Post by Ares on Dec 29, 2015 0:23:45 GMT -5
From the depths of the ocean he rose, his angular shoulders cresting the line of waves, his breath coming in deep gasps. There was nothing but salt on his tongue, burning his throat, setting in his lungs and expanding until he could taste little else. His eyes stung, his vision blurred, all of his senses eradicated…and yet still he swam, his legs aching but treading water, his entire body feeling swollen and weak. And then, just when Ares thought that he might surrender to the merciless current, he felt it. It was the gentlest brush against his toes, gritty and damp and undeniable. It was sand, and blazing amber orbs flew open as the realization hit him. He was close to shore.
It was as if his body was rallying now, his legs resuming their frenzied pace, his head bobbing about the water, lungs desperately sucking in air. And then he could stand – gods, he could stand – the water lapping at his shoulders as he stumbled forwards slowly, his mighty form trembling as at last he stepped from the frigid embrace of the ocean, soaking wet and freezing, yet somehow victorious.
Ina’mos. He’d heard rumors of the place, of course. Even now as he stood upon the shores, it was as if Ares could feel the ancient, endless power of the sacred Empire known as Kairos calling to him. Through his exhaustion, his heard leapt in response, and the brute took a single shaky step forward…and then another. Despite the way his body screamed for rest, for a respite to the aching muscles and ravaged through, still he moved forward. He was strong, and he would not allow the Emperor of this blessed land to find him weakened and pathetic. And so it was that Ares pushed himself, step after step until he stood drenched but proud at the edge of the beach, gazing into the forest before him.
This, he knew, was where he belonged. Even before disaster had struck his family, he’d known of Kairos. It was simply impossible not to. Rumor of them spread across the island – some good, some bad. Ares had chosen to believe the positive; for so long now, he’d admired the strength they’d consistently held, the tenacity.
The moon was high above his head as the Dire brute dipped his muzzle back, lips parted to reveal elongated teeth, his call ringing forth across the island. It was raspy and rough, but somewhere beneath it, there was strength. For some time he allowed it to stretch, pouring his wants and wishes into the noise, calling forth the one who ruled the mighty pack that was Kairos. And long after the call broke off, Ares could hear it echoing through the land as he stood tall there where the shore met the forest, his body weak but somehow still upright, his eyes blazing with a determination unlike any that he had ever experienced before.