The Last Thread of Hope

Two days, he'd wasted two whole days from reporting back to Alice and coming back to the village. He grunted in annoyance upon walking by a river, thinking of how tedious each mission could get and how their lack of communication hindered every single aspect of it. She had advised him to lay low for a few days, to observe before attacking. To that all he could say was "What a waste of time".

he came to stop by the river side and sat down by the edge, the river flowed peacefully down the path giving off a calm and serene feeling to him, he sighed and leaned back, his arms supported his weight. Moments like these were rare to him, with every second to spare he was always doing something, thinking about something that he needed to do and when one problem is solved another would rise out of nowhere. Today he pushed to have those thoughts aside and enjoy what little peace of the heart he had left. But the silence was sadly temporary. He felt it the second his eyes shut, he felt the burning rage and the sting of the powerful emotion of vengeance, he could feel it claw in his chest as if wanting to burst out. Moskov groaned at being bombarded with the memories of his past, he could see it behind his eyelids, just taunting him and as if living the moment his heart ached at the memory that played out.

~Memory~

Moskov laughed together with his buddies upon returning from a very successful hunt for the village, he had taken some of the young ones and taught them several tricks in hunting. The air was light and very much positive, with only a few days before he was declared chief everyone was in high spirits.

Moskov was loved and admired by his people, The Wildsand Clan rose to power and fame in a span of 2 years since he had competed and won against the tournament between three tribes, with only a few men for him to lead he proved to be a challenge with his superhuman skills. Moskov inherited the occult spear from his family, a powerful weapon and insignia that had been passed down from generation to generation, and now it was his turn and he proved himself more than worthy after winning at such a young age.

"You did well today Chief" One of his friends said, he was a middle aged man with black hair and blue eyes, he wore a brown shirt with a vest over it and on his back was a quiver of arrows that he carried with him along with his bow. "I'm not even Chief yet, Orden. are you really that keen on getting me out of your hair so quickly? " He mused which earned a frantic ruffle to his brown hair "Don't think just because you're Chief you'll be able to escape me, we still need to hunt that deer you failed to kill three months ago" Orden joked, the laughter that followed warmed his heart, he couldn't ask for more.

And just when Moskov thought that everything was perfect... it happened. It started with a distant scream, just faint enough to catch his attention. The gang stopped dead in their tracks, hearts pounding loud. Moskov was the first to break into a sprint, his trusty spear in hand

he passed by numerous trees, kicked the bushes in his way and even cutting himself accidentally on the leg from a sharp stone he didn't notice. He heard his comrades call his name over and over again but he didn't stop running, when the last set of trees cleared from his view he came to an abrupt stop, taking in the chaos in front of him.

"No" He breathed, he felt the tears starting to pool in his eyes as he sank down to his knees.

His village.

was in ruins. He could see fire that engulfed the houses, the various horseman running about slaughtering women and children alike. The current chief, his father, was knelt before a man on a brown horse no doubt he was the leader, the leader who took everything away from him in a blink of an eye.

"Father! " he yelled, and set off only to be held back by a pair of strong arms "Don't be foolish Moskov, you'll be outnumbered. we have to leave there's nothing we can do! " Orden reasoned out, he began to shove Moskov towards the trees but the future chief refused to back out "My people... my people are suffering and you expect me to run away?! what kind of a leader would i make if that happens?! " as he spoke the massacre raged on. He could see some of his men bow willingly to the leader, it was this... the feeling of utter betrayal that ensued his rage towards not just the intruders but his own men. How could they? to give up and surrender everything they had worked for just because their leader was not their, to leave the others to suffer and to refuse to bat an eye to anyone who needed their help.

"You men! hunt those Wildsands down and kill them. Don't hesitate" The leader said, pointing towards north where Moskov could see his people fleeing. "Yes Chief Khan"

The name was finally attached to the face, Moskov growled and pushed Orden off of him, he raised his spear with a heart so heavy that he finally felt the tears flowing down his cheeks. It has to stop, everything that had fallen apart has to disappear, his people were better off dead than to live and suffer in the hands of a ruthless dictator. He raised his spear high...so high, And pulled back aiming at everyone in front of him even his own men "It ends today" And with a heart set on vengeance and sorrow his spear was fired. It flew across the battlefield, piercing and shooting through anything and everything it could strike.

He didn't hear the soldiers behind him or the sound of his men dying, all he heard was his own scream, a mixture of hopelessness and fury. The slash across his chest from a sharp sword wasn't felt in the slightest as he sank to the ground surrounded by the blood of his own people. He drew his last breath in the mortal world.

And just when he thought he finally found peace.

He sucked in his first breath in the Abyss.

~Memory end~

Moskov fell to the cold ground, letting the sun flash in his eyes. It was over, what's done is done and there was nothing he could do about it. It was a choice he made which resulted to what he was now, a creature hellbent on one thing and one thing only. The constant urge for vengeance, for power and lex tali-ones. And to him, as long as his offender lived the world is still turning, oh how he longed for the world to stop.

Nightfall came faster than he had anticipated, he didn't have anymore time to waste. The Damatorum had still yet to make her decision to assist him on his mission or not. Speaking of which, it was becoming a mouthful every time he referred to her as her species, he'd have to address the creature something else, if she refuses to give her name he will have to make do with what he could come up with.

Moskov strolled through the countless amounts of trees and finally came to halt at the entrance of the village. "Here goes nothing" he mumbled and teleported in, the first thing that he realized was there was a lot of people, and he meant A LOT.

They were dancing, chatting and frolicking about. The Candelan Clan must have arrived and the feast just got underway, though the neighborhood was busy he could see Eveister talking with another man in the far corner of the balcony of the house.

"They seemed to be in good spirits" he mused, and continued to expertly blend in the background and slithered into the wall to invade the brightly lit house. Upon entering he was bombarded with music, laughter and the indistinct chit chat of people dressed in funny looking puffy clothes of different shapes and sizes, some wore hats that seemed to want to touch the roof, some wore extravagant colorful skirts that stood out more than a peacock would in the room and some even have crazy head dresses on. It was undoubtedly a grand party that had the people energized. But Moskov didn't came to party, he came to kill.

And so he set off in a tedious stealth mission, passing various women and men walking in the area and some guards that forgot to hold of their spot in the house to go and flirt with the beautiful girls waltzing about in the hallways.

It seemed as if everyone was distracted and that was a big plus for him, this way he could move quicker and with less interruptions.

Moskov was quick to teleport into the door with the brass handle, he caught sight of two guards standing lazily by the door. No wonder to keep out uninvited guests.

"Urggh this sucks, Steph. why did we have to get stuck with guarding the beast while everyone's out having fun?" The man on the left complained, he twirled his dagger around his fingers and jumped back when it fell on the floor barely missing his foot. "Because, Argy, this is our post for the night. how many times must i tell you that to knock of your infernal yapping! " The man named Steph argued. Argy groaned once again and wedged himself against the door.

This was bad, he couldn't pass the door with them in the way, even his teleportation skills could not handle very long distances.

"Plan B then? " Moskov thought. He mustered as much dark energy as he could and envisioned a young man with brown hair and hazel eyes wearing iron armor and the same helmets as the guards. In a second Moskov was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, little by little changing his appearance. And as the puff of smoke withered away he examined himself and deemed it passable as a disguise. For now at least. He only had a small window of time before he changed back and he had to act fast.

Moskov held his head up high and approached the two men "Evening gents, i heard your desires to join the festivities" He commented. Steph looked skeptical while Argy immediately bought the disguise "Yeah, i'd be nice to join em" Argy replied sighing dejectedly. Moskov offered the closest to a sincere smile he could do and retorted with a cheery tone "Well you're in luck, Chief Eveister ordered me to take your posts for you, you know to let you gentlemen have your part of the fun"

Argy perked up, punching Steph's arm playfully "Heard that Steph?! Come on let's go! " The soldier hastily made his way up the stairs without giving Steph any time to decline.

Steph scoffed, pointing at Moskov with a dagger in hand "I've never seen you round here before, you new? " He asked. The abyssal creature nodded, he felt his throat itch. An indication that his makeshift voice was already slowly fading, He had to get this over with and fast.

Steph lingered for a bit before he eventually gave in, and with a parting goodbye and thanks he was out of sight. the moment the door fell shut Moskov's disguise vanished, he gasped the air he forgot to breath in and stumbled on the door.

He hated when changing forms, it always left him nauseous and sometimes it wasn't worth the effort considering how short it only lasts. But the guards were gone and that was all he needed. He advanced inside the room and instantly went towards the Damatorum's cell.

"Hey it's me i'm bac-" He stopped abruptly, his eyes widened at the condition the Damatorum was in. Her wings had began to get rope burns and looked like it was in multiple parts of the base of her wings, almost crushing the bone and rendering it useless. Her face was covered in what resembled blood from a forehead wound, all of it undoubtedly done by Eveister.

"M-Moskov? " She breathed, reaching out a shaking hand towards the iron bars "Did he-" He didn't get finish the sentence and instantly got a slight nod from her. She chuckled bitterly and pulled herself up using the bars for support "If this keeps on going I may not last long enough to be of use to you" She mumbled. "I'd ask what took you so long to return but i suppose it's not in my bussiness to ask" She stated, wiping the blood from her forehead and flinching when she accidentally pressed the wound. Moskov's features softened, thinking that maybe yes it was partially his fault for taking so long, but he mentally shook the thoughts away with a short reply "Nothing that you should be concerned of"

She nodded in understatdment and limped towards the hard bed, she lowered herself being cautious as to not disturb or try to wriggle her wings, the rope burns definitely did their part in restraining her.

Moskov flinched at the sight, it looked rather painful and uncomfortable to be in such a state, but it was a situation that he can take advantage of.

"So, have you come to a decision? " He asked. The Damatorum was silent but he knew that she was thinking about it, the idea was already there and he only need to coax her out of it a bit more, he was her last thread of hope and if there was anything Moskov knew about mortals is that they will do anything to escape the brink of death.

"Before anything else let's make it clear" She started "If I agree on helping you capture Eveister what's in it for me? " she asked. Moskov raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Your freedom of course, after my mission you can go back to your home-" He cut himself off when a better idea popped in his head "Or you can be my ally if all goes to hell" It wasn't such a promising reward he knew, but rare creatures such as Damatorums usually survive with allies and companionship, and if she ever decided to tuck tail and go home he'd have nothing to lose. As long as the job is done it was all that mattered.

She looked doubtful, and unsettled who's to say this random stranger would really keep his promise? but then again a greater risk would be in order if he were to form some kind of contract with her. "I know that look" His voice interrupted her train of thought, she turned her head to face him her face resembled that of a lost puppy as she pointed at her expression "Eh? "

Moskov chuckled and settled on a nearby bench just beside the cell "I've had a couple of deals here and there"

"Nothing illegal i hope" she interrupted, and smirked. The smug look on her face was the only indication that she was only joking.

A soft snort came at the statement "Pfft, oh please, I'm WAY past illegal"

She huffed a small laugh and started to delicately rub her forehead. An acute headache was coming on making her sigh in annoyance. "It probably won't help you mellow out to me but may I offer some insight on your decision, i promise it will not be biased" he joked and raised his hands in mock defeat. The Damatorum stayed silent until a small nod prompted him to continue "what do i have to lose?" she asked bitterly.

"Exactly, i offered because it will help us both, you know give and take" he commented. though when Moskov though about it more it was a risky proposition, everything about their interaction was. The guards will eventually find out that there was a traitor among them that slipped past their fingers, no doubt ensuing heavy security on his next visit which will add more obstacles.

"So after i help you capture Eveister you'll let me go? just like that?" She asked still uncertain. oh boy this was going to take a long time.

"It will be like nothing ever happened. I swear" upon uttering those words, she froze. As if someone had struck her and rendered her speechless. "Wait..you..swear?" she asked, sounding as though the word was foreign to her tongue, little did Moskov knew that it was far from alien to her. "I'm getting the impression you need some form of assurance?"He asked, she was still frozen and looked like all life had been drained from her system, seriously what did he say to warrant such a reaction?

"Okay i'll take that as a yes, I vow to help you escape if in return you help me capture Eveister" Moskov stood up and placed his hand inside the cell through the iron bars, gesturing for her to shake it to seal the deal. the Damatorum looked at the hand, panic was evident on her face.The look of horror was momentarily replaced by a look akin to forlorn and confusion until eventually she sighed and turned to look away as though she was to make the biggest decision of her life. She groaned in annoyance, with her head hung low she sauntered over towards Moskov and took his hand

"I..accept"