Chapter 2
"I thank the spirits that you arrived safely."
"And I thank you for your hospitality. What did you want to talk about?"
"It's my son. You see, recently a number of the villagers here came down with a strange illness unknown to us. After some consultation between the elders and myself we decided to seek outside help. It turns out that Coranda faced a similar situation and was able to create a curative salve for the disease from various plants that grow in their region. However, none of those particular plants grow in this area, so we needed to send someone to retrieve a supply of the salve."
"And your son volunteered?"
"Yes. He felt it was his responsibility as the son of the clan matron, and we let him go. But, it has taken him far longer to return than anyone expected, and with a matter as urgent as this we thought he would hurry back. My son can be a bit reckless, and so I fear something has happened to him along the way. He may have become lost in the forest or…" A pair of hands reached out in a comforting grip on the matron's right hand, their soft fur adding to their warmth.
"It's all right," said General Tigerclaw, leader of the Soldiers of Resistance. "We'll do everything we can to find your son, matron."
"Thank you," she replied.
Tigerclaw stood and looked over the features of the matron more closely than she did when she had first entered the dark hut. Although she was advanced in years Tigerclaw had expected her to rise in greeting, as was the custom in this village. However, she had remained in her bed for the entirety of this short meeting, taking more effort than usual to sit herself up when she spoke. After her explanation it was clear to Tigerclaw that the matron had herself contracted the illness. The village was dying, and it was her responsibility to set things right. "Theodore?"
"Yes, General?" said the young wizard.
"You know some healing spells don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
"T-that isn't necessary, Tigerclaw," the matron interrupted.
"Please, ma'am. We came here to help, and we'll do it in any way possible. See to the matron, Ted. I'll be outside."
"Right. I'll do my best!"
Tigerclaw turned and exited the matron's large, round hut, ducking under the thick mat hanging at its entrance. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air outside she then set out to find the other Resistance members. Strolling through the village she could see subtle signs of the sickness that was spreading throughout the village. More than anything it was a look of fatigue on most of the faces she saw. The villagers were beginning to lose hope, and if she and the other Resistance members didn't do something soon they would lose more than that. Hearing a familiar voice Tigerclaw walked towards an open area, and there she saw three of the four members she was seeking. Like her they had augmented their traditional clothing and battle gear with pieces more suited to simple travelers. They were gathered about an open fire where various wild game was cooking on a spit.
"And then what happened?" eagerly asked the pirate DeFrain.
"Wawk wawk wawk… wawk," answered his penguin companion, Blackbeak, after which DeFrain burst into a fit of laughter. A few villagers passing by merely shrugged at each other. Beside them the warrior Ehud grumbled a bit under his breath.
"What's the matter, Ehud?" asked DeFrain. "You don't appreciate Blackbeak's style of humor?"
"No," Ehud replied, "it's just that, well, aren't we trying to keep a low profile?"
"I could say the same thing about you," DeFrain posed to the very tall soldier.
"Wawk!" seconded Blackbeak.
"Don't even get me started about you," Ehud retaliated, pointing to the penguin.
DeFrain chuckled a little, then noticed Tigerclaw walking up to the group. "Ah, General. How did things go?"
"Apparently the matron's son has gone missing," she reported. "We need to find him."
"Oh?" replied DeFrain, sounding a little disappointed. "I was hoping for something more epic."
"It may not be epic, but it is important," reprimanded Tigerclaw. "I'm sure you've noticed the… situation here." For a moment the group hung in awkward silence.
"Yes," said DeFrain. "It's terrible."
"Well, the matron's son may have been returning with medicine before he went missing."
"Let's hope he did," added Ehud.
"The matron said that he went to Coranda for the salve. Coranda is to the northwest, so…" Tigerclaw trailed off as she took in their surroundings. "Mm hmm. He'd probably try and navigate that forest if he was in a hurry."
"Something seems familiar about that place," Ehud noted.
"Wawk," seconded Blackbeack.
"It should," explained DeFrain. "Keep going north from here and you head straight into territory controlled by Xaos. In fact, his castle is just over those hills."
"Xaos…" Ehud cursed under his breath.
"But," DeFrain said, his voice in a notably lighter tone, "before we head out, you should partake some of this food, General. Quite the spread for just 'simple travelers' passing through, huh?"
"Actually," Tigerclaw said, taking a seat, "the matron and I have known each-other for quite a while."
"Oh?" said Ehud. "So you've been here to Ravanda before?"
"Yes," she replied. "It was back before I became a 'General.' I was here when Xaos's troops began to spread out in this direction. Everyone here fought bravely to protect their homeland, myself included, but we ended up having to retreat. The waiting was unbearable, but finally we moved against the enemy troops in the area, and were able to reoccupy this village. It was strange, but we encountered relatively little resistance."
"It must have been after Tanzor," Ehud said. "I've heard a handful of other stories like this one about certain groups fighting back on the outskirts of Xaos's territory. But this village is so close to the heart of Xaos's empire."
"Well," Tigerclaw continued, "we can't know what reason Xaos had for not fighting back, but it did a lot for the morale of the Ravandans. Now this… We've got to help these people. Once Theodore finishes up we should head out. Oh, and where's Skythropos?"
"Waiting at the outskirts of the village. Wouldn't come in for some reason," Ehud explained.
"Actually," DeFrain said, "I heard that this area was also once part of the Kalimundi Empire."
"That explains it," Tigerclaw sighed. "The Ravandans are a proud people, but they can also be ones to hold a grudge. So," she said, turning to face DeFrain, "don't do anything here you might regret later on."
"You have my word as a man of the sea," DeFrain said, holding up his right palm.
"We're not at sea," Ehud interjected.
"Exactly," DeFrain replied with a grin. "Hey, Blackbeack. Tell the General about the time-"
"Wawk, wawk…"
…
Elise fell to her knees as suddenly the memories come flooding back. The desert; her fight with Yukiyo; being confronted by Mellek Xaos. It was as if she re-lived those moments in one horrifying instant. And the turning; she remembered that as well. The pain from the actual wound of Xaos's sword stabbing deep into her, and then the unbearable sensation as her body transformed felt as if her very essence was slowly being choked off inside her, until there was nothing but darkness. 'But,' she thought, 'if that was me there, why am I here now?'
"Hey, you," she called out to the aged Kalimundi, wiping a stray tear from her face, "just what is this place? Where are we?"
"It is neither here, nor there, but at the same time very close," he replied.
"Just like Skythropos," Elise said between clenched teeth. "Why can't you damn Kalimundi ever stop talking in riddles?"
The Kalimundi paused for a moment. "That is right. You are not fond of the Kalimundi."
"And what makes you think you know so much about me, huh?" she shouted as she stood up. "You been watching me in your damn mirror?"
"No," he replied. "I suppose I should explain. Come here."
Elise reluctantly walked towards the old Kalimundi. She hadn't quite noticed it before, but he was in a sitting position. Sitting on… apparently nothing. As Elise neared him she took a moment to ponder this. Slowly and reluctantly she began to sit down beside him, but suddenly found nothing supporting her weight. She fell with a thud to the ground, and as she rolled her eyes she said, "Go on…"
"Do you know what a Fallen is?" the old Kalimundi asked.
"Of course I do," Elise darkly replied. "I'm one of them. It's someone who's been injured by Xaos's Sword of Shadows."
"That is true, but not the whole truth."
"Again with the riddles…"
"You also know of the time in which the Kalimundi sought to gain control of the lands under a vast empire?"
"When you thought you had Xaos as your lapdog. Yeah, so?"
"The Triumvirate knew their plan to be ambitious beyond bounds, and also knew that, after their plans were completed, fear would not be enough to keep the conquered peoples under their control. They wanted total control. To address this issue certain Kalimundi scholars were presented with the task of finding a way subvert the mind of sentient creatures. One such scholar delved into ancient magical texts containing records of experiments in the dark arts; experiments that should have never again seen the light of day. Unfortunately, he accomplished his goal. He found a book that detailed a spell for completely subverting the will of a living creature and bending it to the caster's will. After he successfully tested the spell on some lower life forms he read further into the dark study and found a second spell. This one, rather than subdue the consciousness of a creature… how can I describe it? Examined. Yes, it examined the mind of a sentient being and searched for the darkest part of its psyche. Once found, it amplified this dark nature and gave it a physical form. The scholar was astounded as this spell also proved effective, though he could find little practical use for it. He was about to present his findings to the Triumvirate, but…"
"By that time the Triumvirate was already dead, right?" completed Elise.
"Yes," the old Kalimundi replied. "Xaos's rampage through the capitol eventually took him to the study of that very scholar. He was powerless to stop Xaos as he poured over his research, which only added to Xaos's rage as he assumed the spells were meant for him; to make him even more the Triumvirate's puppet. But, one thing that scholar couldn't have expected was the fact that Xaos's knowledge of magic was so intricate that he, seemingly on a whim, combined the two spells into one fearsome ability. This allowed him to create, with a single swing of his sword, a fearsome soldier without remorse, without reason, and loyal to him alone."
"You were that scholar, weren't you?" asked Elise.
"Yes," he replied.
"But that was more than a millennium ago. I didn't think that even Kalimundi could live that long," Elise posed.
"No, they don't," he answered.
"Then how is it that you're here? How is it that I'm here? I still don't get all this," Elise said, a hint of defeat in her voice.
"When Xaos combined the two spells into one," continued the old Kalimundi, "he of course needed to test its effectiveness. He decided to test it… on myself. I was unable to stop him physically, but as the spells' dark power washed over me I did something he did not expect. During my other studies I had found an ancient method of combining one's total physical and mental energy and… attaching it to a spell. So, before I had fully fallen under Xaos's sway, I attached my being to the combined spell."
"Then, you're…" Elise began.
"Yes," he said. "I am but an echo of my former self, using what little energy I have left to appear here before you, and create this place. Although by attaching myself to Xaos's spell I have glimpsed into the minds of many other beings, I find that after all this time I am unsure of the deeper details of who I am, even my name now escapes me."
"Does that mean that I'm…"
"No. Our situations are dissimilar."
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Elise asked.
"Unlike you, I have no body to return to," the old Kalumundi explained.
"Return?" Elise asked eagerly.
"Yes. There is a way for you to return to the physical plane and your body."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Elise shouted, standing and leaning in towards the form of the old Kalimundi. "Get me out of here! I want to go back!"
"It is not that simple," he said.
"What?"
"Are you not afraid of what you have become?"
"That thing?" Elise said contemptuously. "That's not me; just some twisted creature Xaos made me into."
"But I just explained to you," the old Kalimundi said, his voice rising, "the second spell takes the darkest part of a person's conscious, their very soul, and manifests it. Were you not afraid that inside you lurked a creature so vile? A mere thing that would strike down the innocent for the mere pleasure of the act? An animal that would dare to kill old friends in cold blood? Yes!" he said as for the first time he stood, his voice booming. "You, Elise Redd! That thing is as much a part of you as you are a part of it!"
Elise couldn't believe what she was hearing. It wasn't true, was it? Her anger; her frustration; could it be possible for those vices to run that deep? She knew that, compared to the other members of the Resistance, she was impatient and confrontational. But, it wasn't enough to create something as horrible as the old Kalimundi was describing, was it? She tried to find some reason that would allow her to fight back against the Kalimundi's argument, but as she searched her thoughts something else appeared. A memory not familiar to her suddenly entered her mind. It was the face of Avriem Xiliarkos, contorted in pain, blood spattered across his features, someone laughing behind her. And now, she understood. "You're right," she said, falling to her knees for a second time. "Damn it, you're right!" Elise fell forward as her fists pounded the ground, and for the first time in a very long while, Elise Redd wept.