Death's Awakening

Part I: The Virus

Blood-red petals pierced the frozen earth, rose up like a snake, then opened to soak in the warm sunlight. A young girl watched with unrestrained curiosity. She had never seen such a strange flower. In fact, flowers hardly ever grew here in the cold mountain snow.

The girl leaned down and gripped the sturdy green stem. With a tug, she snapped it off at its root. She giggled, then lifted the strange red flower to her nose and inhaled. She'd expected it to smell sweet like the roses her father sometimes brought home from the market, but this flower smelled nothing like a rose. It smelled of smoke. Ash.

For a moment, she felt the urge to drop the flower back to the ground where she'd found it. To leave it there in the snow where it would wilt and die.

But it would be a shame to waste such a pretty thing. She considered it for a moment, then skipped home, the red flower clutched in her gloved hand. By nightfall, fever had taken hold of her small body and deep inside the earth, the Dark One smiled.

Here we go, guys! The real story begins! I hope you love it.