When Destiny Burns, Ep. 2 A Halo and Inheritance Cycle Crossover [Discontinued]

Chapter 13.1 Under my skin

"Captain? We have spotted a small group of people riding south-west of Bullridge, heading towards Dras-Leona. Their appearances match those of a group that had been reported a few days ago, from our garnishment north of the Hadarac dessert. That group has reported the theft of eight of their finest horses."

"This can't be coincidence! They must be traveling to Surda to join the rebellion! Sent men to intercept them now!"

Captain's report, Dras-Leona, approximately one day after Spartan appearance near Eldor Lake.

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Fog. Once more, he found himself surrounded by fog. The thick, white mist made it almost impossible for him to see where he was. He could see a foot in front of him, two foot if he concentrated hard enough, but that was the end of it. But this time, something was different. The ground was quaking and he could hear solid items like rocks cracking to pieces. In the distance, something was moving at a rapid pace, but he couldn't see what it was or even where it was moving. He just knew that it was there.

He was without his armour again. His ghastly pale skin was visible for all to see and he felt so sluggish –so weak. Without his enhancing MJOLNIR, he couldn't do half the things he had been doing. He could compensate for that with his master over the various sorts of arms that the UNSC had been creating, but he didn't even have a gun. He was powerless.

Where was he even? Something was moving in the distance, he was unarmed and unprotected and in the dark to such a degree that the only way he could see an enemy coming was when it was right on top of him. And that damn fog...he hated it. He couldn't stand it. It seemed to get thicker every single time he travelled there.

The shaking ground grew more intense, but he ignored that and started moving to the north. Or what was supposed to be the north; he couldn't get a proper bearing on his location. Walking felt surreal, as he did not know what distance he was covering. It might be a mile, but it might also be a dozen meters.

The fog in front of him lifted and he was able to see where he was heading this time –where he had been heading all this time: a village. It was a collection of houses and other buildings that seemed to have been built with a tight community in mind. Most of the structures had been built using lots of wood and other kinds of weak materials. But for all the easy and weak materials that had been used to build it, it looked like the village still thrived.

At the very second he realized that he was looking at a village, the trembling underneath his feet grew to an apex and he very nearly stumbled when a particularly powerful tremor caused the ground to split apart. Red fluids appeared from the crack in the ground and he jumped to the side, wanting to avoid the blood-red liquid. He could hear children laughing and screaming in joy, with the sheer innocence that only the young could muster-

Maine shot upright when a loud twittering echoed through the forest, waking him from his troubled sleeps. By the time his brain had finally identified the sound as the cry of a bird he had already jumped to his feet and assumed a fighting stance It was dark outside, but it wasn't the kind of dark that he would expect to see in the middle of the night. Meaning...that it was morning.

The Spartan found his dragon with a thoughtless flicker of his mind and, upon finding that she was still asleep, took his position near her to wait for the rest to wake. He didn't know why he wanted to be near Aeraleth that moment. Perhaps he wanted to guard her from some threat that his subconsciousness had picked up?