The day had come to be an incredibly hot one, the sun unrelenting without any clouds to provide a fleeting relief to the priestess who dutifully gathered the lilac willow herbs growing near a river’s edge. She adorned her most normal attire of red and white, long sleeves tied back as to not hinder her as she stooped down and sorted through the weeds, quiver of her most deadly weapon strapped snuggly over her back, bow resting at her side in the grass.
It was a cumbersome time, rain absent causing the minute village’s harvest to wilt and dry out. The townsfolk were growing weary of unanswered prayers, the young, elderly and sickly commonly suffering from heatstrokes--there simply was only so much their single priestess could do to easy and comfort them during turbulent times.
Gingerly she plucked another herb from the ground, placing it with the straw basket with the rest and bringing the back of her hand to her brow, wiping away the droplets of perspiration, raven locks sticking fast to her forehead. Hopefully the men of the village had been successful in their hunt today, the remaining grain and vegetables would not last long if things continued on.
She sighed deeply, looking ahead enviously at the light reflecting off the narrow river, how nice it would be to simply rest her feet against the chilled current and take a moment in the quiet to simply be and relish the silence that was void of any half-demon leering from the trees, his callous remarks gruff and always so presumptuous. She thought on it, realizing it had been almost a fortnight since she had heard any of his grumbles, not even a glimpse of his burning crimson robe as he thought himself elusive hiding from her in the treetops. She wondered what had taken his time and pondered when their next meeting would be.
A chill ran down her spine, hairs standing taunt as her body tensed with the a premonition of threat, the village--! She rose to her feet with bow in had, the scent of embers snaking its way through the and forest black smoke rising in from the distance into the sky.
She took off as fast as her feet would take her, the warning tolls ringing louder and louder and the air growing heavier with not only smoke but malice. How could she have not noticed such numbers sooner? Demonic energy multiplied as if cascading and invading the village, chaos meeting her ears and eyes as she drew nearer to the eastern entrance, the farthest point from the temple which housed the Sacred Jewel. Though that structure was riddled with sutras and traps to protect the orb within, those barriers would only withstand so much before collapsing.
She readied her weapon and fired a pure light into a scaly monstrosity that barreled her way, notching two more arrows and letting them loose into the nearest demons. Villagers ran from their burning homes every which way, Kikyo fighting the current of people and into the heart of the hoard, the demons multiplying as and indication of where they were collecting.
Her voice, drowned but the roars of the surrounding blaze did not carry far, Kikyo continuing to fight her way to the temple. All around her pandemonium unfolded and monsters she knew she could slay with a single arrow now took double the effort, the reserves of her power sputtering to meet her demands. Her quiver felt much lighter than it should have, the number of arrows she had been exhausting not nearly enough to secure her passage to the temple but she had not the leisure to not make it--she was the only one who could end the havoc.
It was in sight now, the only thing keeping her was a climb littered with demons unworthy of her time. One, two, three arrows embarked ahead, each clearing just enough room for her to progressed; she was so close now, just a little farther--! Her hand raised to grab another arrow but grasping only the muddy air, Kikyo locking eyes with an approaching demon. She hadn't enough time to blast it away, its jaws hinged open ready to consume her--
An arrow fizzled by, hitting the enormous ant demon straight through its skull, not quite purifying it but nonetheless slaying it. The arrow, severely lacking spiritual power was familiar, Kikyo searching for the one she knew it belonged to.
“Sister Kikyo! I’ll hold them off! Hurry!” echoed a shrill voice, coughing through the smoke.
“Kaede!” Kikyo located her younger sibling standing inside the stronghold of the temple with her own bow and arrow, notching into the foes closest to Kikyo. She took her chance, pushing off offending demons with the power she imbued in her bow, Kaede helping where she could, narrowly saving Kikyo from the grip of another ant demon. “Out of the way--” Her bow deflecting a sizable centipede that aimed to coil around her ankles just before the threshold.
Twin doors slammed behind the priestess, Kikyo arming them with a wooden slant, the temple crowded with other villagers who had not been wrong in assuming this would be the safest place to take refuge in. Her breath slowed and softened as her gaze met with first the Jewel and then the concerned face of her sister.
“You did well in protecting everyone here Kaede.” Kikyo offered softly, kneeling to be at eye level. The temple groaned, wooden boards creaking and dust falling from the ceiling; outside smaller demons made work on the barrier, attacking without relent while larger centipedic demons coiled around the temple, squeezing and attempting to collapse the force field which would not not hold much longer--even Kikyo knew that. She reached for her sister’s quiver but found that Kaede had only three arrows left.
“Sister--you're bleeding!” Kaede cried in alarm, grabbing the bloodied sleeve. Kikyo lifted the sleeve painted with her blood, two deep lacerations running up her forearm and oozing freely onto the ground, the villagers muttering with worry for their injured priestess.
“Do not worry, its just a flesh wound. Find something to bandage it for me.” They had minutes maybe before the walls closed in on them and the hysteria grew with every shutter of the structure. Soft prayers and tears fell over the villagers as Kaede resorted to ripping cloth from her kimono to wrap the wound, Kikyo making quick work to lay out protective sutras around each corner of the temple. It wouldn’t do much realistically but Kikyo had to offer her people something, a show of calm and strength...
The temple shuttered again but this time caved, panels falling down and clattering against the secondary barrier Kikyo had erected inside which drew directly from her waning power. The demons had finally puncture through, the main barrier chipping away like shards, the monstrous roars outside growing closer and frenzied as they could almost taste the human flesh within that they would lay claim to along with their most lucrative prize--the jewel.
areudirty
turnnoffyourmind
stormborns
titsay
ellievsbear
andulkaphoto
discoholicmusic
