The Accursed Ones: Part Three

A Battle for the ages, the determining factor on why the Moores hated your family lay at your fingers tips, within that battle was the truth of it all... all you had to do was follow your deeper into the marsh, but as your step carried you forward on Roman and Morrigan's path...

Red hot pincers dug into your shoulders once again and the droplets of hot blood whipped against your cheek as great billowing wings were thrust down upon you.

You gasped as the Eagle roared in protest, pulling you backwards, refusing to let you take another step forward. Flailing widely as you were dragged backwards, The blade of Lugh curved in an arch; an extension of your arm but the flaming blade merely passed through the liquid body of the eagle who retook your struggling flesh with ease "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? THEY ARE JUST ABOUT TO FIGHT, I HAVE TO SEE, LET ME GO!!"

But the bloody creature persisted, batting each wing on the ethereal breeze and pulling you upward. However, it did not streak up into the sky as you suspected, instead, it swivelled around violently and cast you back into the village, sending you tumbling into the earth once again.

Flying back up again, you snarled at the bird who opened its full wingspan, refusing to let you pass. "Why are you doing this, what even are you? there's no point in all of this if I can't see the truth for myself, what the fuck do you want from me!?"

"It's okay..."

You paused as you heard Remhilde's whisper. Your attention was drawn to the sight of the Black Rabbit, with the torn and bound woman's head resting on her lap, the long grey hair caked with mud smearing on Hilde's studded leggings. "Shhh, you are safe now, don't be afraid."

The mob surrounded her, blades and mauls at the ready like a single rose in a cauldron of thorns. But Hilde remained herself, she showed not even the smallest of concerns for the Moors.

You were intrigued, but your eyes turned again to the treeline where Your father had gone to his confrontation. Yet still, the Eagle would not let you pass.

"Pitious little weakling, this one cannot be of our blood, nurturing vermin like some milkmaid." The giant brother of Morrigan mocked Hilde eagerly, his brothers and sister around him joined his cackle insidiously.

"Why don't you take off that mask, little rabbit? I bet you have the face of a right fuckable wench!" Another taunted.

Hilde remained still, enduring the spitting and insulting the Moores threw at her, as she gently stroked the battered old woman's arms.

You gritted your teeth as the sound of bloody flesh squelched in on itself, the eagle's smaller form landed on you and pecked gently at your ear "Stop that... this can't be more important than that fight. What is it that you want me to see?"

The bird flapped its much smaller wings back, pointing its viscous beak toward Hilde and the gang which mocked her.

You sighed, following the path it pointed out begrudgingly. As you approached the group, it became apparent that many of them were actual relatives upon brief examination. All were freckled and had varying shades of red hair, all were a shade of crimson, orange and auburn... the method of how so many of them sustained their population for so long was clear enough to see.

Crouching at Hilde's side, you tried to look into the holes of her mask, to see some expression as this village of incestuous cannibals heckled her and kicked mud at her. Her eyes were tightly closed it seemed, as you couldn't see the golden wrath that came so easily to her... she had changed much in the many years then, the Hilde you knew would never have taken this ****...

"She really loved Roman, I doubt she'd ever go along with something like this if I asked her, or even Artorias."

"You got a man, little rabbit?" A gruff man cawed, his face like a misshapen slab of stone with two wonky eyes chipped out, seems the Descendant beauty can be diluted. "...I bet you do, I bet he has to put a basket on your head when you suck his cock, is that why you wear that mask?"

The Black Rabbit was still as a statue, unmoving, unwavering as they laughed at her.

You shook your head in disgust "Cowards." You muttered. The Eagle nipped again at your ears and fluttered up into the air, dancing back and forth, carrying its small body towards the decrepit form of the Old King, slumped in his chair.

An incoherent mumbling escaped his cracked lips, making saliva ooze into his frayed beard. Neman kept him from falling into the muck with her curvaceous body, bracing him upward "Shhh, uncle. It's alright, the filthy outsider will be gone soon." she said soothingly.

The eagle circled Old Lugh and darted through him.

A booming crash made the birds in the trees behind you scatter to the wind, it was the clash of steel and thump of great **** which made you and all the other ghosts of the past peer back in anticipation. The Battle had begun.

"You hear that little rabbit, that's the sound of your brother being crushed. Seorsia has never lost a battle, she is the champion of war and ****, you are never leaving this place alive."

Closing your fist, you looked at the bird twittering endlessly "What!? what are you trying to show me, yes the old man is fucked up I get it-"

But there was more than just that, Lugh was indeed... fucked up, but something was off. The sun beamed brightly on this day, and many shadows were cast by the crowd and their forms, but it was his that caught your eye.

It was too tall, and misshapen, voluptuous and lady-like, not that of a hunched-over old man. Moving in closer, you strained your ears to listen to his mumblings.

"Pfrlupup... hulllufmmmup... Helllellppp... helllpp.... chrrttllll, charrllll..."

Your eyes widened as the revelation hit you like a truck "Morgan! Oh shit, she's stuck in there. Quick, help me!"

The bird landed on your arm as you reached into Old Lugh's spectral form. Just as before you felt the hideous ire overcome you, the very same you'd felt when that mass of red-haired limbs had come and snatched Morgan away.

Lugh rippled like a disturbed pond as you fished inside for something - anything, and finally, you felt something snatch one of your fingers. Pulling hard, you ripped it free and saw the ghostly form of a black shadow emerge.

It wasn't quite Morgan, not completely, more like an abyssal blob in Morgan's shape. It did not speak and could move on its own, the only recognisable part of it was the long white locks which fell from its black head.

The Shrunken Eagle twittered with delight as it flew to another of the red-haired Moores in the roaring crowd. "Shit, that creature in the future really was her brother, bits of her must be stuck in them."

And so you followed the Eagle from Brother to Brother, fishing around in their swearing and insulting forms for the pieces of the matriarch within them. With each fragment retreated you saw them smash into the shadowy blob, making arms, and then legs. You'd struggled to find each part of her torso for a while as the clash in the distance grew more and more violent as the mob around Hilde drew closer and closer to clobbering her.

It was within the twin sisters of Morrigan where the last pieces of Morgan laid dormant, her head rolled out of Macha's breast, attaching to the Shadow's neck and her eyes flew out of Neman's back slotting into her sockets with a painful sounding pop.

There lay Morgan, The Witch-Queen splayed on the ground twitching oddly as you tried to help her up "Hey, hey!" You said softly, coddling her "I'm so glad you're okay, I thought I'd lost you here."

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open as she peered around dizzily "C-Cold... c-cold." Is all she could mutter, as you took her in your arms and flared the blood in your veins, allowing the fires of the sun to warm her.

"Th-Thank you. Wh-where are we, I don't... I can't..."

You pushed a finger on her lips "Just watch, I have a feeling you'll catch on."

The tensions with the Moores had reached their summit, the men and women of the tribe were only inches away, despite Morrigan's Orders even the children approached, little knives in their little hands.

Dagda's shadow engulfed Hilde as he stood over her, cracking his knuckles threateningly "You're gonna taste so sweet, little rabbit."

It was as if thunder had clapped upon the earth itself, not even the blink of an eye could pass before anyone had realised what had happened. Hilde had lept up, her body crackling with the power of Overdrive, delivering a kick that would sever Dagda's head from body... if not for the silver gauntleted hand that close around her ankle.

The Mob flew backwards in the shock at her speed, quivering in fear. But Pops held his daughter back, his own Overdriven power snapping in crimson sparks all around him, staring down through the glowing eyeholes of his Wolfish helm "Don't you dare." He whispered.

Hilde wretched her leg out of his grasp, ripping away her mask to reveal a youthful face twisted with rage. "Move out of my way, old man."

"You will not defy your brother's wishes. Have you learned nothing?"

"I have learned plenty about these animals, enough to feed the soil with their blood." She snarled, the braids in her midnight hair whipping as she made a crushing motion with her powerful fingers.

"That is not your decision to make, your brother is Jury and Heir to our house. He's staking his life on this, I won't have you ruining it because of the japes of savages." Pops sang cruelly.

You saw her lips press together until her mouth was white as marble and her eyes grew wide with frustration "I am-"

"You are the executioner, you are the weapon and the Weapon stays sheathed until called. One more word and I'll send you back to your bloody mother. I thought you more than the disobedient girl I pulled from hanging on the rafters... clearly, I was mistaken." Her father's words cut her deep and anger quickly became shame.

Shoulders slumped, Hilde turned back to the old woman as the Villagers seemed to get their bearings.

"Now now, folks, I'm not one for kin-slaying but neither am I averse to picking up new hobbies," Artorias warned, such was his authority that none even drew close, authority... and the fact that he'd covered a distance mere mortals would struggle within less than a second.

"T-The clash with the Morrigan... H-He never mentioned it..." Morgan muttered as you helped her to her feet "H-Hilde, she's going too-Eugh..." The Matriarch's legs buckled beneath her, she slid into a well-placed arm and you held her up vigilantly.

"Save your strength, we've got a friend to help us now... as annoying as it is." The tiny eagle settled at your feet, tweeting softly as Morgan gazed at it dozily.

"B-Bird... Bird made of... blood?"

"Any idea what it is? it's clearly intelligent, well-" You started, only for the Eagle to nip your finger "-AGH!"

Morgan mustered a smile at that but clutched her shaking head "Can't... think."

The twang of screaming steel, picked up its pace until the violent clash reached its climax. A blinding flash engulfed the Marshland, roaring with a spiralling serpent of flame which kept from the earth bellow, slithering in a mighty cloud of smoke which kissed the azure sky.

The Trees whipped as the cruel blast shaved off the tops of their heads, filling the breeze with blackened leaves and smouldering embers.

The boom was so powerful that even you in your ethereal form could feel it, like the deep vibrations of a heavy baseline rattling in your chest.

The Moores recoiled in silent terror, the Drakes turned in a knowing intrigue and old Lugh, with his nieces unsteadier by the blast lost his balance and collapsed face first into the mud.

“Holy shit!” You whispered, looking at the present form of your fathers sword clutched tightly in your hands “Looks like dad really knew how to handle you.” You said to the steadily burning flame which constantly engulfed the blade of black steel.

The Black Star was followed by a cloud of bellowing smoke, his half cape half-charred, the dark plate of his armour still glowing a subtle red with lingering heat. Stumbling behind him, was the blasted, red-haired form of the Morrigan, limping onward in a state of **** damage.

You had no idea how she was remaining upright, much of her body was covered in burns and slashes. So intense was the flame which kissed her broken body that her tunic had been scorched away and much of her orange mane had been burned to the scalp.

"Seorsia!" Dagda ran to his sister, as did Neman and Macha, seemingly forgetting Lugh squirming in the dirt entirely.

Morrigan made a strange expression as she saw her family running towards her. As her ankle gave out on her, Seorsia buckled to the ground, collapsing to her knees as she drew on hard struggling breaths.

Your father paused, turning back and lowering himself to assist her. Morgan fumbled in your arms as the Eagle twisted and congealed again, wrapping it's giant talons around you and Morgan carefully, to carry you over to Roman, placing you gently at Roman's side.

Morgan struggled to keep her footing, but shuffled in closer to listen as Roman removed a few vials from his belt, uncorking and pressing the cold glass against Seorsia's charred lips "Drink." He insisted.

Staring at him blankly, the Morrigan seemed half a corpse and yet retained her air of defiance. "If I had wanted you dead, I'd have cooked you all the way through. Now drink, unless you want to remain a supple medium rare for the rest of your days?"

Seorsia hesitated as the cries of her brethren drew closer and closer, but opened her mouth, allowing the mixture of concoctions to fall down her throat.

The Hulking mass that was Dagda burst in behind Roman, his face wrought with fury "Get away from her you fucking prick!" His fists raised like a pair of wrecking balls ready to smash Roman into a pulp.

You felt Morgan's fingers tighten around your arm, and a deep daunting feeling filled you as the crimson flash of silver came whipping around once again, a silver-bladed boot swinging around ready to protect her brother.

But... The Moores were still descendants and when Dadga's body began to ripple with muscle, crackling with his own bolts of scarlet power, you couldn't help but cry out instinctively, for you knew what was about to happen - you nearly didn't have the stomach to watch.

Hilde was a **** of nature, but her blind rage was dwarfed by the Overdriven power of Dagda, whose eyes rolled in the back of his head as his gigantic hand closed around her leg, the other snatching up her arm.

The bladed boots of Hermes cut deep into Dadga's hands, but could not sever them. Instead, you heard the crack of broken bones, the tearing of ligaments and the almost inhuman scream of agony as Dagda crushed her arm and her leg like a pair of twigs.

He seemed ready to finish the job, if not for the iron maw closing in around his shoulder blades, where the Mad Dog had bitting deep into his torso and twisted him around where his neck cracked and his heaving mass of flesh fell limp into the Mud.

All descended into madness. The Moores unleashed a collective War-cry, sprinting towards the Drakes with **** in their eyes, all parleys forgotten.

Hilde was like a crumpled piece of tissue paper, and her brother lept to her side, showing panic for the first time since arriving.

"Remmie! Remhilde! Come on sis, talk to me, fuck!" Roman growled, clearly disturbed by her broken body, unable to comprehend the mangled mess made of her arm and leg as she lay there, bleeding heavily.

The bound woman was swallowed by the swarm of men and women, her gentle cries growing silent without Hilde there to protect her... this too seemed to cut your father deep, they had failed their mission.

"Calm yourself, Boy. You should have healed the bitch in the woods away from the locals. We need to get out of here, the time for reason is done!" Artorias demanded.

Your father was wise to target Morrigan, she was the greatest of the Moores not just in strength, but in intelligence. The Problem stemmed from the fact that when he took the queen off the board, the reasoning of the pawns slipped away like dust through his fingers... and with the King laying in the mud... they were left with nothing but the hungry beasts to contend with.

Roman seemed to realise this, his ever-present calm snapped in two as he stood and lifted his flaming blade.

With Vengence burning in his eyes, the Black Star pushed past his father, ready to face the enraged Moores with a dark hatred of his own; for the injury of his sister could not be forgiven.

Sounds began dull in the following seconds, and the hard lines of this astral picture began to blur as the weight of reality began to pull the veil of the vision away from you "Shit, not now, not again!" You cried, as the onyx waves of the black Loch tore you and Morgan away, and thrust you back down the cistern, away from your father, your gravely wounded aunt and the screaming Moores.

You were swept into nothingness.