The Crimson Prince： Awakening 53 Chapter 24: Raven Cres

As Will and Maya accompanied Roland to each cage to unlock and set free the slaves, Jake stared into a piece of gla.s.s while focusing on his brother. He saw the useless slave trader opening each cell as his brother reached in a hand and pulled the slaves out one by one.

"This may complicate a few transactions in the future." Jake mused as he threw the shard out the four story window.

Jake looked around the great hall of raven crest castle. Everything around him was cloaked in darkness. All of the tables, chairs, flooring and walls seemed to be obsidian black. The only source of light was the rows of lit flames lining the walls which reflected light off of everything in the room. It felt as though he was standing in shadow itself.

Jake looked over to the singular guard posted at the door. He knew The guard reported any suspicious behavior to whoever it was that gave Jake orders.

Without a seconds hesitation, Jake put one foot on the ledge of the window and said to the guard, "I'm going out to train my new affinity, I'd rather not be shown up by my brother again." he made sure to add as much distaste into the word "brother" as he could.

The guard nodded only once before leaving the room. Jake took that as an open invitation to do what he wanted, so he stepped from the fourth story window and dove into a free fall. A moment before he hit the ground, he allowed his wind aura to pick him up.

Jake flew over the dark city of Raven Crest and looked down at the population. As always, the streets were bustling with business. Looking closer, Jake could point out the corrupted from the original dark flame users. The streets were of dark stone to match the tall buildings surrounding him on either side. In a lot of ways, it was the only city in his new world that reminded him of New York. The only difference were the citizens.

The corrupted had a ghostly appearance, looking as though they had been dead for a day just to be reanimated by corruption which is of course exactly what happened.

The dark flame users were like him. They were born into the darkness and sent to Raven Crest. All dark users were bound to the kingdom and couldn't set foot out of the boundary with only one exception, him.

Since Jake had been born in Ebonhart and transported directly to earth, no one from the kings court had time to seal him away. Without the proper seal, he could come and go as he pleased.

One would think freedom would be a blessing, but Jake knew better. He was the key to the freedom of darkness. Since he wasn't bound, the corruption within him could take over and use him as a puppet at any given moment.

Jake flew from the city to the dark wood that surrounded Raven Crest. Unlike the Forrest which surrounded Ebonhart, the dark wood was a place which came straight out of a nightmare. The trees were only a shadow of what may across the border. The twisting black branches blocked any view of the path below as Jake flew from atop the cursed wood.

Having taken the path countless times in the past few months before being gifted flight, Jake easily navigated from above. He flew only minutes before coming across an opening in the dense darkness, an opening he had created himself only a few days prior.

Slowly, he lost alt.i.tude while aiming himself towards the human sized hole in the trees. He had earlier listed the spot as a breeding ground for Raven Crest's shadow prowlers, large wolves in which had over populated the woods and kept travellers from hunting smaller game.

While it was true that he had left the castle for training, Jake always kept an ear to the ground in the city to ensure that the citizens had all the help they needed. The guards never truly did anything to help the population seeing as though they were only animated corpses. Jake wanted his people to look upon him as a resource, something that could help them instead of being a symbol of fear. He didn't have much choice when corruption took over his mind, but in the times he had control, he wanted to do what he could to feel different from the others.

Waiting around to be controlled was not within Jake's future plans. If he was going to make Raven Crest his home, he was going to bring some light back into the dark lands.

Setting down in The clearing, Jake took a position near a dark tree in which the opening was located. A faint light shown through the clearing, falling upon him as he took his cross from his neck and activated his sword.

He took a cross legged seated position and put his obsidian black sword across his lap and waited. Within the darkness of the corrupt forest, no indicators of time could penetrate the thick wood, almost as if night were ever present along the tree floor.

Rustling was heard within the bushes nearby. Jake stood alert, his sword at the ready by his side. The true apex predator could be heard panting just out of sight.

Using his aura, Jake could pin point at least ten wolves surrounding him from within the bushes. He knew it was just a small force compared to what was out there within the wood line. Most of them would be out there already hunting small game to feed their young. So far as he had heard, there were hundreds roaming the lands.

Sword in hand, Jake waited for the prowlers to tighten their formation around him. No matter how one sided the fight was going to be, he still wanted them to have every advantage.

One of the stalkers lost patience and broke formation. It ran almost as if it were a living shadow, the only indication of movement was it's rusty red eyes.

Jake side stepped the beast easily following with his sword piercing the mid section of the creature. A loud howl rang from the shadow prowler which gurgled off into nothing as its final breath cut short.

Since the first move was made, Jake didn't see the problem with finis.h.i.+ng the attack early. He sprang into the bushes, slicing up every rusty red eye he could sense.

The night cried out with the prowlers howls as more joined in the attack. For each wolf which was cut down, three more took its place. Within minutes, Jake found himself within a dance of blades and teeth.

Though they were not at all a challenge while in a smaller number, when in a pack of hundreds, attacking in one solid formation was like an overwhelming wave of claws and teeth. Jake had to defend himself from all sides. It seemed he was drawn into the defensive.

As he dodged five from the rear, another five attacked from the front. No matter how many he countered, attacks poured in from all sides. Bite marks, scratches and bruises started forming all along his arms and abdomen. I guess I can't beat them with my normal power, Jake sighed. It was worth a shot anyway. Now's as good a chance as any to test my new strength. Closing his eyes and relying on his aura to fend off the attacks, Jake allowed his dark flame to materialize around him.

The flame licked the forest floor as he concentrated. All life within a foot around him burned to a crisp. The dark energy then concentrated on his sword, swirling and spinning within the weapon as if a vortex had formed around his arm. When the storm around him subsided, he was holding his new scythe, wind picking up around him as if a concussion grenade was just released among the crowd of wolves.

When dark inferno subsided around his new weapon, Jake took the small opportunity to examine it. The last time he had seen it, the scythe seemed to be an incarnation of a grim reapers scythe, completely black with a chain wrapped around it. The visage had come to remind him of the darkness within his brother being brought out as a weapon for himself, though he was surprised to see that it had evolved past his brothers darkness into a weapon only suitable to describe himself.

The blade gleamed a pure silver while the shaft wrapped itself in gold and red, symbolizing what was inside of himself. As he inspected it further, the bottom half of the shaft remained the corrupt black he had seen before. It was as if half of himself was that of a prince, while the other was pure darkness.

A sensation of relief washed over Jake as he readied his blade for combat. At least I fight this battle as myself, he thought as he felt pressure from the air around him condense into an almost touchable force. The blade of the scythe glowed a pale silver and gold as the weapon itself seemed to absorb the air and force it into an attack.

Jake could almost see the weapon pulsating with energy before the wolves came to their senses. Almost as if they could feel the energy radiating from the scythe, they abandoned their attack and ran the other direction. The young man pitied the creatures as his scythe went back in an arch, seconds away from releasing the attack.

"It's nothing personal," Jake said as he readied the blade for the inevitable shockwave that was to follow. "I'll make sure there's enough of you left to repopulate." He swung the blade releasing the wind stored within. The blast came forth as if it were a miniature tornado. All of the wolves around him were picked up and flung from him. He could see some of them being ripped apart as others received only small cuts and tears within their flesh.

No longer were there any trees around him as he stood in an open field, even the clouds had parted leaving him in a spotlight of sun. As he looked in the clearing, he spotted a human shaped shadow looming behind a surviving tree. The moment he spotted the figure, it faded into nothing. No such thing as privacy is there? Jake thought as he relaxed his hold on his scythe. The moment his concentration broke, the weapon turned back to his black cross which he hung back around his neck.

The shadow that had appeared Jake knew wasn't just a figment of his imagination. It only appeared a few hours before he was to be used. Be ready brother, he thought as he looked down at the black cross around his neck.

Jake used his dark aura to gather the wolves and took back to the sky. To anyone who would see him flying, it would look as if he had captured the wolves within a net that he hauled behind him. The corpses seemed to pile in on each other, as if there were an invisible barrier holding them together.

Jake flew back into the city. He pa.s.sed the large black spires which symbolized the entryway to the kingdom. As he flew over the dark stones streets, he saw many of its inhabitants following him with their states. Flying was still something that everyone had to get used to seeing.

Jake landed next to a merchant stall and unloaded the wolves in front of the owner of the stall. The old man eyed the pile while shaking his head. His wide eyes went to Jake as he thanked him. "I'll never get used to that, you know." he said in an old gravelly voice.

"I know," Jake said with a sympathetic smile. "This load is on me Argus." he turned to take off again. "Make sure everyone gets their fill."

Jake once more took to the tops of the buildings. He saw the shadow within every street corner now, it's call getting harder to ignore. You better win, Will. He thought as he went back to the castle.