Starlight

As his vision returned, nearly as blurred as his consciousness, he knew he was in bad shape. Blood soaked his leggings, just above the knee. Seeing this only returned the searing sensation of pain, causing his mind to suddenly waken as he grimaced harshly, inhaling harshly between clenched teeth.

"Finally awakened?" The voice was taunting, superior. He knew it belonged to his captor. He felt her soft hands grace his bare shoulder, gliding like the hand of a lover. That lasted only a moment, then she tightened her grip, digging her nails into his skin and rending just enough flesh to add to his pain.

Astrid Amascient, the Elven priestess of a darker deity, sauntered out away from her prey. She had him exactly where she wanted him, and they both knew it. Tharivol Ilphustacia hung his head in defeat, silently praying to Hinathra, the Elf Mother.

Astrid's grin faded as she recognized the defeat upon his face. It was much too soon for this. She meant to have fun.

"Oh how the mighty has fallen," she spoke plainly, but still her words dripped with melodrama. "Come now, paladin, you've not given up already have you?" He said nothing, just hung his head, giving himself his last rites. She rushed him then, grabbing him by the hair and pulling his eyes to meet hers.

"I did not keep you alive just to watch you die, Tharivol. You've been a thorn in my side for much too long for that." She slapped him then, bringing with her strike the cut of her ring. Blood flowed from his cheek to his mouth as his vision once again recovered. Still he did nothing.

She growled and drew her arm back for another vicious slap. He winced, preparing for the blow, but she softened then, that cruel grin of hers returning.

"You do still have some fight left in you, don't you?" She sat on his lap then, wrapping her arms around his neck. As battle hardened a cleric as she was, her skin showed none of that. Everything about her was soft and inviting, a devious deception of the dark heart in her chest. "We'll have some fun yet, won't we Tharivol?" Her puppy dog eyes were almost comical to him.

She pressed closer to him then, her chest-plate stabbing into him. She had removed his armor after rendering him unconscious, leaving him vulnerable and disarmed. She had only used enough magic to keep him from dying. She wanted to drag out his torture as long as possible. He tried not to bite his lip as her armor stabbed into him.

She let out a laugh then. She was enjoying this immensely. She had woken his will to fight her satisfaction.

"There we go." She lifted off of him, smiling madly. She crossed the torchlit dungeon of hers, reaching for her cutlass, the favored weapon of her deity. She drew it from the scabbard, hardly able to contain her excitement for the plot forming in her mind.

She reached then for Tharivol's weapon, a morning star. She tossed it in his direction, letting it bounce along the stone floor and roll to a stop ten feet away behind the paladin. She approached him again, clutching her blade in her left hand.

"I've got a lovely idea, my dear misguided fool." She circled him, again gliding her hands over his bare chest. He followed her with his eyes, which once again shone with courage and determination. Behind her, to his left, he caught a glimpse of his armor lying on a table.

"We're going to play a little game." She leaned over him from behind him, drawing her blade across where her fingers had been on his chest. "I'm going to give you one more chance. Just one. If you can kill me, then the stars have surely aligned in your favor." He heard her withdraw the dagger from the back of her belt. "Are you ready?"

She blew a kiss at him from his left while tightening her muscles, pulling back with both arms simultaneously. With her right, she cut the ropes that bound his hands, while her left brought her cutlass hilt clamoring against Tharivol's face. The force of the blow knocked him from the chair to the floor, where his injured knee hit hard. He let out a cry of pain and Astrid laughed maniacally.

"What's the matter paladin, Hinathra can't protect her poor little baby?" He tried to gather his wits as she circled and taunted him. The pain from his knee was bringing tears to his eyes, ruining his vision. Just as his head cleared enough to be aware of his opponent's position, she charged him, kicking him across the face.

His world churned. He was weakened, broken, and beaten. He lay there, crumpled on the floor between the chair he'd been tied to and the table his armor lay on. The taste of blood filled his mouth as the swirling room began to slow, settling his focus on the morning star that seemed a mile away. He tried to push off the ground, just to get anywhere.

She came again then, another swift kick, this time aimed for his stomach. The room darkened as his mind fled again toward unconsciousness. His breath hardly came at all. She was taunting him again, but his ears rang too loudly to understand. He tried to move from the crumpled ball he'd become, but his mind was no longer a part of his body. It was outside, screaming at his body to move, to go for the morning star, to just fight back, to do anything.

Finally a message got through from mind to body, and he once again tried to rise from the floor. He couldn't tell where he was anymore. The room was spinning too fast for him to judge anything. The ringing cleared from his ears, allowing him to hear the end of Astrid's taunt.

"...so much for the power of your light."

Something happened then. Tharivol closed his eyes. The were of no use to him anyway. Darkness enveloped him, offering sleep again to his mind. The offer seemed so sweet, so unavoidable, but it wasn't an option. He let go, giving his mind the chance to run free of all the pain, all the spinning.

It bounded through the darkness, running as a free stallion. It ran. It ran and ran and ran through the never ending blackness that had come to greet him. It leaped then, soaring into the nothingness all around, leaving behind his body. It flew higher, skyward bound. A single star shone in all the darkness the sky held.

One star, shining dimly at first, then growing brighter. It outshone all stars there had ever been, then shone brighter than the moon, then became a sun. Still brighter it became, filling all darkness with light. At the center of this star was some object, so his mind approached closer. He could now see it was no object, but a creature. Closer still he could tell it was humanoid. As his mind came around to the front of this person, he realized it was himself. With that realization, his eyes flew open.

Astrid stood there, lording over him with her cruel grin. He no longer felt the pain of her previous blows. His mind was now clear and fully connected with his body. That grin faded from his enemy.

She tried again to kick his stomach, but he rolled away, toward the table with his armor. He scrambled to his feet then, reaching for the nearest plate of mithril. She struck forward with her deadly blade then, slicing toward the paladin.

He deflected the blow with his breastplate, raising it as a shield. He spun with the blow, reaching out with his improvised weapon. The force of the breastplate knocked the priestess backward, stealing her balance as she tumbled away. He charged at her, bashing her again with the armor plate, knocking her completely off her feet. As she hit the floor, her eyes widened in fear and pain.

A tear flowed down her cheek as she realized he'd won. His morning star had broken her fall and her spine, puncturing some internal organ. Her vision began to fade and the taste of blood invaded her mouth. He now stood over her, calm and victorious. She could almost swear she saw a star where his heart was, burning brightly as darkness filled the room.

Tharivol could not bear to watch her die. He knew that she too had an inner light, much like he had found inside himself. A star which could guide her from the darkness she had clung to so tightly. He called upon Hinathra to grant him the power to heal this lost soul.

The light gathered around his hands as he lay them on his enemy. What little life she had left was not to be spent awake, but his magic would give her one more chance. Her breathing slowed and came more easily as the light left from his hands, gathering around her wound. Still she slept, but she would live to wake again.

He gathered his gear and lifted his enemy over his shoulder.

"We're going to play a little game, Astrid. We're going to give you just one more chance. Just one more chance to find your inner star."