Part One: What They've Sown

The Shade He Cast

Manu heard the door close behind him, but the noise was drowned out by the feeling inside him that Aanya had closed herself to him as well. He ignored the bows of the guards as he passed between them, and he was so centered in his thoughts as he walked down the stairs that he barely missed colliding with a servant carrying a pitcher of water. He knew what Aanya wanted him to say, that he agreed with her completely, but ignoring his obligation to House Amin was not as simple for him as it was for her. House Amin sheltered him, spared his life, and he had a obligation to serve it and protect it. Any other Queens would have killed him, an elf, without a second thought. Yet, he was spared, and raised with love.

Aanya did not know that Manu was an elf pretending to be human, and so there was no way she could understand the nuance of his obligation to House Amin. To her, it was just a name that was granted to her by their stepmothers. She did not care about the histories and traditions of the House. She saw the symbol of the House only as a beautiful flower, whereas Manu knew it to represent the cyclical nature of growth and death and then rebirth. Had he failed her, in her minority? He had not involved himself in her education because he himself had been learning during his Regency.

Not for the first time, he wished his stepmothers were still alive. That way, he would never have been made Regent a decade earlier than expected, and Aanya would be able to take her time in learning how to prepare herself for her time on the Satin. The Queens had never taught Manu what to do in case he had to become Regent - they were fortunate that the advisers they had in place knew what to do and helped keep the kingdom stable.

Manu paused in an alcove with a statue of a forgotten king. He put his back against the wall and let his feet slide forward until he stopped sliding down. He let his head fall back against the stone bricks, and closed his eyes. He wondered what it would be like to be a worker in the fields, and not have to worry about the seemingly minute troubles of royal life. Aanya was right: the people did not care about which House ruled from the Satin. How meaningful were the troubles of royalty, when the people outside the Palace walls worked just to put food on their table?

Manu was distracted by a sound coming from the corridor. He opened his eyes and poked his head from his alcove. A little ways down the hall, the wind was blowing open a window. Thinking nothing of it, Manu leaned back against the wall.

He turned to look at the window outside, and noticed that the trees were still, untouched by any wind.

He stepped out of the alcove just in time to see a purple miasma climb through the far window. He watched as it rolled onto the floor, dark mist falling from it. It rose, and Manu saw it form into a humanoid shape. The violet energies of dark magic shone in it's eyes, prompting Manu to draw his sword from it's sheathe. The magical creature tilted it's head, and then smiled, showing a dark mouth with no teeth. It raised a hand, which Manu noticed held a sick curved dagger of elven make.

Before Manu could shout for help, the figure charged at him. It moved faster than anything he had seen before; one moment it was on the far end of the corridor, the next it was leaping at him. He raised his sword and blocked the dagger before it could slash down on him. His arms shook with the force of the parried blow. The figure, still airborn, planted it's feet in the center of Manu's chest, and kicked off him, knocking Manu back onto the floor. He cursed as the impact of his head shook his vision.

He rolled to his right and pushed himself up off the floor, and barely brought his sword up in time to meet the dagger once more. The collision was celebrated by the clang of metal and sparks, as though it was the coming of a new year. He looked into the eyes of the shade as it watched him. He saw nothing there but the resolve of an entity created for only one purpose: to kill.

Manu twisted to the right, letting the dagger slide down his blade and send the creature stumbling a few steps forward. He tried to swipe at the shade's back, but it was too fast for him, and had already recovered. It came at him again, this time stabbing at his chest. He stuck his sword straight ahead of him, forcing the shade to change tactics or risk being impaled. It tried to flank to his left side, but Manu turned that direction and parried the swipe. While the creature was faster than Manu, Manu also had the speed and reflexes of an elf, even in his human disguise.

Manu considered using magic, his other innate elven skill, when a few guards ran around the corner. They had to have heard the commotion, Manu realized. Hopefully that meant the Queen was now protected as well.

The guards charged the shade, curved swords and small disc shields raised. They roared and slashed at the magical being, jumped and kicked, but wherever they tried to attack from, the shade retreated from. It was a being of energy, and they were flesh and blood weighed down by armor. Manu took a few steps back and watched the combat, trying to consider his options.

Raising his hand, he drew the moon glyph in the air. "Elevare torque!" He commanded, swiping with his hand to wisp the bright glyph into action.

Three brilliant white beams shot up from the floor, each aiming to grab the dark being. It looked down with wide purple eyes of surprise as a chain latched on to its leg. It snapped its weapon arm back before that too could be restrained, but its left arm managed to get caught. The being looked at Manu with furious eyes, small wisps of purple dark magic dripping from the sockets. It opened its mouth in a terrible shriek.

The guards looked at the creature, and then back at Manu. Manu knew they would not understand the nuances of magic, and would be ignorant of the knowledge that only elves could cast primal magic without the use of a primal source. Still, they were clearly hesitant of him, and took small steps back as he approached the creature.

He raised a hand, and gestured with his fingers. The magical chain that had missed returned and grabbed hold of the creature's other leg. Manu took a few steps forward, curiously examining his catch.

"What is it, Lord Regent?" One of the guards asked.

Manu did not bother to correct him. "Dark magic, certainly. But from where?"

"I bet it was the elves!" Another guard said. She jabbed her sword towards the shade. "We should kill it before it can escape!"

Manu pushed her sword down with the flat side of his own. "No," he told her. "Elves would not use dark magic." He spoke from his own experience, remembering how long it had taken him to overcome that taboo. "This is the work of man, not elf."

More guards arrived, these carrying long spears. They gingerly approached the scene, clearly late, but kept their spears pointed towards the chained shade. The shade's eyes narrowed, and it made swiping motions with it's only free arm. It hissed, catlike.

The captain of the guard approached Manu. He wore a blue cap with a single long feather jutting from his forehead, which twitched with each labored breath. "Your Highness," the Captain said, panting. "The Queen has been secured in her chambers."

Manu nodded, not taking his eyes off the dark creature. "Move her into the Palace cellar, away from any windows or openings to the outside. We do not yet know if there are more of these things out there."

The Captain nodded. "And what is this… thing, your Highness?" He sounded troubled, and in the corner of his eye, Manu could see that the man was nervously looking back and forth between Manu and the chained shade.

Summoning an illusion, Manu made his sword glow with bright light, and then drew the moon glyph in the air once more. He was careful around the Captain, who knew enough of magic to know that Manu should need a primal source. He had long since convinced the court that his sword was made from a fallen meteor, and was as such enchanted with the primal power of the moon. The tale came in helpful, during times like this.

"Exite!" Manu commanded, stabbing his sword through the center of the glyph and into the shade. The shade roared with what Manu assumed was pain, beams of white light starting to poke through the dark miasma that was the creature. It tossed it's head back and screamed at the ceiling, and then the smoky creature dissolved into the air and was no more. The chains of light Manu had commanded fell back into the floor, and his sword dimmed as well. The corridor was suddenly much darker.

Manu examined his sword and saw the scratches from the elven dagger that was now abandoned on the floor. "Whatever it is," he said, sheathing his sword. "We got lucky it didn't reach the Queen."