She came back to try to save us all. Not even the death of her body and the entrance of her spirit into the Dream could keep her from feeling our pain. Her love for us all left no choice but to return and fight for the tribe that had tried to save her. If only we knew the price she would pay in her failure. But how could we know that she would leave what was left of her sanity and loyalty trapped within a gem eternally embedded in his chair.
'Its empty'
That was the only thought that crossed her mind as she strode into the hold that had once held Nightmare Legion. Casting her gaze around she could see the furniture in the room gathering dust. Everything, from the dust lingering on surfaces to the faded wall hangings, spoke of the emptiness that now haunted the halls. Dull thuds echoed as her hooves moved across the floor. There were so few left now. Times had changed and her fellows had given up hope. The people who had once graced these halls as family were all gone but for a few.
Her tail swished through the air as she made her way through the room. She came to a stop before the head table. There was his chair. For so long it had been occupied and then he was gone. The dust was thickest there. Memories played through her mind. Images of another time long ago. He had sat there. His presence had filled the hall. Those who entered it did so under his watchful eye. She reached out with a trembling hand. Where had he gone? They had had no warning.
"You said it was only for a week." Her words hung in the air. They rang with sorrow. They rang with challenge. They rang with anger.
It was so unlike him to vanish. He had always been there. He would have never left willingly. No one had been able to find out where he had gone. No one could find him. And in his absence the people dispaired. Gone were the days when he would sit with a smile on his face as he watched their carefree behaviour. Some had tried to stand up. To save what he had made but in the end all that remained were those too stubborn to let go. To stubborn for most but for her? Perhaps it would have been better to say too stupid. When he was lost she had let her dispair take over. She had abandoned her family to fight in the Emerald Dream. The price had been paid. Her sister had not been able to keep things together in her place. Oh she and others had tried but it was like trying to stop a flooding river with twigs.
"I miss you." A single tear traced its way down white fur.
Her hand dropped to the pouch attached to her belt. The item within had cost her dearly. Carefully she withdrew the gem from the pouch. It glowed with an inner fire. There was a peace radiating from it. An understanding. Lifting her free hand she called the hurricane that came with her druidic station. The winds howled throughout the room. She stood calm as the storm did its work. As the wind died down she cast her gaze across the room. The dust was gone. She leaned forward to press the gem against the headrest of the chair. The wood, long since dead, grew new life at her will. Delicate yet strong branches grew to enclose the gem and bound it to its new place atop the chair. She tested the seating of the gem once to ensure it would stay before turning and heading to the door. Pausing in the doorway she let her eyes rove over the room once more. The atmosphere had changed with her cleaning. Where before the room had echoed with emptiness now it seemed to hold a anticipation. The whole area was waiting. Content once again. She smiled one last time before exiting and closing the doors behind her. Taking a deep breath she straightened her shoulders and headed out into the day. There were things to do.
However in the room that had just been cleaned and vacated something new was happening. The chair she had imbedded the gem into slid back. The floor beneath it rose and it stood alone as if on a pedistal behind the high table. And there, in the spot it had once held, nature went to work. Soon there sat a new chair. Its wood was smooth and shimmered with new life. Vines ran in intricate patterns along the back, legs and armrests. The balance had shifted and the hall stood ready for its new master. Yet behind it, raised above all the other furniture stood his chair. The gem on his chair glowed with inner fire and sent out its call.
'We wait for you Pazazu... forever'
And in that moment Mharin, Keeper of Nightmare Legion, knew peace again as the shard containing part of her soul searched for her beloved lord from its new vantage point on his chair.