As Jarrith laid down to go to sleep... the hairs on the back of his neck began to itch. He absent-mindedly scratched them and then waited for the wash of sleep to overtake him.
Then the nightmare started.
**********
He was in Thrane... on a mission with Sir Khensu. The two Lumin Brothers were making their way into a minor lord's castle... this baron having kidnapped several young girls from neighboring villages ostensibly to serve as his wives. As the two of them were easily taking down the poorly trained guards, shouts of panic, command and anger rang out through the castle's courtyard.
The Stalker and the Inquistor strode with purpose down various hallways within the inner ward, and the two came upon a set of large, hardened wooden double doors. The Inquistor rushed forward and slammed his shoulder into it, sending one side crunching in with a crash. Jarrith easily moved in behind Sir Khensu, and the two Shadowbane warriors walked easily into the castle's main hall. "In the name of the Voice of the Silver Flame!" Jarrith confidentally (and somewhat arrogantly) shouted, as though this was enough to excuse their breaking and entering. His Brother followed this up with a command of his own. "Under the auspices of the Keeper, Jaela Daran, we demand the release of--"
Sir Khensu's voice choked off when he took a long, hard look upon the people standing upon the dais at the far end of the hall. There stood the ratty baron... defiant, angry, and bloody. Three of the young girls he had kidnapped were already lying dead upon the dais... their blood spilling down the steps... and this weasely baron was approaching the fourth one with a sanguine blade in his right hand. The girl... a young shifter girl no more than thirteen... backed away in abject fear from this man who was slaughtering them for no discernable reason. Immediately Sir Khensu rushed forward with a roar, but before he could get more than a third across the hall, the blade flashed quickly and the shifter girl's blood was sprayed in a torrent in the face of this psychotic madman.
Jarrith stood there in shock, his eyes drawn to the crimson liquid cascading from the dais. However, what would ultimately shock him even more was the sounds of uncontrolled fury vibrating from within his Brother's stomach... if not his very soul. The shift was immediate... the rage transforming his Lumin Brother from the controlled and good man he knew and loved into a furious beast... the same feral animal that Sir Khensu spent his entire life trying to quell within him. The animal was let loose... the sight of a little girl torn down so effortlessly and senslessly, snapping the chains that were holding it down within Sir Khensu's soul. And this blood-crazed creature pulled out its greataxe and charged the baron across the room.
"Khensu!!! No!!! Control, Brother!!! Controll!!!" Jarrith shouted as he chased after Sir Khensu. It was his job to keep his Brother's baser instincts in check. This is why the Order paired the two of them together originally... Sir Khensu to keep Jarrith's eyes in the light, Jarrith to keep Khensu's instincts in the dark. And right now Jarrith was failing. He rushed over to his brother to hold him back... grabbing at the shifter's cloak... pulling the Inquistor away from the baron as hard as he could.
But it was no use.
The greataxe rose... and fell... in one swift stroke. And the spurt of blood from the now-open neck of the baron covered the two of them. "No, Brother! Brother!" Jarrith shouted, in hopes of reaching the sanity within his Lumin Brother's head. However, this one display of retribution was not enough for Sir Khensu... and the greataxe rose and fell a second time, this time into the meaty torso of the now-headless baron. And before the Stalker could say anything... the axe rose and fell a third time. And a fourth. And a fifth. Each time the sounds of bones snapping and flesh tearing and chunking echoing through the chamber.
*Kerchunk*
"That's enough, Brother! Enough! The Voice! Heed the Voice, Brother!"
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
The axe continued swinging in a frenzy... each time cutting the body into smaller and small pieces.
*Kerchunk*
"Listen! LISTEN!!!"
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
"LISTEN TO THE VOICE!!! SIR KHENSU!!! AT EASE!!!"
*Kerchunk*
"THIS IS AN ORDER!!! STOP!!! STOP THIS NOW!!!"
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
"BY ALL THAT IS HOLY, CONTROL YOURSELF, BROTHER!!!"
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"Brother! Control yourself!"
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"Khensu! Control!"
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"Stop. Please. Please stop this..."
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"No more. It's enough. Get control."
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"Enough."
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"Control."
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"Enough."
*Kerchunk*
"Control."
*Kerchunk* *Kerchunk*
"Enough."
*Kerchunk*
"Control..."
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
*Kerchunk*
**********
And slowly... a cold and shivering Jarrith Bronns opens his eyes to see a bunch of worried eyes looking down upon him in a dark forest.
And he doesn't know why.
