Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 21

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 21

“W-where?” asked Dervyn suspiciously. In the small fragment of education he had, he had not heard of any glorious city of Avalhein. However, he had indeed heard of the dragons’ descendants, Ceree. Only then did it dawn on him that this was no ordinary dragon he was talking to. It was a Ceree.

“Dear child, I do hate repeating myself. You are in the grandest city in the east, the court-city of Avalhein. Not to mention, everything is made of solid gold and marble” said the pale blue Ceree with a soft smile. The voice was pleasantly female, thought Dervyn, but it still carried a draconic rasp. At the mention of gold, though, Dervyn’s eyes lit up.

“Wealth…” said Dervyn, trailing off. He imagined a city made of solid gold. Why, he could just chip off some random part of some random building and he would wallow in all the money he could spend. He would, of course, have to arrange for transport back to Galaria and the City.

A stray thought brushed against Dervyn’s mind and quite literally sent him reeling. He fell off the bed in stark realization, he had no idea how he had gotten there. “Tell me, mistress, how exactly did you find me?” The words left his throat which had then started feeling dry.

“I didn’t find you child, you were brought to me by the night watch. They said you materialized out of thin air right under Malhanrrerrye’s statue” said the lady dragon, her voice trailing off softly. “Perhaps it’s a sign of what purpose you will serve in the coming destruction…” she said even softer. Perhaps it had been something not meant for Dervyn’s ear, or perhaps it was spoken as a sign that it was to be kept in secret.

Dervyn opened his mouth to speak, only to be shushed to silence as the dragoness laid a thin appendage on his lips. “Rest well, child, you must be prepared for what is to come” The she-dragon smiled pleasantly. “And I want none of this ‘mistress’ talk, it irks me. Call me Geirrha.” She walked across the room and as she walked, her form shimmered and… changed. She became an elven woman, regal and upright. In her hair three plumes of electric blue swayed in the wind. She took a teapot and breathed onto it, instantly, a column of steam erupted from the spout.

“What is your name, little one? I find it better to use names than call others by description” said the woman. Now that she faced him, he was struck by her flawless fair skin and sapphire blue eyes. She was beyond beautiful. She was godly. Dervyn found himself smiling uncontrollably. The woman noticed and laughed a high-pitched melodious laugh that only served to make Dervyn redden. She was beautiful as a dragon, her angelic blue coat and snowy-tipped wings, but as an elf, she was drop dead gorgeous. Much worse was when she smiled and her perfectly aligned white teeth dazzled him.

“D-dervyn… pleased to make your acquaintance” he tried to stand up, only to land hard on his bottom. His knees felt like jelly. He held out his hand for Geirrha to shake, and then his eyes fell on the symbol etched into his palm and the back of his hand. He immediately withdrew the gesture and stared at his hand in horror. “I was hoping it was a dream…” he mumbled. “…nothing but a dream…”

“Dervyn, don’t!” cried Geirrha but she was too late. The boy traced his index finger along the lines and his eyes glazed over and his shoulders slumped. A gray haze spread over his eyes as a black dagger materialized in his palm. As though compelled by an unseen force, Dervyn placed the tip of the dagger on the rugged floor. Immediately, the threads blackened and disintegrated, revealing a small patch of the marble floor underneath. Geirrha froze in her place, her mind flashing with images.

“A nick was all it took to draw blood…”

Dervyn drew his hand across the rug, gouging both rug, marble and solid stone with the dagger as though slicing through wax with a hot knife. His arms followed the motion as a black haze filled the air, spaces in between the clouds of black crackling with bolts of energy.

“A nick was all it took to draw blood… blood that promised eternal power…”

Geirrha squirmed where she sat, the memory drowning out much of everything else. Her mouth tasted of metallic blood. Her nose picked up the same scent.

Three circles were burned into the marble. The largest was intersected by a smaller circle in its upper left, the smaller circle intersected by another, smaller in the side within the largest circle. As Geirrha fought back tears, Dervyn traced three wavy lines through the circles.

The dark haze deepened and the leaping bolts of energy increased in intensity. Dervyn’s hair was standing on end, but he could care less because at that moment, his eyes snapped shut and the haze rushed back into the symbol. Geirrha began to rise but was thrown back as the haze turned to pure light and shot through the ceiling. The ceiling, unfortunately, for that room, had been stained glass. The light created a column that cast dancing colors upon the clouds overhead.

There was an audible crack and a resounding explosion when it finally reached the limit of Avalhein’s defenses. It was light made manifest and Geirrha thought that the magical barriers were strong enough to restrain the light but she was horribly mistaken. With a sickening sound of glass shattering, the light broke through. The dome took on a sickly yellow color as it began to disintegrate from where the light had punched a perfectly circular hole. Unfortunately, the dome was disintegrating unevenly and the gaping hole had jagged edges. Sparkling motes of magic rained down upon the citizens of Avalhein. The few that bothered to look up ran screaming in various directions.

Dervyn’s eyes fluttered open. The room was in disarray. The last thing he’d remembered was holding the dagger…  “Geirrha!” he shouted in dismay. She was in a crumpled heap in a far corner of the room.

“I am fine, Dervyn” said the ruffled Ceree. She was disgruntled, but Dervyn could see no sign of physical hurt on her. “The court would want to question you… I suggest you keep the dagger’s existence secret…” she trailed off.

“But--!” Whatever Dervyn had been about to say remained unheard over the din that erupted. The entire city had been alerted to the destruction of the dome that even as the Ceree ran in frenzied panic, was disintegrating ever so slowly.

Their panic was perfectly reasonable. The only reason the Dark One had not attacked yet was that the dome hid the city from his eyes. Even from the word of a traitor, he would have been unable to reach the city. He had tried once, but failed even before he set foot on Malleithen. The Languid Sea was affected by the dome and because of the magic that had seeped into its waters; it guided any without good and true cause off course. Now that the pillar of light hung in the air, there was no way of telling what could happen next. Only one thing had stopped the Dark One from attacking. He simply did not know.

Now, thanks to some outside force, he knew. 

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 20

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 20

Coughing, a young boy emerged from a smoldering doorframe. Behind him, the house bathed in an orange glow as dying embers and leaping flames enveloped it.

Dervyn tossed and turned in his sleep. A massive shadow towered over him. He was on a bed with pristine white sheets, albeit wrinkled due to his squirming.

Smoke burned the boy’s nostrils as flecks of orange drifted down from the skies and the smoldering frame of his small home by the water lay behind him. He ran for the wall and sounded the alarm. “Help! Help!”

“Help! Help!” gurgled Dervyn, tossing and turning on the pale linen sheets. Outside the room, the gray of the predawn was breaking and a line of light had appeared on the horizon. The first rays of the sun were radiating across the land.

“Builders! Please! You must help my family!” The boy banged against the massive door of the builders’ quarters. It was so fortunate that they had set up their house not far from it. The builders were known for their compassion, or so the boy thought.

Daylight streaked across the countryside, the blades of grass swaying with the early morning breeze. The larks shook themselves from their slumber and began singing as the trees began to drink the sunlight. The molten rays bathed the room where Dervyn was in a brass glow. It was a tranquil scene, but in Dervyn’s mind, there was nothing compared to the chaos.

The bulky ‘builders’ rushed out of the house and towards the source of the flames as alarms blared around the city. Other seaside cottages were also catching fire. “Boy, which is yours?” asked the largest of the builders.

“That one sir…” and the lad pointed to the most dilapidated looking shanty of them. There were three figures in the doorway and all had lost expressions on their faces which were illuminated by the sinister red glow of the flames.

The sunlight bathed the sleeping blue Ceree in its warm caress. She cracked her eyes open and breathed in the fresh morning air deeply. She set her sights upon the squirming lad. He had appeared out of nowhere in the dead of night, right under the feet of the statue of Malhanrrerrye, or at least her sources told her. Her brow creased with worry as the boy got into more violent twitching. “Wake up… wake up!” she said.

“Did you pay for the builder’s fee?” asked the builder.

The boy’s lip twitched and slowly he said “no… sir…”

“Very well… Boys! Put out the fires except that one” and he pointed straight at the lad’s house. The boy fell to his knees, shaking and raised his hands.

“Please, builder! Our family could not afford to pay the fee!” the boy begged. No matter how hard he tried, the builder was not swayed. He watched as the burning building fell upon his family. That was the day he vowed vengeance on the world. There was one thing he failed to notice. That was that up until the building had collapsed, his family was untouched by the fire.

Mad with grief and tired, the boy fainted. “Wake up… wake up!” came a soft command.

The dream flickered out of reality and Dervyn cracked his eyes open. Before him was a large blue dragon creature with a kinder face and softer eyes than the one he had encountered before. “W-where a-am I?”

“Why, my dear boy, you are in the grandest city in all of the east, you are in Avalhein” responded the Ceree with a smile.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 19

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 19

When Dervyn shot a puzzled glance at the woman, rather, dragon, she bared her fangs. The dragon’s eyes glowed and the lad felt a tingle run down his spine. “Stop!” Dervyn yelled at the she-dragon. He nervously held the dagger up. With shaking hands, he pointed it at the blue. “I know how to use this!”

“You can sense it?” the blue muttered, apparently amused. “Child, don’t be foolish, put the dagger down. Tell me, boy, can you sense magic being used around you?” She had a twisted smile on her draconic face. “If you can, well, I may just have to pay you extra”

“I… don’t know” Dervyn trailed off. “But I want no tricks!” He brought the dagger down on the table with a grunt. The metal sliced through the wood like it was butter. Dervyn couldn’t help but yelp and let loose a nervous laugh when the wood started to darken and smoke. “No tricks, please…” He trailed off, clutching the edge of the table, all confidence drained by everything that happened that day.

“A simple test will suffice, dear child.” She nodded to the purple and almost instantly Dervyn shivered in his place. A fire flickered to life eerily atop one of the wooden beams in the room. With a wicked smile, the blue said “That should make your job easier… Not that you’d survive it either way”

“What do you mean?!” Dervyn demanded an answer and he glared at the two who had taken away all of his life in moments. He sniffled a bit, the child within him forcing its way to the surface. A single tear rolled down his cheek, but he hardened himself, remembering the countless times the old man had punished him for crying. Being weak, the elder had called it. Any thoughts of sadness immediately became rueful loathe. “I demand to know what you mean!”

“Child, you are in no position to demand anything!” the blue dragon laughed mockingly, her voice resounding in the small room. The purple shrank into the shadows as the flames that were the female’s eyes burned brighter and seemed to bore into Dervyn’s very soul. “You still possess something that is mine, boy. Return it and perhaps I shall let you survive your ordeal.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” yelled Dervyn in frustration. All the while he had racked his mind for something that was the blue dragon’s. Nothing came to him. He was on the verge of despair, and he knew that he was walking the knife’s edge. That was when it hit him, the dagger. One more look at the blue dragon’s eyes and he knew that she was the old woman he had taken the dagger from all those years ago.

“The dagger, boy!” the dragon said both sternly and impatiently. “I cannot take it for it holds a powerful spell that prevents any Ceree from taking it without consent from the present owner.”

Dervyn had not the vaguest idea of what a Ceree was, but he knew taking chances with the dragon lady was not the wisest of decisions. He reached out for the blade. As he did, the purple snarled and a shadow crossed the blue’s face. He started pulling it out from the wood when all of a sudden, a chill pierced his bones. “Stop!” said the blue, but she was too late. Dervyn had pulled the dagger out.

An unseen wave of energy washed over Dervyn, but he felt his fingers turn ice cold. A whirlwind of shadow attached to the edge of the blade and crept up his hand. The dagger dissolved and in horror he watched as dark lines traced themselves from the tips of his fingers and met in the middle of the back of his hand. He turned his hand over and yelped when he saw the same had happened on his palm.

The pool of black on both sides warped into an elegant insignia, an elaborate thunderbolt in a field of swirling clouds. “Interesting…” muttered the blue. Dervyn thought of the dagger and it reformed in his hand as it did, the mark faded. He threw it away in horror only to watch it disintegrate in midair. The ensign gradually eased itself back into existence on his skin.

“Very interesting…” whispered the blue, an uncertain smile touching her lips. 

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 18

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 18

The lad ran out of the palace as fast as he could. A friend saw him run by and called out “Dervyn!” He turned his head wildly, looking for the source of the voice and ducked into a nearby alley just in time to evade a coming patrol. His small size but great agility allowed him to jump over obstacles with little reserve.

He looked around frantically, searching for an exit when he found himself cornered. His eyes were wide and his nostrils were flaring. His chest heaved and he swore that he felt his heart pounding in his head. He searched his pockets with desperation and felt something long and hard. He still had the dagger.

He took it out of his pocket, ivory hilt and all. It was a beautiful curved dagger, but the serrated edge warped and bent so much that the eye could not follow a single line to the end without leaping to another. He had found it in an old woman’s house many a year ago, when he was ten.

He realized that it was now seven years to the day of his finding the dagger. Perhaps there was something destiny had in store for him, thought he. The blade gleamed, even through the stain of blood drawn from the king’s heart. The light made the blade seem to lap at the blood and enjoy it.

Dervyn bit back a curse as he saw the patrol rounding the nearby corner. He felt so stupid for not trying to run back out. It seemed that his estimate on the patrol’s distance from him was far off. A hand touched his shoulder and he jumped, heart pounding with fear. “My face is the last you’ll ever see!” he yelled, anger mixing in with anxiety and paranoia. The dagger was already to the stranger’s throat, a small stream of blood trickled down to the stranger’s collarbone.

Strangely enough, the stranger did not speak. Dervyn looked into the stranger’s eyes and gasped when he saw that they were perfectly violet. The stranger lifted a finger and placed it on his lips. He was fair, that was for sure, and he was clothed like a noble, however, what really caught Dervyn’s attention was the man’s pointed ears. The stranger pushed away the blade effortlessly and beckoned for Dervyn to follow him. When Dervyn hesitated, the stranger grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the wall that promptly dissolved as they passed.

Dervyn wrenched his arm from the stranger’s grasp, face awash with anger. “You are magic?” asked the irate youth, spittle flying from his mouth. “You are magic?!” he asked again with more force when the stranger refused to speak. He fumed when all he got was the stranger making the sign for silence. He refused to budge for he wanted nothing to do with magic.

It quickly became an apparent mistake when the stranger grabbed his arm and pulled him right out of the alley. They twisted and turned around the city, the stranger doing most of the running and Dervyn doing his best to stay upright and not land face-first in the dirt. The stranger was fast, and unnaturally so, this only convinced the lad that the stranger was indeed magic.

His eyes widened when all of a sudden they came to a familiar section of the city. “Don’t lead me to the old man’s house… please…” he pleaded in his mind as they wound their way through the crowd. They came to a stop before a tall wooden shack. “Heavens no!” It was the old man’s house all right. Dervyn began to wonder if he did something wrong, but he knew with great certainty that the man had no magical ‘employees’.

They entered to a not-so-comforting scene. Files were littered on the floor, furniture was broken, and blood smeared the walls. There were no bodies, save for one. None of the elite 22 thieves were in the house. They were there all the time and Dervyn could only imagine what had happened to them.

The only remaining body was that of the old man. His neck was split cleanly in half and his head was a gruesome paperweight for a file that Dervyn could not see, however, the seal was definitely broken and someone had been reading it.

The stranger retreated into the darkness, but his eyes glowed, signifying his presence. A single lamp came to life as the door closed and a woman stepped out from behind the old man’s chair. Her hair was streaked with blue and she wore a gown. She spoke in a strange tongue and looked amused when Dervyn seemed to not understand a word she said.

She moved like lightning. One moment, she was behind the desk, the next she was in front of Dervyn, hands cupped over his ears and muttering something that made the lad’s hackles stand on end. A strange feeling rolled over him and he finally recognized what the woman said. She placed a finger on his lips and did not speak, but the same feeling washed over him.

“Well, Dervyn is it?” she said, knocking the decapitated head from its place on the file, which was, miraculously, unstained with blood. On the back, in scrawling letters was the lad’s name. He fingered the hilt of his dagger with anxiety; he did not like not knowing how the situation would go.

“Excellent thief, assassin extraordinaire…” the woman read from his file. Dervyn felt his chest swell with pride, the old man thought of him in such a way. He had always hoped to be a part of the elite 22. Reality crashed down on him, both were already gone. “Great at following orders. The lad is quite prickly, greedy and often has moral issues.” The woman read the file, a smile twisting her lips on one side.

“We shall see if you really are the one…” The woman beckoned for the man to stand beside her and all of a sudden, their bodies were undergoing a gruesome transformation. Their faces started to extend into snouts and fur was starting to grow on them. Their torsos became more round and soon enough, they resembled fully grown dragons. Dervyn fell to the floor in shock.

“Now, child, you have something that belongs to me. I will have it back. It will be a pity, though, to have to pry it from your lifeless hands if you refuse to give it to me,” the blue Ceree spoke with a sickeningly sweet voice that served to make Dervyn believe every word she said all the more.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 17

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 17

A young lad tapped his foot on the marble floor. There was something inside his shoe that annoyed him but kept him comfortable at the same time. His lace-up shirt and baggy linen pants were clean and tidy, free from the muck that often coated them. A formal occasion, after all, demanded a formal get-up. He flipped a coin and it whirred with a soft metallic ring and landed head-up on his open palm. He grinned widely and shifted in his position.

The white marble pillars stood out from the reddish tint of the marble floor. Alabaster statues paraded alongside the colonnade, their heads crowned with wreaths of golden trefoil leaves. Their faces were noble and grand, without even so much as a creased forehead and down-drawn eyebrows. They were fair and proud. Their chins were held high as they sat on swords, bulls, shields and anything that can conceivably be sat upon.

“Any time soon, young master. The king should arrive soon” said one of the palace servants that he had paid with gold to keep a lookout for the monarch’s arrival. The old man had told him that to find complete peace, the king would have to be ‘taken care of’ properly and that he was the best child for the job. He didn’t fully agree with the geezer’s nihilistic point of view, but the glittering heaps of gold were enough to silence him.

He tapped his shoe on the floor again and winced as the small round object in it wedged itself between his toes. He bit back a curse as he slowly drew out his foot from the leather and withdrew the coin that was stuck in between his large toe and the next one. He laughed ruefully and told himself “A coin in your shoe? Dervyn, you should know better” It was a custom for luck and for what he was about to do, he would need all the luck he could get.

He dropped the coin and it rolled across the floor. It came to a stop and fell on the marble with a soft clink near a soft velvet slipper. The king had arrived. The entire hall fell into a deep bow.

Dervyn prayed against all odds that the king would not spot the coin. The king did, and looked quizzically at the coin when he picked it up. “To whom does this belong to?” the king asked. Nobles clamored to see the little glittering circle of gold. Devyn raised his hand slowly and everyone fell silent. He walked up to the king and took a deep bow.

“Your Majesty, I am sorry. I did not mean for the coin to roll into your possession.” Dervyn reached for the glittering circle, but the king hesitated. “Please, my King, it is a valuable family heirloom.” The lie was plain and concise, meant to be hidden in plain sight and not under a mask of woefully wonderful acting.

The king looked at him blankly. “All the luck I need indeed…” thought Dervyn as he looked at the king impassively. The king smiled cruelly at him. His robes rustled as he moved and his crown shifted on his head.

“Pick it up, boy” said the king contemptuously. The coin fell to the floor, glittering and hit it with a clink. Dervyn’s eyes followed it downward. So did everyone else’s. A look of triumph appeared on the king’s face as Dervyn appeared to bend to pick the coin up. He changed his motion and the look on the king’s face was replaced by an expression of anguish and a wordless howl emanated from his parted lips. Dervyn smiled and made a break for the door before anyone managed to get a grip on what happened.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 16

Dealings in the Council Avalhein…

Chapter 16

“So the matter is closed, and there shall be no further discussions pertaining to the plans of war. Speak now or forever keep your silence” commanded Geirrha, evidently confident that she would get the answer she wanted. She walked around the council chamber, looking every councillor in the eye and passing on to the next without cease. She had demanded the council to meet early and be snappy with what they were going to discuss.

Malkknrre was still with Elder Kimaha, and Geirrha had taken the helm of the war preparations. Her plan was nearing fruition. She walked around the council chamber once more and looked at anyone who so much as twitched with a glare that promised a painful death. She smiled pleasantly afterward, the council having been taken care of quickly.

She passed under the dome on her way out and the flecks of colored light made her seem surreal in her movements. Lean muscle rippled with a feline grace as she bounded for the door, only to turn around and give the council a curtsy fit for a king.

She moved through the hallways and entered her chambers. She plopped down and with an aleron grabbed a book from a nearby shelf. Reading had always been one of her pastimes and she relished in the feeling of traveling into other worlds through it. Even on her travels, she had not forgotten to buy a book everywhere she went.

She had gone to the Sorceror’s Guild one day only to boast exotic books that taught powerful magicks that the Sorcerors had not even dreamed of. One of those books had an intricate design on its cover bordered with gleaming metal. A spell in the book would turn those designs into living, breathing creatures that follow the beck and call of their masters.

She flipped a page and immersed herself fully in the ocean of words that had just been opened to her.

*** *** ***

Malkknrre definitely was enjoying Elder Kimaha’s company. Elder Kimaha was, after all, notoriously hospitable. He had been drinking some sort of wonderful-tasting concoction that Kimaha had whipped up for him. As a result, he felt wonderfully blissful.

He laughed at every joke of Kimaha, not even knowing if it was a joke or not, but he only half-listened to everything anyway. He was on the carpet, rolling around, when the door suddenly burst open and Kimaha bowed.

When Malkknrre saw the figure in the doorway, he almost laughed. There was no reason for Kimaha to bow, nor should he. Although, almost immediately after laughing, he felt as though compelled to bow. He got up and he bent his neck in such a way that it touched the ground, his mane falling to one side of his face.

His muscles strained as he tried to get out of the position, but his mind wanted him to bow. The perfect mixture of bliss and pleasure poured into him as he held the position and that only made him want to keep it more.

“W-what i-is t-this?!” demanded Malkknrre with outrage. His teeth were gritted and his voice shook in an attempt to fight back the enchantment. His eyes went wide as he unwillingly opened his maw and said “I, Malkknrre, do pledge, by my soul, by my color, by Malhanrrerrye and by all the male descendants of our color, that I will serve Sa’Maihan Sar’Haiel in any way that she wishes, in any form that she wishes, for all eternity.”

”What have I done?! I have condemned any male purples to servitude under her!” screamed Malkknrre in his mind, but to no avail, the oath was complete and the skies rumbled in response.

“Now you shall indeed serve me in any form that I wish” said the female with a sickeningly sweet voice. Malkknrre’s last conscious thought was one about vengeance and even that thought wasn’t given enough time to be finished.

                                               

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 15

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein…

Chapter 15

The wind that rarely stirred in Malleithen was now howling through the streets of Avalhein, stirring up clouds of dust that blotted out the sun. It had been howling like that ever since the sun reached its apex. The Dark One’s hold was strengthening and even Malleithen, with its magical barriers, was succumbing.

Geirrha roused herself from her sleep, the soft rugs were so alluring, but sleeping wasn’t really what she needed. She had to calm herself after a vision so enthralling yet so disturbing at the same time. Plying her craft, she opened the door to the balcony outside her room and let the wind come in.

A nick was all it took to draw blood. A nick was all it took to wound an Eternal. Oh how Oath had snarled at her for that. She dropped the blood into her throat and she savored the metallic taste flowing down it.

Again, the vision filled her eyes and she wanted to vomit. She slowly sat on her haunches, claws clicking on the golden-wreathed marble. Memories from another life, from another world, from another time… They were what ruled her dreams now.

Oath bit back an array of curses and yelled at her. "You fool! You blasted, accursed fool! Let the Fayett take me for all I care, you are a fool!"

The Fayett? That wasn’t in her dream before. She suddenly saw a large beast with a feathered crest that looked like the fabled dragons. His wings were wide and leathery, his eyes cerulean and carried the knowledge of ages. No name came to her, but rather, a myriad of scents and images. He was ”Red Fang”

She had only smiled then. After all, if you could make a god, or at least someone close to that, bleed. You wouldn't believe they were gods anymore. The next day, she had tried if her powers were magnified. Her magic definitely wasn't.

“Someone close to a God? Was this Oath one of the Astrailun?” The questions echoed in Geirrha’s mind even as the vision ravaged it. Her tail was whipping about randomly and she heard a distant thud. She knew the door had been ripped off its hinges.

She was about to give up when she saw something in the back of her mind. A lump of pulsating red light. She pushed at it and it pushed back. When she embraced it, though, it filled her veins with ecstasy and before the hour was done, a new continent filled her vision. She wanted to laugh oh so much.

That last part induced so much ecstasy in Geirrha that she fell to the ground. The taste of the massive power that she had taken in her vision was pleasure unparalleled.

She waited for another flash, but nothing came. She breathed in relief, but not only that, she sighed at the loss. When power was in your grasp, it was hard to just let go.

---

In the continent of Galaria, as the waves smashed against the docks of the port city that served as the Human’s capital. A young boy in tattered clothes ran in the streets, bumping commoner and noble alike.

He was a break from the normally naked peasant children that ran in the docks, but he was as good as one of them. When next he stopped, he emptied his pockets on a table and their spilled contents glittered in the candlelight. A gruff old man smiled menacingly in the darkness. “Very good, very good…”

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 14

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 14

The sun rose in the east, bathing Avalhein in its brass glow. It was going to be a beautiful day for commoner and noble alike, save for one. Malkknrre stirred from his sleep to a painful throbbing in his front left paw. He suppressed it, showing even a sign of small weakness was fatal for anyone that dealt with the council. A semblance of authority was something that Malkknrre excelled at.

The thing was, whenever he saw Geirrha, his knees wobbled and his heart seemed like it wanted to break into a million pieces. That and the pain in his paw rocketed, but he took it as his inability to suppress it because of setting his sights on the woman of his dreams. Nevertheless, he regained composure soon after.

His world and that of the Council’s was no place to be soft. The council beat at anyone that was brought before them with an iron fist, the only solution was to beat at them with a harder fist or allure them like a woman would. Malkknrre, though, had no passion for subtlety.

He gave a start when he heard soft snoring beside him and looked down at a drowsing Kimaha. He had forgotten that Kimaha had taken care of him while he was in pain and then offered to play the Game of the Fayett. Truth be told, it was comforting to play the game and it brought back fond memories of part of his childhood at a farm.

Malkknrre noticed the amount of sunlight streaming through the windows and gave a start. Someone from the council should have sent for him by now. The council was never lenient on punishing those who were tardy, although for him, it was more of a cold-shoulder treatment kind of punishment. Something was awry, and he knew it.

Kimaha stirred and Malkknrre took the chance. “Elder, I must go, the council must be looking for me by now.”

“Shush, child, one of those flustered elven nobles burst into this room in the wee hours of the morning saying that the council found it imperative that you convene with them immediately. I told her you were in much pain and I was tending to you,” said Kimaha in a matter-of-fact tone.

“But--!” before Malkknrre could speak, Kimaha cut him off with a sharp gesture.

“Child, do you really think that you could speak in front of the council, provide effective arguments and refrain from staring at Geirrha while trying to stop a boulder’s worth of pain?” said Kimaha without pause. Her words carried conviction and Malkknrre reddened.

If a Ceree could pout, Malkknrre was doing a great job at it. He couldn’t deny the truth of Kimaha’s words, nor could he just take them as they were. He opened his mouth to protest once more but his muzzle was gently slapped closed by a soft blow from Kimaha’s alerons. Malkknrre glowered at the elder, producing a low growling that could have been considered whining.  If there was one secret in his life that Malkknrre did not want anyone to know, it was that he liked acting the child at times.

The stress of being something only short of being a king was stressful and in his life, only his childhood was stress-free. Though he had lived on a farm, his brothers and sisters were plentiful enough to take care of the work. After all, he was his mother’s favorite. He wasn’t at the farm for a lengthy period of time, anyway, as he was taken to Avalhein before long.

Kimaha was just finishing the drink she had brewed for Malkknrre while he was brooding and now she was walking towards him, cup and saucer held by steady Alerons. She was one of the few Ceree that didn’t have to turn to elves for such menial tasks, unfortunately, Malkknrre wasn’t.

He changed to an elf and happily took the cup. He almost dropped it when he finally got a good look into Kimaha’s eyes. The old softness that was once there wasn’t anymore, it was replaced by a fiery fervor to please some unknown master and only a reflection of the old Kimaha was there. Before he could ask, the door burst open and in went a flustered Geirrha.

Now that he was an elf, his face really could redden and he did indeed feel the blood rushing to his face.

“Well, a pleasure to see you here…” she mumbled pointedly at Malkknrre. Her voice, though, was hoarse and her eyes were grainy.

“What happened?” asked Malkknrre, completely forgetting about Kimaha’s eyes.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 13

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein…

Chapter 13

Malkknrre began the game, beginning with the chant that started it all. He had been on the floor, in pain, just moments ago, but elder Kimaha had found him and enthusiastically offered to play the Game of the Fayett.

”Wind to sear, magic to rescind…”

---

A scalding wind rose from the bowels of the mountain upon which a scarred black fortress stood. Screams of despair and pain drifted from the fortress’ bosoms, yells torn from the throats of captives as they were turned into gruesome beasts for the sinister master behind it all.

Yet the fortress echoed with something different from the melancholy screams of the dying; it was racked with the morbid sorrow and a hastily suppressed anger that coursed through an evil man losing authority over even his own army. Ever since that damned voice had started tormenting him, he had slowly slipped, deeper into his own despair.

The sultry wind whipped into the room through the balcony and caused the draperies to flutter around wildly. Mal’haran embraced the wind even though it seared him to the bone, he reminisced the times when the very mention of his name inspired fear in those that heard it. It still did, but it just didn’t feel the same, now that he, in a way, served a power higher than him.

The wind stopped, changing direction almost like magic was grabbing it.

---

After placing the blue discs, Malkknrre began the second line.

”Gold to bewitch…”

---

The hot wind seemed like no natural wind at all, over the oceans it traveled, without once wavering or cooling down. It crossed the shores of lands far to the west, so far that they were unknown to the lands in the east. Nothing but desert covered the parched continent, it was pebbled by the occasional hardy shrub, but beyond that, nothing but shifting sands.

The searing wind whipped up dust devils that flowed down the dunes in straight lines. No natural breeze would have done that, but the wind did just the same. Eventually, a raging sandstorm accompanied the zephyr that was now wailing.

In the distance, the desert air seemed to shimmer and it revealed a ramshackle group of dwellings centered on a well around which palms grew. Strange creatures darted in and out of the houses, fleshy two-legs with dragon-like feet and claws. Their large ears tapered and were filled with fluff.

Anxious yells arose and orders were barked as the people noticed the sandstorm that was barreling towards them. Nothing could have been done before the wall of sand crashed into the small village. Panicked screams and frantic yells filled the air alongside loud thumps and sounds of things breaking.

As soon as it came, it was gone. In the middle of the village, a strange four-legged figure stood, bearing sacks of glittering gold. Anxious grunts came from the males and the females shrank back with their children and attempted to blend into the shadows. The figure promptly answered in the tongue of the strange people. "Bring me your chief.”

An old woman stepped forth, gold earrings hanging on her drooping ears and golden tattoos glittering on her sagging skin. ”I be the chieftain. What do be the four-legs’ wish? Yes?”

“I do wish for an alliance. I do be prepared to offer this,” said the four-legged figure, taking in her gesture the sacks of gold that glittered under its feet. The old woman ogled at the gold, a look of greed flashing across her face.

“We do no need flashing metal, four legs, yes?” said the chieftain, evidently suppressing her greed, hoping to get a better bargain.

”Then I do offer more.” said the figure. Water erupted from springs all around the small village.

The woman’s eyes widened and tears brimmed on them. It was a miracle; the Sun Goddess had heard their prayers and brought them salvation. In her mind, though, she knew that hers would be the gold. "Savior,” the woman bowed in a peculiar way, with four fingers, two from each hand, to the forehead. ”You do be a great bargainer, yes?”

”I will need two of your strongest men, chief” said the figure and the chief was more than happy to comply. The wall of sand returned and when it cleared, figure and men were gone. The chief knelt in joy, as did many of her people, and she looked at the gold, as though caressing it with her eyes.

---

Kimaha muttered the third line absentmindedly.

Power to blind...

---

Screams filled the air as in the lands to the south, the wind rose to a gale. That wasn’t what bothered them; it was the fact that the fabled dragon people from the northwest rode the wind along with a foreign four-legged creature.

They flowed gracefully high above the fleshy two-legs and their towering spires. They landed in front of the palace and without any sort of ceremony burst into the throne room. They came upon a distraught king.

“I offer alliance!” bellowed the figure. “And the promise of power over the entirety of these southern lands.”

The king almost choked on his wine. “Gracious benefactor, thou hast not told me how thou will go about with thy offer.”

“This is how,” said the figure, gesturing to the dragon people behind it. After that, two hounds appeared out of nowhere; massive hounds with pebbled black skin that let go a howl that could strike fear into any heart.

Seeing this, the king knelt to the figure and offered his fealty. With that, the figure vanished.

---

Malkknrre finished the chant, but the entire thing echoed in his mind without cease.

”Wind to sear, magic to rescind…

Gold to bewitch…

Power to blind…

These will break all oaths that bind…

He comes and all alliance bends…

All oaths shall fall to fire that rends…”

Whoever ‘he’ was, Malkknrre did not know, but he was sure that if he didn’t live to see ‘his’ arrival, his descendants would.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 12

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 12

Geirrha returned to her quarters with a triumphant smile. The council had taken little convincing and they now thought her plan was flawless. Well, it really was flawless when thought of in the planning room, but all mighty generals knew that even the best plans could fall apart once on the battlefield.

She was about to shut the door behind her when Malkknrre put a paw forward to stop it. Unfortunately, she had pulled it shut with a little bit more force and Malkknrre yelped and bit back a curse when it hit him. Something was strange about Malkknrre, he had been ogling after her for ever since that night, and she was strangely comfortable with that.

“To what do I owe the visit from the ‘king of the Ceree’ who has been oh-so-frivolously stalking me?” said Geirrha, a hint of mockery in her voice. It was true after all that Malkknrre had appeared everywhere she had been for two days. Had she not known any better, she would say the man was planning on convicting her as a spy.

“I just wanted to talk, councilwoman,” murmured Malkknrre. Geirrha could have sworn there was a hint of meekness to his voice. It was as though she was seeing Malkknrre for the first time. A new light now shone upon the notoriously arrogant Ceree. Geirrha would have gasped, but it wasn’t fitting for the situation.

“Well, what about, Malkknrre?” asked Geirrha. Her voice was softer than usually, sign that she was still trying to overcome the shock. It wasn’t everyday that a man would show himself as bare as a leaf, much less someone like Malkknrre. “Whatever about, my king?”

“Please, call me Kahyan…” said Malkknrre, as though he himself was stunned. “It’s been a few hundred years since I last heard that name used…” he trailed off, almost innocently. He had a wistful expression on his face and he was sitting in a way that only adolescents, conscious of their bodies, sat. He had his tail wrapped in front of his limbs, effectively covering his lower regions. “I remember that I usually followed a pretty pale blue Ceree around when I was a child.”

“Where are you getting at Mal… ah… Kahyan?” asked Geirrha, still reeling in shock. There was no reason, no basis and no political aim for that conversation; she didn’t know what to say.

“She had a pretty face and the most beautiful limbs that I ever saw. She walked like a queen, hips swaying with every step…” he trailed off, blushing. Geirrha stood there, looking on like a stunned idiot, at a loss for words. “I always saw her whenever I went around the city with mother. I made it a point to leave the house and wait for her in the square every day…”

“Was I that girl, M… ahh… Kahyan?” asked Geirrha softly. She wasn’t known to act this way, not even when she was young. She had always held her head high, proud in her noble ancestry. Malkknrre had no such ancestry, so as a child, she would never have noticed him, and if she did, she would have ignored him.

Something just wasn’t right about Malkknrre. “Why are you talking to me about this?” asked Geirrha. She couldn’t fathom the reasons behind how Malkknrre was currently acting, and she wanted to. It definitely didn’t seem like a political maneuver, and neither did it look like a ploy to gain favor. It was just Malkknrre opening up to her.

“I have reason to believe so, Geirrha,” said Malkknrre. He caressed her chin with an aleron and that sent shivers down her spine. “I think I love you, Geirrha.”

Geirrha looked on in stunned silence at the confession. “Go away, Malkknrre. I have no interest in you,” she said quite harshly. “I have business to take care of” she continued. She donned a brown woolen cloak with a hood and left the room. “I will pay a visit to the sorcerer’s guild.”

Malkknrre walked away sadly. His head hung down, the feeling of being rejected even before making the first move was too much for even him to handle. Before he could take another step, pain erupted in his mind and he blacked out. There was a burning sensation on his leg.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 11

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 11

Nervous eyes darted from Geirrha then to the distraught Ceree and back. It had never happened before; it was nonsense, as far as they were concerned. No Ceree can lose magic; in fact, no being born with the spark can lose it completely. Angry mutters and concerned glances came from the supposedly convening council, everyone was taken aback.

When one of the councilors were called forth to examine the Ceree, he had started yelling things at the top of his lungs until he was torn away from the other. He had said that it was true, the magic was gone and there seemed to be a hole from which darkness was leaking inside the other Ceree. He had collapsed right after his claim and many averted their glances, mumbling something that concerned taints under their breaths.

Malkknrre was at a loss for words, it truly would be horrible to lose the ability to use magic, let alone lose the ability to feel it. He could not begin to imagine himself in the same situation as the other Ceree and he wanted to bolt for the door right then and there. It wouldn’t be long before a servant caught wind of events and it would spread like wildfire through Avalhein. He might be able to use that to get out of the chamber, but it was not an option. He would look like a fool before Geirrha.

Geirrha was quite calm; there was no other word to describe it. She was bordering on impassiveness and that was enough to make Malkknrre’s hackles rise. She was taking the situation much better than anyone else in the room, including the indifferent members of the sorcerer’s guild. Geirrha was talking with a warm voice to the Ceree; she had stopped wailing.

Malkknrre looked on in wonder, how did the woman do that when she herself was terrified to death just hours ago. Geirrha suddenly took the form of an elf and strode towards the distressed Ceree and placed her hands on the other’s temple. She rubbed her thumbs in a circle, and the other Ceree looked at her with grateful and teary eyes.

Malkknrre knew she was doing something, but it wasn’t magic. He couldn’t see what she was doing, let alone feel its effects. The atmosphere in the room, however, seemed to change. Even the skies outside seemed to darken, it was unnatural.

All of a sudden waves of tainted magic erupted from the frenzied Ceree. Her eyes grew wide in shock, so did those of her sisters. Malkknrre clutched his chest with a paw and saw many others do so. Every wave felt like nails were being hammered into their skulls. Malkknrre buckled and his knees sagged, many of the others were already on the floor.

Malkknrre did not know how long it was before the sensation vanished, but when it did, the Ceree that had lost her magic was no more than a pile of ash in the middle of the four women from the sorcerer’s guild. Geirrha looked down at it sadly; everyone else looked at it with horror. The woman was strong as a rock.

“Malkknrre…” said Geirrha softly, and she swooned. Malkknrre was quick enough to catch her even as she was returning to the form of a Ceree. Her alerons hung limp and her fur was drenched with sweat. It was sticky, but feeling Geirrha against him was good enough.

Moments later, Geirrha came to. The council was dead quiet and Malkknrre was sitting beside her. “This just proves that we must move against the Dark One immediately!” he was saying. No one seemed to listen; they were intent on studying their paws.

Geirrha got up and Malkknrre gave a start. The council shifted uneasily, they were all staring at her. “Councilwoman, you have something to say?” asked one of the councilors, evidently shaken.

“Her magic didn’t just vanish. That much I got out from her. And from what I saw of her condition, it was eaten away,” said Geirrha, shaking her head to clear it from the drowsiness of regaining consciousness.

“What are you getting at, councilwoman?” asked one of the four from the sorcerer’s guild. She was still shivering; evidently, being so close to the source of the waves of tainted magic had taken a toll on her composure.

“What I’m saying is that she did not lose her magic because of some freak accident. She claimed that last night, she had been bitten by a beast from the shadows. A beast that she claimed had smoke coming from its neck. Although I see no evidence of the bite, I did see circular patches that were paler than the fur surrounding them. Maybe this creature’s bit eats away at magic,” said Geirrha. “Any attempts at healing it would lead to the release of the darkness that ate away at the magic…” she continued, shivering.

“Which is why we must lead the Dark One to Avalhein. If we engage him in the battlefield without the protection of walls or even a dome of magic, those creatures might come after us and destroy every single one of our best sorcerers,” said Malkknrre. A few councilors’ heads bobbed up and down in agreement.

“No, Malkknrre, bringing him here will do more harm than good. What if it’s not only the bite than can eat away at the magic? What if its breath or maybe even just looking it straight in the eyes can do such a thing?” said Geirrha. “We need a power much more potent than magic if we want to defeat those things,” she continued with conviction. “We need the help of the ancestors.”

A nick was all it took to draw blood. Oh how Oath had snarled at her. Oath had bitten back curses before she drew the Astrailun’s blood. She savored the feel of the metallic tang as it went down her throat.

She wanted to laugh so much. After all, if one could make someone who could very well be a god bleed, there was little more that could take you. “You blasted fool! Let the Fayett take my soul, but you will always be a fool!” Oath had shouted. With her new powers, she sent the struggling Astrailun back to her place amongst the other Astrailun in the Hall of the Eternals.

Geirrha’s knees buckled. She struggled to keep upright, the vision was strong. She shook her head to clear it of the vivid images that had flashed before her eyes. She did not want to remember them, it was too horrifying. They weren’t her memories.

Fortunately, no one had noticed her falter for a second because all eyes were on Malkknrre. He was saying something, but it was barely audible to Geirrha. “What do you propose we do, Geirrha?” was the first thing he said that Geirrha actually heard.

Bringing the council closer together and creating a ward against eavesdroppers, she told them her plan. It merited loud applause and fervid nodding. Now they truly were ready to face off with the Dark One. That was the least of their problems, though, and much more hadn’t even crossed the horizon yet.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 10

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein…

Chapter 10

“Are you sure you will return today, Geirrha?” asked Malkknrre while they were walking down the corridor. Malkknrre resisted putting an aleron around Geirrha’s neck, it was something that only couples did rarely, and not at all within buildings that housed officials. “The council will be surprised. I have to ask though, why today of all days?”

“I have made up my mind, Malkknrre. Today, because after all that has happened, I have realized that I might not have enough time after all,” said Geirrha almost wistfully. Her gait was a jolly but serious one. And she just had to sway her hips and her tail as she took each step. Malkknrre could really have sworn that she was teasing him.

“Very well, but let us enter at the same time to make sure we have the council’s attention,” said Malkknrre, he was surprised that he didn’t stutter. After all, he had been staring at Geirrha for a time now and he was barely capable of thinking about anything but her. After that, his mouth moved soundlessly, at a loss for words.

“I do not even support your plan, Malkknrre,” said Geirrha grimly. She had an impatient demeanor when it came to plans that to her did not seem well thought out.

“But I already explained to you why it would work!” protested Malkknrre. He wasn’t about ready to give up his point. “We will have the advantage of being in our own territory.”

“And what? Risk having one thing go wrong and bring the entire city down on our heads? No, I think not,” she interjected. “I have a better plan that I would propose when we are before the council,” she said. There was no point in arguing. One of the sayings that even surrounded the enigmatic councilwoman was that once Geirrha says that she won’t say anything more, she means it.

Malkknrre growled in exasperation. They were now standing before the hall of the council. They decided against going in just yet. Malkknrre had a mischievous look about him and Geirrha shot him a questioning glance when she noticed. She almost laughed when Malkknrre told her his plan. “Okay, I will agree to coming in with you for that.”

The door was heavily gilded with gold and the carvings on it included dragons that had their mouths open. A widely unknown feature of the door was that breathing fire into one of the many recesses on it will cause fire and mist to explode from the dragons on the other side of the door. Malkknrre had planned on doing what he had in mind for a last resort, but he decided that it was too attention-catching to pass up.

On his signal, he and Geirrha simultaneously blew flame into the recesses. Startled screams and strangled gasps echoed from behind the door and Malkknrre threw it open. His voice seemed to boom from every direction as he spoke. “Halt!”

The entire council fell silent and he heard a few solid thumps on the floor, indications that some of the councilwomen had fainted. He cleared the mist in front of him and declared “I Malkknrre, come before you, the council to present a new plan of war against the Dark One.” He did not allow the mist to dissipate beside him yet, though.

“Then what is this stunt about? Malkknrre?” demanded one of the councilors. He stepped forward and looked Malkknrre in the eyes. Malkknrre stood almost a head taller than anyone else in the room, but the councilor that had stepped up to him was almost as tall as he.

“I just wanted to grant someone a grand entrance, councilor,” said Malkknrre, grinning. Malkknrre let the mist dissipate and audible gasps were heard in the room. “Welcome back, councilwoman Geirrha.” More than a few of the others rolled up their eyes and fainted.

Before Geirrha could open her mouth to speak, the doors flew open and a few Ceree strode in. They wore the blue sigil of the sorcerer’s guild, all four of them. In their midst was a Ceree groveling and crying, but her eyes showed the blankness of one who had lost the will to live.

“Councilwoman Geirrha, we wish to welcome you. We need you to look at one of our former sisters; there is something you must see. We hope you can help her. We need one of your miracles, councilwoman” said one of the Ceree that had burst in so unceremoniously. She dropped a curtsy to Geirrha and virtually ignored Malkknrre. The business of women was theirs alone.

“For what rea—“ she was cut off as the woman wailed.

“The magic! I-it’s gone! I-I C-can’t f-feel it o-or u-use it a-anymore!” she blurted out. The entire council fell to an even deeper silence, something that had seemed impossible. The woman swayed and fell with a thump to the floor.

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Geirrha. She was taken aback by the outburst too, but she was the first to recover.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 9

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein…

Chapter 9

Malkknrre stepped lightly out of his room, his stomach still feeling warm from embracing Geirrha as she slept. Out in the hall, as he walked, he tried to be inconspicuous but he couldn’t help looking down every other corridor he passed. He was looking for Geirrha, although he doubted she would be walking around in broad daylight.

He poked his head in some rooms. Most were empty save for the occasional servant but more than once, a jar shattered across his snout from a dismayed elven woman who was dressing for the day’s activities. Another time, he walked into a scene that was so disgusting he dared not think about it again.

In a few hours, the council would be called to meet again and he would have to be there, much as he wanted to or not. He had to find Geirrha immediately; she was his only hope to convince the council. That and he wanted to set his eyes upon her beautiful face again.

After poking his head in a few more rooms, Malkknrre was read to give up. He decided to go to Elder Kimaha’s room. He knocked before he entered and was stunned by what jumped out at him. The room was a disaster.

Elder Kimaha was notorious for keeping her room clean. Right now, though, the rugs were ripped, the windows hung ajar, important papers and deeds lay scattered and Kimaha herself lay in the middle of it all, unconscious. A few jars of tinctures and poultices were scattered around beside her.

Malkknrre jumped when he heard the door creak open. He looked around and saw councilwoman Geirrha, she looked even prettier today with gems in her mane connected by golden chains with her earrings. Where she got the jewelry, he did not know. All he knew was that he wanted to get her something prettier and kiss her too, although that meant having to catch her as an elf.

The thoughts were wiped from his mind when his eyes fell on Kimaha again. “W-what happened here? Geirrha?” he asked, when he saw her look up at him with teary eyes.

“Someone tried to turn her too. Look at the blood on the walls…” said Geirrha, shivering at the memory. “I’ve been tending her since first light when a servant ran into your room, declaring that Kimaha had been hurt.” She sobbed, falling against Malkknrre’s chest. He felt his cheeks heat up, but that was nothing compared to what he had felt the previous night.

Malkknrre held her in his arms and muttered consolations. She smiled up at him gratefully. Geirrha walked up to Kimaha and applied a few more poultices. She gave a start when Kimaha stirred and opened her eyes. There was something strange in the gaze she gave Geirrha, but Malkknrre couldn’t quite put a name to it. Geirrha looked back with a glare. For what, though, Malkknrre couldn’t fathom.

Someone crashed into Malkknrre’s back and started mumbling curses and apologies all the while dropping into a curtsy that would have shamed a king. “Well? Instead of mumbling there all day, talk man, talk!” said Malkknrre, trying to look his best in front of Geirrha. He was certain he looked like a fool, chest puffed out like that. Geirrha was laughing and the servant definitely looked ready to follow.

”Oh that laugh, that musical, musical laugh…” thought Malkknrre dreamily. He shuddered, losing his composure for a moment. He felt Geirrha’s gaze boring into his back. He felt his face redden more.

“The council is being called to meet at this moment, my lord,” said the servant, a smirk touching his lips for a moment. “Do you wish me to keep silent about this?” he said, gesturing with an aleron around the room. Malkknrre had a feeling that wasn’t the only thing he was pointing at.

“Very well, hold your tongue. We shall go to the chambers when we are done here,” said Malkknrre, ushering the servant out. The man had the grace to put on a bemused expression! When the servant had left and was well out of earshot, he turned on Geirrha. “Will you stand by me, or against me?” said Malkknrre.

“We shall see, Malkknrre, when I hear your entire plan,” said Geirrha. Malkknrre could have sworn she was teasing him.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 8

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein…

Chapter 8

The shadowy figure now examined her new work. Another servant, a faithful pet indeed. Those adoring eyes were just too precious to let go. She knew she couldn’t have the council awakened to its presence. She relayed her instructions.

“I think I’ll call you Kyma, it fits for a pet. Now, I will turn you back into your old form,” before she was done, the massive dragon whined. For some unfathomable reason it did not want to be changed, she herself could not imagine why. “No, no, it will be okay.” Kindness was needed in dealing with her servants. “Now, when I turn you back into your old form, you will act just like you once acted, but remember, you’re mine now, Kyma.”

With that, she cast her magic upon the willful pet and it changed back to Elder Kimaha, although she appeared younger and her youthful vigor was restored. The pet released a low pitched whining, but the figure petted it. She smiled and faded into the night.

*** *** *** *** ***

Malkknrre tossed and turned in his sleep, a voice tormenting his every moment in the world of dreams. He wouldn’t be surprised to see half the rugs torn and the other half torched when he woke up. Every second of his dream presented a vision of a Malkknrre torching the entire city of Avalhein, a Malkknrre leading the forces that ravage Sylfe. There was even a vision of a Malkknrre taking whatever he wanted, including women, and destroying them. He had winced at that, the vision was still imprinted in his eyes. He wanted to scream.

He woke up to a rapping at the door. He looked outside and he saw that the sun hadn’t even risen. Who would dare to disturb him at such an early hour, he did not know. The rapping continued for well over a minute even after he had snorted so loudly he wondered why flame had not come out from his snout. He then noticed something different behind the knocking, it was terrified.

Malkknrre sat bolt upright. He was debating with himself whether or not to open the door. He thought that if whatever the person on the other side of the door was afraid of was chasing it, it would get into the room as soon as he opened the door, but if he didn’t, it would get the person and burst into the room. He considered other options and stuck with opening the door just to find out, just a crack though, not any wider than that.

All of a sudden, a tingle ran down his spine when a feminine voice shouted “Malkknrre! Please! Let me in!” His hackles raised and he growled, he knew that voice too well. He pulled the door open and sat on his haunches, waiting on what would happen.

To his surprise, the scared councilwoman rushed into his embrace. “I-I saw h-her ag-g-gain!” said Geirrha.

“Saw who, Geirrha?” asked Malkuthe, placing his arms around the other. She was shivering, but she was surprisingly warm. Her fur was soothing to the touch. He wondered. Before they could begin, he pushed the perverted thoughts out of his mind; he had to help the councilwoman as much as he could.

“S-she tried to change me in my sleep… Oh the pain!” she moaned.

Malkknrre held her tight, trying to calm her. He felt her breast rising and falling softly, she had fallen asleep. Malkknrre wondered who could sleep through such terror as she had.

All of a sudden, he was looking at her face and for the first time, he realized that the councilwoman had heavenly features. Aside from the biting personality, she wasn’t too bad. Maybe he really was falling in love. He shook the thought from his mind.

Her rhythmic breathing lulled him to sleep. And to his relief, sleep brought sweet dreams, although some were perverted fantasies. For the first time in two weeks, he was able to rest; all in the arms of the councilwoman. That morning, he woke, finding that she was gone. He was surprised at the feeling of loss.

He was well rested though, and for what he would deal with on that day, it was vital. 

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 7

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein…

Chapter 7

“Now what would be a good name for a good pet…” wondered a voice in one of the chambers in the council’s halls. She was walking around a massive undead-esque Ceree. “I believe Puli would do councilor Varan.” She laughed in a high-pitched voice that was her own. She admired her handiwork.

Before her stood a now-massive Ceree, whether it could still be called that or not, she could not say. Its skin was rotten in patches, pebbled black where it was not. Strong, well-defined muscles rippled as it shifted in its place. Its ebony eyes gleamed with pet-like adoration. Down its back paraded hollow bone-like spikes that emitted a low keening wail. Down his neck were five pairs of glowing green holes. Apparently, that was where he breathed. They released a winding wisp of smoke that was green too.

The other looked hopefully at the bearer of the voice. Eyes filled with a pleading to be petted. He was stooped, his head now too high for the ceiling built for Ceree height. “Puli, I want you to go to the Dark One and tell him that you will be my eyes and ears over what he will do.”

She smiled and petted the beast. She was answered by a low pleased purring. The beast’s head snuggled against the aleron that was used to pat it. She smiled encouragingly and waved the aleron towards the wall. All of a sudden, there was a large arch that opened out into the night. Where there had once been solid ground, there was now a large ravine.

The beast waddled awkwardly towards the opening; he did not want to damage any of his master’s precious possessions. His tail was in between his legs and that almost tripped him once or twice. Once he was on the ledge, he looked back with one last loving glance at his master. He would do anything for her.

All of a sudden, he dropped of the ledge and his ‘master’ smiled when she heard the leathery snap of wings as they struggled to gain height. In moments, he was but a speck over the horizon.

Without warning, the cliff that had so suddenly appeared was now solid ground again. The archway vanished and the wall was seamless again. With a satisfied smirk, she stepped out of the room.

*** *** *** *** ***

The voice tormented her and she shivered in the coldness of the void. The images had stopped flashing and now she just wanted to wake. She heard a thumping in the darkness, and she ran from it. Ran farther and farther.

She woke to the sound of a frantic thumping on the door. Slowly she got up from the carpets and walked towards the door, her tail dragging sluggishly behind her. She strained to hear the frightened voice that came from the opposite side of the door. “Elder Kimaha! Elder Kimaha!” it screamed with urgency. The pounding continued, intensifying by the second.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” She shouted, flustered at being so rudely woken at so early a time. Her joints were giving her problems and she seemed to limp towards the door.

When she finally opened it, she saw a frightened elf, but the voice was Councilwoman Geirrha’s. The elf ran in, tears brimming in her eyes, and hugged elder Kimaha. She was surprised at the hug.

The moment the door was closed, the elf began to change. Her body began to elongate, the same with her face. Alerons sprouted at the same time as the tail and hind legs. Before her stood Councilwoman Geirrha, but her teeth chattered and she looked around nervously.

“Geirrha, dear, what happened to you?” said Elder Kimaha in concern. She had never seen anyone so flustered in her life.

“Kimaha, something or someone is after me. I woke up to someone trying to transform me into something else, but it was a good thing that someone was wakened by my screams…” Geirrha said, shuddering at the memory. “The pain! Oh the pain…” she moaned.

“Dear, nothing’s going to get you. Go to Malkknrre’s chambers. Ask him to stay with you all night; he is kind enough to do so. After all, he owes you something for barging in so unceremoniously two days ago,” said Kimaha.

Sniffling, Geirrha reluctantly agreed. For almost a quarter of the journey to Malkknrre’s quarters, Kimaha accompanied Geirrha. After that, Geirrha insisted that Kimaha had already done too much for her and she could go alone.

Kimaha sighed, as much in relief as in disappointment that she could no longer help. Tired, she went back to her quarters, where a different challenge met her.

“Missed me, Kimaha?” said a voice that filled her with such ecstasy that she sagged to the floor laughing. The joint pains that plagued her were gone, and she cried out in joy. “Hope you liked that, Kimaha, what comes next is very painful.”

The next thing Kimaha knew was that her body was being torn apart from sheer agony. She cried out in pain, and her world disappeared into darkness.

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 6

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein…

Chapter 6

“What is this about betrayal?” demanded Malkknrre as he was forcefully dragged into the center of the chamber. “Were you referring to me? I did no such thing!” he exclaimed. He was glaring with a look that promised death to the councilor that had burst out at him.

“Silence, traitor!” the other Councilor bellowed. “Let the council of Avalhein convene in a Traitor’s Court. Bring forth the interrogation against the one under question. Let the hand of the Mother guide us as we put Malkknrre to the test and condemn him to whichever fate he deserves,” said he in a sonorous voice all the while staring at Malkknrre with cold condemnation.

“Councilor, if Malkknrre is found without fault, you will be exiled for you have called the Traitor’s court on an innocent Ceree,” said one of those gathered. “Are you sure you wish to proceed?”

“Do not worry, brother, I will not fail. I am sure that Malkknrre is guilty of the crime,” said the accuser without break. His gait was pompous and filled with joy as he paced the circumference of the chamber.

“Then I hereby give the blessing to convene in Traitor’s Court for Malkknrre. Let it be known that if found innocent, Councilor Sar’Ha’Varan will cease to exist amongst us for putting a man without fault to the question,” said the councilor that had asked Sar’Ha’Varan whether he would go with his plan or if he would stop.

“I put forward, brothers and sisters in the court that Malkknrre, our leader, has been consorting with the enemy,” said Varan.

“This is prepo--!” Malkknrre was cut off by a sharp gesture from one of the councilwomen.

“Brother, what evidence have you of this betrayal that you claim Malkknrre did?” asked one of the councilwomen in a sweet voice. Malkknrre recognized her as Elder Kimaha.

“I have all the evidence I need. Do we all remember the plan that Malkknrre put forth to the court?” asked Varan. After receiving a few nods, he continued. “He proposed that we lure the Dark One to Avalhein. The Dark One! And to Avalhein! Not to one of our other cities somewhere in Malleithen! No one would even dare propose such a radical plan other than someone who is under the Dark One’s hand!” said Varan, smile touching his lips.

“What have you to say, Malkknrre?” asked Elder Kimaha.

“I proposed that we lure him to Avalhein because this is where our power is located. Here, we can sum up all our magic and throw it at the Dark One and his army before they even get within ten miles of us,” said Malkknrre in a scornful tone directed at Varan.

“The Dark One could very well just bring the city down on our heads before he even leaves his land!” shouted Varan over the din of argument that erupted.

“No, he wouldn’t. If he would, then he would have done so a long time ago,” said Malkknrre slowly. He had to pick his words carefully; else, he was a dead Ceree.

“Then why did you speak with one of his emissaries?” asked Varan. The entire hall quieted. Malkknrre paled. “So, you cannot speak, eh? Traitor?” said Varan tauntingly.

“H-how did you know?” asked Malkknrre, his heart beating faster.

“So you did speak with one of the messengers. That alone is enough to convict you,” said Varan and to Malkknrre’s horror, half the hall agreed. His only salvation was that conviction must be done unanimously.

“You do not understand!” he cried out.

“You spoke with him, and I guess you told him our secrets, eh, Malkknrre?” said Varan with a sneer.

“I did no such thing. He came to negotiate the terms of our surrender and I turned him down. He attacked me, but I overpowered him. I killed him, and then told him to tell his master that we have no intent of doing that,” said Malkknrre. Incredulous stares met his pleading gaze.

“You killed him, and then told him to tell his master your message?” said Varan, even he was incredulous.

“I admit it was not the wisest decision, but he was attacking me!” mumbled Malkknrre. He was met with cold, flat stares. “Fine, if you do not wish to believe me, bring forth the Laudethe.”

“Bold claim Malkknrre; we shall see now if you really are telling… the truth,” said Varan. Two of the councilwomen brought out from a chest in the far side of the room a golden band with three gems set on it. It was the Laudethe. “The three gems will tell us if you are telling the truth, telling what you think is true or telling a lie,” said Varan. The two clasped the band onto Malkknrre’s tail and muttered a few words.

Braids of gold shot out from the ground and bound themselves around Malkknrre’s body. Malkknrre stared straight into Varan’s eyes and said. “I am not an agent of the Dark One.” All of the gems lit up, he was telling the truth.

Varan stared at him with horror; the entire council let out an audible sigh of relief. “The Laudethe has proven innocence. Brother Varan is no longer one of us. He is no longer a Councilor, his name was never written in the books. He was never born, and he doesn’t exist,” said one of the council. “Guards, take away the fraud.”

Varan looked pleadingly at the others, but none looked his way. “The Dark Lord will take you all, I served him well!” he shouted. Councilors watched in horror as he was dragged away.

*** *** *** *** ***

The night was deep and the guards were preparing to bundle Varan into a cart that would take him as far as the horses could before they died of hunger and thirst. All of a sudden, they turned black and became like dust being blown away in the wind.

A woman stepped out from the shadows. “Varan, you have outlived your usefulness to the Dark One. Now, you will serve me.”

“You?!” was the last thing Varan ever said. He screamed in agony as he felt his body being transformed into something else entirely. The darkness crept in around his eyes, and memory faded into nothing.