Tomaz: Lighting Heart

...i hate descriptions

The young boy picked up a rock and threw it at the man in chains. Two metal rods protruded from the ground and reached high into the air, only to contain a single man in chains, elevated from the ground. The procedure was an example to others who would break the law. Due to the height of the prison, air was harder to breath, especially with chains around the neck. The full weight of the body was put on the shoulders of the victim and the stretched arms ensured little chance of movement. The legs were bound together and attached to a large rock, creating a pendulum appearance and intense physical pain for the prisoner, especially when attempting movement.
The rock slammed into the prisoner’s face and fell again to the ground where the boy retrieved it. Citizens walked past the prisoner without a second glance. It was commonplace in Tomaz to see foreign intruders imprisoned in such a fashion. It was encouraged to show the ravages that their attempts at infiltrating the city would not be tolerated. Tomaz had an eventful history for such a small realm. Being the first of all the nations within Shiroz to reject the Heart of the Necros Treaty, the nation became reclusive and didn’t deal with anyone outside of their realm. It was for this reason that Markan steel, the nation’s biggest export became a very valuable material to the other inhabitants of Shiroz. The fact that the Tomassians were able to equip their armies with armour and weapons that could withstand magi attacks as well as attacks from any other form of metal, made them a force to be considered.
The rock soared through the air again only to hit the prisoner in his lower chest. The boy was beginning to tire of the procedure, especially since the prisoner showed no reaction to the onslaught.
It was the arrogance of the Tomassians that led to them becoming such an untrustworthy nation. They became a self proclaimed realm and only dealt with their own people. Their methods of dealing with foreigners nearly brought the small realm into war on numerous occasions but the mediation of the rulers of the other countries stopped that from happening for a few years.
Various ambassadors were sent to the nation, in the hopes of being able to mediate the situation without giving into the demands. Each ambassador died painfully but the other nations were stubborn in their attempts to avoid war, which is why after many years of deliberation, they sent their most valuable assets to the small realm in the hopes of being listened to. Their decision cost them dearly and war became unavoidable.
The rock flew through the air and smashed into the chest of the prisoner once again. Graim slowly opened his eyes to look down at the small boy. The child froze, he had never seen the prisoner open his eyes, and the sight of the pure yellow eyes of the Vancequan scared him.
The Prince of Vanceque turned his neck and tested his arms. Pain shot through the brown haired man, but a fixed smile tore at the edges of his mouth. His yellow eyes looked to the sky as he saw the setting sun. It had been twenty-two days since he had been raised on the posts. The rock slammed into his leg, causing him to look down at the boy who seemed to have regained his courage.
Vanceque was the most southern nation within the realm, it was a mountainous region full of farmers and well meaning people. Vancequan’s were the best negotiators in all of Shiroz for the simple fact that they were all pacifists that avoided violence even if it meant their untimely death. Graim did not share the pacifist sentiment, nor did he wish to die alone.
The Prince tested the chains one more time with his arms, but the burning on his left shoulder told him that his wound had once again opened. Slowly turning his head, the brown haired man tried to look at his shoulder. His attempts rewarded him with a jagged pain near his torso, as well as a glimpse at a huge scar across his shoulder.
Graim looked to the sky one more time before allowing his head to drop to his weary chest. The rocks continued to fly as the child threw into the night.

The girl watched as the father of the small boy cheered his support as his son threw rocks at the prisoner. The sight disgusted her, she never understood how she was born into such a nation. Her own people disgusted her. And this was how they treated a man that came only to talk of peace.
Reaching up, she grasped the edge of the window ledge, and picked herself up. “Not far now…” she whispered to herself as she jumped into the air to grab onto a neighbouring ridge of the window parallel to her position. The trek to the top of the building was harder than she had anticipated, but her sheer determination to free the prisoner was what drove her forward.
As she neared the top of the building, she noticed that a crowd of boys had begun to throw rocks at the man. The sight saddened her deeply, but at the same time she realised that there was nothing she could do until the crowd dispersed. “Come on, leave!” She groaned as she tied her hair back. Gerda sat on the slightly sloping roof and watched as the children tortured the brown haired man. “Who are you… and why did you come?” Gerda whispered as she looked at the man closely. She closed her eyes momentarily before opening them and zooming her gaze towards his face. She was unpractised at the skill, but she was sure enough that the man was in pain. His face seemed to be etched into a pained expression. “I cant let this continue!”
Gerda got to her feet and placed her left foot in front of her to steady herself as she crouched back on her right. Lifting her arms she swung her wrists in a jagged motion, each wrist darting out as she closed her eyes again. She visualised her target as she gathered the power in her body. A familiar sensation ran through her body as she opened her eyes.

Graim winced as the rock slammed into his wounded shoulder. Opening his eyes momentarily, the Prince noticed a figure scaling the walls of the building opposite to him. “An archer?” he whispered almost to himself. Graim followed the figure’s movements until it was sitting atop the building directly opposite him. Just as he tried to narrow his vision to see the face of the figure, the rock smashed into his wrist, cutting his skin and drawing blood. He winced in pain and opened his eyes once again only to see something that made him swear aloud. The figure on the opposite building held a pulsing orb of yellow light and worse still it looked as though he had his eyes closed. Graim clenched his teeth as he watched his killer opposite and made his decision.
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Graim lifted his legs forward. The young boy below dropped the rock and ran to his father. Gerda was thrown off balance by the sound and the ball of energy nearly evaporated.
The Prince gritted his teeth as the rock around his feet tore the muscles in his legs. The scream continued as people in the street gathered to watch the futile attempts of escape.
The rock swung forward and back like an inverted pendulum as the Prince tried to gather his strength. His shoulder burned, the people laughed as he swung back and forth pitifully, his neck constricted by the momentum of the rock at his legs. Gerda wanted to cover her ears to drown out the sound of the screams, but it was only then that she heard two distinct sounds that made her skin crawl.
The first was a snap, and the second was hysterical laughter.
The rock swung backwards and into the air and slightly to the left. It was then that she saw that the man’s left arm was twisted in a very awkward fashion. The realisation that he intentionally broke his arm to turn the rock, scared her. Graim was now upside down, with the rock still rising in the air behind him.
The crowds laughed at how he managed to break his arm, none of them realising what he was doing until the rock slammed down onto the chain securing his arms to the pole. The Prince’s body was now in a backward curve as the rock suddenly fell from the chain and down, nearly dislocating his legs.
Gerda watched as he repeated the process a number of times, eventually the chain grinded and started to give way. Fearing for his life, Gerda drew her hand back, no longer caring who saw her free the man.

Graim looked to the ledge opposite him and saw that the figure had faltered. “So he isn’t here to kill me…”
The Prince allowed the rock to swing back and down onto the chain one more time before he slumped back into a hanging position. He hadn’t eaten in weeks and his body was not fit fore such brutal movements. The rock slipped from the chain and continued forward bringing his whole body forward into a rolling position before the rock was shot down by the force. The chain on his legs gave way as the rock plummeted to the cobbles below. The crowd panicked as the weight was relieved from the Prince. None but Gerda saw the smile on his face. Yellow eyes darted left and right on the chains, looking for injured links, but there were few. A burst of yellow light shot forward at one of the chains, but the Prince vaulted backwards and swung the metal away from it. The crowd below cheered as they assumed one of their own was trying to kill the prisoner.
Gerda was shocked at how quickly he moved from the shot, obviously there was more to this man than what met the eye. The Prince swung back into position and nearly cried out as his broken arm twisted again. A warm trickle of blood flowed down his arm and dripped from his wrists.
Looking back toward the building opposite, he saw the figure attempting to send another shot. “Most magi can only attempt one of those a day… what in the name of Ecroz is going on?!”
Gerda blinked the sweat from her brow as she narrowed her eyes on her target, all she had to do was hit the chain and he would be free. The lighting in her hand started to get stronger as she looked toward the floating prison again. “He doesn’t trust me… so I’ll just have to be faster than him.”
Swinging her right arm in a full circle, static electricity emanated from her fingertips. Gerda grimaced as the power required started to take its toll on her. Gritting her teeth she fired a shot at the links and opened her eyes fully… waiting for his movements so she could adapt her own movements.

Graim started to move his wrist so the blood would cover it completely, he started to wrangle it within the crooked shackle in the hopes that it would become loose. It was only then that a bright light signalled another burst of lightning. Graim, forgetting his arm pulled his shoulders together and dropped them simultaneously, allowing the chain to become taut, avoiding the blast completely.
As the Prince was about to take a breath and resume on the chain, another light shot at him.
This time Graim attempted to vault backwards but the figure was aiming at where the chain was attached to the column. Sweat poured off the injured Prince as he tried to swing away from the blast. But the lighting started to shoot in multiple directions, each one going for a certain link in the chain. As the blasts hit, Graim didn’t feel a thing. “Why am I not being shocked… what metal is this?”

Gerda was sweating more and more, the man had obviously figured out that she wasn’t trying to kill him. It was just a matter of being able to hit the chains in the correct time with the correct charges. Each positive blast of lightning had to be nullified further down the chain with a different charge of force. And even then, being able to regulate how much energy went into the blasts was tiring. It was the most she had ever used her power and it was beginning to take its toll on her body. Gerda fell to one knee and shot the last of the blasts, this one aimed directly at the left post.
Graim’s eyes narrowed on the beams and noticed a that the sparks between where the beams hit evaporated as well as the posts he was attached to vibrating with energy. “No magi with this amount of power could escape the public eye… who is he?” Graim gasped as he tried to catch his breath. The chain had started to shake and dig more into his neck. Feeling drops of blood, he realised that it was now that he had to make his final move. A beam of light, stronger than any of the others smashed into the left beam with a thunderous explosion. Graim pulled on the chain with all of his strength and smiled as he felt it come loose.
Gerda lowered her two hands and fell to her knees. The courtyard where the poles were raised was momentarily lit up as the explosion of light flowed through the streets. Graim used the momentum from the release to swing in an arc around the right post on which the remaining chain was attached.
The sudden pull of the Prince’s body weight, combined with the already loosened shackle was enough for the blood to allow Graim’s hand to slip through.
Gerda watched as the man fell from the chain and onto his legs on the cobbles below. Fighting to remain conscious, Gerda sent the last of her energy down into the street. The crowd was blinded by the concentrated light and the young girl smiled as she collapsed onto the roof. Before she closed her eyes, she narrowed them down to the chain on the right hand side of the pole, only to see an empty shackle.

Reviews

[FoolsGold23]

YEAH! go girl, way to be! This is going to be a neat character to get to know, nice!!