Sepsis

As the saying goes, when it rains...it pours. It seems as though those who are afflicted by one malady may almost certainly be met with more. Some are able to come out of such hard times stronger, but others are taken by it.

In the darkest corners, one may find a casual observer to dragonkind's suffering. Its form shifts and reshapes over and over again, seemingly before one's very eyes. It exudes an aura of dread, of disease. In short...it has a habit of making things worse through it's very presence alone.

Like a horrible, fetid bad luck charm...





Orbek didn't want to believe he was getting older. He had been a glorious coliseum fighter his whole life, having a knack for battle strategy and the overwhelming physical strength to execute it. The ridgeback had been losing his touch for awhile; he knew it, but he didn't want to admit it.

With his most recent string of battles, though, Orbek was left out of commission with a number of injuries that, due to his own stubbornness, had become infected. His clan leader insisted that he stay behind and rest, and that he might want to start considering retirement for his own sake. There would always be a place for him as a trainer, they said.

"A trainer..." Orbek scoffed to himself, laying upon a sizable snowpile just on the border of his clan's territory. He was offended at the very thought. Though something inside kept tugging at him, telling him that that was exactly where he was headed.

The ridgeback shook his head and let out a sight, monitoring the environment for any potential threats. His leader had only said he couldn't go on expeditions...if a fight just so happened to find him, well that wouldn't be his fault then, would it? His eyes focused on something in the distance, a brief blur of red. It was gone as soon as it had appeared, leaving Orbek to question if he'd seen anything at all in the first place.

"Maybe a reflection of the ice..." he grumbled to himself, irritable. He would just have to continue monitoring the area.

Some time passed and there was no sign of any movement, save for the occasional rabbit or bird making its way across the icy wasteland. In truth, the infection must have been affecting him more than he thought, as he was starting to grow drowsy. Orbek decided that he'd go back to his den if he didn't find anything soon.

So his watch continued. Just as Orbek turned his head, he was startled by the sudden appearance of....something. Black and red...it had two heads, he was pretty certain. Or were there three? Whatever it was...it was hard to fully perceive even though they were little more than a foot away from one another.

By the time he jumped back, whatever had been there...was gone. Orbek was certain that he'd just blinked. His eyes had only been closed for an instant, and yet that was enough time for this thing to disappear altogether. Maybe he was more tired than he'd originally thought. There was no way any dragon could move that fast. And yet...he couldn't help but acknowledge the lingering smell that was not previously there. It was a smell of rot....of death, it was unmistakable.

Pushing away all of his paranoid thoughts, Orbek stood up stiffly and made his way back to the warmth of his den. Even if he wasn't ready to admit he would one day have to retire, he could at least admit that now was a time for him to rest. He clearly needed it. The infection as well as lack of sleep were causing him to see things. A good night's sleep would do the trick, surely.

Settling into his bedding, Orbek closed his eyes, determined to put this failure of a day behind him for good. Every time he was just about to drift off to sleep, a flash of...whatever he'd seen back on the snowpile would play in his mind. The thing always looked a little bit different every time, but it always caused him to grip at his chest and for his entire body to tense up.

The ridgeback sat up, taking in deep breaths, trying to steady his nerves. This kind of dread was something Orbek had never felt before. It was unbecoming of a warrior to be afraid of something that wasn't even there.

Night had fallen by this point and the bonfire in Orbek's den was doing well to cast twisted shadows on the walls. They were just ordinary shadows, he told himself, nothing more. Maybe he should step outside and ask the clan physician for something to help him sleep.

Orbek tried and failed to move, his body frozen in place. To his horror, the shadows around him took form and he was certain he could see red in the corner of his eye. Something that felt like a tail....no, two tails, brushed against his back and legs as the redness moved closer.

Snapping himself out of his trance, he let out a roar and turned to face his opponent. Orbek was unsurprised when he saw nothing. It was right there, he was sure of it. He had felt the thing's body. Smelt his rot.

It occurred to him in the next instant that the reddened shape was still in his peripheral vision. This was what sent him over the edge. Orbek couldn't take this anymore; he had to escape. If he could just get some distance between himself and the creature that was following him, then he could heal.

Without a second thought, the ridgeback barrelled out of his den and took to the skies. Orbek was completely operating on adrenaline and raw, inexplicable fear; he didn't even notice when his wounds tore open, quickly bleeding through his bandaging.

It was still at the corner of his eye, no matter how fast he flew. The thing, whatever it was, must have been just as fast, that's all there was to it. Surely, it wasn't also a fast swimmer! There was no way!

Orbek dove into the icy waters, swimming deep and far, feeling as though his very life depended on getting away from the red omen that plagued him. He tightly closed his eyes, relieved for a reprieve from having to see it.

The ridgeback didn't need to see to swim. He could find his way back once he lost his pursuer. If he weren't so consumed by fear, he would have thought himself foolish. He would have called himself a coward for running away. But now, all Orbek could think about was getting away.

It must have been hours that he swam, eyes tightly closed. After awhile, the adrenaline had worn off, but the ridgeback just kept going. His muscles ached and his wounds screamed in agony, causing him to slow down, but not stop.

'Open your eyes, Orbek....surely you've lost it..' he told himself, dread welling up in him anew at the thought of what he might see. Something just told him that he hadn't lost it.

Orbek opened his eyes, his vision initially blurry. As it came into focus, however....he saw it. The monster that has been pursuing him, tormenting him, this whole time. Finally, it showed itself! He let out a snarl and lunged, his weakened body mustering everything as he sunk his teeth into reddened flesh.

His foe tried to fight back, but it was no match for Orbek. He was a warrior, he was a champion! This....this had all been nothing. His claws dug in and tore at flesh, not stopping his assault until well after the other dragon had stopped moving.

The other dragon sunk, heading to the depths. Something immediately disturbed him as the watered cleared...at the corner of his eye, that familiar red was still there. Moreover, he felt a weight on his shoulder as if a hand rested there...








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