Chapter 10: Encroaching
Enariel and the other Aurora members were less than thrilled with Dane's choice to bring Orchid and Lotus into the cottage. Enariel alone argued with him for almost an hour.
"I thought you said you wanted to find a way to extract the Darkness from the world? Not invite it in!"
"Enairel, Orchid and Lotus are not creatures made from Darkness. They were once beings of the forest that were changed by the Darkness. You cannot fault them for something that was not of their doing." Dane calmly replied.
"They are strongly affected by Darkness none the less! You said it takes all you have magically just to keep the small vials of Darkness from affecting you. You would bring beings such as them into your very presence? Don't you see how dangerous that is?" Pharamund nodded and added his own worries.
"Enariel is right Master. Beings like this could affect you in ways that you haven't yet seen. They could even affect the Darkness you have acquired or worse yet, become infected by it and become the very creatures we combat." Dane sighed, putting his palms together and resting his chin on his thumbs
"I believe I can extract the Darkness from these beings. Once that is done I can then have a better understanding of the Darkness. It is so complex that a hundred life times would pass by studying it from afar. Orchid and Lotus have firsthand experience with it and can offer a better view then I would ever be able to discover on my own."
"You're talking about creatures that could very well be the same that are attacking people everywhere!" Enariel snapped in return.
"Guwaru himself has assured me that these two are not like the others. I have an inclination to believe him." Dane answered.
"Guwaru? Who is Guwaru?" Enariel asked. She knew very well who he was, also well aware that sometimes the old forest guardian could act petulant towards those that disturbed him of his peace. It made her wonder if Guwaru was merely looking for a way to rid himself of these being's antics.
"Guwaru is and Ancient Forest Guardian charged with keeping many sleeping creatures safe from the Darkness. He is beside the point: Orchid and Lotus have agreed to help me understand the Darkness in full. It will still take time, but I will understand it far quicker." Dane explained. Pharamund and Enariel looked to the two floating balls of aura. Xenos and Mars had been called to the northern cities of Victarani and wouldn't be back for almost a month; James was busy fending off the shadow creatures and Vieren and his wife were out gathering herbs and supplies.
With none of the other members within the cottage, there would be no way to decide on an action. Pharamund suggested that for the time being they could stay in the main hall until the rest of the members were present. Enriel begrudgingly agreed with Pharamund, her own thoughts on the matter suppressed for the time being.
When the creatures learned of their being able to stay for a time, Orchid seemed to be the most enthused about it. Lotus, while showing a level of happiness, seemed more worried or agitated about the situation. Almost instantly, Orchid began to press Dane to make them both humans, often disappointed as Dane would have to quell her eagerness for time to prepare and question them.
"You said once that you had categorized the Darkness you have found?" Lotus asked as he watched Dane work.
"Yes, however the more that I study, the more complex versions of the Darkness I find. I have cataloged over 200 shades of Darkness…" Orchid's laughter cut him off in mid-sentence.
"What is so funny Orchid?" he asked, stopping his writing and turning to face them.
"Haim was right. You humans make this so much more complicated than it really needs to be. The Darkness itself only stems from one place, Right?" Orchid asked.
"Yes, but how…" Lotus swept into his field of vision, cutting him off.
"You're making things complicated again human. Just listen and you might find the answers you're looking for." Lotus growled. Dane looked back to Lotus hard, surprised that he would speak to him in s such a tone. Dane relaxed his posture, waiting for Lotus to continue.
"You said yourself this Darkness comes from the concentration of human's unresolved negative emotions after they die, right?"
"That is correct." Dane replied, fighting his urge to ask more questions. Orchid floated over to them, pushing Lotus out of the way a bit.
"And how do humans get these negative emotions?" Orchid pressed.
"Through the wounding of the human spirit over the course of one's life." Dane answered. Lotus nodded as he continued.
"Precisely. That pain then manifests in a way that you humans understand: emotion. However, this pain will show only a few select emotions. Four in fact: Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness. There are many different ways these four emotions manifest, but these are the fundamental basics. After that, as you have found, if not taken care of, they devolve into the Darkness we know today." Dane lowered his brow, looking back to the shelves of bottles containing all the samples of Darkness he had gathered.
"Then all these shades of Darkness that I have been finding..."
"They are the definitions of events that led to these manifestations. You need to find the root, and the tree will topple." Lotus answered, his blue eyes narrowing as though he were smiling. Dane had more questions for them, but there was a mutual understanding that they would provide more if he kept his promise to make them human.
Enariel watched for a few days as the three of became lost in a world of their own, exchanging information for a favor. The new information from the beings allowed Dane to make great strides forward, and even greater strides it seemed when Enariel was near him. But there was also the fear of the coming disaster she saw in her Mirror of Time. Even when she forced herself to 'widen her gaze' as the Monks of Red had told her to do, she still could not see who or what caused the disaster to avoid it. Dane seemed so close to a solution yet the disaster would still not dissipate.
"Enariel? What is troubling you? Your spirit seems heavy these last few weeks." Mars asked after returning from a particularly short request in the south.
"I fear there is something coming that will tear this world apart." Enariel replied, watching as Dane would jot down something in his Journal while speaking with Lotus and Orchid about some aspect of Darkness.
"I'm sure that the master will find the answer and rid the Darkness from the world once and for all. And he has you beside him milady. If anyone should have faith in his abilities, I would think it would be you above all." Mars said. Enariel smiled sadly to herself and nodded. She still had not told the others of whom she really was. Perhaps she had been in this form for too long and it was beginning to affect her in ways that she hadn't foreseen.
"Dane, I fear that I must return to my body for a while. There are some troubling things that I have seen and I wish to study them. I shan't be gone long." She announced one day, coming into his study and draping her arms over his shoulders. Dane ceased writing, turning in his chair and putting his arms around her waist, pulling her to him as he rested his head against her stomach, saddened by the news. He knew somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind that she would return as she had before. Still, it would be different to not have her there for the time being.
"It will be lonely without you here. You've given me so much of my life back; I don't know how I could be without your presence." Enariel sighed, pulling his hands from around her back and sitting next to him.
"There is something that I must find out. I will be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, please tell the others that I am in a deep meditation if they ask." Dane sighed and nodded his understanding, carrying her to their bed, laying her down softly before kissing her deeply, lacing his fingers into hers. He would miss her, but he held to the hope that he would see her again soon, pulling away from her lips enough to speak.
"I love you, Enariel, my goddess in disguise."
"And I you, White Mage." With one final kiss, Ariel called her mind back to her real body taking a moment to be reacquainted with its movements, its strength and weight. It was almost as if the life she led with Dane was real, and her life as a goddess was a dream. Not wanting to waste time, she enlisted the help of the Knights of the Temple, retraining herself to walk to her Mirror of Time.
When she peered into its polished surface, the disaster she saw was still there in the time stream. There was also the small glimmer of hope she saw that would turn away this disaster. It seemed even smaller now than she remembered; there was almost no chance of her convincing Dane to let another rid the world of the Darkness.
"There has to be some way to avoid this disaster." Ariel muttered to herself, staring long and hard into the mirror when the voice of a Monk of the Blue interrupted her thoughts.
"There might be a way to do so Goddess. But it is a path that may bestow you with more regret than you can afford." Ariel jolted a bit, turning to the Monk while crossing her arms over his stomach.
"And how would I do that my dear Monk?" she asked as the monk removed his mask and lifted an eyebrow.
"Introduce another to this timeline. One that could take up the mantle your Dane has laid out for himself and could take time on another path. I warn you again, this path may grant you more regret then you can afford." Ariel sighed, reaching out and touching the mirror to introduce this new concept. Almost instantly, time became split appearing as two roads; one road led to war and disaster, the other to peace and triumph.
"That could very well work Monk. Thank you for helping me see."
"I must once again warn you goddess, the regret that will come from this…"
"If it means the survival of all of Usoria then I will bear the regret." Ariel cut in. The Monk nodded his understanding and put his mask on, returning to his portion of the temple. Ariel became excited with this new direction: finally, a clear way of avoiding the disaster all together lay before her. The only task remaining was finding someone that could be introduced to take up this mantle. From the present into the future just before the splitting paths she searched for such a person, but no such person existed.
There were single needed traits existing in a multitude of people. But when she tested how those people would interreact if brought together, even under the best conditions the path led to the disaster she tried to avoid. No, this would need to be done by one person and one person alone; one with the understanding of a mortal but the power of a deity.
When Enariel fell limp, Dane carefully pulled the covers over her, casting a spell of preservation. Even being a created shell, it would no doubt suffer the same effects of a human if left for a long period of time. To try and stay his mind of the gnawing solitude, he began working in earnest to make Lotus and Orchid human. Even with the prospect for new information, Enariel's absence made the work feel slow and old.
Two weeks passed as Dane gathered materials and information from Margata to perform the transmutation. The process was similar to Dr. Long's experiment all those years ago, only Dane's wouldn't involve inorganic matter.
"Are you finally ready?" Orchid asked, looking wide-eyed at the larger painted circle on the ground sporting symbols and letters.
"Almost. There are still a few questions I have for you once we are done." Dane stated when Lotus scoffed.
"Don't worry human. We won't be going anywhere any time soon. I am beginning to find you as interesting as you find us." Dane nodded to Lotus's declaration, stepping inside the circle and writing out a Dark Alchemy circle. As he wrote it, he paused, contemplating part of the formula. If he wrote it out with the current iteration, the formula could amplify the Darkness within them and twist what these beings had become. With some quick calculations Dane changed the circle to only break down these being's energy-based existence and restructure it as organic flesh and blood.
As he wrote, memories came back to him of when he and Menodora had helped prepare this same circle within the Great Circle of Margata. The memories didn't bring with them any pain as they usually did, but there was that ever-nagging knot of loneliness that never left him. A wave of fatigue washed over him as the thought reminded him of Enariel's absence, interrupted when Orchid tapped his shoulder with her stubby arm.
"Now are you ready?" she pressed. Dane quickly scrawled the last of the circle, nodding with a smirk and holding out his hand for them to enter the circle.
"Remember, we want to look the same!" Orchid said as Dane set his hands on the transmutation circle. Light domed around Lotus and Orchid, humming with a low resonance.
"I remember." Dane answered, shifting the positioning of his hands as the reaction intensified. Swirls of energy pulsated, crossing around and through the two of them. With another shift of his hands, the Dark circle faded to life. Darker swirls of energy passed through them, slowly diffusing their form.
"Human Dane, what are you doing?" demanded Lotus, his eyes moving with panicked excitement as he and Orchid were simply disappearing.
"Think of this as a cocoon. You will be alright." Dane answered, shifting the positioning of his fingers as their form completely diffused and their eyes began to fade.
"Lotus, I'm scared." Orchid called when both of them faded into nothing but swirls of energy. Dane shifted his fingers once more, beginning the process of making their bodies; fraternal twins. Skeletons formed, overlaid with organs, muscle structure, and finally skin. In the last few moments of the reaction, resentful whispers began to hiss over the noise of the reaction. Dane intensified his focus on the reaction trying to block them out when a cloud of black swirling within the reactions appeared. Time slowed to a near standstill; Dane watched as the particles of energy within the circle inched by while high pitched ringing stabbed his ears. Dust kicked up hung in a thick cloud all around him when eyes opened within the cloud.
"So, you dare to attempt that which is forbidden?" a voice asked as the cloud appeared to rear and approach Dane.
"It is a promise that I made in exchange to understand the Darkness…"
"To understand me you mean." The cloud replied, cutting Dane off.
"You are the Darkness?"
"Yes and no. I am a part of it, a part that is within everyone. You seek to create a life, two lives no less. This is the doing only of gods and mothers. You are neither."
"I may not be a god, but I have found the power."
"No, you aren't even close. You've found the means to create a body, nothing more."
"You speak false!" Dane jabbed as the cloud seemed to tilt to the side, almost mocking him.
"Do I? Tell me then, White Mage. What do you see here?" the cloud asked, turning slightly as if motioning towards Lotus and Orchid.
"Two beings about to become twin human children." Dane answered. The cloud's eyes became lines as if he had closed them, both of them weaving back and forth within its form.
"Look closer White Mage. What do you see." Dane was puzzled. Looking closer at the twin's bodies and the mass of swirling energy around them that was… no, it couldn't be.
"There is no life." Dane whispered.
"Exactly, White Mage. You used up the energy your pets were made of to create these two, pulling the elements together, stitching together flesh and blood. But the life you wish to give them isn't there."
"That can't be. My research…"
"Is flawed, human. You lack power. Even these adamant strength circles lack the ability to ignite the flame of life within them. Their memories will all be there, but they will only be able to watch as they fade from existence." Dane's heart began to pound in his ears; the mere thought of failure terrified him.
"No…"
"You have only managed to kill when you tried to create."
"No!"
"Menodora should know this best of all." The shadow hissed. Dane looked up at the cloud from under his long hair, his bright intelligent blue eyes dark and livid.
"You dare speak her name?" Dane seethed. The cloud laughed with ethereal echoes, snapping its attention back to him.
"Yes, I dare. But look to the twins once again." The cloud prodded. Dane turned his attention to them and for a brief moment even within this idle movement, there was a plume of blue flame. It burned out within a moment, but it had been there.
"What was that?" Dane asked, though still fuming about the mention of Menodora.
"That was their life force sparking. That is the true power of the Darkness. Of Dark Alchmey. Your Darkness sparked that life. Darkness may be the concentration of so much pain, but when focused through a single emotion, it can grant one unimaginable power. It can even create a god."
"How can this be? Darkness is causing the death of so many. Creatures are spawning whose only whim is death and destruction." The cloud swirled and charged Dane, inches from his face where hundreds of whispers just shy of inaudible could be heard.
"Have you heard nothing White Mage? Darkness must be focused through a SINGLE emotion. The creatures that come to life are tormented by a myriad of emotions, unable to find focus. But you, you could use the Darkness to do anything. You have the training and mental fortitude to focus it."
"Why would I attempt something so dangerous? The gain in power may be great, but the chance for corruption is far too high. Even my experiments in containing a small bit of Darkness nearly drives me to an emotional break." The cloud laughed and backed away enough so that he could see Lotus and Orchid clearly.
"That is up to you. I grant you the use of the Darkness within these two, myself, to make your promise come true. Or you can let them die here and now." Dane looked from the cloud to the twins, warring within himself. Enariel would no doubt have none of him using Darkness as a power source, even less so Menodora if she were alive. But he had two lives hanging by a thread in his hands. He couldn't just extinguish life.
"What must I do." Dane asked, hanging his head in acceptance. The cloud's eyes smirked.
"All you must do is hold out your hand and accept. Think of only one emotion, it matters not, and channel me through that emotion while thinking of what you want to happen. The rest will happen on its own."
"And how do I know that my using you will not corrupt me?"
"You don't, White Mage. Your will alone will determine your ability to resist its pull. But resisting it, means that its power will be out of reach to you." Dane sighed, hesitating slightly before holding out his hand. The cloud's eyes smirked as it was pulled into his palm as a slimy mass. Resisting the shiver from the texture, Dane thought back to his happiest moment with Menodora, hanging on to that one emotion as hard as he could. Channeling the Darkness through that happy emotion was challenging. Time gained its speed once more as he thought of what he wanted to happen until at last time was moving normally again. A surge of power more potent than he had ever felt rushed through him. It almost hurt as the power surged down his arms into the circles leaving him with an adrenalin rush and goose bumps.
A flame burst to life within the chests of the twins as the energy surrounding them gradually subsided, melting into their bodies while drifting to the ground. Once the light of both circles faded, the twins lay still on the grass of the forest. Dane looked to his palms, amazed at the sheer volume of power he had just felt as new theories came to mind.
"That's it!" he whispered to himself when he heard a stirring. Lotus was the first to open his sapphire blue eyes, turning his head this way and that. He tried and move, but he only floundered in his position. Dane abandoned his thoughts, going to Lotus and helping him sit up. The new body was that of a male child no older than ten. Short white hair sat upon his head with a lean but athletic form.
Orchid soon followed, her body of a girl with longer white har and emerald green eyes. She whimpered as though she tried to speak, becoming panicked when she couldn't move. Dane again helped her sit up, propping both of them against a nearby rock and beginning to teach them how to speak and move their new bodies, the two of them walking within hours. Orchid especially seemed to like her new form, relishing the feel of the grass between her toes. Once Dane was sure they would be alright with James to watch them, he returned to his room and began to quickly write in his journal.
"In making Lotus and Orchid into human children, I have found that there is something more to the Darkness than I realized. I was confronted by a small part of it that had altered the twins and was told that I could harness it as power. I was skeptical at first, but after using it to create the twins, I feel I have finally found a way to rid the world of the Darkness. I thought before that the ultimate light, found in love, would be the only key. Now, I think I have found a much more potent light. And to do that, I must find the Ultimate Darkness. For from the Ultimate Darkness, can the Ultimate Light be found!" The table hummed as his pen rasped across the grain of his desk, sounding higher and higher in pitch the faster he wrote.
"Tomorrow I will experiment with this concept in small amounts. Perhaps if used in small amounts, I can avoid the problems of corruption and infection by the Darkness itself."
