Deltora Empires: The Assassin

Chapter 1

A Being More Sinister

Gray clouds covered the sky as a young man and his steed trotted down the side of the mountain. The man knew very well where he was, and that now there was no way back. He had waited a long, long time for this moment – longer than anyone would have guessed.

His short black hair moved only slightly in the wind. His black tunic and cloak flapped as his black horse galloped a little ways onto a dead and cracked plain, a plain that was bleached white and extended as far as the eye could see.

The young man dismounted and looked around the Shadowlands. His steel gray eyes squinted at the horizon. Seemingly satisfied, the black-clad man mounted his horse with a smirk on his face. Then he urged his steed into a steady gallop further along the plain.

The horse moved forward fearlessly, with complete trust in its master. They passed many twisted horrors, known as the Wild Ones, the experiments of the Shadow Lord. For some reason though, the Wild Ones shrank away from this being as he passed, as if they sensed a great evil and malice emanating from the man.

Finally, after a few hours of riding, the young man saw a huge fortress looming on the horizon. He stopped his mount from going any farther, a huge grin spread over his face. At long last he had found it, with its huge towers and parapets reaching for the sky- The Shadow Lord's fortress.

The man drew in a long breath, "SHADOW LORD!" he bellowed.

He got the reaction he desired immediately. The gray clouds became tinted with red and thunder rolled across the valley. Red smoke began to form at the tallest tower, with and inky darkness at its heart. The wind began to blow, more foul than before.

"I have waited a long time for this day," the young man yelled, "I have come to restore the oldest and greatest empire the world has ever known. To do that, I need your power, but in this empire can only be ruled by one person, and it most definitely won't be you."

There was a low clap of thunder like a growl, and the wind howled before dying completely. The gates of the fortress began to slowly slide open. From it, the Shadow Lord's servants flooded the open plain. Grey guards, vraals, and ols all began marching toward the lone figure. Behind him, there were the howls of the Shadow Lord's many wild creations, all coming to do the Shadow Lord's will.

As the Shadow Lord's minions surrounded him and pressed inward, the man just sat upon his horse with a now sinister look on his face. As the massive horde came ever closer, he jumped from the saddle high into the air, spinning. He might have resembled an acrobat, if it wasn't for the explosive balls of fire he was shooting all over the place. The fireballs were launched into the horde, burning hundreds. Their screams wrent the air.

As the man landed on his feet, the Grey Guards closest to him began firing blisters at him. With lightning reflexes, the lone figure drew its sword, a wickedly long katana, and charged forward. He deftly dodged all of the blisters, and lunged blade first into the charging minions. He slashed and parried, his blade glinting in the little, now fading light.

However, for as great as his skills with a sword were, his enemies' numbers were too great. They pressed inward, forming a tight circle around the man that was barely outside the reach of his blade. Suddenly, he stopped and stood still in the middle of the circle, his head and shoulders drooped, leaning on his sword.

The mass of evil beings charged forward. Their claws, fangs, and swords outstretched, inches from him. They yelled in triumph as they saw a sure victory.

However, the man suddenly raised his head, his arms outstretched. Black smoke issued from him in a powerful wave, engulfing everything. Those who weren't blown away by the shockwave were attacked by the black smoke, which either left the burned bones of its victims behind or disintegrated them entirely.

The Shadow Lord roared in anger as his army was blown away. How could this man be so powerful? The Shadow Lord focused his will and power on a few surviving vraals, increasing their combat abilities. With amazing speed and agility, they leapt forward, ready to kill their challenge.

The man reacted quickly. Spinning around, he drew his sword from the ground and thrust the blade so far into the gaping maw of the nearest vraal that the blade came out the back of its head. In a blur, he withdrew the sword to parry a blow from the next vraal. After blocking it, he sent its head soaring into the air. Then he dodged a lunge from the last one, and stabbed its back, pinning it to the ground.

As the stragglers of what remained of the Shadow Lord's hastily summoned army staggered away, the attacker turned to face the only enemy who could not be heard by his sword. He could tell by the rapid swirling of the red smoke and the way the darkness inside it seemed to pulse, that the Shadow Lord was furious. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed from the sky, striking the man throwing him to the ground.

While he struggled to get up, the Shadow Lord lunged forward. The red smoke formed his large, evil hands, and red eyes glared from the pulsing darkness. However, black smoke again issued from his prey, shooting towards him. The Shadow Lord suddenly found himself using enormous amounts of his own power to keep the attack at bay.

Then, something began to happen that caused even the great Shadow Lord to yell in surprise. It started off slowly, but soon began gain pace. The smoke and darkness that was the Shadow Lord was being sucked toward the man, he was absorbing it! Too late, the Shadow Lord tried to pull away. He was absorbed by the stranger, who felt all knew power flow through his vanes. But the Shadow Lord would soon see that it wasn't as bad as he had thought. For not only had his attacker absorbed his power, but also his hate and malice as well. He also gained glimpses into the young man's mind. It was through one of these glimpses that he saw that, through this man, the Shadow Lord would soon have revenge.

As the yet more powerful being mounted his horse, which had vanished into black smoke during the attack, the Shadowlands began to change. Permanent, impenetrable darkness began to spread over it. Smoker curled up from the ground, and evil whispers were carried on the wind. As the man turned and rode back towards the mountains, he did not stop to watch as thousands of bony hands erupted from the ground.