Writing Prompts Archive/11/Kieo Exodin

*By all rights, Kieo might as well have been dubbed immortal. So many times had he been inches from death’s embrace, and so many times he had avoided it. He was surely supposed to have died one hundred times over, and luck was unwilling to allow it.*

*Recklessness was not his usual nature anymore. He had put it far behind him, at least he thought so.. But when lives are on the line and he can help, Kieo can never stand back and watch. With a confirmation of his own abilities, he signed himself up for a battle he had never planned to fight before. A Primal.*

*With Azekiel entrusted with the safety of the hostages, those who had sworn their literal and metaphorical blades saddled up, a tiny army blazing across the Ruby Sea.*

*It was a tense little travel, Seraphina had fought primals previously amd was able to share a strategic plan with the remaining group who hadn't about how she would keep the Echo-less safe from the flow of an attempt at tempering then, but it did little to quell the nerves.*

*Kieo clutched his soul crystal close, the natural magic to it soothing him. What little he had lived for was snuffed out by a primal only a few months prior, and this little that remained of him was to be carried into battle again..*

*It was a horrific sight, the criminal who had channeled a primal into his skin looming over the unconscious child they had come to save, her status unknown. It might've been too late already. She might've been gone. Either way he had to be prevented from continuing his tirade of kidnappings and ransoms. So as the sky grew darker, an inky blackness of gloom overhead smothered in storm clouds, they stepped forth into what was to be their arena. Shimmering water lapped at their ankles, the ice cold offering them no comfort through their boots, only fuelling the chill in their spines.*

*It took few words to know there was no salvaging this without a fight.*

*Seraphina took the lead, sword and shield in hand, a picture perfect paladin of a soldier directly engaging the man-turned-primal and keeping his attention.*

*Charbonnier took to flanking him, a flying veritable whirlwind of lance slashes and practiced militant form, striking fast and well.*

*Ramen was.. well, being Ramen, but there were a variety of actually skilled slices amongst his tricks and antics.*

*They excellently moved when the wash of an attempt to temper came forth, Seraphina shielding Ramen, Charbonnier, and the child of the blast.*

*Kieo himself was shaking. He kept trying to be focused, casting shields where they were required, healing stray wounds as fast as possible, but he could hardly read his book with the light rain and the shaking in his hands. Everything in him wanted to turn back and run. He was not supposed to be here. He was not supposed to be a hero, not supposed to be anyone of import..  But something kept him rooted to the spot, like the freezing water around his ankles had solidified into crystalline ice and he couldn’t escape.*

*And it was certainly chilling him through to his bones.*

*A wave washed over him, colliding with his back and shaking him from the thoughts, Ramen soaring overhead atop the wave like a brilliant master of the very sea itself, striking a devastating blow into the primal.*

*It was almost over.*

*They’d almost won.*

*Time seemed to freeze.*

*A shimmer of steel, silver and glimmering with the droplets of seawater that hung from it, aiming itself towards the team. Towards one of them in particular.*

*There was no time..*

*It was too late to throw out any sort of shield, and the way the aether was gathering around the creature's blade it was clear there would be no coming back from that.*

*They were so close to the finish line, and it intended to take someone with it, to force them back so they could never cross that line with the rest.*

*Kieo followed the being’s dark gaze, and his blood ran cold.*

*Ramen would die here.*

*After what he had done, the desperate crimes he had committed that brought them all here.. There was no way the others would do so much as retrieve his corpse, let alone try to get him to somewhere proper to save him.*

*So that's why Kieo had to be here..*

*They'd never save Ramen. But he knew they cared for him.*

*Time finally started moving again. The swing of the sword was fast, but Kieo was faster.*

*He felt himself fall backwards. He saw them not even registering what had happened, Ramen moving from behind Kieo to continue the assault, all focusing on defeating the primal.*

*And it was finally put down as Kieo closed his eyes, a dull ache in his head as it hit the stones, and let the water swallow him whole.*

*Crimson streaks of blood poured out into the surrounding sea water, a brilliant bright stain on the waterlogged ground, and voices echoed across the now quietened battlefield.*

*There were hands on his armour, a heartbroken sob escaping one throat as they tried desperately to shake the Scholar back to consciousness.*

*But Kieo had already returned home to the ocean, which had now become a more literal Ruby Sea.*