Chapter Seven: The Face of Darkness and the Light of Hope
"Welcome to my domain, Heroes of Lodoss!" Sahren's voice sneered, sending chills up Cecil's spine. Ashram snarled, taking a step away from Parn and taking up a battle stance. He knew better than to mess with creatures that had dark magic. Spark, Deedlit, Leaf, and Parn followed suit, while Neese and Sheen prepared for battle in their own ways. Cecil took a step forward, his eyes turning icy and cold with anger.
"What have you done with the captives? Where are they?" Cecil asked, his tone angry, as he held his sword at ready. The evil elf smiled wickedly at him, revealing his sharp fanged teeth. He was truly a frightening sight to behold; he had pale, almost white skin and long, hip length black hair. He wore black robes with gold trim on them and a white gold circlet on his brow. His eyes were as red as blood and glowed with evil light. This creature was the epitome of evil!
"Look over there, young fool." Sahren said, his voice chillingly soft. Cecil looked and gasped at what he saw; there, manacled side by side, were Hobb, Lien, and Pirotess!
"You bastard!" Ashram roared, launching himself at Sahren, with fury in his eyes. Sahren merely smiled and made a commanding gesture, sending Ashram flying into a wall. There was a sickening crack as the man's body hit the wall and fell to the floor.
"Ashram!!" Pirotess screamed, in horror.
"Sir Ashram!" Spark yelped, as he went to the side of the fallen knight, who was then making a brave effort to get back up.
"Don't worry about me! Back Parn up!" Ashram gasped, managing to get to his knees before telling Spark to help the other knight. Parn was touched by the Black Knight's concern and turned his attention back to the battle. Little did the heroes realize that there was another person in the chamber, other than the evil elf.
"This dump had nothing worthwhile to steal! I wish I hadn't let Karla take over! I'd probably still be with Parn and the rest! Wait a minute! What's that?!" a familiar, scrawny looking man wondered, as the sounds of battle came to his ears. As he got closer to the fighting, the man saw what appeared to be a group of eight people. Some of the fighters were very familiar to him.
"Parn! And Deedlit too! And is that…………….the Black Knight of Marmo?! What's he doing here?! No matter, I see a good distraction to cause some trouble for the bad side! Good thing I learned how to pick locks before I left Kanon!" the man muttered, with a grin, as he dug his trusty lock pick out and inched his way over to the three people who were manacled to the wall.
Parn grimaced as a fire spell whizzed past him. If it hadn't been for Cecil summoning the water spirits (where he had gotten the spell bag for it, Parn could only guess), he would have been fried. Sheen wasn't as lucky; he got burned on his arms, chest, and stomach, but he continued using Mairi's power for encouragement for the others. Ashram was on his feet again, but looked almost like he wanted to collapse. Cecil furiously fought hand to hand against Sahren, almost forgetting himself in his rage.
"Cecil! If you get any angrier, you'll give Hyuri room to move into your heart and make you into what Orson was! Calm down before you become a berserker!" Deedlit shouted, frantically, when she saw how angry Cecil had become. Cecil stopped dead in his tracks. He remembered very clearly what had happened to Orson. With a shaky sigh, Cecil calmed down, much to the evil elf's displeasure.
"And to think your hatred almost made you as strong as me! Think, Cecil, think of the power you are throwing away by not giving in to your hatred!" Sahren sneered, as Cecil looked at him with deadly calm in his blue eyes.
"I will never become a berserker. Hyuri killed a good friend of mine eleven years ago, and I don't intend to follow his unfortunate path. I will destroy you, in the fashion best suited for High Elves……….by light." Cecil said, his voice calm. Deedlit sighed a sigh of relief. She had almost lost her brother to the same evil spirit that Shiris had lost Orson to, but he had calmed down just in time. Sahren snarled and made the same gesture that he'd used to throw Ashram into the stone wall. Cecil cried out as he flew back away from Sahren, and he braced himself for a bone-shattering impact. Instead he felt someone grab him from midair and take the brunt of the blow.
"Sir Ashram!" Spark shouted, when he saw the Black Knight make the self-sacrificial move to save Cecil's life and rushed to the knight's side when he slid to the floor.
"Ashram…….." Cecil said, in disbelief, as he got off of the severely wounded knight.
"I…………….I guess………..that really would have infuriated Karla………..huh?" Ashram murmured, as blood ran freely from the corner of his mouth.
"Don't try to talk, Black Knight, you're in very bad shape." Cecil said, in a state of shock over what had just happened.
"Lie still, Sir Ashram. Neese! We need you!" Spark shouted, getting Neese's attention, as Cecil kneeled next to the fallen warrior.
"Cecil…………I need someone to take care of my people……………and take of Pirotess……………if I don't………………." Ashram gasped, coughing painfully.
"Don't talk like that! You are going to make it! Don't tell me that you're going to let something like this kill you! Pirotess needs you more than she needs anyone else!" Cecil said, fighting tears as they came unbidden to his eyes. Finally, Neese arrived and started using her healing powers on Ashram. Cecil turned away from the sight of Ashram lying there, in obvious pain and obviously waiting to die. He turned his angry, tear-filled eyes to the sadistic Sahren. With a wordless cry, Cecil charged at the evil elf, but was stopped in mid-charge by a sharp dagger imbedding itself in his side. Cecil fell, clutching his side as blood flowed freely from the wound and watched in horror as more daggers appeared in Sahren's hands.
"Let's see how your loved ones look as living pincushions!" Sahren cackled in evil glee as he turned to single out his first target and…………….saw that the manacles were empty!
"Oh, yoo-hoo! Ugly! You bass-ackwards ninny! You can't even hit Karla's ass with those!" a taunting voice shouted, from the shadows. Sahren turned every which way, snarling and seething with rage.
"Parn! That sounded like……………!" Deedlit trailed off when the owner of the voice appeared over the infuriated demon elf.
"Woodchuck!" Parn shouted, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"In person! And I have learned a new trick!" Woodchuck said, as the three captives made their way over to the Heroes of Lodoss.
"Ashram…………….Ashram can you hear me?" Pirotess murmured, as she made her way over to the Black Knight's side and touched his face with her hands.
"Pirotess………….? Is it really you? Are you all right?" Ashram asked, looking incredibly relieved to see her.
"Yes. It is I. Please hang on. Don't die on me. Don't leave me alone." Pirotess begged, as tears came to her golden eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
"Shh………….don't cry……………….I'll stay…………..since I know that you are all right……." Ashram murmured, his breaths coming a little bit easier since Neese was healing him all the while. Lien went to Cecil, who was then trying to get to his feet, with a very concerned Deedlit at his side.
"Deedlit? What are you doing here? And who is this young man who bears such an uncanny resemblance to you?" Lien asked, as he helped Cecil get to his feet.
"I am your son, Cecil, Deedlit's half brother." Cecil said, softly, as he looked upon the face of his father for the very first time.
"Enough with the chit-chat! It is time for you all to die!" Sahren shrieked, with an insane light in his eyes. With that said, he started using the stalactites from the ceiling to stab his enemies. But Cecil had a surprise for him. Even though he was in intense pain, Cecil stood on his own, and enacted a shielding spell that he had learned from Slayn. Then he raised a hand over his head, summoned a ball of light and threw it at Sahren, who screamed in agony as it impacted into him.
"Father, Deedlit, Leaf, Sheen, Pirotess, I need your strength to defeat this evil; will you help me?" Cecil asked, turning to them as they watched him with looks of wonder on their faces.
"You know that Father and I will, Cecil." Deedlit replied.
"I will, absolutely." Leaf said, after she had kissed Cecil on the lips and whispering something to him, her eyes filled with love.
"Yes." Sheen agreed, as he stood beside Deedlit, despite his burns.
"I don't know why you are asking me, halfling, since I am a Dark Elf." Pirotess said, coolly.
"Pirotess, I need all the help I can get. It doesn't matter what types of elves seal this evil away, but it must be elves that do the sealing. Pirotess, even though you don't think so, you do have a brilliant, shining light in your heart. That light is the love you have for Ashram, and that will be enough to banish this demon back into the dark realm where he belongs, along with his dark horde. Please help us, Pirotess, so maybe you and Ashram could live in peace without fear of losing each other." Cecil said, gently. Pirotess was astonished by the gentleness of Cecil's tone, but left Ashram's side once she was certain that he was asleep and joined the others in the center of the room.
"Thank you, Pirotess." Cecil murmured, then turned to their mutual enemy.
"We call upon the ultimate elfin spirit of light and fairies, Oberon! Hear our plea and come to us! Seal away this evil now and forevermore! Send him to the land of endless night!" the six elves shouted together. There was a brilliant light and Sahren screamed in horror.
"No! NO!!!!!!!!!!" Sahren wailed, as he started crumbling into dust. This continued until there was nothing left of the evil elf.
"Ah, so I see that the purest hearts have been gathered in this chamber! I sense that there are wishes that could be granted here! What is thy wish, Deedlit?" a regal voice asked.
"Mighty Oberon, king of the fairies, I wish for Parn to remain by my side as long as I live." Deedlit replied, honestly and respectfully.
"Marfa has told me much about you, Parn of Lodoss. You are worthy of this young elf maiden's love. And Pirotess, what is your wish?" Oberon asked, as he turned his attention to her.
"I wish the same for Ashram. I want him to be by my side as long as I live. I love him with all my heart and it would tear me apart if he left me." Pirotess said, baring her heart to the Fairy King.
"Ashram of Marmo….it seems that his path, that had been very dark until now, had just returned again to the light. He, too, is worthy of an elf maiden's love. Lien, what is your wish?" Oberon asked, to the shamefaced High Elf.
"Lord Oberon, I wish to reconcile myself to my family, my wife specifically. And I wish to get to know my son better." Lien replied, looking admiringly at Cecil as he said so. The Fairy King chuckled, good-naturedly.
"You wished two things, Lien! But both will come to pass. Sheen, what is thy most fond wish?" Oberon asked, turning his attention to the elfin Mairi cleric.
"I wish for a love of my own, sir." Sheen said, blushing somewhat when he said that. Again the Fairy King laughed.
"That you will have, in due time, Sheen! And Leaf, what is your wish?" Oberon asked, as Leaf looked over at Cecil.
"I wish I knew whether or not Cecil loves me as much as I love him!" Leaf said, getting an all around chuckle as Cecil face-faulted (with a leg still twitching in the air).
"That one can be answered right away! Cecil? Have you anything to say to her?" Oberon asked. Cecil got up off the ground, walked up to Leaf, and kissed her so passionately that it left her breathless.
"I believe that was his final answer." Woodchuck muttered, getting a laugh out of all those around them.
"Like father, like son. Cecil, what is your wish? What is your fondest desire?" Oberon asked. Cecil looked thoughtful for a moment, then looked at Parn and Deedlit.
"Do you think Ghim and Orson would object too much to coming back to life?" Cecil asked. Parn's jaw dropped and Deedlit just stared at him in disbelief. Oberon chuckled.
"I don't think they will mind too much. But Ghim will be a little bit younger than what you remember him being. Orson will remain the same, except he will no longer have to worry about Hyuri. Is this thy wish, Cecil?" Oberon asked.
"That, and I wish for a happy and peaceful future between Lodoss and Marmo. Bring our friends back to us, Oberon, King of the Fairies." Cecil replied, with a smile.
"Then be it so." Oberon said, disappearing in a flash and leaving two somewhat befuddled warriors standing where the light had been previously.
"Ghim! Orson!" Parn shouted, as he and a few others rushed over to the dwarf and young man.
"Parn! You've grown up on me, you crazy knight wannabe!" Ghim said, then looked at the faces that surrounded him. Some were familiar, others were not.
"Are you Ghim?" Neese asked.
"Yes, but who are you?" Ghim asked, somewhat confused.
"I am Neese, daughter of Leilia and Slayn!" Neese replied, with a smile.
"Leilia's DAUGHTER?!? Parn, you need to explain some things to me!" Ghim said, as Parn chuckled about his reaction to meeting the granddaughter of his old friend, Old Neese. Orson was talking with Cecil, who looked happy to have his friend back. Then Orson noticed something.
"Cecil, I didn't know you were a half-elf." Orson said, as he looked at the sides of Cecil's head.
"Huh?" Cecil asked, as he reached up to touch his ears and found that they were now quite elfin.
"Wow! Oberon's power must have changed them! Now you and Deedlit look almost identical!" Leaf said, as she gently tugged on Cecil's ears and lovingly kissed him. Cecil blushed.
"I guess now I'll live forever, huh, Pirotess?" Ashram said, having awakened when Pirotess had called his name during her wish.
"As long as I live, Ashram." Pirotess said, before kissing him gently.
"I'm so glad to have you back." Ashram murmured, before drifting back into slumber.
"And I am glad to be back near you, as well, Ashram." Pirotess said, as she settled down beside him, placing her head on his chest and falling asleep almost as easily as he had.
"We'll rest here for a while, since we've all had a rough time. Then we'll head back up to the land of the living and leave the underworld for good!" Spark said, getting an agreement from all that were in there.