Page Three of Five
progress was slowed. On one particular occasion, the figure was hurrying through a small trail cleared under a series of thorn-covered branches. The coat caught on one of the barbs and pulled tightly around the body of the racing figure. It was moving with such speed that the hood of the cloak came clear off its head. As the light shone down from the almost concealed moon, the creature bellowed in agony. Its clawed forearms swiftly placed the hood over its horned head and twisted face. Now that the light was blocked from its sensitive eyes, it could continue its pilgrimage. Now that the daemon was under the cover of darkness, it shed its covering. It ran swiftly through the tall grass, barely touching the hard earth with its talonous feet.
After a few minutes of running, the creature was becoming weak. It had strayed into the outside areas to feed, but its vital energy came from within the Hallowed Grounds. The daemon sat on the ground and plunged one hand into the soil. A spring had now emerged, from which fresh blood flowed. The beast gathered quenching handfuls of blood and delivered it to its fiendishly twisted face again and again. the blood would supplement its energy until it could return to its sanctuary and sit in solace. the hellspawn stood up again, though reluctantly. Its legs were far too weak to support the hundreds of pounds of muscle and bone, and once again fell onto the damp, matted grass. All of its limbs violently clutched the ground, and the beast shrieked in anguish as its claws dug deeper within the mud and rock. the creature’s internal structure was contorting, twisting, and breaking, though the outside of the body remained unchanged in its clutch of the earth.
The crushed plants beneath the daemon were now heating and blackening. Without warning, the creature’s skin burst into flames of intense heat and light. The carcass was reduced to a smoldering pile of greasy ash in a matter of seconds. After a few moments of smoking in the cool night air, a new black fire now came up through the ground and consumed the entire area, purging it of any organic material. All that was now left was a flawless circle, 20 meters in diameter.
A Circle of Blood
There were now three circles altogether, arranged in an unusual pattern. The three rings had arranged themselves in what appeared to be the beginning of a pentagonal formation, proceeding counterclockwise in the chronological order which they formed. At the axis of this larger figure was a sizable indentation that had enigmatically formed parallel in time to the first and second circles. the only trees in the area were grouped around here, though the largest one of them disappeared when the formation began to take shape. Ever since the second circle was made, activity became apparent. Almost nightly, around the setting of the sun, shadowy figures could be seen moving about the sinkhole, and into the sparse woods. the most important circle, the Northwestern, was created before any of the life here existed. Nothing had ever grown within its confines, nor would it ever for the duration of time. The continual progress of the pattern had now sparked the formation of the core.
3: Armageddon