Lydis couldn"t remember anything before blacking out. The worried voices of Roland, Derick, her father and her mother had long faded out. Her meeting with the real Lydis had disappeared, her past memories had disappeared and the memories within Lydis"s mind were all blank. Her name was all that she was sure of. Lydis. She said her name in her mind countless times so that she wouldn"t forget it. Suddenly she got extremely cold. The name Lydis was fading from her mind as her thinking had slowed. Soon all she felt was a cold numbness. Her awareness fading, her sense numbing and she began to think that staying like that was better than anything she had known so far. She didn"t know how long it had been but something faint called out to her."Lydis." The warm voice had awoken her. It was soft, sweet and full of love for her. It called her again and again but it was getting farther and farther away. Lydis didn"t want to stay like that anymore. She wanted out of wherever she was. She tried moving her body but she found that she couldn"t. She screamed and yelled but nothing cam out of her mouth. Lydis was frantic. For the first time it hit her that she might be dead. The weight of the thought nearly caused her to give up.
In despair and shock Lydis stopped trying. She was about to go back into her cold-numb state when she felt a small warm air. It was thin and wispy but it was different from anything she had felt before so she knew that it might be a chance to leave. She followed the warm air with her mind and soon it got warmer and hotter. The slight wind turned into huge gusts of wind. Lydis raised her hands to shield her eyes and she arrived at the source of the hot air. A crack of light in the darkness. The light didn"t spread from the crack but the darkness couldn"t cover it entirely either. Lydis was drawn towards the hot blazing crack. She reached her hand out and then everything went white.
Memories that seemed like they belonged and memories of a different land altogether flooded Lydis"s mind. There was so much information that Lydis couldn"t process it all at once. What really stuck in her mind was that she was not from her current world. She had transferred over here somehow and was stuck in the body of a four-year-old.
Lydis opened her eyes and for a moment she was blinded by the bright light. Soon it settled, and she saw the greens and browns of the trees and the other colors of the forest. The soft wind blew at her hair slightly. The intense smell of gra.s.s and dirt was overpowering while the constant noises of the forest almost made her cover her ears. It was so different from the dull darkness she was in. It was alive and changing. She was alive.
"I"u auluu!" She tried to say "I"m alive" but her throat was too coa.r.s.e and dry. Lydis looked around and saw that there was ice shattered all around her. Almost in the shape of an egg. She looked down and saw that her clothes had shattered along with the ice. Her slim pale body had changed. Instead of her chubby four-year-old body now she looked like she was eight or nine. Still a kid but the change was drastic. Her blond hair that had turned red was now down to her knees, her arms and legs longer than they used to be. Her right arm still gone. Lydis heard some birds and saw that behind some trees was a pool of water. She walked over and examined her face in the water"s mirror. Her once crystal blue eyes were now an ugly yellow. They looked like the eyes of a beast. As she was examining her face she heard a small noise in a bush next to her. Without thinking she manipulated the slyphir around her and shot a small condensed slyphir blade towards it. Almost as if on instinct. A small weak cry followed by a plump winged rabbit fell pushed itself out of the bush. The condensed slyphir blade sticking out of it"s chest where it"s heart was.
For some reason Lydis didn"t feel anything. She had just killed an animal out of nowhere and now she didn"t even care. What did surprise Lydis was how hungry she was. The moment the rabbit came out Lydis"s stomach wouldn"t stop rumbling. She was hungry. She was starved. She wanted blood. Lydis grabbed the rabbit and began to bite into it. Not even caring about the blood that gushed down her snow pale skin or the twitches the rabbit made as she continued to gorge on it. Lydis relished in the fresh taste of blood, both tangy and sweet it"s taste would have her longing after it time and time again. The chewiness of raw meat filled with blood was ecstatic. The feeling of tearing the fur off to reveal the slimy pink flesh underneath. The sliminess of the fat as it traveled down her throat. Lydis took it"s heart and gobbled it down. She threw it"s intestines to the side and worked her way around the bones. Everything about the rabbit was so addicting that Lydis didn"t want to finish. When she did finish, Lydis smeared the blood on her face and body, drawing symbols on her head and chest, she looked like a feral child.
After a few more seconds, Lydis looked like she had just woke up from a spell. She stopped lathering herself in blood and finally realized what she had done. She tried to throw up but nothing worked. She gagged and quickly washed herself off in the clear pond, staining it a light pink with chunks of blood floating on the surface. When she finished washing herself the sun began to set. She needed to find shelter but, she didn"t even know where she was. She looked at her mess and turned away, ashamed and disgusted with herself. She took it"s remains and tried to bury them but her small hand could only do so much. As she walked away she noticed a small pillar of smoke off in the distance. Smoke usually meant civilization so Lydis headed towards it.
The sun was halfway down the sky when Lydis could finally see what was causing the smoke. A cargo train had been ambushed and attacked. It"s remains were lit on fire along with the pa.s.sengers. The few that had managed to make it outside were staked where they were found. The attackers had long left the scene as the cargo cars were all open and empty. Lydis saw a little boy who had his head bashed in near the edge of the woods. She went to him and found that his clothes were just a bit too big but they still fit. Again she didn"t feel anything even when she was desecrating the dead like that. Lydis took his blood-stained clothes and shoes. She wandered around the train and found some dead guards scattered here and there, all had multiple metal rods sticking out of them from various angles. One was staked through his chest, his body barely off the ground as scavenger birds were picking at his eyes. The scavenger birds screeched at Lydis but they didn"t stop eating. The putrid smell of burning flesh hit Lydis when the winds changed. She followed the smell and saw five huge piles of people burning, probably the pa.s.sengers she a.s.sumed. Their charred bodies melting together, looking like they would reanimate into monsters any minuet.
Lydis"s attention changed to the pile of broken weapons near the burning piles of people. In the pile were random weapons that had been discarded. As she looked at the pile an unknown voice identified the prime weapons in the pile. A semi-broken C-47 pistol, a rusted blade the size of her arm and a fizzing slyphir activated shield. She picked out the items and suddenly she knew how to fix them.
Lydis wasn"t sure how she knew but she felt like she knew how to fix them, even though they were just her gut feeling. She took an hour to fix the semi-broken C-47 pistol and managed to make it fire two out of the three times she pulled the trigger. She took about half an hour to sc.r.a.pe off chunks of compressed metal from it"s initial blade. It was initially the length of her arm but now it was only half the size, becoming more like a dagger than short sword. With the fizzing slyphir activated shield Lydis didn"t know what to do. She hadn"t been able to manipulate slyphir on her own besides from killing the rabbit. She decided to leave it in the pile.
After adjusting her weapons Lydis looked around more and found more burning body piles and more empty cargo cars. As she neared the end of the train she heard a high pitched scream. Lydis quickly hid herself and crept slowly forward. As she turned around the final cargo car, she saw a pack of blood wolves surrounding a golden hoofed fawn. Again, the information just flowed into her head, identifying the enemies and giving her their information.
Blood wolves are known for their savagery and the color of their fur, said to be stained the color of their prey"s blood. Usually seen traveling in a pack, blood wolves have great coordination. They vary in size depending on age and status but, a baby blood wolf is about the half the size of a grown man. They are also very cunning and difficult to get rid of.
Golden hoofed fawns are baby golden hoofed deer. They can grow into ma.s.sive sizes and their hooves are made out of pure gold. Since they eat rare metals and gems they are both valued and hated. The fur of a golden hoofed deer is said to be extremely soft and valuable. Golden hoofed fawns can be sold at a high price as they are hard to get.
Lots of pointless information. Lydis watched as the blood wolves closed the circle around the golden hoofed fawn. The fawn screamed and cried out. One of the blood wolves lunged at it and the fawn leapt away from it, kicking it with it"s hind legs. The charging blood wolf backed off and rejoined the circle. Slowly the circle was becoming tighter and tighter. The golden hoofed fawn looked fl.u.s.tered and scared. It let out another ear-piercing cry and then everything stopped. The wolves stood still, as if waiting for something and the chirping birds went silent. A low rumble filled the silence. Soon it became louder and louder and suddenly bursting from the forest was a charging adult male golden hoofed deer. It"s pearl white horns jabbed into two wolves" sides causing them to whimper and cry out in pain. The golden hoofed deer shook the wolves off and snorted, ready to charge again. The wolves pack leader howled and the wolves retreated. Snorting at them the golden hoofed deer turned and went to nuzzle the fawn. The fawn nuzzled back and brushed against it"s side in appreciation.
Lydis was not moved by the adult deer, just disappointed. The wolves had not left the area, they had just retreated and now the deer thinks it"s safe? Lydis didn"t care about the golden hoofed deer. After thinking this she found herself questioning her thinking. Had she changed? Was she different? Was she always this cold-hearted? What about the rabbit? As Lydis was pondering this suddenly the wolves charged from the bushes. They all attacked the adult deer. Biting it"s legs and side, some jumped on it"s back and held on with their claws and teeth, other aimed for it"s head and neck.
Getting attacked suddenly by a pack of fifteen wolves was too sudden for the golden hoofed deer. It buckled and tried to rear up but the wolves in reserves charged at this moment and attacked it"s underside, pushing it to land on it"s back. Now that it was grounded the rest of the wolves attacked mercilessly.
The golden fawn had been taken down by the pack leader. It dragged the fawn"s limp body by the neck, it"s blood blending in with the wolf"s fur. It left a trail behind it as it went to join it"s pack in attacking the adult deer. The fight was over from the beginning.