dripping from his arms, nose, pecs and all manner of his anatomy. As she walked away, his swaying, she reached down and picked up a lit torch. Approaching a mound in the ground, she kicked it before dropping a torch down a small hole, the flames creeping along the earth.

Thats when they started to crawl out from their holes, as Eiriana vaulted her way out of the small arena and to safety. Leaving Viktor defenseless, alone and unable to fend them off. An almost unstoppable tide of fire-ants, they crawled and swarmed over everything as they sought to locate the one who attacked their base but the only person they could find was Viktor. The man who was, as it happened, dripping with honey. The first bite wasn’t too bad, the mandibles sinking deeply into his flesh, his teeth gritted as he writhed more within his bonds which only made it worse for himself.

As more and more ants started to venture up his body, more and more they bit into his exposed flesh. The endless tide of red tearing into the flesh of Viktor as they eagerly sought to devour the sweet honey and take their revenge on the one who they believed had attacked their home. Not far from this, Eiri stopped to admire her work. The endless screams of uncontrollable agony and suffering that bellowed freely from Viktor’s lungs. His twisting and writhing form, the look of pain and absolute fear on his face as he was slowly eaten alive.  Viktor’s head was thrown backwards as his voice finally gave way, the screams now nothing more than hoarse and guttural cries for help. Blood, honey, sweat and red-ants hid whatever was once Viktor. She took the scenic route around the arena, still finding the time to admire her handiwork before she reached the handle. Cranking it, she raised Viktor from the ground before she poured water over him, ridding him of all but a few ants which still clung to his form and bit away. His head dropped as the pain subsided, a throbbing numbness and total agony replaced and dominated all of his senses. Slipping into the area, she moved over to his form and cupped his jaw in her hand yet again. Her eyes bore into his, the defiant light and playful tone of Viktor’s voice now extinguished.. Perhaps forever. “Now, are you going to be a good boy Viktor and tell me what I want to hear?” His eyes opened, blood, tears and sweat stained his cheeks as he nodded in conformation. “Y.. Yes…” His voice was broken, barely audible and weak as his vocal chords were all but shredded.

And so… The Snake, The Spider and The Silver Tongued Devil told Eiriana everything she wanted to know.. How big the clans were, where they were located, who lead them and their weaknesses and perhaps, most frighteningly of all.. He told her how to sneak into more than a few of their bases. Hidden little paths that they themselves were perhaps not aware of, flaws in their designs and holes in their defenses.

She cut the chain, freeing him from his shackles after lowering him back down into his cell. Before she condemned him to darkness, before she closed the hatch and sealed him to his fate she offered him only one sentence. “If you can survive for ten more days? Then you shall not die.” With those final words, Viktor’s world plunged into darkness.

This was only the beginning of the end, Viktor’s tale wasn’t over yet but it wouldn’t end with a happily ever after.