16th Ashan
Despite his struggling, Ryder found himself unable to move. He'd been resting in the barracks for the night, having stayed away from home so Serah could have space from him. Despite being the man that rescued her, she feared him more than anything else. Perhaps that was due to the situation she had to be rescued from, or perhaps it was the fact he had almost single-handedly taken out a mage that took down many guards. Ryder knew the real reason, however. Aberrant mage or not, the man Ryder had gutted in front of her was her father, or what was left of him. No matter how evil he was, she would never see him as anything other than that.
Whatever had been used to bind him was strong, as were the men carrying him. Their low chatters were faint in his ears as they made their way to wherever they planned on taking him. Some of the voices seemed familiar, though not familiar enough to recognize fully. But one of those voices, one of them was eating at him. He'd heard it before, many times. But in the border between consciousness and darkness he couldn't comprehend who they are or what it was they were saying.
Eventually, the mercenary was dropped, cold and wet grass under him. He'd been in his bed when he was attacked, leaving him unarmed and almost entirely defenseless. Wherever he was, it was definitely not the underground anymore. He was sat up by an unknown force, before his blindfold was taken off, leaving him gagged and bound. His vision was blurred, but it didn't take long for it to come back to him. Five men in front of him, four of which seemed vaguely familiar but nowhere near enough that he would recognize them.
Last, however, was a man that Ryder had fought once. When the man had been overconfident in his sword play, only to be beaten by Ryder in front of the entire band of mercenaries and bandits. When the fight was over, the man had tried to attack Ryder, and a small group had held him back and stopped him. But that wasn't enough for the man, it seemed. He undid Ryder's gag and placed his own dagger to his throat.
"Evening, Ryder" he snarled as the dagger threatened to cut its owner's throat. Ryder met him with a cold glare, struggling in his binds. Opposite him, the bandit smirked with a dark and sinister smile, matching that of the other four men around him. It was then that he recognized the rest of the men from their short but important encounter. It had been his first meeting with Maws, when the well-dressed man had order Ryder to fight the men. Sure enough, Ryder had won out on that encounter too, and there had been a crowd - this time with the boss there to see it.
"It has been a very long time, hasn't it?" the man taunted, his face uncomfortably close to Ryder's. Burning hatred fueled through Ryder as he realized that the nature of this encounter was a simple and petty one - revenge. They had been waiting, biding their time in spite and hatred, before taking him from his bed at night and dragging him out to this small part of the woods, cold and unarmed.
Ryder looked up at the man and gave a small smirk, but his eyes showed the same piercing hatred that they had before. "I knew that you were lacking in skill. But I didn't know it was bad enough you have to bind a man down before you stand a chance" he growled at the men in front of him. His taunt was met with a sharp look, followed by the man standing up and taking a step away from the bound mercenary.
"Get the iron" he ordered one of the men, while another one of the two lit a torch. Beside them, a large fire was lit using the torch, and a metal rod was held over it. Ryder felt dread go through him as he remembered the pain of last time he had been bound like this. How it had felt to have a knife taken to him, having flames put to his over-sensitized skin. His struggling grew more and more as the fury went through him, having to remember what had happened before, and the potential pain of reliving it.
As the metal turned red hot, Ryder started to fill with a blind anger, the world around him going red as he lost control. "I'll break your fucking neck you cunt!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, screaming at the man as he desperately attempted to tear out of his binds. Agony surged through him as all of his joints ached and the rope tore at his arms again, making him relive the same torture even more. Ryder prided himself on courage, being cold and empty when he had to be. But the memories of what had been done to him and the woman he loved haunted him beyond words, beyond courage.
With a confident smirk on his face, the man pulled the metal rod out of the fire. One of the other men grabbed Ryder's hair and pulled it back, leaving Ryder's face bare and on display. A deep inhale kept Ryder from lashing out as he tried to regain control of himself, body shaking with an anger beyond that of most people. Ryder's life had thrived from bitterness and hatred, a life fueled by rage. Death was what he knew best, whether it had been that of his enemies or his allies. Near to all of them were dead, one way or another.
As the red hot cross pressed on Ryder's cheek, his eyes stared at the man with a rage hotter than the metal on his cheek. Screams of pain threatened to burst from his lips as he tried his best to hold them back. Breaking, the man screamed - but refused to break the eye contact he was maintaining. He stared deep in to the man as his cheek was branded with a large cross, covering that half of his face with a violent burn that would potentially never heal.
"Ryder!" the man heard faintly as the hot metal was pulled off of him, the skin under it melting. Ryder's vision blurred again, so much so that he couldn't recognize who his saviors were. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that they were here and they were helping, slicing down the men that had taken him from his bed. What Ryder could only assume was a hammer was used to shatter the knees of the man that branded him, leaving him screaming on the floor. Two wolf figures pounced on a man and tore him apart.
Then came a familiar comfort. Arms wrapped around him, long hair pressing against him as the small girl held him tight. Ryder wasn't in the mindset to question it, why she seemed to care. Truth be told, Ryder thought she would hate him - that she did hate him. But deep down, despite the bitterness she had for him at times, she knew that he had saved her. There was a care to that, a meaningful relationship formed from action, not words. Even the young girl knew it.
As Ryder held on to the girl, he felt himself losing consciousness. Pain surged through him as his vision faded to black, his body unable to hold itself up from the shock and pain that it had gone through. He dropped to the side and landed on the cold grass, words around him faint but coherent. His name called by the girl as his body was shaken, his friends from Al'Angyryl looking at him. A wet lick and a nuzzle as Bella and Felrar pressed themselves against the man, trying to get him to move while barking.
"We need to get him a healer" Floyd said, two of the others running off. He knelt down beside Ryder and put a hand on his shoulder, as both the wolves and Serah sat beside him and rested on him. "We're gonna get you out of here safely, alright? Just stay with us Ryder. You're gonna be fine" the man spoke. Ryder had no idea, but the struggling had shredded his wrists, causing him to lose blood alongside the damage from the hot metal.
Attempting to keep consciousness, Ryder tried to move his hands. Noticing as he winced lightly in pain, Floyd cut the binds off of him. Ryder put a hand on Bella and stroked behind her ear lightly, before doing the same to Felrar. His body moved slowly and heavily, barely able to function. But his head was different, rushing with thoughts. Thoughts of death and blood, hate and rage. What he would do to any of the survivors, and any enemies he had from this point onwards. What he would tell Noth about what had happened, and how he would make himself feared in Al'Angyryl like the crimson-eyed beast was himself. Feelings of a deep, fiery anger that burned deep inside of him.
Thoughts of fury.
Despite his struggling, Ryder found himself unable to move. He'd been resting in the barracks for the night, having stayed away from home so Serah could have space from him. Despite being the man that rescued her, she feared him more than anything else. Perhaps that was due to the situation she had to be rescued from, or perhaps it was the fact he had almost single-handedly taken out a mage that took down many guards. Ryder knew the real reason, however. Aberrant mage or not, the man Ryder had gutted in front of her was her father, or what was left of him. No matter how evil he was, she would never see him as anything other than that.
Whatever had been used to bind him was strong, as were the men carrying him. Their low chatters were faint in his ears as they made their way to wherever they planned on taking him. Some of the voices seemed familiar, though not familiar enough to recognize fully. But one of those voices, one of them was eating at him. He'd heard it before, many times. But in the border between consciousness and darkness he couldn't comprehend who they are or what it was they were saying.
Eventually, the mercenary was dropped, cold and wet grass under him. He'd been in his bed when he was attacked, leaving him unarmed and almost entirely defenseless. Wherever he was, it was definitely not the underground anymore. He was sat up by an unknown force, before his blindfold was taken off, leaving him gagged and bound. His vision was blurred, but it didn't take long for it to come back to him. Five men in front of him, four of which seemed vaguely familiar but nowhere near enough that he would recognize them.
Last, however, was a man that Ryder had fought once. When the man had been overconfident in his sword play, only to be beaten by Ryder in front of the entire band of mercenaries and bandits. When the fight was over, the man had tried to attack Ryder, and a small group had held him back and stopped him. But that wasn't enough for the man, it seemed. He undid Ryder's gag and placed his own dagger to his throat.
"Evening, Ryder" he snarled as the dagger threatened to cut its owner's throat. Ryder met him with a cold glare, struggling in his binds. Opposite him, the bandit smirked with a dark and sinister smile, matching that of the other four men around him. It was then that he recognized the rest of the men from their short but important encounter. It had been his first meeting with Maws, when the well-dressed man had order Ryder to fight the men. Sure enough, Ryder had won out on that encounter too, and there had been a crowd - this time with the boss there to see it.
"It has been a very long time, hasn't it?" the man taunted, his face uncomfortably close to Ryder's. Burning hatred fueled through Ryder as he realized that the nature of this encounter was a simple and petty one - revenge. They had been waiting, biding their time in spite and hatred, before taking him from his bed at night and dragging him out to this small part of the woods, cold and unarmed.
Ryder looked up at the man and gave a small smirk, but his eyes showed the same piercing hatred that they had before. "I knew that you were lacking in skill. But I didn't know it was bad enough you have to bind a man down before you stand a chance" he growled at the men in front of him. His taunt was met with a sharp look, followed by the man standing up and taking a step away from the bound mercenary.
"Get the iron" he ordered one of the men, while another one of the two lit a torch. Beside them, a large fire was lit using the torch, and a metal rod was held over it. Ryder felt dread go through him as he remembered the pain of last time he had been bound like this. How it had felt to have a knife taken to him, having flames put to his over-sensitized skin. His struggling grew more and more as the fury went through him, having to remember what had happened before, and the potential pain of reliving it.
As the metal turned red hot, Ryder started to fill with a blind anger, the world around him going red as he lost control. "I'll break your fucking neck you cunt!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, screaming at the man as he desperately attempted to tear out of his binds. Agony surged through him as all of his joints ached and the rope tore at his arms again, making him relive the same torture even more. Ryder prided himself on courage, being cold and empty when he had to be. But the memories of what had been done to him and the woman he loved haunted him beyond words, beyond courage.
With a confident smirk on his face, the man pulled the metal rod out of the fire. One of the other men grabbed Ryder's hair and pulled it back, leaving Ryder's face bare and on display. A deep inhale kept Ryder from lashing out as he tried to regain control of himself, body shaking with an anger beyond that of most people. Ryder's life had thrived from bitterness and hatred, a life fueled by rage. Death was what he knew best, whether it had been that of his enemies or his allies. Near to all of them were dead, one way or another.
As the red hot cross pressed on Ryder's cheek, his eyes stared at the man with a rage hotter than the metal on his cheek. Screams of pain threatened to burst from his lips as he tried his best to hold them back. Breaking, the man screamed - but refused to break the eye contact he was maintaining. He stared deep in to the man as his cheek was branded with a large cross, covering that half of his face with a violent burn that would potentially never heal.
"Ryder!" the man heard faintly as the hot metal was pulled off of him, the skin under it melting. Ryder's vision blurred again, so much so that he couldn't recognize who his saviors were. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that they were here and they were helping, slicing down the men that had taken him from his bed. What Ryder could only assume was a hammer was used to shatter the knees of the man that branded him, leaving him screaming on the floor. Two wolf figures pounced on a man and tore him apart.
Then came a familiar comfort. Arms wrapped around him, long hair pressing against him as the small girl held him tight. Ryder wasn't in the mindset to question it, why she seemed to care. Truth be told, Ryder thought she would hate him - that she did hate him. But deep down, despite the bitterness she had for him at times, she knew that he had saved her. There was a care to that, a meaningful relationship formed from action, not words. Even the young girl knew it.
As Ryder held on to the girl, he felt himself losing consciousness. Pain surged through him as his vision faded to black, his body unable to hold itself up from the shock and pain that it had gone through. He dropped to the side and landed on the cold grass, words around him faint but coherent. His name called by the girl as his body was shaken, his friends from Al'Angyryl looking at him. A wet lick and a nuzzle as Bella and Felrar pressed themselves against the man, trying to get him to move while barking.
"We need to get him a healer" Floyd said, two of the others running off. He knelt down beside Ryder and put a hand on his shoulder, as both the wolves and Serah sat beside him and rested on him. "We're gonna get you out of here safely, alright? Just stay with us Ryder. You're gonna be fine" the man spoke. Ryder had no idea, but the struggling had shredded his wrists, causing him to lose blood alongside the damage from the hot metal.
Attempting to keep consciousness, Ryder tried to move his hands. Noticing as he winced lightly in pain, Floyd cut the binds off of him. Ryder put a hand on Bella and stroked behind her ear lightly, before doing the same to Felrar. His body moved slowly and heavily, barely able to function. But his head was different, rushing with thoughts. Thoughts of death and blood, hate and rage. What he would do to any of the survivors, and any enemies he had from this point onwards. What he would tell Noth about what had happened, and how he would make himself feared in Al'Angyryl like the crimson-eyed beast was himself. Feelings of a deep, fiery anger that burned deep inside of him.
Thoughts of fury.
