The War Wages Within

Been a while since I posted anything, but here goes.  The next few posts are little blurbs that were a peak into Nihrvanah's mind as Ta'Vaalor was being attacked regularly by undead until the lich behind it all was finally defeated.

She awoke to sound of her own voice screaming out as her eyes snapped open and she realized she was safe inside her home in her own bed.  It took a few moments for her pulse to calm while she debated whether to try to sleep again or consider it the fifth night or so without proper rest.  The nightmares were getting worse with each engagement with the enemy, the demonic beings that attacked etching themselves deeper into her subconscious, forcing her to face them once again, this time in her dreams.  The horrors she witnessed continued to haunt her as the scenes replayed in her mind: the hag dismembering a child, the tormentor gruesomely beheading a guard, soldiers taking an all too familiar ride in a griffin’s talons only to be dropped with great force to their deaths.  It was all she could do not to lose her stomach in front of her fellow legionnaires, let alone here at home and she nearly fell to the floor as she heaved.  Nothing came out, thankfully, but it still hurt nonetheless.

You’re a fraud, Nihrvanah thought as she sat up and rested against a nearby nightstand, shaking her head as she tried to clear it.  It continued to creep up on her, accusing her of being afraid, of letting that fear take over as every instinct told her to find safety, even though she should be safe in her own home.  It was a nagging feeling that threatened to overtake her even on the battlefield, one she fought hard to suppress in the face of grave danger.  She put on a brave face like always, burying the fear beneath a guise of fragile confidence.  None could know how scared she really was, not just of the war but so many other things.  They couldn’t know how weak she really felt.

She sat in the darkness a little bit longer before deciding there was only one thing to do on a sleepless night.  She had to train, she had to get stronger so she didn’t feel like she was lying to everyone, including herself, about what she was capable of.  She dressed, her voice lifting as her songs created a barrier of airy flames around her, then continuing to form a scythe of flames both in her hand and hovering by her side.  She closed her eyes as she clenched the symbol she hid beneath her shirt, murmuring a short prayer for strength, before heading to the Old City to dispatch a fraction of the enemy forces that were being summoned forth from there.