Disclaimer: I do not own anything, maybe with the exception of any unknown
characters. Though I do wish to have my own Legolas to cuddle =)
Thoughts are denoted by ........
I apologize in advance, but this chapter is for set-up purposes and contains no Lord of the Rings character. But the next chapter will, and I am sure you can already guess who =)
************************************************************************
Chapter 1: Death is only the beginning
Consciousness began to return to the lone figure floating in darkness.
So, this is death; no tunnel of light; no flaming inferno; just forever lost in this never-ending darkness.
Despair threatened to consume him, but he was a warrior. His pride would never allow him to give in.
At least, I am free from my parents' incessant attempts at matchmaking. When compared to being surrounded by females whose only wish is to ensnare me for my title, this quiet darkness is not so bad. I just need time to adjust. I may even like it here.
As soon as that positive thought entered his mind, waves of excruciating pain, unlike any he had felt before, began to course through his entire being. Despite his attempts to fight against this sensory onslaught, he was soon overwhelmed and drifted once more into nothingness.
***********************************************************************
There would be no victory celebration in Arthedain. Though they had defeated an enormous orc army, they had lost their crown prince in battle. Townspeople left the shelter of their homes to join the army in a procession to lay to rest their fallen prince in the Halls of Kings. Only the most valiant of kings took their eternal rest in the mausoleum. Never in the history of Arthedain had a prince been admitted. But the kingdom would have fallen, if the prince and his small band of 100 elite fighters had not held the pass to their city against the entire orc army until the first light of day. All of the fighters were killed, but their sacrifice gave the main force time to regroup and pave the way to victory.
"By wishes of all in Arthedain, I have now placed my son, Lucien, in the Halls of Kings. He will find no more honorable company in death than among the Kings of Old" declared the king. With that proclamation, the doors of mausoleum closed and the crowd dispersed in silent mourning.
***********************************************************************
Within the darkness of the Halls of Kings, Lucien's body began to convulse in his crypt. After several waves of spasm, the body was once again still.
"Hear my voice and come back to the light." commanded the cloaked figure beside Lucien's crypt.
With that, Lucien's eyes snapped open and he jerked upwards to a sitting position, gasping for breath. His lungs, however, had grown accustomed to the disuse and refused to cooperate. It took several minutes of wheezing and coughing before Lucien's breathing eased to its normal pattern.
"Good that you are finally breathing again. For a moment there I thought you were going to suffocate and die again," commented the amused stranger. The voice was rich and masculine, with an unmistakable sense of authority beneath the playful tone.
"Die again? How can this be? Was I not killed by orcs? Where am I? Who are you? What is happening? " Lucien demanded, losing his regal composure in front of another for the first time in his life.
The hooded figure chuckled. "So impatient, but that's to be expected of a young one. I will reveal the answers you seek, if you follow me. I dislike being among the dead."
Lucien hesitated and weighed his options. He remembered the orc blade piercing close to his heart. And there was the darkness and the pain. Does this stranger really hold the key to this mystery or is this just a trap of sorts?
The man seemed again amused by Lucien's hesitation. " You do not have to believe me, but you are in the Halls of Kings. If you walk out from the front door, you will have the whole kingdom in an uproar since you are quite dead to them. Whatever you decide to do, I am leaving now. Being enclosed in a dark stony tomb brings back too many unpleasant memories."
With cat-like grace, the hooded figure turned away from the crypt and seemly floated to a pillar nearby. He tapped on a loose brick, and to Lucien's surprise, a sarcophagus opened to reveal a secret passageway. At the head of passageway, he turned to look at the prince once more. "Are you coming?"
The man's light-hearted words haunted Lucien's mind. Trap or not, he did not have a choice but to follow. He could not risk returning to his people without knowing the whole truth. He slowly moved to join the stranger, feeling more uncertain than he ever had in his life.
They traveled through the passageway in silence. The passage opened into a cave in the forest of Imaldris. Once outside, the stranger removed his hood, allowing for the first time Lucien to see his face under the soft moonlight. He was beautiful; there was no other word to describe him. Golden hair cropped short, framing a perfectly sculpted face. The masculine square jaw, straight aristocratic nose and generous mouth each on its own was handsome to behold; when put together, the effect was breathtaking. However, it was his eyes that captured Lucien. They were the clearest shade of blue he had ever seen before, gentle yet penetrating; it was as if they could see into the very core of his soul. Even in his old battered cloak, the stranger had to be the epitome of masculine beauty.
"I am Darius. I am an immortal high witch and so are you" the stranger smiled.
Lucien would have been shocked, if he weren't been so mesmerized by Darius' smile.
"Would you stop staring at me? As flattered as I am by your attention, I already have a lifemate. Besides we are both males and your lifemate should be a female witch" the man teased gently.
Appalled at his own behavior, Lucien mentally chastised himself for staring at another male in that fashion. His father would have been ashamed. Silently and slowly, he willed himself to become once again the unflappable prince of Arthedain.
Seeing that Lucien's full attention was on his tale, not his appearance, the witch continued. "I do not know how our kind first came into being. All I know is that, we are immortal and that our bodies forever remain at the age of our first death. The only way we can die or be killed is if our hearts are taken and its energy absorbed."
"Absorbed? How? By whom?" Lucien asked seriously.
Darius let out a weary sigh and answered. "Being an immortal high witch is not easy. Males of our kind lose all emotions and color in their vision over time. They exist in a world of grey, with only their honor to guide their behavior. Only through the light of a lifemate can our males be whole again. Our kind is rare and most males have to wait centuries if not millennia for their lifemate. And some do not make it."
Sadness was now emanating from Darius. Though Lucien was suspicious of him at first, but now, he knew in his heart that the man spoke the truth. He put a comforting hand on his new friend's shoulder and received in return a sad smile as Darius continued. "Those that do not make it turn into dark sorcerers. By absorbing the energy of another immortal high witches, they can restore some feelings temporarily. They will kill again and again to sustain their feelings. For the safety of our kind, elite male witches are trained as hunters to destroy these dark ones. But with each kill, the hunters themselves fall further into darkness and move closer to becoming the very thing they hunted."
Lucien's head ached as he assimilated the information about his true nature. But Darius was not finished. "Our ruling council has sensed that you are fated to become a very powerful hunter. They have asked me to bring you to them to begin your training. But I will not begrudge you if you wish a different fate. Life as a hunter is not easy."
After a few long moments, Lucien shook his head slightly and said with a small but sad smile "Not easy, huh, that's got to be the understatement of the century if not millennium. But then, there is nothing I love more than a challenge."
For Lucien, death was just a beginning of a new chapter in life.
************************************************************************
Thoughts are denoted by ........
I apologize in advance, but this chapter is for set-up purposes and contains no Lord of the Rings character. But the next chapter will, and I am sure you can already guess who =)
************************************************************************
Chapter 1: Death is only the beginning
Consciousness began to return to the lone figure floating in darkness.
So, this is death; no tunnel of light; no flaming inferno; just forever lost in this never-ending darkness.
Despair threatened to consume him, but he was a warrior. His pride would never allow him to give in.
At least, I am free from my parents' incessant attempts at matchmaking. When compared to being surrounded by females whose only wish is to ensnare me for my title, this quiet darkness is not so bad. I just need time to adjust. I may even like it here.
As soon as that positive thought entered his mind, waves of excruciating pain, unlike any he had felt before, began to course through his entire being. Despite his attempts to fight against this sensory onslaught, he was soon overwhelmed and drifted once more into nothingness.
***********************************************************************
There would be no victory celebration in Arthedain. Though they had defeated an enormous orc army, they had lost their crown prince in battle. Townspeople left the shelter of their homes to join the army in a procession to lay to rest their fallen prince in the Halls of Kings. Only the most valiant of kings took their eternal rest in the mausoleum. Never in the history of Arthedain had a prince been admitted. But the kingdom would have fallen, if the prince and his small band of 100 elite fighters had not held the pass to their city against the entire orc army until the first light of day. All of the fighters were killed, but their sacrifice gave the main force time to regroup and pave the way to victory.
"By wishes of all in Arthedain, I have now placed my son, Lucien, in the Halls of Kings. He will find no more honorable company in death than among the Kings of Old" declared the king. With that proclamation, the doors of mausoleum closed and the crowd dispersed in silent mourning.
***********************************************************************
Within the darkness of the Halls of Kings, Lucien's body began to convulse in his crypt. After several waves of spasm, the body was once again still.
"Hear my voice and come back to the light." commanded the cloaked figure beside Lucien's crypt.
With that, Lucien's eyes snapped open and he jerked upwards to a sitting position, gasping for breath. His lungs, however, had grown accustomed to the disuse and refused to cooperate. It took several minutes of wheezing and coughing before Lucien's breathing eased to its normal pattern.
"Good that you are finally breathing again. For a moment there I thought you were going to suffocate and die again," commented the amused stranger. The voice was rich and masculine, with an unmistakable sense of authority beneath the playful tone.
"Die again? How can this be? Was I not killed by orcs? Where am I? Who are you? What is happening? " Lucien demanded, losing his regal composure in front of another for the first time in his life.
The hooded figure chuckled. "So impatient, but that's to be expected of a young one. I will reveal the answers you seek, if you follow me. I dislike being among the dead."
Lucien hesitated and weighed his options. He remembered the orc blade piercing close to his heart. And there was the darkness and the pain. Does this stranger really hold the key to this mystery or is this just a trap of sorts?
The man seemed again amused by Lucien's hesitation. " You do not have to believe me, but you are in the Halls of Kings. If you walk out from the front door, you will have the whole kingdom in an uproar since you are quite dead to them. Whatever you decide to do, I am leaving now. Being enclosed in a dark stony tomb brings back too many unpleasant memories."
With cat-like grace, the hooded figure turned away from the crypt and seemly floated to a pillar nearby. He tapped on a loose brick, and to Lucien's surprise, a sarcophagus opened to reveal a secret passageway. At the head of passageway, he turned to look at the prince once more. "Are you coming?"
The man's light-hearted words haunted Lucien's mind. Trap or not, he did not have a choice but to follow. He could not risk returning to his people without knowing the whole truth. He slowly moved to join the stranger, feeling more uncertain than he ever had in his life.
They traveled through the passageway in silence. The passage opened into a cave in the forest of Imaldris. Once outside, the stranger removed his hood, allowing for the first time Lucien to see his face under the soft moonlight. He was beautiful; there was no other word to describe him. Golden hair cropped short, framing a perfectly sculpted face. The masculine square jaw, straight aristocratic nose and generous mouth each on its own was handsome to behold; when put together, the effect was breathtaking. However, it was his eyes that captured Lucien. They were the clearest shade of blue he had ever seen before, gentle yet penetrating; it was as if they could see into the very core of his soul. Even in his old battered cloak, the stranger had to be the epitome of masculine beauty.
"I am Darius. I am an immortal high witch and so are you" the stranger smiled.
Lucien would have been shocked, if he weren't been so mesmerized by Darius' smile.
"Would you stop staring at me? As flattered as I am by your attention, I already have a lifemate. Besides we are both males and your lifemate should be a female witch" the man teased gently.
Appalled at his own behavior, Lucien mentally chastised himself for staring at another male in that fashion. His father would have been ashamed. Silently and slowly, he willed himself to become once again the unflappable prince of Arthedain.
Seeing that Lucien's full attention was on his tale, not his appearance, the witch continued. "I do not know how our kind first came into being. All I know is that, we are immortal and that our bodies forever remain at the age of our first death. The only way we can die or be killed is if our hearts are taken and its energy absorbed."
"Absorbed? How? By whom?" Lucien asked seriously.
Darius let out a weary sigh and answered. "Being an immortal high witch is not easy. Males of our kind lose all emotions and color in their vision over time. They exist in a world of grey, with only their honor to guide their behavior. Only through the light of a lifemate can our males be whole again. Our kind is rare and most males have to wait centuries if not millennia for their lifemate. And some do not make it."
Sadness was now emanating from Darius. Though Lucien was suspicious of him at first, but now, he knew in his heart that the man spoke the truth. He put a comforting hand on his new friend's shoulder and received in return a sad smile as Darius continued. "Those that do not make it turn into dark sorcerers. By absorbing the energy of another immortal high witches, they can restore some feelings temporarily. They will kill again and again to sustain their feelings. For the safety of our kind, elite male witches are trained as hunters to destroy these dark ones. But with each kill, the hunters themselves fall further into darkness and move closer to becoming the very thing they hunted."
Lucien's head ached as he assimilated the information about his true nature. But Darius was not finished. "Our ruling council has sensed that you are fated to become a very powerful hunter. They have asked me to bring you to them to begin your training. But I will not begrudge you if you wish a different fate. Life as a hunter is not easy."
After a few long moments, Lucien shook his head slightly and said with a small but sad smile "Not easy, huh, that's got to be the understatement of the century if not millennium. But then, there is nothing I love more than a challenge."
For Lucien, death was just a beginning of a new chapter in life.
************************************************************************