The Curse of Dawn

As they sailed north, Nick stood at the helm of the ship, staring north. Stella watched him as Hati and Mahdi played roulette with a knife. After losing to Mahdi for the five hundredth time, she sighed and jabbed the knife in the barrel, walking over to Stella, who was still watching Nick.

"Are you just going to stare at him all day?" Hati asked, itching at the muzzle on her face. Stella looked at Hati, frowning before she looked back at Nick.

"I just can't believe that he killed his sister," She said, studying his features. Hati shrugged and looked at Nick, who still stared north.

"So, what? My older brother killed my dad for a pair of gloves, why does it matter?" She said, getting a shocked look from Stella.

"What is wrong with your family?" She asked, getting a dirty look from Hati.

"Enough about me, we're talking about Nick here," She said when Mahdi walked up to them, nodding at Nick.

"When I was little, growing up in Persia, I heard of a similar tale of him. But we called him the Glosbe, or as you call him, the Spirit of Arogia. He killed his sister because of the madness that followed with the curse," Mahdi explained, sitting on a crate. They both looked at him, confused.

"What curse?" Stella asked. He frowned and looked at her, pulling out his knife, studying the blade.

"The curse of Bellum. We learned that he was driven mad because of those blades wrapped around his wrists. They were made by the breath of Vaccus, the rage of Bellum, and the blessing of the Shadow King to make the perfect blade, stronger than any material in this world, sharper than any blade. But it comes at a cost. Whoever wields those blades, has to stain them with the blood of the person they love for the war god. That, is a cost he can never heal," He said, throwing his knife into the mast of the ship. Stella looked back at Nick as he hopped off of the helm, walking up to them.

"We're here," He said, pointing north. They turned around to see a statue, made of marble, that punctured the clouds. Its head and left arm were gone, fallen into the ocean. It was kneeling and its hand was resting on its knee. When they hit the dock, which was rotting away, they could smell death everywhere. It was like the island was built on a pile of corpses. They climbed off the ship as it sailed away, the captain shaking his head in disappointment, like he signed their death certificate. Hati sniffed the air before she hid behind them, her eyes filled with fear.

"This place reeks of evil. Are you sure this is worth it?" She asked, getting a look from Nick. He made his way onto the island, towards a door located at the foot of the statue. He walked towards the door, his feet kicking up dust. He approached the door and twisted the doorknob, opening it to reveal a staircase, traveling up. He nodded to them as they approached, Hati looking around nervously when they reached Nick. He was about to walk in when he heard screaming from inside. Stella ran up the stairs as fast as she could, Nick hollering at her to come back when she reached a broken part of the stairs. She held her amulet out and yelled.

"Sana!" She yelled, and the staircase flew back together. She kept climbing the stairs, Nick, Mahdi, and Hati following close behind when she reached the end of the staircase. It revealed a giant room with two giant chains lining each side, sunlight seeping through the holes in the marble. In the middle of the room there was a monster with an elephant head holding a man in his trunk before it crushed his head with its bare hands. It turned to her, its trunk blowing out steam before it charged her, its tusks aimed down. She held up her staff and yelled a spell.

"Tuere!" She yelled, slamming her staff down. A blue forcefield surrounded her as the elephant creature slammed into it, knocking her into a wall, making her lose all of her breath. She fell on the ground, her vision blurry as it approached her. She watched as Hati and Mahdi charged the beast, it swiped its arm, knocking them away. It was over her and she closed her eyes when she heard a grunt. She cracked her eyes open to see a chain wrapped around its throat. She looked behind it to see Nick, shining in the sunlight. He pulled on his chain and it fell over and he stabbed his blade in its head and dragged down, cutting its head open. He then reached into its head and ripped out its brain, him covered in blood. Stella looked at him with awe as he walked up to her, holding his hand out. She grabbed his hand and he hoisted her into the air. They looked at the dead elephant creature as it twitched, its eyes wide open.

"What. The hell. Is that?" Hati said, gasping for air.

"An Elephas," Nick said, slinging his Kusaris onto his waist. He walked past it as they followed, its twitching body giving it a false sense of life. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked up, seeing the place where the head was. A staircase was leading up the marble statue's ribs, leading to a flat platform at the top. He started to walk towards the staircase, climbing it when Hati sighed.

"Why are there so many stairs!" She said, following him.

***

When they reached the top, there was a old door guarding whatever is on the other side. The hinges and doorknob was rusted shut. The wood was falling apart in places and the metal plates holding it together were missing. Hati gasped for air as she climbed the last steps, collapsing on the floor. She looked up at the door and wheezed.

"Well, that was over-dramatic," She said, resting her head on the stone floor. Nick grabbed the handle of the door and pushed against it, it not moving an inch. He looked at Stella and nodded, stepping back as she pointed her amulet at it.

"Caires!" She said, and the door rotted to pieces, revealing a pitch black room. He grabbed a piece of rotting wood and tore off the sleeve of his shirt, tying it around the rotting wood. He then lit it on fire as he walked in, his footsteps echoing off the emptiness. They followed him in when the door behind them sealed shut, the torch snuffing out. He threw it down and pulled out his Kusaris, looking around when suddenly, wind blew through his hair. He turned around to see that he was in a cobblestone street, houses lining each side of the street. He felt someone bump into his back and he turned around to see Stella, looking around in confusion. Hati and Mahdi looked around, frowning at the street when Hati went to walk away, going to the door, but it was gone, replaced by more street.

"What?" Stella said, confused, when they heard footsteps walk down the street. Nick looked and saw a warrior, holding a spear and shield, wearing a chest plate and a helmet. He stopped three feet in front of Nick and started to speak.

"Return to your roots, Nick. Arogia needs you," He said, slamming the end of his spear into the cobblestone. Nick looked at him before he spoke, looking around the street.

"You are not real, you are just in my mind," He said, his face pale. The soldier looked at him closely, before he pointed his spear at him.

"Return Nick, and your crimes will be forgiven," He said. Nick shook his head and stepped back, bumping into Stella, who pointed her staff at him.

"We only mean to bring you home," A female voice said, echoing through the place. Then the soldier and everything around him dissipated, like a mirage, before it was replaced with the inside of a house. He looked around, shocked, as he saw the fireplace, the picture of his sister, and a nice and neat table.

"No," He said, shocked. He then fell to his knees, tears in his eyes as Stella ran up to him, getting in front of him.

:"Nick, listen to me, this is an illusion. Sangius is playing with your mind, you need to resist it!" She said, but Nick was still looking around the house, looking at the familiar log walls, the handmade spear his father made, and his sister's doll. Suddenly, Stella closed her eyes, grimaced, and kissed him. His eyes shot open in shock as she held it for a long time before she finally stopped, looking at his blue eyes. He looked back at her, looking at her crimson eyes. Finally, he felt anger push through his veins as he stood up, pulling out his Kusaris. He ignored Hati and Mahdi's shocked expressions as he started to yell.

"My home, is in Arogia!" He yelled and kicked the door open, revealing a man standing at the end of the street, petting a black worm. His eyes were pitch black and he wore a golden chest plate, boots, and a black tunic. He would've passed for a human if it wasn't for the spider legs extruding from his back, making him stand three feet off the ground.

"Alright, Spirit of Arogia, let me show you how Arogians treat a traitor!" He said, laughing as he climbed up the wall, Arogian warriors appearing in front of him, shields down, spears drawn.