Out of the Ashes and Into the Fire

[Sinami]

Ahem... I realised I hadn't posted my "through the portal story" in here yet... oops... well, here it is. It's short and sort of incomplete, but anyway... enjoy!

If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I would be partaking in a desperate battle to save the world I would have laughed and considered them crazy. That I would also be partaking in a suicide mission to the other side of the Dark Portal would have been so far away from my reality that I probably wouldn't even have been able to comprehend the thought. But here I was, about to rush headfirst into the jaws of chaos and death and without a thought to turn back. My meditation the night before had helped in calming my fear and as I stood together with Frostfang I felt almost eager and excited. It was the same kind of thrill that would surge through me during a hunt and since that was a far more pleasant feeling than the icy grip of fear I decided to succumb to it completely. Stupid, I know, but what else what I supposed to do? At least the thrill of the hunt would give me a much needed boost of adrenaline and perhaps that would help me get through the initial assault on the portal, and not die of fright on the spot.

As the call for battle sounded I rushed forward with everyone else, trying to stay within the pack as I had promised that I would do. My feet beat against the ground in a steady rhythm and Frostfang's panting breaths beside me were easy enough to pick out at first... but as we came closer and closer to the portal the excitement in the air around me heightened to uncontrollable levels and as everyone surged forward I found myself being jostled and pushed again and again. The scents of smoke, fire and gunpowder burned my nose and made my eyes water... and the noise... never, in all my life, have I been able to imagine something like that. The metallic ringing of swords, the piercing shrieks of projectiles of some kind flying past, the blasts of guns and canons, the roars of rage and the cries of anguish and pain. The sound was deafening and pain began to spread like a fine net from the area around my ears, up to my temples, eye sockets and forehead.  The net of pain soon turned into complete agony and all my other senses were dulled as the pain became my sole focus. It was distracting enough that I stopped dead in my tracks for a moment, which only resulted in me losing my balance as someone behind me pushed past and I fell to my knees. But I barely even noticed. All I could think about was to stuff something in my ears and clutch my head to keep it from bursting.

But I had no time or opportunity to do either. Someone grabbed me and forcefully hauled me to my feet, yelling into my already painfully sensitive ear: "Forward!"
I had no choice. I ran. There was no grace in my movements and I only had one thought chasing around inside my head: "Keep going... keep going... keep going..." I held on to Frostfang and pushed onwards at a stumbling and panicked run. I trusted Frostfang to guide me, since my own senses were of little use to me in the chaos that surrounded us. I couldn't even make out the scents and sounds of Frostwolf or Bloodmark anymore. I had lost them. A part of me screamed in panicked fright at that, but since I was already far beyond scared I paid that voice no heed. I couldn't afford to be distracted again and luckily instinct kicked in at that moment, my sole focus reverting back to the same one I had lived by for the past fifteen years: survival.

My flight across the battlefield and through the portal is still a blur, but by some miracle I managed to survive and get through... only to be greeted by an even worse clamour than the one I had just left behind. The battle on the other side of the portal seemed, if possible, even more frenzied to me and my ears were ringing alarmingly. Through the din I thought I heard a faint "For the blood of the tribe!" and I started to manoeuvre my way towards whomever had yelled it... only problem being that there was a rather large army between me and my destination.