Novel Draft

I feel odd not posting anything half the time I'm on. Figured I'd share a novel scene draft I'm not overly insecure about. I'm open to comments/constructive criticism but keep in mind this is a rough, caffeine filled 3am first draft. I was doing plot to paper. xD

Just a few characters helping each other through the end times <3

C:3 S3: Closure

Nidian slowly walked down the dirt road on the short walk back to Torrel's tavern. Kids were still running amuck in the streets with each other, giggling and screaming while their parents tended to maintaining the old buildings of the town. The population was incredibly small compared to the cities. Maybe not more than thirty people. He tucked his hands in his pockets and kept his head down as he kicked a few larger pebbles. He didn't get it. No one here was any more savage than the occasionally grumpy merchant back home. And they all seemed to have a belief in their goddess to some degree. Why would he have been lied to about that? The man had given his educated guess but....

"Nidian!" a familiar voice called out. His head tilted upward to see the giant of a woman coming his way.

   "Good morning Ae." he responded as she jogged to a stop next to him.

    Her brow knitted the second he spoke. "What's up kid? What do you got on your mind" She inquired.

"Just found out possibly everything I've ever been taught was a lie.." He itted with a little strain.

  "Well kid you aren't the only one whose had their entire reality shatter in front of them. I feel where you are coming from. Think of it as a blessing though. With the foundation of truth, you can build a better you."

   "Awful monkish for a barbarian such as yourself." Nidian quipped.

    "I have my moments. Come with me, I want to show you something." She tugged at his arm and pulled him down the road away from Torrel's toward a road between the temple and a large home.

    "Where are we going? He asked as he watched the tavern get smaller and smaller, trees beginning to fill in his vision. "Aren't the woods dangerous right now, with the dragons and all?" He questioned as he tried to pull away.

     "Relax, we aren't going far, and it won't be for long." She chuckled and kept dragging him along.

       After less than a few minutes of walking they came across a pond with beautifully clear water, aquifer vents bubbling from the rocky bed. A large bench carved out of an old dark wood sitting near the edge of the water. The trees had gotten incredibly dense and the canopies blocked the sun save for a handful of thin shafts bleeding through. The water was still and cold as stone, the surface of it practically a mirror. A few brilliant red flowers bloomed from lily pads and long stalks growing from the bottom of the body. Ae took a deep refreshed sigh, a smile crossing her face. She had smiled before on occasion but this was the first that seemed to be from a genuine happiness. Nidian watched her walk ahead to the pond and sit on the bench. The wood was ancient, ornate. Hand carved spirals and etches creatively but carefully placed. It retained a rather natural appearance, only the slight jagged cut out in the top hinting it to be a seat of some sort.

   "Where are we?" Nidian softly spoke as to not shatter her blissful moment. The tall woman slowly turned to look at him.

     "Blossom pond, a very special place to me." She replied, caressing the grooves in the bench.

The curious boy now cautiously side stepped his way over to her and looked at the water. He was surprised how quickly he was greeted by his own reflection, the crystal image of himself causing a trance.

  "It's beautiful here" He complimented.

Ae hung her head with a dampened grin. "Glad you agree. I come here whenever I need time to think. Any big choices I have to make are made here. It also just gives me a serene place to clear my head. Figured I'd share it with you."

    Nidian rubbed his arm and walked up to Ae. Her tall form glancing down at him in anticipation.

      "I sincerely appreciate it but-" He started.

      "Nidian, Torrel told me about your plan. And I get it, you're eager to get to a city. But I personally want to ask you to stay here in Nomad's Haven with us. I can tell you're a great kid. And I honestly would worry for you if you set out on your own. We can take care of you here. I worry the other cities might neglect you, like they did me."

She sat down on the log. Her hands folded together. Nidian slowly sat next to her. "You going to elaborate on that?"

   Ae drew a long pause, casting a quick glance toward him of uncertainty. She wasn't eager to share but ultimately decided she had to. "I was in your situation once. I was over seas and lost everything I knew to the same monsters that are here now. We really are the last bastion of man. And when I tried to go to Delenar for aid I was cast out without consideration. My lack of faith in your goddess alone turned many faces away. Torrel's people didn't think twice about giving me clothes and food.

  "How'd you escape?" Nidian asked.

   "I dunno what to say other than I was lucky like you. I made it to the ocean and was set adrift for weeks. I ended up washing ashore near Delenar. A man found me and took me in and nursed me a little but the Cross wasn't too happy about that"

    "And you went to the city, and they immediately acted like that? What about warning them of the danger?" Nidian brought up.

  "Nidian I was emaciated, and beyond disheveled, I would have just been branded as insane. No one would have believed me, another reason I don't want you trying to go cry for help." She explained. "But now you know how I'm still alive, what about you? How did you manage to evade those beasts?"

    The boy turned away, the question stabbing him in the heart. Ae saw what looked like the glare of someone thinking she killled their dog. "I don't want to talk about it." He mumbled as he shrunk into a ball.

  Ae leaned in a bit, "Nidian it might help to have someone else bearing the weight with you." She pressed with comion.

    "...Saudafi..he's the reason. It hit so fast. From a sunny day to fire and smoke. He and I fled through the chaos but he...he got wounded bad by a burning building. We tried to make it for the edge of town but one of those things saw us. Cobalt blue and these dark menacing eyes that held an abyss within... Saudafi shoved me into a canal as it..-"

    Ae tugged the boy into a gentle hug as she saw the tears welling, and heard his words faltering. "You don't have to keep going...I understand. I'm sorry Nidian."

     He felt the warmth of Ae's arm on his neck and the soft fibers of her shirt as he was pulled against her. After taking in the embrace briefly he promptly pulled away, sniffling and wiping his tears.

   "Ae, everyone in an entire city of the cross was slaughtered in a mere hour. I can't bare the guilt of not trying to get word to the rest of Daemora. If we don't prepare, the other cities are in danger." He protested with clenched fists in his lap, staring down Ae.

“And if they wiped out the entire guard and destroyed Hoharo in an hour when you weren't prepared, how much better do you think it will be if you are. Two hours? As grim as it may sound we might just have to live with our chins high and wait for the inevitable coming of our end."

  The air grew tense, Nidian wanted to lash out at her but she kept making those points that only the ignorant could argue. And he wasn't ignorant, though he wished he was.

   His next words barely made it out of his mouth, a whimper carrying his wavering words. "Ae I don't want the world to end. My whole life we were sold on dreams and prosperity..."

     Ae rested a consoling hand upon his shoulder, "I know kid...no one could have ever been prepared for something like this. That's why I wanted to show you this place. Give you somewhere to just think. My advice to you though is don't waste this time we have in sorrow. Celebrate everything you have accomplished. What do you say we go back to Torrel's and have a nice dinner, sing some songs and toast to the best damn life we can live. We can try and figure something out tomorrow ok?"

  Nidian drew a deep breath that felt like it was going to pop his lungs, forcing it through his teeth as he tried to let the anger go. "Yeah...I suppose that sounds nice.."