A/N: You need to know Kozmosis Pitchiner's back story. If you don't, you might want to read up on that to fully know how awesome this little one-shot is. ^-^
The woods were shrouded in shadows, the sun was not yet risen. Even if it's light had been touching the earth, there would be one place that would never feel it's warmth. It was a soul. A single soul, caught in the webs of shadows and fear. They held him tightly, eating away at him constantly, and soon... he would be corrupted beyond any hope. The shadows would hold him, and no light would ever reach him.
Kozmosis Pitchiner. In ages past it once was a name of glory. It held power and wisdom, and it brought hope and faith to those who heard it. The figure who held the name once stood proudly, and had fought valiantly against the forces that held him captive. He was now a mere shadow of what he use to be... If he had just ignored her call, if he hadn't given into his weakness-
No!
Kozmosis shot up and glared at the surrounding shadows. She was not a weakness! He snarled at them. The fearlings seemed to back off for the moment, but still lingered near. They retreated to the darkness created by the trees that were all around them. Kozmosis sighed and continued walking. Little sound was heard besides the snow that crunched underfoot. The forest around him thinned out, and he came to a small grove. He groaned from exhaustion from trying to keep the fearlings away, to keep in control, but they had overwhelmed him too often before. They knew they could do it again. Kozmos glanced up at the moon through the branches of the trees and silently prayed. He just wanted to be rid of them and their never-ending darkness. As he gazed at the moon, it shined down on him. He felt it burn at him, diminishing the shadows that were so deeply buried inside of his soul. He took the pain though. He knew the Tsar Lunar would help. "Is there anything I can do?" He pleaded.
The moon answered him, his voice resonating through the trees of the forest. "The Shadows have all but gained your soul. Have you the strength to defeat them?"
Kozmosis stepped back in uncertainty. The shadows moved up to swallow the man, but he seemed to regain his composure. "I have the strength." He replied. He felt the moon smile down on him, and that seemed to discourage the fearlings from coming nearer.
The scene before Kozmos changed. The moon showed him a lake, frozen over with ice. Light streamed down on it and the trees that surrounded it. The vision ended with the face of two children, brother and sister, smiling at each other. "Save them. If you can overcome the shadows, and save the children, you can overcome them anytime after." The moon's voice echoed, then faded away.
A peace had overcame Kozmosis as he witnessed the vision. When it ended, he felt the light that had surrounded him being pushed away by the fearlings. Without the moon there to keep them at bay, he almost doubled over at the sudden pressure that came from the shadows. Through sheer force of will, he stopped them, and headed for the lake. Kozmos felt a sense of urgency, that his window of opportunity was closing, so he began to run. He knew the lake was close, and could have easily made it there in time if he chose to travel through the shadows. He couldn't risk it, though. That was their territory, they would have the advantage over him. He felt the fearlings try to draw him near, often stretching out and grabbing for him. He nimbly dodged them and continued on through the trees. The sun steadily rose, and it only caused him to run faster. In his vision, he saw the lake sometime in the early morning. He hoped he could reach it in time.
As Kozmosis continued on, his lungs began burn, and his legs felt weak. He felt his energy being sucked away. He cursed at himself for not realizing the fearlings would try to slow him down that way. The ones that dwelt within him were eating away at his strength, and caused him to stumble. The shadows had been waiting for this moment, and lunged for him. He quickly moved out of the fearlings' path and continued on. Three fearlings suddenly took form, then split up. One ran alongside the General of Night, who had almost recovered from his fall. The nightmarish wolf snarled at him, its powerful legs easily keeping pace with the diminishing speed of its prey. It bounded ahead and blocked the path, there it waited for him to come. The other two had broke off from the rest, and disappeared in the woods.
When Kozmosis saw the beast fly ahead to block his way, he swore under his breath. He didn't have time for this, and he would not be stalled by them any longer! With renewed strength, he pushed on and didn't slow when he came to the nightmare. It lunged at him, ready to strike, and Kozmos felt like he did eons ago, when the fearlings were first being gathered and captured. With his friends and companions on either side, the Golden General led them to victory. The memories filled him with strength and power. Like in ages past, he moved to brandish the one weapon that could defeat the Fearlings.
Dream Sand.
A silver tendril flowed from his fingertips, and surrounded him it in's light. While Sanderson had his golden sand, Kozmosis wielded silver. Though it had long since been at his side, Kozmosis easily formed it into a brilliant sword, his favored weapon against the shadows. With blade drawn, he prepared to strike at the beast that now blocked his path. The Nightmare growled at the presence of the silver sword, but it leapt at Kozmos, ready to kill. He parried the attack, and kicked the beast away. It howled in pain where the Dream sand had touched him, but before it could recover, Kozmosis was moving forwards to finish it. In a single blow, the wolf dissolved back into the nightmare sand. The other fearlings that had moved closer, backed off from their prey when he had diminished one of their own. With sword in hand, and confidence and strength restored, he resembled the man that had captured them in the first place. The broken form whom they had tried to overcome seemed to have all but disappeared. They grew in anger at their work that had been undone. He Will Fall! They flew towards him, following closely behind as he continued onward. The general had only paused a moment to make the motions of returning the blade to its sheath. The silvery sand had dissipated and there were now no traces that it was ever there. Kozmos didn't worry, though. He felt it within him, and knew it would be there to call on at any moment of his choosing.
When the sun's rays rose above the trees, and hit Kozmosis, he stepped back at the sudden light that struck him. Something in him wanted to flee, to stop and turn back to the shadows. No! Immediately, he started running towards the lake, going through the sun that broke through the trees, driving back the shadows more. Although his aching legs would have rather stopped, he continued on and felt a sense of triumph when the shadows only begrudgingly followed. They were getting weaker as he was getting stronger. He would make it!
A scream pierced the air just as Kozmos reached the lake. There, standing in the middle were the siblings. Fear surrounded them, and for a moment, he relished in it, he drew it nearer to them and greedily accepted their fear. His eyes glowed with a bright nightmarish yellow gleam, but he was brought out of this by a single thought. 'Why are they afraid?' He looked quickly and saw that the ice underneath their feet had cracked. They now were threatened by the fall into the chilled frozen lake. Kozmos looked more closely at the cracks and saw nightmare sand seeping away from it. He recalled how some of the fearlings had broken off from chasing him... and how he hoped they wouldn't be a problem later...
With his heart pounding, he tried to move forwards to help them, but when a tendril of dark sand wrapped around his neck, he was pulled roughly to the ground. The air was rushed out of him, but at least the sand had let go of him. Kozmos tried to stand up, but the shadows pressed around him. He felt suffocated as they surrounded him. He attempted to use the silver sand to defend himself, to fight them off as he had seen the Sandman do with his own sand, but it wouldn't form. Most likely because of his growing fear. His fear that the two siblings would fall, his fear that he would fail, and that the fearlings would win and fully corrupt him...
He must succeed. If not only for these two, but for others would would be harmed by the fearlings. Once again, he attempted to break through, but his fear had let more shadows enter his soul. Now, he was held by something within him. He pulled, and tried to break free of their hold, but they held firm and did not slacken in the slightest. He tried to forget his fear, to banished it from his mind, but it kept coming at him, and seemed to only grow the more he tried to be rid of it.
"You wanna play a game? We're going to play hopscotch!"
The boy's playful voice cut through the shadows that held the general. His fear, which had been powering the fearlings, was now almost gone. Kozmos watched as he tried to start a simple game of hopscotch, and was amazed to feel the girl's fear disappearing as well. The shadows felt the decline of fear as well, but they were less than pleased. Kozmosis looked on with a sense of pride in that boy's strength. With the fearlings that held him weakening, he freed himself of them, and moved closer towards the two children on the lake. The fearlings tried to take him again, but he wouldn't let it happen a second time. When he reached the water line he wasn't sure what he could do. He couldn't get any closer without adding more pressure to the ice...
Kozmosis felt a familiar feeling as he was gently lifted just above the ground. He tensed as he thought about the past times when Nightmare sand had lifted him, allowing him to hover or fly. The problem was that it only happened when the fearlings had gotten the best of him. Were the shadows within him taking control? When he looked down, though, he did not see the black sand.
It was silver.
Without his fear blocking it, it was able to help him once more. He let out a breath he had not known he was holding.
Kozmos floated over the ice and used his despised bond with the fearlings. He sensed more were still under the ice waiting for the chance to strike. When the girl started moving, they caused the ice to shift and weaken. He growled, and summoned them from the waters below. They tired to fight his pull, but he wouldn't let them go. Their roles were now reversed. He held them in his power, and they would not escape him!
When he heard the little girl give a laugh, Kozmos felt his heart soar. It was like music to his ears. It reminded him of his daughter. Hearing it, he felt that he had made her proud this day. Thinking back on the day when this first started, when he had first released the fearlings, even though he had done it for the sake of his daughter, he felt like he had let her down. Now, he had made it up to her.
He saved them, why else would they feel happy and laugh? Why else would the nightmares stop struggling against him? He cast a glance at the two of them, thinking they'd be safely on the shore. When he saw the boy was now on the thinned ice, he panicked and for a moment, and let loose his grip on the fearlings. They shot forth, reaching for the child. This was their last chance. If Kozmos regained any more power over them, they would be locked up again... They would not allow that, it could not happen, That Will Not Happen!
CRACK!
"JACK!"
A single gasp escaped the lips of the boy as he started falling. Time seemed to slow down for Kozmos. As he watched Jack fall, no fear came over him. Instead came grim determination. He ran to him, intent on grabbing him from the shadows grasp. He felt a joy come over him as he met the boy's frightened eyes. They widened in surprise, but Kozmos just smiled. He reached out his hand, as Jack, letting loose a relieved smile, did the same. Their hands touched and a sudden pain filled his chest. The darkness that had lived inside him for so long despised the hope and joy that Kozmos now felt. It didn't deter him from his goal though. He would save this boy.
Just as he was about to strengthen his grip on the boy's hand, a Fearling appeared right before both of them, breaking their eye contact. While Kosmos slightly pulled back in surprise, Jack pulled back in fear. Seeing him falling out of his grasp, Kozmos panicked, and a jolt of fear ran through him. It caused the fearling to grow. It surrounded him, blocking Jack from his sights. Darkness was all he could see, but when he heard the splash of water, and a little girl cry out in despair, he felt his world shatter. He felt the sick joy that came from the young girl's fear. He felt it drawn to him, and it frightened him that he couldn't keep it away, but what scared him the most was... He liked it.
Kozmosis Pitchiner stared at the hole in the ice, it's waters now stilled. He felt a shift in the sands holding him up, and gave a shiver of fear when he felt the silver sand dissipate away. As the fearlings surrounded him, he couldn't find the strength to stop them. He couldn't do anything...
He closed his eyes in defeat, and that's when his world became black.
A/N: Okay, there ya' go. Yeah, it was way different from my other first introductions, but this is probably one of my more favorite ones. I'm not sure if I was clear about the sand. I think that everyone's dream sand would be slightly different, but the color of the sand doesn't matter. Kozmosis's dream sand was silver... thats all. It is just as effective against the nightmares as Sandy's golden sand is.
The story of Kozmosis Pitchiner is so sad, dang it! He is like, the coolest character, and I'd like to see him before he was corrupted by the Fearlings. Anyways, thanks for reading. Review please.