Chapter 4: Haunting Pasts
A man rose from the shadows of one of Kerning's many alleys. Brushing off the dust from his ankle-long robes, he glanced for a short while at Cinder's disappearing back. He snarled, and squeezed through the metal grilles at the Sewers fencing off the Ligators, who were always ready to steal off into one of Kerning's houses to snack on any unsuspecting citizens. Luckily, the bars were placed quite far apart; a Ligator's width was much bigger than a fully-grow man's.
He took care not to soil his Dark Anakamoon with the nasty-smelling filth and grime which coated the sewer. After all, they were newly-tailored. Darkon's apprentice, Xeon, darted nimbly through the swarm of Ligators and entered the Dungeon, where he would meet his master.
I I I
"Come forward, Arkion," a voice emanating from the shadows rasped.
"Yes, Master," Arkion whispered quietly, then stepped forward and bowed before the man swathed in a cloak of shadows.
"What have you gathered about Cinder?" Darkon asked. "My apprentice, Xeon, was just telling me about how Cinder nearly defeated him. Xeon has paid dearly."
Arkion winced, and so did the others in the circle surrounding the shadowy Darkon. Darkon had a short temper and a heavy hand. Many tried to toe the line before him, as the alternative was pain, agony, and eventual death. Then, with a snap of Darkon's fingers, flames flickered into life, bathing the room in a warm red glow. The flames shifted around, forming seemingly ever-moving shadows.
"I… nothing, Master," Arkion stammered. He had formed quite a close friendship with Cinder, and was unwilling to betray him.
"Liar! Do you think I do not see? Your own face is betraying yourself!" Darkon bellowed, and cast a dark ball of spectral energy at Arkion. Arkion doubled over in pain. The spell had struck him hard in the stomach, and a wide gash had appeared on his torso. Blood blossomed on his bathrobe, and he clutched the wound with a hand, the other stretched out to support himself. Then, after a few silent and tense moments, he slowly staggered up, ignoring the throbbing pain searing through his body, and glared sullenly and insolently at Darkon. He loathed the man, and longed dearly to rip him into pieces, from limb to limb.
"Damn you! My family was torn apart into pieces! All because of you, you pathetic excuse for a human! Who do you think you are, barging into my life like that! I could have had a peaceful life and my parents could still have lived!" Arkion yelled irately. He did not care of what was going to happen next. Who cared if he died? He was willing to go down facing this damn beast that destroyed his life, and no one in this world cared for him. His parents were dead, and his younger brother was murdered before him.
"The Rathes could have lived if they were submissive," Darkon said in a low, threatening voice. His gaze never wavered from Arkion once. Then…
Arkion Rathe was suddenly overcome by a sudden painful spasm. He screamed out in pain, and rolled up into a ball.
"See how he curves up into a tiny ball, like a hedgehog!" Darkon mocked. Xeon laughed, a high-pitched and wheezy laugh. The other members of the circle around were silent, but all were secretly harbouring wishes to kill the man sitting haughtily on his throne.
Darkon placed his hand on Arkion's temples, then creased his brows. After a while, he then left the room, followed faithfully by Xeon, and thus the members of the circle went out. A warrior, however, stayed behind, and he gave Arkion a couple of elixirs.
"Thanks," Arkion whispered, and he hobbled out, helped along by the warrior.
I I I
A glint, dancing in the moonlight... Edging, ever so slowly, towards the house…
Metal scraping on metal... A polished blade… revealed…
The door shattered… Screams, yells, bellows, pierced the silence of the night… A stab… blood spurting out… The bloody blade… left in the man's heart… The murderer… a flash of a smirk… sauntered away…
A whisper sounded……… Rathe…
I I I
Grendel paced around in his house. He always did that. He had to focus his memories. His past was all murky; he could not make head or tail of anything.
Then, a memory flashed by. Startled, he opened his eyes wide and tried firmly to hold on to that memory. Then, in his mind's eye, he saw this…
Azure eyes, peeking out under the cloak. A wand, clutched firmly in the man's right hand. Then, the wand was raised. Grendel knew nothing more, except for a flash of black in front of his eyes, then eyes unfocused, he listened to what the man had to say.
"You are mine now…" the man said in a low soft hiss, "Outlaw the FPs…"
Then, he felt an intense pain in his forehead. He lay on his bed and moaned, as Darkon stepped into the room, wand still raised.
"You meddlesome fool! Why couldn't you stay in my will? Shadow Delirium!" Darkon snarled. A blue light escaped from Darkon's wand, and struck Grendel in the face. The latter whimpered as his past came back to him, to torment him.
His son, dying before his eyes. His sister, lying spread-eagled on the ground. His mother, kneeling, staring at a cloaked man in his face, until she, too, died…
"You! You killed my mother!" Grendel roared at Darkon, realization suddenly thudding into him. The murderer and Darkon had the exact same hunchbacked posture, and there was an air about Darkon that reminded him of his mother's murderer. He escaped Darkon's power, his hallucinations, and wielded his staff.
"Thunder Spear!" "Hallucination Torment!" the yells sounded at the same time. Darkon lazily sidestepped the blue, shining spear, but Grendel was not as agile. As Grendel shivered wildly, staring vacantly at the shades around him no one else could see, Darkon kicked Grendel in the face, and struck him a blow to his temples. Grendel fell to the ground with a loud thud, and sank into unconsciousness.
I I I
Confusion was rife amongst Ellinia's mystified citizens. One could see a great number of faces peering anxiously at the great house which Grendel used to live in. Rumours were rampant, too, about Grendel's fate. A few days ago, Grendel had just disappeared, never to be seen again. The Board of Magicians was still contemplating on whom amongst their ranks should succeed Grendel, for the great Archmage had no heir.
"Grendel is dead," a disembodied voice suddenly boomed out of a megaphone. All of Ellinia stared around fearfully, wanting to locate the place where the voice originated from.
Darkon, sitting snugly on a posh armchair in Grendel's house, smirked. The uncertainty that clouded these poor fools' brains was pleasurable to him.
"I have become Grendel's successor. The Board of Magicians has so kindly voted me as such," Darkon spoke through the voice-magnifying megaphone once more. The Board of Magicians suddenly appeared on a podium in front of Grendel's treehouse, and eyes unfocused, a few of them drooling, they nodded. Clearly, they were hypnotised, but the faltering and timid inhabitants of Ellinia did not know that.
Darkon dressed himself in the finest garb he could fine and donning a crown, he walked out of the house and said, "Bow before me!" He gazed at each and every of Ellinia's residents, silently muttering an incantation under his breath. Ellinia's people were mesmerized, and unable to do anything but curtsy awkwardly. Drakon sneered gloatingly once more. He had taken over Ellinia, and he would use all the money in Ellinia's treasury to hunt down all of the Fire Poison class. He would stop at nothing to achieve the goal stemmed from his childhood with his insufferable brother.
But, unknown to him, a toddler was sitting in his cot, playing with his toys. Suddenly, a few sparks of flames appeared in his hand, and a greenish fog in the other. Exhausted, the toddler closed his palms, fell back on his bed, and shut his eyes. He was the only one not out in the open, facing Darkon's hypnotizing gaze.
I I I
Grendel groaned. He was laying on a rocky ground somewhere, body curled into a 'U'. He ignored the agonizing pain from his throbbing wounds, and stood up, mumbling a silent 'Heal'. It did not work, however, and then he realized that he was in a dungeon made from entirely obsidian, an igneous rock, which sapped all magical powers from any mage. Grendel swore, and paced up and down his cell, wondering where in the world could he be. He hoped that someone from Ellinia would be dispatched to find him. Then he realized, shocked, that Darkon would instantly be crowned king and he would be stuck here, possibly forever. He heaved a sigh, then sat down on his rump, and despite troubling images and thoughts chasing each other in his mind, he managed to seek respite from the world.
I I I
Cinder woke up to find himself lying in a comfy bed. Then he recalled what had happened the previous night. He opened the door to the living room, then he was met with a shocking surprise.
"Happy birthday, bro!" Liam threw confetti on Cinder and wrapped him in coloured streamers. Cinder then remembered that it was his birthday anniversary today. He had been so busy for the past few days, thrust from one unfortunate predicament to another, that he forgot about his birthday. Liam handed him an Esther Shield, and Rienne also gave him a wrapped present shyly. He was pushed over to the dining table while thanking his brother and Rienne profusely. He sat down on the chair, facing an enormous chocolate cream cake. His stomach rumbled as he realized that he had not eaten anything in at least a day. He tucked in into the cake with obvious delight, accompanied by his two companions.
After the heavy breakfast, the trio retired into their separate bedrooms. Cinder opened Rienne's present, to find a Purple Lemona and a pair of White Magicshoes inside.
"Wow, nice!" Cinder exclaimed to himself, replacing the White Work Glove and the Black Gomushin he had with Rienne's presents.
The teenager then strolled out of the house for a short walk, and unexpectedly, he saw a limping Arkion staggering towards him, supported by a strong-looking warrior.
"Darkon... he… read my mind… I think… knows where you are…" Arkion wheezed, taking in deep breaths during short pauses in between each phrase.
"Who's Darkon?" Cinder questioned.
"The vindictive beast… who killed… my family…" Arkion's voice was quickening, and a mad and furious glare came into his eyes.
"He made us all his servants," the warrior said gruffly. "By the way, I'm Kraken."
"Cinder… go… escape to Perion… or maybe Ossyria… Darkon will find you…" Arkion rasped.
"Okay, but only if you two follow me," Cinder replied.
"Sure, I'm all for it. Anything to escape from Darkon," Kraken said. Arkion made a slight nod, and he went to find Rienne and Liam.
Once he reached the house which they had lived in, Cinder knew that something was amiss. There was no sign of life in the house. Not even a lamp or sounds. Cinder stepped in, only to see a note dangling mockingly in front of his face, suspended by a piece of string.
"I have captured your two companions. Come to my lair, and let's see if you have any hope of rescuing them," Cinder read out the note, in a fearful voice. Liam, how could he be kidnapped? And Rienne too…
"Come on, there's a map here. Better try to locate where this kidnapper lives. But not before giving him some medical attention," Kraken added hastily, gesturing to the wounded Arkion.
After making a visit to Niora Hospital, Arkion had his lesions bandaged, and they followed the map's instructions. They first set off into an alley near the hospital, and after moving through what seemed like a maze, the three finally managed to find the place where the kidnapper supposedly resided.
Kraken barged into the door, snapping it off its hinges. The trio walked inside warily, until a light flickered, then lighted up, casting them in a spotlight.
"Ah… Cinder, what heroics! Trying to rescue your friends," a man sitting on a sofa mocked. His bodyguards guffawed loudly, then moved in to capture the trio. Their resistance was not strong enough, and they were disarmed and bound in long, thick ropes.
"Your friends aren't even here! I wonder, what will they think? Little Cinder has died! Oh, what horror!" the man scorned again. "Bring them to the dungeon!"
The men knocked the trio unconscious, and placed them on a cart, while draping a large cloth over them. They wheeled the cart, containing the temporarily-cataleptic Cinder, Arkion and Kraken to the heart of Victoria Island, into a god-forsaken dungeon.
I I I
"You?" Grendel said in shock, gawping at Cinder. "I remember… you were the son of Drakon Firegaze, weren't you?"
"Huh?" Cinder replied, eyebrows raised. "My father is Kines."
"No, he wasn't. He was your surrogate father. Darkon hypnotised me and I ordered all the Fire Poisons to be killed, your biological father amongst them."
"What?!" Cinder stared at Grendel. Now he was gaping. He could not take in this news. "My father… he was Drakon?!"
"Yes. It was a such a regretful day, the day I ordered your father to be killed," Grendel sank onto his knees, covering his face with his hands.
"I can't believe it…" Cinder said, lost in thought. Arkion and Kraken were also staring at him in amazement, like he was some celebrity.
"Wait. So you killed my father," Cinder said in a deadpan voice.
"Yes, but I…" Grendel broke off. Cinder was looking away from the renowned magician. His dark azure eyes were shining with sheer hatred for the pathetic magician. It was unreasonable, but Grendel was the weapon used by Darkon to kill Drakon, and thus he was also at fault.
"I did not have a choice. Do you think I wanted to kill all those FPs? Hundreds were slaughtered before me, and by me. I hate myself as much as you do," Grendel said, voice shaking. Cinder turned around and glared at him insolently.
"Damn you!" Cinder howled at Grendel, who flinched slightly. Cinder threw his Maple Staff against the obsidian rock, and it bounced off with a loud clang. Cinder sat down, hunched over, drowning in self-pity and melancholy. Hot, salty tears rolled from his eyes, but he made no motion to wipe them off.
He felt a burning hatred in himself. The flames of anger in him were lit by the knowledge that Grendel killed his father. He felt a strong urge to slice Grendel into half with his Maple Staff, like how a farmer would a crop with a scythe. He would have then taken revenge for his father's untimely and unjust death. But, no matter how much he hated Grendel, and how much he wanted to avenge his father, he could not bring himself to murder another human in cold blood, even a murderer like Grendel.
"Father…" Cinder whispered, but his voice was lost on a sudden cool draught filtering in from the cell grilles, not unlike how his father's life was lost and extinguished by the hand of Grendel…
Author's Note: Argh I forgot to add in something when I published this chapter. Now I added it. It's after the part where Darkon hypnotised ALMOST all of the poor peasants and magicians of Ellinia.