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===== Chapter Six
The Shadow's Path.
"What was that thing?" Edward choked. He stumbled to his feet out of the snow, which crumbled off of his long fur-lined coat. It was a good thing the cloth fell past his knees, or they would have been soaked by that moment. The fur on the front of the collar waved with his harsh breaths that tossed clouds into the air.
"That was a shadowling. A lesser one, thankfully, otherwise we would all be dead." Kentrial muttered.
"What in the light's name was it doing out here, Enna?" The lion roared. Enna stared at the body for a long while before she turned to look at him.
"I don't know. But we weren't prepared at all." She responded.
"What do bloody mean you don't know? This is your land! This is where you grew up! You should know about something like this!" The giant man bellowed like an angry bull.
"Oh? And I am supposed to know where the shadow travels and when it does? For all I know it happened while I was dead, and then it would have been your precious King's fault!" Enna snapped back distractedly.
"Don't bring the King into this, you untrustworthy heathen wench!" Kentrial growled. Enna turned slowly back to look at him, unheeding of the gashes in her short jacket and the blood that dripped down her side.
"I am untrustworthy? You who plot behind my back, not once, but twice?" Enna asked.
"I never-" Kentrial began with heat in his face and voice, as opposed to her chill.
"Oh? Then why do you wear that upon you breast, Kentrial? Did you think I would not notice or recognize it? Or did you simply think I would miss what it meant that you did not offer one to me." Enna cut him off with brutal precision. Kentrial spluttered, trying to come up with some excuse.
"And why did you simply watch and allow him to do what he did Kentrial? You knew, didn't you? Of course. You always know. He is the darling prince, and can do no wrong, even know, hmm? Just because your father owed his a blood debt. You repaid it Kentrial, and still you remain slave to his every whim and fancy. What mind you had is rotted with his sweet lies, and still you deny. Even when you see his acts before your face, you had to believe that he was right." Enna sighed and waved him away.
"Go Kentrial. I have no more time for you or your foolishness. I know now. You must believe he is right, because if he is wrong, then so are you." The warrioress looked off into the darkness. Kentrial looked torn between outrage and horror, and unable to speak between the two.
"Miss Enna?" Edward broke the silence, as he was becoming accustomed to doing. He was beginning to recognize that the woman thrived on these confrontations. It seemed she enjoyed taking whatever Kentrial said and twisting it against him to cause the most pain she could. She was damned good at it too. Enna looked at him with a silently arched eyebrow.
"Does this mean the shadow is here?" He asked tentatively. Like all children he had been raised on tales of the creatures who had roamed the land during the Shadow King's reign.
"No, Edward. It means he was here. The land is proud though, and is already healing itself." Enna responded, "Come. We must move camp. The shadowlings will find this place. As you can see, it is easy to scent when one of their own is slain.
"Oh, and Edward?" Enna said as the man turned to gather their supplies.
"Yes, Miss Emma?" He questioned, surprised she would address him on her own accord.
"Thank you for saving Kentrial's life." She murmured so quietly he was not certain he had heard it at first. After a moment he smiled tentatively, only to find she wasn't looking at him. So…the warrior still had a soft spot somewhere for her once-friend? A quick glance at The Lion of Light proved he hadn't heard a word of the exchange. So he had no idea…
Edward smiled to himself as he set to breaking camp.
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Kentrial grumbled to himself as he stoked the fire. The snow beneath the keep kept trying to put the damned thing out. The twigs and branches crackled merrily despite his sour mood. Enna was out hunting for their breakfast. Something had gotten into the supplies and eaten all that was edible without being prepared. Which meant they had the medicines and powdered supplies left. Good for them. It meant they would not be depending entirely upon Enna’s hunting skills for all their food. Already the fact they were mostly dependent upon her irked him greatly. Edward sat across from him, studiously attempting to craft arrows like Enna had requested they do. Edward… the lad was a mage. A magicker. Kentrial shuddered. At least the boy was on his side. He was just starting to catch onto the way the boy watched everything, including his companions.
A whistle of cold wind through the branches sent shivers up his back. A chill played it's fingers down his spine. Finally he heard the crunch of feet that signaled the return of Enna. The woman said nothing to them, simply tossing the rabbits at their feet. Thankfully they were already skinned and prepared. All the two had to do was cook them. Kentrial thought privately that Edward probably would have been completely unable to eat if Enna had left that task to them.
He shook his head silently as he set about spitting them. It was unlikely she had done it out of pity for the boy, he thought. It was more likely she just didn't want to have to waste the meat he would have inevitably cut off by accident. And he had to admit that the woman certainly was skilled with this sort of thing. Still, it was a grudging acknowledgement. Again his thoughts moved to the uncharitable thoughts about the woman.
"Kentrial." He was broken suddenly by his thoughts by her voice. The large warrior started when he found her crouched next to him. She seemed to take no offense at his reaction like he expected her to. Damn but the woman confused him! Her alternations between hot rage and icy condensation left him confused enough, but now she was speaking civilly to him?
"What?" he managed gruffly. Her emerald eyes bore into his soul uncomfortably, as if she searched for some sign of something.
"How does that wound feel?" she inquired patiently as she motioned to the shoulder where the bear-shadowling's claw had grazed him at that last moment before it fell.
"It does." He grunted. There was no way he was going to admit to her that it burned like hell fires.
"I see. Then the blow did have some shadow taint to it. You should use the blessing of your mother goddess to clear it away." She responded, rising to her feet and walking away just like that. He scowled.
"Pah. I don't need a blessing." He grumbled just as he tore into his rabbit. No sooner than where he and the boy done eating than did they find she had already packed their belongings and broken camp.
"Come. We must head through the keep to get into the pass." Enna said softly, padding ahead of them on her tanned leather boots. Kentrial heaved himself up, grumbling under his breath. Every step longer on the travel with her seemed to increase his ill feelings toward her.
Sooner than he would have liked he found the solid oak doors towering above them.
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The keep. This place was the source of many legends of both the Hytianni and the Humans. Those doors had defied time and weather. Despite time that would have crumbled the very stones, the doors gleamed like they were new, much less to say about the building around it.
It was a place of the old magic. Everyone who stood before its gates knew that with no prompting. It was a place of truth and warning in one. Before it lay the pass of chagrin. A long time ago, before the shadow had even become a thought, a battle had been fought here. No living memory recalled what it was about, nor who participated. All that was left was the lingering feeling that some great betrayal had been perpetrated, and many had died.
Most people believed the keep and the pass were haunted. Everyone knew that the keep had been built as a memorial for the lives lost, as some sort of atonement. No one was quite sure if the offering had worked. The fact was that it was a place of great mystery, and they were about to venture inside.
Enna stepped forward and pushed one of the doors gently. Despite the massive size of the slab it slid open easily. A breath of sub artic wind rushed past them to scream down the stone halls. It took much more effort, and the aid of Kentrial, to shut the door once it had been opened.
"Welcome to the Keep, gentlemen." Enna said softly, leading them down the plush carpets that had not aged in centuries despite the disappearance of their crafters. It was not far before they reached the largest room Edward had ever seen. Not a single one of them could fathom what this room had been used for, but Enna had her suspicions that it might have been a dining hall for thousands of people. The fire in the great hearth crackled merrily as always. As long as civilizations could remember, that fire had burned. In generations it had invoked the image that the people who had lived here had just gotten up and left. It was as if the great keep was waiting for the arrival of its inhabitants, who would return at any moment.
What ever had happened to the people, they had taken every bit of furniture with them, save for the giant carpets that seemed melded to the floor. Enna and Edward set about creating camp, while the grumbling Kentrial muttered about finding a place to pray in piece and headed off to do just that.
No sooner than had the grumpy man left than did Edward turn to Enna.
"Miss Enna-" he began.
"Enna, Edward. Just Enna." The woman reminded him for the millionth time.
"Right. Miss Enna," he continued anyway, "I was wondering. What was Lord Kentrial like before? When the two of you traveled with the king?" He questioned. Enna paused for a moment to ponder the question.
"Different. Much different. He was younger and happier. Such a sense of humor he had! Even in the worst of times he had a joke or two to lighten our days. Even then he believed Aaron could do no wrong. At the time I thought the same. Anyway, Kentrial was a big lad even then. From what I understand he grew up on a farming estate. His lord father was a warrior of long line, and believed that noble or not his son should experience what hard labor was like." Enna smiled softly at the memory.
"When I met them Aaron and Kentrial were fleeing the kingdom. Aaron's uncle had been usurped by his brother, who we later found out was the new avatar of the Shadow king. At the time, Kentrial was simply running with Aaron because his father had owed the pervious king a great debt. Since both their father's were dead, Kentrial believed it was his duty to discharge that debt. Of course, it didn't hurt that the two had been best friends since they were small." She tossed her curls out of her eyes and chuckled quietly while she tied one of the packs shut.
"He was a bright boy…full of joy and laughter. For some reason he always thought Aaron was smarter than he. Well, I can see why. Aaron was always smart in the scholarly way. Kentrial, though, was far more world wise. His father had done him great justice in training him as a warrior, as well as teaching him about the way of life. I think Aaron probably never would have made it as far as the forest if it had not been for Kentrial. We…we were all very close. Great friends." Her smiled faltered into melancholy for a moment.
From around the door, not ten feet away, Kentrial finally walked off. He had much to think about.
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The halls echoed their footsteps hauntingly. Each trudging adventurer felt the weight of long faded laughter on his or her shoulders. Not a single one of them felt that they weren't trespassing on something far above their heads.
Each of them sighed in relief when the doors of the other side came into sight. Edward sighed loudest of all. He could feel the magic in this place, and knew that it was far more powerful than anything humans could ever understand. It was not something for them to meddle in. The doors were a welcome sight indeed, even if they were carved in dark oak and carved with runes of some sort.
Suddenly Edward stumbled. A wave of dizziness washed over him. He passed a hand over his eyes and shook his head to clear it.
"What was that?" he turned to ask Enna, only to find she was not there. A quick glance to the side showed him that Kentrial too was gone. Panic started to rise in his chest. What in the light? Where had they gone? Before he could take two steps he heard a woman's voice call his name. Relief flooded through his bones, nearly dropping him to his knees in relief.
"Enna?" he questioned as he turned back toward the doors. But it was not Enna that stood there. Before the doors a figure in full gleaming armor stood. The armor gleamed like no substance the mage had ever seen. At first glance he thought the figure to be a man, at second he realized the armor was crafted and fitted to fit a woman. He had never seen the like of this either.
"No Edward." The woman informed him. Slowly she drew her helm off. From below it a braid of brilliant golden hair tumbled to swing at her back. Her face stopped his breath. She was beautiful. A fae! An elf! The thoughts flew wildly through his mind. Indeed, her eyes were wide and exotic, colored in a shade of blue that had long since ceased to exist in the human race. But no… her ears were not pointed, what ever the rest of her appearance said, she was no elf.
"W-who are you?" he gasped. A look of sorrow crossed her face, turning her full lips downward.
"I am general Ellanaor of Llywnelmanior, Kingdom of the Light." She said and those words echoed of some pain not yet forgotten.
"What do you want then?" Edward asked slowly.
"I come in the name of the Lady of the Stars, as her avatar I speak to you, and I wish to tell you. It has been a long time since one of the gifted has stood before our doors and braved the path beyond. Our people have forgotten their past, their glory and their burdens." She spoke. With a start Edward realized she spoke in some ancient language he should not have been able to understand…and yet he some how did. Perfectly, even, as if he had been speaking her language all his short life.
"This pass was once the sight of great importance. Here was the path between the two greatest cities of Mankind's existence. But all was not well. The kings of the two kingdoms each claimed this pass as their own, struggling and disputing who's laws and levies held sway here. It was a bitter argument, for all the pointlessness of it. Both sides were convinced they were right." Before them images started to flash. A lordly king in red and white, an equally commanding lord in blue and black, both of them standing straight and proud.
"From this dispute others grew. The people of the two kingdoms each wildly supported their beloved kings. Even in that time, there were evil people. Dark people who craved the death and pain of thousands of their fellow people. It was these people who conspired to create a great tragedy. One of these evil men was the prince of our kingdom. He convinced King Ellwyath, king of the other land, to send a peace party to his father. In this peace party, as a gesture of trust, the King sent his young son, no more than thirteen winters." The seen played before Edward's eyes, as if he was standing there in person.
"To our king the traitorous prince sent word that the Ellwyath had sent forth a secretive war party to attack. The King responded by sending his own soliders and his trusted general to wipe out the party. We did as we were bade. Upon arrival we found what we expected-- a war party. The dark prince had enlisted magi to aid him, and they had masked the peace party in the guise of hardened warriors."
"We rode in and slaughtered them all, amazed at the ease with which they fell before us. It was not until all was done that our own mages discovered the deception. The soldiers of Llywnelmanior had spilt innocent blood upon the pass. We were tainted, doomed to dishonor and barred from the Haven for our crimes, however unknowing."
"In our sorrow we returned to the king to inform him of what happened, only to find that our people had gone to war with out us. We arrived in time to see the last of a horrendous battle. Both kings had been slain. The dark prince ruled all."
"Again we fled, back to the seen of our crime. Now we spent our time and our hearts building graves for the people we had murdered, for the glory that had once been our homes. We buried them, and built this mausoleum to honor both they and the fallen light of our people. With this done we left back for Llywnelmanior. There were but a few of us that had survived the winter and the labor. Those that were left numbered in a handful."
"We mourned not for our fallen companions, because their hearts and souls had gone into the being of this, our monument. Because of their sacrifices great magic had been bestowed into it. The rest of us had but one last mission."
"We rode to the gates of Llywnelmanior, unnoticed in our grime and faded uniforms. Darkness had spread its cloak over our land. The people were completely gone. We rode into a kingdom of ghosts. Shadowlings had taken the land. We met no opposition as we gained the castle."
"That was when we discovered that the dark prince had made a pact with the gods of darkness. He had become something more dreadful that a demon. We called him the Shadow King. Just as we confronted the dread lord in his own throne room, the goddess of light came to us."
"'You are my champions', she spake, ' I bless you in the name of light. Cut the crown from his brow if you wish to slay thy enemy. Bury him in his garden, and upon his breast lay a branch of yew, a sprig of evening tide, the symbol of righteousness. If thoust do as I say, brave warriors, you must immediately flee this place and seal the gates of the keep behind thee. Within he shall remaineth sealed, till three hundreds of years have passed."
"We did as she said, and slew the foul being, but not with out loosing many of who remained. In his garden we buried him, following her directions and imbuing it all with what magic we held. From this point we traveled back to the keep and sealed the doors shut. Upon these doors in front of which we stood, we carved our warning and our story. With this, our final mission done, we retired to the great dining hall and joined our lost people in endless feast."
"But before I passed I swore upon the light that should the prince ever return, I should warn the people descended from the few survivors of our people. Hear me well, young mageling. The Shadow King has returned. I have given you the secret to sealing him, but also-- If you should succeed, return to this place. Go to the third floor and press upon the stained glass window in the third hall. From here, enter the third door that will appear. Inside you will find the key that can return our people to their proper glory."
"Heed me well, young man, for fates depend upon that knowledge." The great general drew to an end. Edward nodded slowly, his eyes wide with awe. A smile graced the general's lips as the image faded from before him.
Suddenly he found himself back in the hall, with his companions on either side of him. Nothing had changed, no time had passed. Neither of the warriors beside him seemed to have noticed or seen what he did. Edward silently saluted the doors as they passed beyond them.
====== Chapter seven
Chagrin's Pass
They had spent the better half of two days hiking through the snow filled pass when Enna stopped them about midday for some lunch. The Hytianni seemed more preoccupied than usual. Finally she told them to stay put, and ventured off into the pass for some scouting. While she was gone Edward turned to Kentrial with a quiet smile.
"We haven't had any trouble since that shadow thing in the woods." He offered. Kentrial glared and grunted at him.
"I…see. I have a question, if I may?" he asked quietly.
"Go ahead and ask, it's not as if I can really stop you." The warrior responded begrudgingly. His tone put the young mage off a little but Edward was not to be so easily deterred.
"I was wondering, what was prince Aaron like when he was younger?" The younger man asked. Kentrial looked at him for a moment and then went back to work, never answering his question. Edward frowned a little, and then turned back to his own work as well.
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Enna perched on a ledge, staring off at the river they were going to have to cross. It was pretty slow at this time of the year, but she was still worried. Her reflection peered up at her from the distance, staring with alarming green eyes.
A roll of thunder caught her attention. She glanced up in alarm to see a roll of dark clouds speeding toward her in a way she had never seen before. Enna stumbled back, rolling into the nearest shallow cave to her. Just as she lifted her fingers to her lips and whistled a shrill tone that echoed down the pass, the storm struck.
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When that three toned undulating tone came through the pass Kentrial reacted more quickly than Edward had ever thought the big man could move. He sprang up, tossed as much of the critical supplies as he could into the deep cave they were camping next to, then hurled Edward himself in. Only moments after Kentrial had rushed in did a wall of snow wash across the mouth of the cave.
Edward stumbled back in shock, breathing a short oath in the name of light. Kentrial sighed and moved to the fire making equipment, building a small fire where the draft would take the smoke outside.
"We're going to be stuck here a while." The warrior said grimly. Edward looked in horror out at the storm.
"Enna… Enna must be stuck out there! Good god, we've got to go try to rescue her!" Edward breathed, starting toward the entrance of the cave. A solid hand suddenly grasped his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
"Don't bother boy, nothing human can live out there for long. Enna probably wont either." Kentrial said, a darker tone to his grimness. The young mage stared at him for a second, then grabbed a lantern and jerked out of Kentrial's hand.
"All the more reason to go find her! She needs help--" He started.
"No!!!" The older man bellowed, startling young Edward. There came a look into his brown eyes, a wild, dark, bloodthirsty look as he approached the young man.
"Let her die." He rumbled ominously.
"No…." Edward murmured. The whites of his eyes showed all the way around, wide as dinner saucers those orbs were. Kentrial roared with rage at this final denial. Edward yelled with horror as the giant suddenly ripped his giant blade from his back and charged.
Edward threw himself down, feeling the blade skim the top of his hair. He rolled painfully on the rocky ground, grinding his shoulder in a way it was not meant to move. Agony shot up that arm as he stumbled to his feet, backing down the cave. Kentrial whirled, charging at him again.
"Luminous!" Edward cried in a panic, tossing his hand up. Blinding white light filled the tunnel, like bolt of lightning had hit the ground between them. The man heard the warrior bellow in pain as the light struck his open eyes. Edward sighed, daring to close his eyes as well. He was opening his eyes after that brief second, and suddenly saw Kentrial, that great dark shape against the light, barreling toward him.
"No!" He cried, knowing it would be his last as he saw the blade flash through the air, shrieking for his head.
Time stopped with out warning. Warmth blossomed on his chest, defying the chill of fear and snow. Light oozed from under his robe and to his amazement, the wooden amulet slowly raised itself from beneath that cover.
Suddenly Edward could see the shadow around Kentrial, and knew with certainty that it had been growing there for a long time.
"Yes, young child of the Stars. The shadow struck it's last blow at the battle of Evening. In revenge it planted it's seed in the young King Aaron, and through the king my servant, the brave warrior Kentrial. Till this moment I stood powerless to do anything. Thanks to your bravery, and your yet untainted life force, I can finally clear away the Shadow in my champion. The King, I fear, is a lost cause. The Shadow Reigns again. This world is lost."
A great and wonderful voice spoke in his mind. It conjured images in his heart and mind of sunbeams and summer. He saw a wondering look come upon Kentrial's face. Then a look of sorrow and pain.
"My goddess… I have failed…" he rumbled like rocks tumbling on the bottom of a river. Tears of shame and horror welled up in his brown eyes, spilling heedlessly over his ruddy cheeks.
"Not all is yet lost, my Champion. Your world is doomed, and the Shadow has spread its taint to other worlds. It falls to you my brave champion. I gift you the means of salvation for your world, for the future that might yet be, when the Shadow's Avatar finally perishes in this world. You must take this child and flee to another world. Save this other land, cousin to your own, and with it save the child. Should you succeed, all might be saved. Should you fail, all will be lost."
"A child of Light and Fire. A child of Earth and Life. A child of the Stars and Being. With these three the world might be saved. Go, with the light." And then the voice was gone.
Kentrial fell to his knees, staring at the ceiling and praying his gratitude, then clutching the confused, young crown prince Devon to him, with all the fervor of a true father.
"The world might yet be saved." Edward breathed, tears of sorrow, joy and awe falling from his eyes.
Before them a pair of golden gates rose from the green grass that surrounded them. There was no hint of snow or mountains. A boundless blue sky, dotted with sleepy white clouds stretched above them.
The gates opened slowly. Before them stood a new world.
 Themascura · Thu Dec 13, 2007 @ 01:30am · 1 Comments |
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