- Prologue: And it all Came Down -
The morning was the same as countless others had been since their arrival seventeen years prior. Their section of the castle was always deserted, no one dared cross the human sorceress or her son, and their domain was not to be trespassed upon either. Breakfast was delivered by the staff, assorted fruits, porridge, eggs, ham steaks, and bread. And then Lily dove into her work, and Harry his studies. But the morning of Saturday July the seventh of the year two thousand and one changed everything. Despite the risk, Lily continued to keep in peripheral contact with the wizarding world. Information is power, and being informed of at least the general goings on would do nothing but keep her informed. It was the paper delivered on that morning, that would change everything, and bring all her carefully laid plans down.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Returns!
It is with a heavy heard, and an unsteady hand, that we must report to you, our fine readers, that the dreaded Dark Lord has returned. After almost twenty years of absence, The Dark Lord has returned to darken our beautiful isle once again. Confirmed by multiple eye witnesses, including none other than Albus Dumbledore and Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, The Dark Lord and his followers laid siege to the Ministry itself, for what purpose it is unknown. However, due to the heroic actions of the men and women of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as several heroic bystanders, the attack was repelled! The damage to the Ministry Atrium has yet to be fully ascertained, but we will keep you, our readers, informed as more information is brought forward.
For more information on You-Know-Who continue to pages 7, 9, and 14
Minister for Magic Speaks Out
Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge released a statement early this morning in response to the attack on the ministry late last night. Printed below is the abbreviated version. Read the full statement on pages 10, 11, 12, and 13.
"As your Minister, it is my solemn duty to inform you all of the attack on the ministry late last evening. The Dark Wizard He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, ladies and gentlemen. But fear not! He has returned far weaker than before. He and his followers were driven off by our own Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as several heroic bystanders. But this proves one thing… that You-Know-Who is not as strong as he once was, and that his apparent death at the hands of the Potters has left him severely weakened. With this knowledge firmly in hand, we press on! I hereby call for an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot, and urge my brethren of said body, to declare a state of emergency. Let us not fear this shadow of a man, let us stand as beacons for purity in our wizarding world!"Pushing herself away from the table, she mumbled something about his practice and then left the tower. Long winding stairs led to the base of the tower, and the towers dark gray stone gave way to the smooth white marble of the castle proper. Bright colorful mosaics of fantastic scenes, rendered in precious gems and colored glass, high ceilings with beautiful painted scenes, tapestries and paintings. The castle was beautiful… but Lily knew the truth that it all hid. It was a façade that always reminded her of JRR Tolkin's work, "Dark, and beautiful, and terrible as the dawn."
Navigating the castle required fine tuned senses, as each day the corridors rearranged and redecorated themselves to fit the mood of its Lord. Today he seemed in a bright mood, if the scenes of his past battles and the bright colors were anything to go by. Almost two hours later found Lily passing through the doors of the West wing, where white marble gave way to weathered dark wood. Passing through the doors was like walking into another world. The bright and cheery atmosphere of the Lords Castle gave way to the gloom of the Western Lords domain. Scattered torches barely illuminated the halls, and every sound seemed to echo like thunder.
Striding though the gloom, Lily mastered herself and froze her emotions. She couldn't feel fear here… fear made you prey to the vassals of the West. Another twenty minutes of moving thought the murky gloom, past vague shapes and shadowed forms, she found his room. The grand doors were intricately carved of dark wood, and stood nearly twelve feet tall. The haunting scene depicted a crumbling ruin of a castle, a single shriveled figure stood at the fore upon a winding road leading up to the ruins. Scattered candles dotted the landscape, jewels worked into the wood, and skulls hung from the trees. She had seen the doors countless times before… she had been there when they were given to the former Autumn Lord.
She didn't knock, he didn't like people who knocked. Slipping quietly inside, she instantly heard the sound of his tools working, the clink of hammer on metal, the scrape of metal on wood, and the click of gears interlocking. Moving through his room, she was careful to avoid the scattered leaflets of paper, intricate patterns covering their surfaces, and the countless candles the dotted the landscape. She found him tucked back into his working corner, assembling something that she couldn't fully fathom.
"You promised." Her voice was accusatory, and her anger apparent.
He didn't stop, didn't even turn to look at her, "I told you that one day you would come to regret what you were doing. That you or your son would suffer for the contract that you signed."
"You horrible, foul, little creature!" Her wand was in her hand before she could even think, and a spell on her lips. But before she could utter more than a single syllable, pain erupted through her hand as the hand of an unknown assailant clamped down on her wrist and began to squeeze. Gasping in pain, she collapsed to her knees, and looked up into the shadowed depths of a black hood, and saw the wicked grin of her captor.
"Now deary, if I didn't know any better I would think that you just threatened one of the Kings vassals. And while he doesn't favor him anymore, that doesn't make him any less the Kings servant."
Lily releases her hand and let the wand fall to the ground. Instantly the superhuman strength disappeared, leaving her wrist bruised, but not permanently damaged.
Turning back to the wizened form at the bench, she sagged in defeat. "Why?"
"You will have to be more specific." His voice was clipped, his annoyance apparent.
"Why weren't you more specific." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation
He turned, his eyes piercing into her and almost made her loose control of her fear. "I warned you. I told you that you or your son would suffer. Now you must choose, as you chose when you signed the contract. Your son will leave, his destiny lies outside this land, but you must choose to either leave, and suffer the wrath of the King and your broken contract, or let your son suffer without your aid."
Her eyes fell to the floor, and her voice became only a whisper, "Will…" she couldn't bring herself to say her fear.
"Speak or leave, I don't answer ambiguous utterances."
"If I stay…. Will he die?"
"No matter what you do, your son will die. Your presence will merely change the variables leading to his final demise. No one in this room can change that fate."
Her face shot up, and her eyes locked with his. "No one in this room… but there is someone."
He could see it in her eyes, her desperation giving way to the madness that had been gnawing at her mind for twenty years. "Yes. There is someone."
"Tell me… who is it."
He scoffed. "You know it isn't as easy as that… I can see that somewhere out there, there is someone who can change his fate. Someone who can give him a will to come out the other side of the trials yet to come. But who… I cannot say."
Her voice took on an edge that both knew well, "No you know… you always know. You just wont tell me. You spiteful withered corpse of a man…" She drew in upon herself, and when her eyes met his again… his last sight was of burning red eyes filled with hate.
- Warrior: En Garde -
She let the door close behind her quietly, and then strode purposefully away. She could already feel the pangs… she had broken the contract she had made with the Lord. It was only a matter of time now before she was marked for all to see. A figure moved along side her, and she almost lashed out before she realized who it was. "Sonya."
"Sorceress."
The continued to walk, until he suddenly seized her arm and pulled her down an unfamiliar corridor. Roughly she pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Take your hands off me."
"If you would prefer… I could leave you to the Autumn Lords men. They are waiting for you on the path you normally take."
Her eyes widened in shock, "What… how…"
"You are within his domain… the King knows as well… you will need my aid to escape."
"Hoping to wipe your debt to me out?" Her gaze was piercing, but he stared right back unblinking.
"I don't want your son to suffer for your mistakes. He has to leave. You have committed a serious offense. You killed the Kings greatest seer and one of his most trusted advisers."
"She wasn't trustworthy. Always consorting with goblins, she even wears their market in her mantle!" she hissed back.
"That doesn't matter to the King. Now, do you want my help or not."
She bit her lip almost drawing blood, and then nodded. In for a penny…
Sonya had managed to get them to her tower in less time then she thought was possible. But being the creature he was, she wasn't surprised. As he slid the stone panel away to reveal her son's bed chambers, she realized that he had likely been here before… and that meant her son had likely been outside the tower without her consent as well. Turning to look back into the gloom, she could barely make out his form… only the shadow of the just over two meter tall man and his eyes… those piercing golden yellow eyes…
"This is as far as I can take you. I step foot beyond, and it is my life. Fare thee well Sorceress… may you always be down wind, the prey always be slow, and the shadows always conceal you." And then he was gone.
Turning away from the opening Lily was quick to begin casting spell after spell. Objects shrunk and flew about, streaming past her and to their final resting places. She met Harry halfway through the tower, and found that he had already begun packing up their possessions as well. As the last of their worldly possessions settled into its trunk, Harry waved his hand and they disappeared, waiting for Harry to retrieve them later. Taking his mother in his arms, he whispered, "Ready?" She nodded back, and the world around the blurred and twisted and there was a tension in the air that stretched until it felt as thou it would snap. And then just as suddenly, the tension was gone and they were no longer in the tower. Now they standing next to a cabin in a wood that neither had stood in for almost a decade. Now it was her turn, and gripping his arm, she spun on her heel, as mother and son disappeared with the crack of apparition.
- Warrior: En Garde -
Sonya could hear their voices through the ornate doors long before he ever saw them. He never hesitated, never faltered. They would know if he did. It wasn't his first time meeting them, but it was his first time meeting as the new Lord of the West… as the Lord of Autumn… impressions had to be made.
"… she betrayed us. Killing a vassal of the King, disgraceful."
"Never in all my years… simply so vulgar. I say we drop her in a lake and freeze over the top…"
"… Should call a hunt instead, I can have five hundred men ready by moonrise my Lord…"
He threw open the doors, interrupting there conversations. The sudden silence was deafening in the vast chamber. Striding with power and purpose, Sonya made his way across the vast chamber, coming to kneel at the base of the stairs leading up to the throne. He didn't raise his head, and he waited for the King to address him first. After waiting a full five minutes, the king spoke, his voice was like silk gliding across the senses, but the power behind it was enough that Sonya knew that lesser beings would be in physical pain."
"Speak creature of Autumn. I do not have time for dalliances."
Sonya gathered his own power and brought it to bear against those in the room, 'I cannot look weak… I must not look weak…' "My King… the Sorceress has struck a grievous wound against the Court-"
A high pitched voice, with the sound of a singer, full of joy and mirth, slammed into him like a physical force. And for a moment he almost thought he would stagger before his own power pushed Her voice back. "Be silent! Do you think we do not know what the Sorceress has done! To kill the former Lord of Autumn… She should be impaled on a tree and left for the frost and crows-"
This time, he interrupted her, "I was speaking to my King, not you Lady of Winter. Keep your tongue behind your teeth or I will remove it."
Stunned silence followed, and then she hissed with obvious rage, "HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS THE LADY OF WINTER AS SUCH?!"
He kept his voice calm, but pushed even more of his power behind his words. "How dare you interrupt the Lord of Autumn when he reports to his King."
And then he heard the King laugh, a not all to unpleasant sound, Sonya remarked. "Tell me, truly, did my good Sorceress kill the old Lady of Autumn?"
"Yes my King. As her loyal hand, and next in the line of succession, I now assume my rightful place at on your council, if that would please you."
"Look at me creature." It was not a request, and Sonya knew it.
Lifting his gaze, smooth granite steps went up in three tiers of thirteen, ending on a raised dais of black stone. On the dais a bleached white throne, the Throne of Bones, and sitting comfortably upon it was the King. He was a perfect specimen, just over two meters tall, his skin was a perfect blend between white and bronze. His hair was like spun gold, and fell about his shoulders in a way that would make mortal or immortal woman alike swoon for him. His face was perfect, no blemishes of any kind, and his piercing blue eyes stared into Sonya's soul. He couldn't look away… not until ordered… but he could already find his power being stretched thin simply by gazing at his King and having the King's full focus on him. His focus was like a mountain… the full weight of it pressing down on him enough that even with his power, he felt as though if he shifter even a hair's breadth, he would be crushed to the floor and smashed beneath it. And then the King brought his mind fully to bear against him. And for the first time, in a very long time, Sonya knew what it was like to be afraid.
Some time later he recovered… for a few minutes he couldn't tell when he was… or where he was. But after his heart stopped threatening to leap from his chest, he realized that the King had only focused on him for a mere seven seconds. "You will do… Lord of Autumn. Take your seat… we must discuss how this situation should be handled." And then a slithering tendril of power was inside his mind, and the King's voice was inside his mind as well. 'Do not think that I do not know what you have done… Lord of Autumn. You helped her escape from this place… but you didn't not break your vows. This is what saves you, and allows you to take your place here. You have broken no law or vow. No matter what you do here, know this… Break one vow… violate one single contract… and you will find my full attention brought upon you again… and this time… I will not blink.'
Sonya made his way to his place, at the table at the bottom level on the King's left, the seat closest to the King. As he faced away from his King, Sonya shivered in his own mind, and he felt as though he was a mere kitten again… the same mewling pitiful thing that The Huntsman had taken in so long ago. He forced the last of his power into his voice, and spoke with the authority of Autumn. "My King, let the actions of the court bring you entertainment and the traitor at the same time. Each of the Lords shall send their own hunters to retrieve her, and the one that succeeds shall be granted your favor, and allowed to make their season last as long as my King deems it fit."
The King's voice drifted through the air, "Splendid! Your first suggestion, and I already believe you will a much better Lord then either of your predecessors. It is my wish that this happen! Let the games begin!"
AN:
This is a rough draft at best, that I threw together over little more than an hour of actual writing. I intend to leave it as is for now, and continue on into the story. That being said, feed back is appreciated. I will be revising this little by little as feedback comes in, and around the release of chapter ten I will begin posting the revised edition. The revised edition will be the final edition. Thank your for your patience and time.
Adam