The Lost Shell of Mahon

by Casey Phelps

  There was a man who the small girl had run to see. The man lovingly picked her up and twirled her around. He asked her to go play on the landing while he finished his business, she stepped out to the railing, and gripped the wood, running her hands along, looking at her beloved sea, and she was wearing the ring. This was the girl in the dream, I had seen her memory. We both spun around at a loud crashing as we watched her father fall to the ground. She rushed in and in a panic ran to the men in the room, saying that they must come help her papa.

  Her mother was brought in to quiet her, and they said they had come to take her away. Her mother was crying but they took her anyways and they took away her ring. She was taken to the palace and was raised there, she was told that she no longer would carry her name, and she heard the maids whisper poor thing…

  What she did not know was that she was the true heir, and the king wanted no competition. Her new name was Alice.

  I snapped from the dream, and found myself no longer standing but in Artileon’s arms. He put me down steadying me. I gingerly took Alice’s dolly, and walked to the desk. I stared at this place where the young child watched her father die, and then continued to the balcony. There I shared the events I had seen. Tracing the bannister as she had done, I tried to figure out why this was important. There were still too many pieces to this puzzle. Jyar went exploring in the room, and Artileon sat at the desk and started opening and closing drawers. He found a large silver key in one, it was in a handsomely crafted box, and the lock had rusted and was easily broken. We examined it and decided our new adventure would be to find what it went to.

  Afterwards we would find a place to wash up maybe find food of some sort, and set up a place to spend the night. I started down the hallway opposite the way we came in from the stairs; Artileon went to each door and peeked inside.

  Jyar was nowhere to be found. I came across a door, different from the rest; the carvings were still in good shape it stood slightly ajar. I gingerly pushed it and it swung easily. I walked into a small child’s room; it was lavish, even in its decay. This must have been Alice’s room. The silky coverings on the bed were a soft pink, what was left of the canopy was a beautiful lace. One the walls was toile, but instead of people sitting for tea they were the beasts at play. Lions, lionesses and their cubs. In the corner was an ornate chest it stood on four legs, the carvings matched the box we had taken the key from. In the carvings I noticed the letter L and the vines, the box was jeweled rubies and emeralds peeked from the eyes of the beasts. In the side of the box not in a place you would look a large L was carved it was deeply cut, and I realized this must be the lock, I told Artileon in my mind to come to where I was.

  He came in and I showed him the chest. He pulled the key from the box and slid it into the L. I heard a click as her turned the key and music started to play slowly as if its gears were waking up from their long slumber.

  It was my lullaby.

  I was mesmerized as the chest unfolded before my eyes; Artileon said that this was a gift for an heir to the throne. Each one is created specially and it holds their most precious possession.

  As he unfolded the four corners of the box they revealed a velvet lined interior. Continuing to pull the stiff fabric came up and under was a small jewelry box. He tried to pry off the lid and it wouldn’t budge. I saw a note that must’ve been under the box.

  ****

  To whoever has found and unlocked this chest, I am most pleased. Only those of royal blood have the sight to find the place of the hidden key, and lock. They are covered to ensure that what lies inside are protected. They must also not wish harm to the owner of the chest. I am proud and saddened that I cannot meet you as I am most likely no longer alive. This chest holds the world’s most precious possession; it is given to the rightful and true heir. This final test is placed on the small jewelry case. This spell will prove the rightful heir is the only one with access to the prize within. This prize is promised to hold the power of darkness at bay, and will keep those who protect the weak in safety. It is a blessing and a curse as all power is wont to be. The fact that this prize has been hidden is most grievous as it came with the loss of the princess. I can only hope that through time the Lord Sun will remember his people and in their time of need return with the Shell and save us all.

  Blessings and peace to you in these troubled times.

  You will need all the help that I can afford you. Good luck on your journey.

  The Priestess Sibel at the birth of the Princess Mahon L’eonis.

  ****

  I handed the letter to Artileon, and he traded me the box. I was ready for a struggle as Artileon had. I simply lifted the lid and the box sprung open. Inside was the ring the child had worn. I raised the ring from its folds in the velvet and held it to Artileon. Jyar chose this moment to fly into the room and join us, chiming and swooping through the air when he saw the ring. He sifted and began telling us how the dwarves had fashioned this ring for the last true Princess. It had been lost for as long as one-thousand years. No true princess has been named since. That princess fading into a time forgotten and the King of that time had delved deeply into paranoid depression of the time of darkness. No female heirs had come from the line since that time. Artileon shook his head; he plucked the ring from my outstretched hand, and turned my hand over placing it upon my finger. The stone lit up, and flashed. Lightening flashed from the sky, and thunder rolled.

  “Princess,” Said Jyar and Artileon solemnly.

  “I don’t understand…” I was amazed. I mean I had been named a princess and that was supposed to be miraculous, but this really proved it. I had all along taken the blood test as a fluke, but now even more tangible proof this was real.

  “I think I am beginning to put the pieces together, I think the child Alice from your vision, and the Princess Mahon L’eonis was the same. She was stolen away and lost her heritage; she was raised as distant member of the royal family but not as the heir. She must’ve had a child, and passed on the line, unbeknownst to the rest of the family. You must descend from the last named Princess.” Jyar spoke quietly.

  “I remembered the name, the last breath of my mother Raechelle L’eonis, I took that name into the new world and I have the Surname Mahon. My mother’s name is Sibel. Look at the Priestess’ name on the letter.” I was starting to shake.

  Artileon said “that can’t be, the events around your birth are roughly three-hundred years ago.”

  “Maybe time does not pass as it does here on my world,” I said.

  Jyar knelt to the ground and bowed to me, I urged him to stand up and get off the dusty floor. When to my astonishment Artileon went to his knees as well.

  “What has gotten into you two?” I was quite embarrassed.

  ‘It is the custom and you truly are The True Princess, the Heir, and lastly the Shell.’ These thoughts echoed in her head.

  ****

  Chapter 24

  “How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares were there any danger of their coming true.”

  Logan Pearsall Smith

  The moment the ring was placed on the finger of Raechelle, a glorious display of lightning arced across the sky, it broke through the darkness. In the sky the lightening would flash the face of a lion roaring through the clouds. The thunder was deafening and people stopped in awe and wondered at the sight.

  The Lady of the Moon, paced furiously across her meadow, even her shadows were of no comfort to her. This was not going according to plan, the ring was lost for one thousand years, and this “princess” just stumbled upon it. She shouted in rage at the sky, and rain began to pour and she scowled as the lightening continued to flash causing the rain to sparkle like diamonds falling from the sky. She summoned her shadows to take her before her Ladisians.

  The council is found to be flailing under the scrutiny and displeasure of the people. They are in an uproar that the Prince has not been found. The council had not realized how much the king had shielded them from th
e constant needling of the public. They demanded answers that no one could produce. They were meeting to discuss what to do, and had brought the Ladisians to answer their queries.

  The lady appeared fierce in her anger, and the Ladisians cowered at their menacing goddess. The shadows crawled around her obscuring her feet, and making it seem as though she floated through the chamber. She gathered their immediate silence and she shared her displeasure at the progress of the quest, and demanded to know why had nothing been done to prevent this latest development. The Shell had quit the plague she had sent through the Forbidden lands, had won over the witch, the princeling brother was lost, and now it was as if a brilliant light concealed the way to watching and searching for this nuisance.

  The council learned in this moment that truly empowered and lead the dark magic of the Ladisians. As they come to the realization that the Lady controls the power of the country and who had spread the current time of Darkness and the agenda they had pushed through their laws they cringed in dismay. It was if a shroud had been torn from their clouded minds to reveal the true nature of their dealings.

  As the Lady sulks she disperses her trusted shadows and releases them upon the people, as they writhed from around her they spread a darkness. This darkness spread out and permeated the air, suffocating any light. The people across all the land were plummeted into her palpable darkness.

  As soon as the darkness falls you can hear the people cry out in fear. People rushed about and cowered in their homes knowing the terror of the shadows that have come to freely revel in the dark. The Time of Darkness was now perpetual night.

  ****

  Artileon

  Chelle is so surprised at our reactions, and to be honest I am shocked myself. I am so enthralled by this young woman. She has overcome these obstacles and faced sacrifices, and here now she fulfills the destiny laid before her.

  The lightening brings us back to the present and I watch as the Princess steps to the casement, and peers into the gloomy darkness watching the sky unfold the lion’s silhouette and the rain begins to fall. We felt the darkness as it deepened and became full of malice.

  I turned to see Chelle, and she radiated a soft glow. It grew from her to light the whole room, dispelling any darkness and every shadow. She said quietly almost a murmur, she can feel the hope of the people it is still alive, they are praying even now for the blessing of the Lord Sun to turn away the darkness.

  She quietly paced to the window again and looked to the moon, it was as though a shadow pulled across the face she could not completely turn from the light, but covered it to not let it shine through her shadows. The Frosted moon cowered under the covering of darkness.

  ****

  Daltim Quarm

  His deadened arms hung limply throbbing the pain now was a constant battle. He cursed every moment he found consciousness. The stench of poison rose from his cold flesh, and sweat mingled with blood dripped from his fingers. The lacerations wrapped around his arms in macabre tattoos. The symbols laced with poison and magic. He shifted and bite down not wanting to drag the attentions of his tormentor, he had not produced a single sound throughout the whole trial knowing it would only bring a much worse torture, how much worse he could only imagine from the mutilations that had been on that poor women’s body. The poison kept him from sifting and he could find no solace in his true form. Not that his small frame would have afforded him any relief but the comfort of hiding would have been a welcome shift. His beady eyes shifted nervously as he heard the chains being removed from the door behind him. The sound of the metal grated against the rusty doors, and then the door grated over the stony floor announcing the entrance of a visitor.

  A beautiful lady stood in front of him, surveying his state. He saw no indication that the mutilation bothered her. She stood in front of him, and then lowered her face as she traced her finger though his blood and brought it to her lips.

  She inclined her head as she was intrigued by something,

  Her voice was as innocent as a child and she said.

  “They say you do not speak, you do not feed my shadows. You have endured my priest ministrations and still you live, you are immune to my poison you simply push it from your body. This makes me curious. I think I will take you from this place.”

  Daltim could not believe his luck, or was her interest worse than that of the Magister. This lady must be the infamous Lady of the Moon. He inclined his head, wincing as he did.

  She laughed and it was cruel and cold even as it was beautiful.

  ****

  Chapter 25

  “There is strong shadow where there is much light.”

  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  Chelle

  I was taken across the land to view a ruined temple, a young woman in a flowing cloak sprints through the snow to the remains and lights a single candle, her prayer lends the candle a glow that reaches out past the woman. The light dances with the falling snowflakes. It is a light of hope, she takes another unlit wick, and lights yet another candle, and places them at the high places of the temple. The lights shine like a beacon. Slowly through the villages and the towns, it pierces the inky black of night. The young woman begins to walk from home to home, and candles are lit, with hope.

  As the candles held by the people are brought forth to be lit, more and more start to gather, and the darkness cannot hold that place, the shadows are cast from the temple. Talk slowly spreads, and with it goes a hope. The Lion will save us; it is a sign from the Lord Sun.

  Hope now lights the bleak casements warding the inhabitants against the night of shadows.

  The candles float through my dreams…

  The darkness lasted through the week. I am plagued with the candles in my dreams. The hope stirs my soul. I find no rest, but I also have no guidance. I am lost in this predatory darkness. The shadowed moon wanes toward the dark of the moon. The long night is sinister the sable mantle is dismal. I felt myself walking to the bannister, and though I knew I was still asleep, I could feel a tugging at my soul. I placed my hands firmly on the railing; wearing the ring I faced the direction of the rising of the sun. Light shone from my hands and grew until I had to shut my eyes, and still I saw the brightness as the sun rose over the restless waves and suffused the new day with a beautiful warm light. I opened my eyes and woke to the new dawn.

  Jyar found the princess awake upon the landing grasping the wood as if her life depended on it; he flew to her and found her glowing much like the night before. Her face was radiant as she stood and an aura wove around her surrounding her in an ethereal halo. The aura pulsed as a heartbeat, strong and steady. The stone from the ring upon her hand pulsed in rhythm to Chelle’s light. He finally recognizes what he missed before, the stone is no ordinary gem, but it is a Solarsteinn; a Sunstone.

  This stone was a stone of legend. Many have sought for this stone, and failed it was fabled to lead one to the Lord Sun; its whole purpose was to navigate and find the light. He watches Chelle anxiously as she pulls from the vision that had her wrapped into the rising of the sun.

  Artileon walked out just in time to catch her as she collapsed in exhaustion, and carried her back; he set her upon the bed in the child princess’s room. He pulled a small chair up to sit beside her. She fell into restless slumber and he began to sing Chelle’s lullaby. He watched as the anxious dragon hovered nearby. He spoke to her mind, and sent calming words and comforting images she seemed to relax. He laid his forehead to her hand.

  He tried to quiet his mind, and too fell unconscious. He walked onto a plain, where he found Chelle sitting her back to him, she was watching the sunrise. She was whispering “I felt their prayers, and their hope. I helped to bring the sunrise. I am not sure how to get back.” I reached out to her, and said “follow me.” She gazed at me and asked how I had found her, I reached out and gathered her up in my arms and said, “remember how when I was wounded you came back for me, you said you would always come back,” she nodded. “I will always find yo
u, always.”

  I watched as tears welled up in her eyes, and she shook with her sobbing.

  “Why are you crying?” Artileon pleaded with Chelle. She said she knew what lay ahead, and that I could not always follow, but I would do the right thing when the time came, I only had to follow my heart.

  ****

  Chelle

  I awoke refreshed and felt wonderful, I turned to find the prince leaning over the edge of the bed, and Jyar’s anxious keening. Artileon woke and demanded “What did you mean?”

  “What did I mean?” I said quizzically. “What are you talking about?”

  “In the dream just now you told me that I would not be able to follow you, but that I would know what to do when the time came?” He was frantic, and I had no idea what he was talking about. I was peacefully dreaming about home, watching my mother and father and enjoying seeing them doing so well.

  “We must have had different dreams?” I guessed. “I feel great, just like before when you walked in my dreams before. Wait, you were walking in my dreams can you do it to?”

  “No, I can only walk in your dreams, and I do not know why, just like I can mind speak to you, and only you. You are changing the subject though...”

  He was quite perturbed by his version of the dream, it seemed like another test was upon us, and it doesn’t sound like any of us would like the outcome.

  We walked out into the new dawn, the first to break through the endless night.

  We gathered what supplies we could find, and Artileon helped us on the cleanliness factor pulling water for us to bathe. We walked out onto the courtyard and I gazed back to the house my mother had been born in and the tragic lives that unfolded here. I turned my back on the despairing memories and walked into the freezing morning. We travelled yet again facing the sun, and we reached the markings of the end of the lands of the Gray Sea. This was no man’s Landing.