Under a Violet Moon
Disclaimer: "Neverwinter Nights" and all the characters and places within belong to Obsidian and Bioware, not me, and I just borrowed them for a little joyride through Faerun. Keridwen is mine. Attentive readers might find some of her weaponmaster philosophies similar to some aspects of Frank Herbert's 'Dune' saga... and they're right. I always found his concept about fear and its control highly intriguing, and so I decided to use it as Keridwen's mantra in an altered form.
Author's Note: And here comes another chapter, to make up for my long absense and to shed some lights on what happened to Keri. And once more, I'd like to thank all of you who left a comment or added this story to their favs or story/author alert – I could never do this without your support!
Llandaryn: I'm glad that you enjoyed the dragon flashback and that it could add more layers to Bishop's and Keri's relationship. I know that Keri is no way near as troubled as your leading lady, so I'm glad that you like her as a protagonist nonetheless. :)
Kalyane: Don't worry, dear - your English is much better than you think. ;) I'm happy that I could brighten your day and that you keep reading this story although I have been away for a while. I really like your fire-and-ice analogy - it shows how different Bishop and Keridwen actually are, but that they complement each other nonetheless. I'm sorry if reading their struggles frustrates you, but we are talking about Bishop here - if things got well while he is involved, I'd be doing something wrong. But don't worry - this story isn't over yet, so we'll see. ;P
vivienl: Thank you for your review - I'm happy to hear that you liked my wording and the ever changing relationship between Bishop and Keridwen. I'll do my best to keep their story interesting. ;)
jeandark: I'm glad that you enjoy this story so far - and see, I updated! No need to go mad... yet. ;P
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9
She walked the battlements of the Keep, lost in her thoughts, and watched how Selune made her slow way across the sky. The moon stood still low over the horizon, a shining orb that rose between the distant summits of the Sword Mountains, and Keridwen felt strangely content just to watch the woods and fields surrounding her being illuminated by its bright, white light while the wind tousled her hair, bringing with it the sweet smell of flowers and freshly mown grass.
There was the faint sound of footsteps approaching, and she tensed almost imperceptibly as she recognised his stride. He sauntered closer, and the fact that she could hear him at all told her more about the reason why he was here than words could ever do. She knew that he only allowed her to hear his footsteps that clearly when he wanted her to notice his presence, and so she kept her eyes deliberately fixed on the horizon, unwilling to give in to one of his little games so easily.
He stopped right behind her, the warmth of his body slowly spreading across her back, and Keridwen shivered as she felt his hot breath caressing the sensitive skin of her neck. So they stood for a while in silence, their eyes staring out over the fields and onto the woods, and the beat of her heart quickened ever so slightly as she felt the slight pressure of his weight against hers, urging her to say something, anything, just to distract her from his closeness and the strange uneasiness it was causing her.
"There's death in the air tonight."
These words were the first that came to her mind, and Keridwen frowned as they seemed to stir a memory. Had there been another time and another place where she had said these words before? She heard him chuckle, his breath on her neck making her skin tingle, and she felt her own breathing quicken as he leaned even closer to murmur quietly into her ear.
"There's always death in the air, Captain. The question should be who's going to die tonight, don't you think?"
Keridwen briefly closed her eyes in an attempt to regain her composure. She knew he was just playing games with her, always mocking, always teasing and trying to goad a reaction out of her, and so she did her best to keep her voice calm and steady as she replied, determined not to show him that he was actually affecting her with his feeble tricks. The murmur of his voice seemed to stir something deep within her, and it confused Keridwen that his sudden closeness had such an effect on her.
"The moon is shining brightly. There's still hope."
She felt him shrug, his mouth still so distractingly close to her ear, and his voice was mockingly light as he spoke.
"Maybe. But there are things you can change, Captain, and others you cannot. Even you cannot hope to survive, should you decide to challenge the storm that's coming."
She frowned as she looked at the peaceful scenery around her, not sure what he was trying to tell her.
"A storm is coming?"
He chuckled again, and his voice was full of mock severity as he spoke.
"What, something the great Knight-Captain failed to notice in her hurry to get away from it all? The noose's finally tightening around your neck, woman, so maybe you should take me up on my offer after all."
He leaned even closer until his mouth brushed teasingly against her ear, sending another wave of shivers down her spine, and his next words were spoken with such a low purr that it made her breath catch in her throat. His voice was full of promise as he whispered urgently into her ear, and Keridwen shivered despite herself as a strange warmth spread through her body, startling her.
"Just you and me, Keri, that's what I'm saying. I can guide the two of us out of here, away from these shadows, from everything. All you need to do is ask."
His mouth wandered from her ear to her neck, and she shuddered as she felt his lips on her skin, caressing her, and her throat became terribly dry all of a sudden. For a fleeting moment, she almost leaned into his touch as the warmth inside her seemed to increase a thousandfold, urging her to let go, to give in, but Keridwen forced her breathing to remain steady even as he pressed himself against her, trapping her effectively between his body and the walls of the battlement. She was the Captain, after all. She needed to remain focused.
"I… told you before, I cannot leave. Not before dawn."
Her voice stayed calm and measured, just as she had intended, but there was a sudden husky undertone to it that she couldn't hide, and Keridwen shivered as she felt his lips curl into a slight smile at the sound of her voice, knowing that he, too, had heard what she had never meant to reveal. His mouth caressed the delicate skin of her neck one last time before he finally made a step back, and as she heard his voice again, he seemed to have retreated even further because it sounded strangely distant all of a sudden, as if the words reached her from afar.
"I'm sorry, Captain, but I fear I cannot wait that long. The storm's coming."
There was a rumble in the distance, deep and foreboding like thunder, and Keridwen's eyes widened as she turned to the South and saw dark clouds rising from the Mere, storming towards the Keep. All of a sudden, the former bright light of the moon became an eerie, purplish glow, and a feeling of foreboding settled in Keridwen's stomach as she watched the clouds coming closer and closer to the Keep, a dark maelstrom of fury, and the smell of flowers and mown grass was suddenly replaced by a stink of rot and decay so intense that it made her want to gag.
"Bishop?"
She turned around, the feeling of foreboding intensifying, and her heart almost stopped in fright as she stared into Kana's destroyed face. The hollow cheeks of her former second-in-command looked almost waxen in the purple gloom and were now covered with blood, and the last remaining eye shone still brightly with that disturbing, feverish light, luring Keridwen into their shadowy depths once more. Kana's mouth opened, and the words came out in the same rasping, emotionless voice that sent shivers of dread running down Keridwen's spine, awakening a surprisingly strong desire to turn around and run.
"You should have never come back here, Captain."
Keridwen sensed her sudden movement and tried to duck away in time, but Kana moved with unnatural speed. Snake-like, she wound her way around Keridwen's defenses and hit her hard against the chest, pushing her forcefully backwards against the battlements. Keridwen tried to regain her balance, but the ground at her feet became strangely slippery all of a sudden, and before she could stop herself, her momentum had carried her over the stone wall and right into thin air, with nothing between her and the ground.
For the length of a heartbeat, she just seemed to float high in the air, her eyes fixed on Kana who still stood behind the battlements and watched her with that terribly empty expression on her face, the storm clouds darkening the sky behind her. Then she fell, and Keridwen closed her eyes, awaiting the pain of the impact that would most likely end her life- but it never came. Keridwen opened her eyes again, puzzled, and her heart beat even faster as she took in the scenery around her, her eyes widening in disbelief while the feeling of foreboding returned abruptly and with full force.
Darkness surrounded her. Not the almost cosy, well-known gloom of a moonless night, but such a complete pitch-blackened darkness that could only exist through the complete absence of light, and for a moment, Keridwen truly feared that she had become blind. There were things moving in the dark around her, loosely human-shaped creatures that seemed to be woven of the darkest of shadows, their eyes blazing red, and whenever one of them came near her, Keridwen could feel the icy cold that emanated from its ethereal form, chilling her to the bone.
What is this place?
There was no ground, no horizon which would have helped her in her attempt to regain some kind of orientation, and so she could do nothing but drift through the darkness, along with the shadows, and the intense cold around her slowly crept into her limbs, not only draining her of the warmth of her body but seeming to take away some of her strength as well.
All of a sudden, a burning cold spread through her upper arm, and Keridwen looked down, alarmed, only to see that one of the shadows had come close enough to reach for her, his shadow claws now closing tightly around her, his eyes glittering maliciously. Other hands reached out for her as well, and she felt a first wave of panic well up inside her as more and more hands wound around her arms and legs, slowly draining her strength away. Keridwen struggled to break free, but the shadows only tightened their vice-like grip around her, obviously unwilling to let her go.
There were voices whispering in her head now, the nature of their thoughts so alien that it hurt just to listen to their quiet murmurs. The voices were full of promise about the wonderful places they could show to her if she only gave up her resistance, but Keridwen kept fighting. Behind those silken words, she could feel a deep hatred for all those who lived, paired with a greedy hunger for such life, her life, and so she increased her struggling, determined to break their hold on her.
Strangely enough, the intense pain of their shadowtouch seemed to help her clear her mind, and so she actually embraced the pain, focussing on the way how the cold made her limbs burn and freeze at the same time, and from one moment to another, the voices were gone, and Keridwen felt the strange sensation of being at two places at once.
But how could that be, if this was nothing but a dream?
There was a sudden pull going through her, as if someone had caught her soul with a hook, and Keridwen was forcefully dragged away from the shadows in an instant, rushing through the darkness around her at remarkable speed. There was a sudden explosion of light, and Keridwen had to close her eyes against the searing pain that threatened to pierce her skull. When her eyes had gotten used to the light again, she blinked carefully, filled by an almost desperate desire to understand what was going on, but it took her a while to make sense of the images that now flooded her mind.
She was still moving through the air with unimaginable speed, but the landscape beneath her was surprisingly familiar. The Mere stretched out below her, with its vast ponds of water, circled by reed, weeping willow and swamp grass, and the unsuspected and yet so familiar sight made her heart ache longingly all of a sudden. Keridwen could see the violet moon high in the sky above her, illuminating the world from behind its curtain of dark clouds, but its purplish light gave the scenery around her an eerie, almost menacing look, and the vague feeling of uneasiness began to form a tight knot in her belly.
Keridwen tried to slow her flight through the sky, but whatever it was that had dragged her away from the shadowy place and now carried her further through the air held her in an iron grip, and just like a leaf in the rapids, she could do nothing but follow its lead. Strangely enough, Keridwen could still feel another part of her lying beside the camp fire, wrapped up in Bishop's bedroll, and the sensation of being at two places at once was almost as disturbing as the draining touch of the shadows that she had felt before.
What is happening to me?
As far as she could tell in this dreamlandscape, she was heading South, deeper and deeper into the Mere, and the closer she came to its heart, the thicker and darker the clouds around her seemed to become, all whirling around a central spot in the distance, and the knot in her belly became almost painful as she realised that the invisible force dragged her right in its direction.
There were signs of civilization hidden under the marsh, pieces of masonry that loomed above the water, the single ashlars clearly wheathered by time and constant exposure to the elements, along with the remnants of cobble-stone pavement and half-sunken buildings, but Keridwen was still soaring so fast through the air that it took her a while to realise that she had to be flying above the ruins of an ancient city, claimed by the rising tides of the Mere long ago, and the feeling of foreboding intensified as she finally recalled who its founders must have been.
The Illefarn.
Could this actually be the Vale of Merdelain? A shadow rose in the distance, its shape strangely distorted by the storming clouds that surrounded it, and shivers of dread began to run down her spine as she came nearer and nearer to her destination. Keridwen took a deep breath to calm her rising fear, and the knowledge that she was still lying safely beside her camp fire was a balm to her weary self. This was nothing but a dream, it had to be. But it was hard to take a look at the heart of shadow and not feeling intimidated by its raw, destructive power.
Now that she was nearer, she could finally make out the broken shell of what had once been a large, circular building, rising in the centre of the city, and even in its dilapidated state, the otherworldly beauty of the place was unmistakable. The invisible force dragged her inexorably further, and for a fleeting moment, Keridwen looked up as she entered the circle of clouds and saw the moon standing at the zenith, glaring at her like an angry, purple eye, but before she could cast it as much as a glance, she had been hauled further and into the crumbling ruins, right into the stronghold of shadow.
The scenery changed again. She was floating through dimly lit corridors now, all coated with blue-grey stone and decorated with the filigree stone carvings that she had seen in other Illefarn ruins before, and the walls were lined by large crystal lamps which cast a faint, blueish light, covering the narrow hallways in shadow.
There were figures moving in the halfdark around her. Keridwen could hear their whispers as she past them by, too quietly for her to understand the words, but the gleeful anticipation in their voices was unmistakable. A change was coming, the tension that was so clearly tangible in the air around her reminding her strongly of the quiet before the storm, and Keridwen feared what that could mean for her.
This is a dream, remember? Nothing of this is real.
But strangely enough, the thought did nothing to calm her racing heart as she was led deeper and deeper into the catacombs. Keridwen followed the numerous windings of the corridors, passing through a masterfully crafted archway and then descended a long pair of stairs down into the dark. There was a light at the end of the stairs, and as she neared its landing, Keridwen could hear voices echoing through the high tunnel, a strange singing and chanting that sounded vaguely familiar, and an icy feeling of foreboding settled in her stomach as she finally recognised the rhythm of a magical incantation.
She burst into a great hall. Numerous statues rimmed the vast, circular room, all showing the image of a woman, her face a frozen mask of beauty and peace. The statues seemed to hold out their hands to the observer, as if they carried something of great value in their palms, and the icy feeling of foreboding increased a thousandfold as Keridwen recognised the image of the Statues of Purification. The room was lit by large crystals that rose from the ground, and after her hurried journey through the dimly lit tunnels, Keridwen had to close her eyes for a moment against their brilliant bluewhite light.
Her flight stopped as abruptly as it had started. One moment, she was still soaring through the air and into the great hall, the next one, she felt an invisible hand pressing her forcefully towards the ground, and Keridwen saw that she was standing close to the entrance now, amidst a circle of runes. The runes were obviously drawn with great skill and care, and the feeling of foreboding increased even further as she recognised the now familiar pattern of a summoning circle. What was the meaning of this?
Small crystal lamps lined the circle of runes, their shape somewhat familiar, but before she could recall where she had seen such things before, Keridwen watched in alarm as one lamp after another suddenly came to life and started to emanate a cool, blue light. A strange sensation went through her body, as if someone was scraping her back with a sharp knife, and in an instant, the feeling of being at two places at once was gone, and Keridwen felt strangely naked all of a sudden. Her heart raced frantically in her chest, and she briefly closed her eyes, trying to calm her tense nerves and raging pulse to regain a feel for her body, still lying beside the campfire... but couldn't.
The incantation ended, and the invisible hold which had controlled all of her former actions diminished, leaving her free and in control of her motions once more, and as soon as Keridwen felt its grip around her loosening, she lunged forward, trying to leave the circle. It felt as if she had walked right against a wall. Keridwen reached out with one probing hand and was shocked to see that her whole body seemed to have become transparent all of a sudden, its lines now rimmed by an ethereal, white glow, and fear started to gnaw at her heart, although she did her best to stay calm and composed.
She had been sleeping. It had to be a dream.
But what if it was not?
Carefully, she reached with her hand towards the circle, but as soon as her ethereal hand came within range of the crystal lamps, she felt the air around her thicken until it became a solid wall she could not penetrate. She was trapped within their cool, blue light, and suddenly, Sand's voice came to her mind along with the memory of one of their quiet conversations, held within the ghostly halls of another Illefarn ruin.
"I've spoken with Balaur the Lore Keeper at great length. He calls these lamps 'ghost lights', and as long as they're lit, none of the spirits within these walls will be able to reach the sacred tree in the upper hall to perform the ritual."
She had frowned at the mage and then had cast a sharp glance at the crystal lamps lining the walls of the various corridors, emanating the same cool, blue light.
"Did Balaur tell you how one could extinguish these lamps?", Keridwen had asked in her quiet voice, and her eyes had wandered to Khelgar and Casavir for a moment who were standing guard at a crossroad nearby, scanning the halfdark around them for more undead company. She had heard Sand's amused chuckle beside her, and had turned to see him cast her one of his bemused smiles, his eyebrows raised in mock superiority.
"Oh yes, he did indeed." And with these words, the elf had simply reached out a hand, and under his touch, the light of the lamp had immediately gone out. Keridwen had raised her eyebrows questioningly, and Sand had smiled again, obviously enjoying himself.
"Impressive, don't you think? The touch of the living is enough to lighten or darken the lamps. Balaur said that these lamps had once served a different purpose, but now they've become the wards that keep the spirits trapped within these walls."
Another chuckle echoed through the vast hall, and Keridwen looked up, alarmed, to see a Reaver standing in front of the summoning circle, a dangerous light glittering in the empty eyeholes of its skull, and another shiver ran down her spine as she recognised the voice.
Garius!
There were others with him, three of his Reaver brethren and another figure, smaller and slender and dressed in a thick, hooded cloak as if it tried to shield itself against the cold around her, all of them watching her with interest. Garius moved closer, and Keridwen could feel the cold intensity of his dark, eyeless stare as he approached, and his voice was full of mock severity as he spoke.
"Look, my brothers. At least one of our guests has finally arrived."
He inclined his head, and the satisfaction in his voice was unmistakable.
"Welcome, Knight-Captain. You should feel honoured, as you will be one of the few who are allowed to witness the return of the King of Shadows to the Material Plane."
He made an inviting gesture with his skeletal hand, and Keridwen's eyes widened in disbelief and fear as they finally fell upon the centre of the great hall. Within another circle of runes wavered a cloud of thick, blackened mist, and the otherworldly presence that she had felt in the Mere and the Keep resonated strongly within its swirling, layered veils. The mist pulsated slowly, seemingly growing with each pulse that went through the cloud like a heartbeat while it grew darker and darker, slowly absorbing the light.
"What do you want from me, Garius?"
Although her heart was beating in her chest like a frightened bird, years and years of training helped Keridwen to keep her voice calm and measured as she spoke, and a part of her was pleased to see the Reaver's shoulders tense noticeably at her calm request. Garius kept his voice still deliberately light, but there was a sharp, annoyed note to it that he couldn't quite hide, and Keridwen knew her reserve had hit a soft spot.
"Oh, but it is not what I want but what my master wants that is of importance here, Captain. I am sure you recognised the lamps we have lit around your circle? The Illefarn created them long ago to focus the spiritual energy of the land, unaware of the fact that they had involuntarily created a tool that allowed them to trap a soul within their reach as well."
Keridwen kept her face calm and impassive, but her heart almost skipped a beat as the meaning of Garius gloats became all too clear. The shadowy place, the pain she had felt at the shadows freezing touch, the feeling of being at two places at once, her flight through the sky… it had been real.
This is no dream…
Realisation hit her like a fist in the belly, and it cost Keridwen every ounce of strength and self-control that she had learned during her long years in the house of her masters to keep the sudden despair at bay, to steel her mind for what surely was about to come. More than her own life was at stake, and if she couldn't remain focused on the task ahead, all would be lost.
Focus, Keri. You're not lost as long as you can keep your thoughts together!
"A soul?"
The Reaver chuckled at the sound of her voice and made another small gesture with his hand. His brethren nodded and turned around to walk across the great hall until they finally lined up around the second circle, and Garius half turned to watch their motions, his voice full of false pleasantry.
"Oh yes, Captain. Fortunately, you were still within our reach after your… unexpected departure from the Keep."
Bishop!
Somewhere, her body still had to be wrapped up in his bedroll, and he was sitting beside her, keeping watch by their fire. Would he realise that something was wrong with her? Could he help her, if she found a way to reach out for him? The Reavers began another incantation, and as their voices started to echo from the walls of the vast hall, the runes around the dark mist began to glow with an eerie, purple light. Garius turned around to face her once more, and his voice was calm and triumphant as he spoke.
"It won't be long now. Soon, the King of Shadow will end his exile on the Shadow Plane, and then you and all of your friends will learn what it means to stand against the power of Shadow." He cast another quick glance at his brethren, still lost in their incantation, and the smug superiority in his voice sent another shiver of foreboding down her spine. "If you'll excuse me, Captain, it seems as if the ritual will soon reach its climax, and my assistance will be needed."
He turned towards the hooded figure that still stood silently beside the summoning circle, and for a fleeting moment, Keridwen could see a glittering pair of eyes beneath the dark hood reflecting the light of the crystal lamps, watching her.
"I'm leaving the Knight-Captain in your care, then."
The figure nodded, and Keridwen was surprised to hear that its voice was not like the deep rumble of the Reavers, but actually high and smooth, and the sound was terribly familiar as it spoke.
"It will be my pleasure."
The voice belonged to a woman, somewhat arrogant and full of gleeful anticipation, and Keridwen felt her blood run cold as she instantaneously recognised the voice.
No. It can't be. You're confusing things…
Garius nodded, obviously pleased with the answer.
"Good."
And with that, the Reaver turned around and walked swiftly through the great hall to join his brethren at the second circle, and Keridwen was left alone with her mysterious guard. The figure paced slowly around the circle, obviously taking a great pleasure in just watching Keridwen's trapped astral form within its magical prison, and Keridwen felt the sharp claws of despair tear at her heart as she steeled herself for the question that now had to be asked, although it seemed to burn her very soul.
"Qara?", she whispered quietly, praying to whatever god who would hear her plea that she had been wrong. The figure stopped in its pacing, and two slender, gloved hands reached up to slowly withdraw the hood, revealing the oh-so familiar sight of short crimson hair and sparkling emerald eyes. A cruel smile played on Qara's lips as the girl watched the soul in front of her with barely concealed malicious joy, and her voice was terribly light as she spoke.
"Hello, Keridwen. How was your little fun trip into the woods?"
For a long moment, Keridwen could do nothing but stare at her companion with wide eyes as horror and disbelief mingled strongly in her chest, numbing her feelings to a point where simple emotions such as fear or grief could not touch her anymore. Qara's face was deathly pale, but her eyes burned brightly with the same feverish light that had filled the eyes of the undead at the Keep, and it made Keridwen sick just to look at her companion. Qara seemed to have guessed her feelings, for her cruel smile widened noticeably as the girl slowly resumed her pacing, and her falsely sweet voice cut like knives through Keridwen's very being.
"Surprised to see me here, Captain?"
Keridwen stared at the familiar young face before her, and although her heart ached painfully while her mind still refused to accept what she was seeing with her own eyes, Keridwen fought hard to keep focused on the here and now. Her enemies were counting on her despair and confusion, after all, and she would never give them the satisfaction of seeing her unbalanced.
"A little."
Her voice was calm and measured with only the barest hint of a quiver, and Keridwen felt somewhat touched despite herself as she saw the smile on Qara's face actually wavering under her former leader's cool, controlled stare. There had to be an explanation for all this. Maybe the girl was just a prisoner of some sort, and they could make their way out of here together, if Keridwen found a way to free her self from the circle…
"Qara, please, come to your senses. I don't know what happened and how you ended up here, but this will be the death of you! Extinguish the lamps, and we can find a way out of this place!"
As soon as she heard Keridwen's calm plea, Qara's face distorted with disgust, and her voice sounded surprisingly hard and bitter as she replied.
"Oh, please. You've never bothered with me or my well-being before, so why start now?"
Keridwen felt her eyes widen in disbelief as a vague feeling of guilt and dread began to settle in her stomach. Did Qara truly believe what she had just said? Keridwen watched the girl's tense and hostile posture, and it grieved her to hear so much hurt and hatred hidden beneath those angry words, all directed at her.
This is getting strangely familiar…
"You know this isn't the truth, Qara.", she replied, shaken.
"Oh, really?" The girl's face was a cold, impassive mask, but her eyes burned with barely suppressed rage as she spoke. "You're just like Sand and the others, always lecturing me about my actions and telling me to restrain myself, while I'm the one with the power, not you!"
Qara's eyes narrowed to slits as she watched Keridwen's astral form, who returned her stare in stunned silence, and the smug smile that suddenly appeared on the girl's face send more shivers of dread down Keridwen's spine.
"It was almost worth to stick around just to see their faces as they suddenly realised that you had run away with your lover, and on the eve of battle, no less!"
Keridwen knew without doubt that none of her friends would ever believe for a second that she had left them to their fate willingly, that Qara was just trying to goad her with her mocking words, and so it truly startled her as she felt a hot wave of anger welling up inside her at the girl's haughty verbal barbs. Keridwen briefly closed her eyes in an attempt to reign in her sudden temper, knowing that she needed to remain calm to keep the upper hand. The girl loved to deride and toy with her opponents, after all, and the longer she could keep the girl talking, the more time she would have to find a way out of her prison.
"Why are you here, Qara?"
The girl's smile widened at Keridwen's calmly spoken words, and her eyes sparkled maliciously as she replied in her falsely sweet voice.
"Oh, you'd die to know that, would you?"
She put the long fingers of her hands together and held them to her lips in a cruel immitation of Sand and pouted, the malicious gleam still in her eyes.
"Actually, it was all Casavir's doing. Can you believe that he ordered me to fight alongside him and the little knee-high on the battlements while the others just grouped around that hedgewizard in the library, trying to find you and the ranger with a scrying spell?"
Qara's shoulders tensed noticeably as she went on with her complaint, but Keridwen heard only half of what the girl was saying. As soon as Qara had started to warm up to her topic, she had directed her thoughts inward in an attempt to free her astral form by reaching out for her body once more, but no matter how hard she tried to recall the feeling of her own body lying beside the camp fire, she just couldn't. It had disappeared the moment the ghost lights had been lit around the summoning circle, and now, she was all on her own again. The thought did nothing to put her troubled mind at ease, and so it took her a while before she could force herself to focus on Qara and her ramblings once more.
"You see, it was Garius who approached me on the battlements." A satisfied smile played on Qara's thin lips as she spoke, and her voice sounded strangely pleased as she went on. "He knew that I was the one with the true power and therefore offered me the opportunity to see my strength increased a thousandfold... and all I had to do was to help him break the resistance of your precious forces."
Keridwen stared at the young woman before her, and her eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she finally understood the meaning of her disturbingly cheerful words. "You sided with the enemy to fight against your own companions?"
Qara's mouth contorted as if she had suddenly bitten on something sour and vile, and her eyes were full of contempt as she replied.
"Oh, please. They never cared about me, anyway. They were all too busy just dogging your footsteps as that one of them would have ever tried to get to know me, as if you were someone special who was actually worth all the attention. I would have loved to kill them myself, but the ceiling of the library collapsed before I actually got a chance to burn those self-righteous fools to ashes. And who are you to judge me, anyway, running away with that creep just to save your own neck?"
All of a sudden, the voices of the Reaver's echoed loudly from the walls, and Qara cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the second circle where Garius and his brethren were still performing their ritual, and Keridwen felt her heart clench painfully in her chest as her gaze fell upon the fast pulsating veils of mist once more. Qara turned around to face her former leader with a cruel and satisfied smile on her lips, and there was a light in her eyes that made the hairs on Keridwen's neck stand up.
"It won't be long now. You see, Garius has shown me ways to exploit my potential, and when the King of Shadows returns, he will grant me even more knowledge about how to improve my skills."
Her face suddenly shone brightly with unmitigated greed and desire, and the feverish light in her emerald eyes seemed to increase a thousandfold as she went on, making her look like a madwoman all of a sudden.
"My power will finally be unleashed, without restraint, without bounds. And it will consume allthat have stood against me!"
Keridwen felt her heart ache with pity and regret as she watched the unmasked thirst for power and revenge distorting Qara's young face, and her voice was calm and saddened as she spoke.
"But without restraint, without dedication, there can never be true power, Qara."
Qara's face contorted with disgust and anger at Keridwen's calm reply, and a dangerous gleam appeared in her eyes as the girl balled her hands into fists, her voice now barely more than an angry hiss.
"Oh, is that so? I wonder how you intend to give me another one of your tiresome lectures, Captain- when you're dead!"
And with these words, the girl raised her hands, and a spear of dark energy shot through the air, directly aiming for Keridwen. There was a fleeting moment where she could see the spear soaring towards her, cracking all the stone slabs in its path and sending fragments of the crystal lamps flying everywhere before it finally hit her astral form squarely in the chest.
It felt as if her soul had caught fire. The dark energy of Qara's spell seemed to consume her very being, and Keridwen screamed in agony as she felt her spiritual essence wavering. She desperately tried to hold on to her self, to keep the negative power at bay, but the pain was just too great. Keridwen felt her strength rapidly fading, and so she gathered her last reserves in a desperate attempt to free herself from the pain, to find some shelter for her wounded soul, and for a fleeting moment, she thought she felt herself lying on the ground again, with her eyes staring up at the grey sky. There was someone with her, a shadow that suddenly loomed above her and blocked the sky from view, but the moment passed, and then nothing remained but the great hall… and the pain.
Qara was still standing in front of the circle and watched her dying struggles with an expression of perverse pleasure on her face. The whole hall seemed to vibrate all of a sudden, but Keridwen felt her focus already wavering as her last strength was finally burnt away under the essence-consuming power of the girl's spell. As darkness finally descended upon her, her vision cleared just long enough to see a shiver running through the veils at the centre of the great hall, and then a dark thing stepped through it. It was a shadow, but not like any shadow creature she had ever seen before. The monstrous creature almost reached the ceiling with its dark horns, and Keridwen could feel its otherwordly presence filling the very air and stone around her, drinking thirstily from the remaining powers of the Illefarn ruins to recover its strength, and that somewhat familiar feeling of its presence stirred a memory deep within her.
He has returned!
Her self was already dispersing, but strangely enough that incoherent thought ignited within her an irresistable desire to keep up the fight. There were still things that needed to be done. She simply couldn't give up just yet!
The negative energy was constantly surging against her inner self, trying to consume her entirely but Keridwen curled up into a tight ball, using all that was left of her strength to shield the very core of her being from the devastating powers that surrounded her, but at a terrible cost. Unable to hold on any longer, Keridwen heard a soft sigh escape her lips as she finally gave in to the seductive call of the darkness that swirled around her, and the hall vanished before her eyes as she felt her self rapidly gliding away into nothingness.
The time the Guardian opened its fiery eyes and moved away from the portal to touch Illefarn ground once more, she was already gone.
*****