Chương 1: Prologue- Blood Rain

Drip… drip… drip… Elias opened his eyes, the icy blue color of his irises oddly matched to the leaden sky hanging above him, a dark mist pattered against his face as he lay prone on the ground in a shallow crater of earth surrounded by broken slate colored stone and a muddied slush of half melted snow.

Heaving a deep breath, he let out a groan as the ringing slowly faded in his skull, the scent of ozone and smoke in the air filling his nostrils, providing a counterpoint to the gentle droplets, while the ringing faded out to be replaced by the sounds of battle in the distance.

The not so distant ringing of steel on steel and the ragged cries of the warriors locked in a life-and-death struggle surrounded him as he brought his hand to his face, wiping at the grit and grime to see not only black streaks of soot, but also the dark flecks of the blood misting down from the air. A bemused smile faded into a grim line with a cough he rasped out, " Well, it's raining blood now, so I guess it's not like my day can get much worse."

With a grimace of disgust he flicked his hand to shed the fluid, and in his slightly dazed state reflected back on the absolutely wild changes the past few months had brought into his life. If I went back in time and told my past self that I would ride a giant lizard into battle against a deadly cult, get blown up multiple times, and slapped nearly unconscious by a man the size of a bear, all before breakfast, mind you, I would have thought myself insane.

I have to imagine the first question on my lips would be why? Why on earth would you endure all that suffering?! Elias sat upright with a groan as these thoughts ran through his mind. He heard a slight hiss followed by a sharp, ringing thunk, like steel kissing stone, with a muted thud as a lifeless head dropped to the earth at his feet. Blood fanned outward in a dark, graceful arc, splattering across his chest with a wet thwack as it painted his clothes a bright red, steaming faintly in the cold air.

The body fell forwards at his feet, the sword that had been still clutched in its hand clattered to the ground as the corpse slumped in a crumpled heap. A tall silhouette framed by the sun threw a shadow across Elias as he glanced sharply skyward. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

A tall lithe woman in battle-scarred and blood-stained dark grayish-blue plate armor, stalked forward with a predatory grace as her chest heaved with the deep but steady breaths of a seasoned athlete fogging the air as she approached. The massive zweihander greatsword clutched in her right hand gleamed, the rays of the dim sun above dancing along the keen steel, while the silver blade sported faintly glowing etchings running down the fuller of the blade.

At least where it wasn't liberally coated in the blood of the fallen, including the unfortunate soul she must have recently decapitated with a single stroke by the sound of it. The specter of his past self echoed in Elias's mind, Was it worth it? All the blood and pain? Would you tell me to walk a different path, or would you do it all again? Elias's gaze rose to her face, taking in her fierce visage, resplendent despite the blood splatter, soot, and battle grime.

Her piercing vibrant blue eyes the color of a clear blue sky were framed by vibrant red curls like a mane of wildfire in a messy ponytail. Her delicate bone structure and generous lips contorted in a grim satisfaction as she watched the body crumple, the stern glare of an avenging valkyrie relishing in the sight of her enemies being driven before her might resting upon her brow.

As her eyes fell upon Elias, her face lit up with a wide grin, and like the sun rising on winter's dawn the stern visage vanished to be replaced with a wild glee, Elias's heart fluttered a beat, at the wild passion and slightly manic bloodlust in her gaze paired with the otherworldly beauty that banished the stern countenance of the valkyrie from before.

For a moment he found himself frozen, bewitched by the warrior as she crouched down before him, exuding a palpable aura of violence and slaughter as unrestrained and free as a gale-force wind. In this quiet moment in time he reflected on the terror that the bloodsoaked pillar of metal, muscle, and bloodlust must invoke in her enemies and for the span of a heartbeat the aura crept up and clutched at his chest, blanketing his skin in a tingling pressure.

The moment passed with a single thud of his heart before the pressure morphed and her aura took on its more familiar feeling; a comforting blanket settling on his skin, not unlike the feeling of the tropical sun on a warm summer day, or the refreshing breeze blowing freely across a meadow under an open sky. What can I say? I'm a little biased. Then she reached out a hand to grasp his forearm and with a playful tone she yanked him to his feet.

"Come on Eli, no time for napping, there's plenty of these bastards left, we're not done yet!" His face cracked into a wide grin of his own as the call of the distant battle sent a rising thrum like the beating of drums from deep in his chest, as a thrill of energy coursed through him singing a song in his heart in an echo of her own. He finally answered that ghost of the not-so distant past. That was no question at all. For her? I'd do it all again, every time.

A/N: See the pic below for artwork from this scene of Astra lending Eli a hand.