In A Time Of Darkness

by Gregory James Knoll

  * * * * *

  In a twist, perhaps destiny implementing itself, Grahamas Rhivaldeon was staring at the same threshold as Gerin, only he was much closer. He had a guide, one that was concerned of his well being.

  "Have you ever seen it before?" Lornya asked Grahamas as she rode up to him.

  "Only a few times. I rarely come this far north." Graham had no reason to. This land was empty, desolate. The only change to the barren fields was a tiny sloping hill, the mists of Sayassa gliding along the top of it. "So this is where the souls of the world congregate..." The Champion now had a closer look. "Can you see them in the mist?"

  "Grahamas, they are the mist."

  "Oh?"

  "Aye. When one dies, the physical aspect of the soul blends within the others already here, creating different layers, their auras personifying colors while the mental takes on something different. Sayassa’s magick runs deep, and for any soul that resides in it, it can project an entire world."

  "What kind of world?"

  "That depends. The soul sees what it wants to see. For some it is a continuation of what their previous lives would be had it never died, others have the things they always dreamt of but never got." Ristalln, Gort and the rest of the group had gathered around her to listen in

  "And what do you believe I will find within it?" Grahamas’ eyes never wavered from the wispy wall.

  "I honestly cannot say, Graham. It takes on different forms according to each person, but I do know that since you're human and still alive, they will not accept you, rather try and stop you. It will not allow you to enter with your weapons, nor with any outside help. It will be solely up to you to make it through, and that will not be easy. It may show you your darkest fears or deepest desires. It will tempt you and confuse you, even put you in danger." She stopped riding, then looked directly to him. "You just have to remember to be strong, Grahamas, and no matter what it shows you, do not give in." The Champion nodded his head sternly and turned to her, Lornya's gentle hand on his shoulder drawing his attention. "And above anything else...be careful."

  "Aye. I promise." The Champion held for a moment, then focused on Elryia, and finally the mists that sat only hundreds of yards away from him now.

  "Good." Lor began moving forward again.

  "And beyond Sayassa is where Fate lies?"

  "Aye. Hidden in a place that even I have not entered."

  "Then how will I know where to find it?"

  "If you pass and are deemed worthy, Sayassa will guide you to her."

  "And if I fail?"

  "It will force you out...or keep you trapped, forever in your own nightmares."

  Grahamas bowed, and took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare himself as he closed the gap between he and his current goal.

  They were a hundred feet away when Lornya stopped completely. "We will wait here for you." She said, the first to slide of her horse, then crossed to take the reigns of Feiron. After he slipped down, he wrapped his arms around the Goddess’ waist. "Travel well." She whispered and he agreed solemnly.

  Then, one-by-one, Grahamas said his temporary goodbyes to the members as they dismounted. He shook Lanyan's hand, then Gort's. He put his hand out for Merial, but instead the woman wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Jeralyle gave the Champion a knowing look, hoping he would return soon, and they could one day share thoughts about the man they both knew so well. Gnert simply blinked and sniffed when the Champion patted his turtle shell helmet. When Grahamas addressed Ristalln, he bowed, then withdrew both sword and dagger and handed them over. "Watch over her."

  The Knight blinked, looking to the blades, to Feiron, Lornya and finally Elryia. "Which one?"

  "All of them." He winked, reaching his hand up to tap Ristalln's arm.

  "Aye. Only if you promise to be safe."

  "I will, old friend. I will."

  Grahamas shook his brother's hand, then gave a look to all of Awakening. Anxious eyes watched him and wished him luck, and when he turned to say his heartfelt goodbye to Elryia, she spoke before he could.

  "I will walk with you." She extended her hand out to him, dancing her fingers.

  "I would love that." He took the hand within his, glancing back one last time, nodded to Lanyan and Gort in response to theirs. Ristalln gave him a cheerful expression, Lornya an influential one. Grahamas remembered what they spoke of the night before, and he knew she was implying with such a stern look that he should tell Elryia how he felt. As they walked, as she squeezed his hand, eventually worked her way to his side to put her arm around the small of his back, he was still trying to earn the courage to do so.

  It was only when he was standing right before the mist, ready to begin his voyage inside, did the pressure become too great, and he stopped, then faced her. "El... there's something I need to tell you." He reached up, taking her hands in his and locked on her gentle blue eyes. "In case something happens, I just need you to know...I lo..."

  Her hands slipped from his grasp and a single digit raised to press against his lips before he could finish his sentence. "Grahamas, please don't speak as if this is the last time we ever will. Whatever it is that you need to tell me, I want to hear, but it can be said when you return. I want it to guide you and keep you safe. Know that I am waiting here for you to say it, and I want it to inspire you to come back to tell me. Promise me you will." She spoke as though she already knew, yearned to say it back, but her driven, disciplined side surfaced and she held firm.

  Grahamas looked down at the finger still pressed to his lips, when he smiled Elryia slowly removed it. "It's important..."

  "Promise."

  "I promise." He finally gave in.

  The hand that was against his mouth still held up and moved to his cheek, her other raised to place against the opposite side and she held his face. With no regret nor restraint behind her actions, she pulled his face towards her as her eyes slipped closed, her lips then meshing against his with no indication they would ever pull away. He was so stunned at first, he couldn't react, but Elryia remained, and his head leaned further in to meet hers, hands rose gently to place at her sides. What seemed like forever to both of them was only a matter of moments, and each withdrew.

  Elryia stepped back and blushed; a reaction that only intensified when the crowd behind her hollered and cheered. Grahamas only smiled. His hand raised to slide down her face and he held his brightened, soft emerald eyes on her, until finally finding the fortitude to pull back and strafe to his right to take one step, then another, until his forearm and the front of his body pressed into the swirling, shifting mists; Sayassa accepting him willingly inside.

  A Once Unyielding Hope Now Shattered

  Grahamas had passed the threshold, away from Eldonia to a world far beyond his imagination and nightmares. He peered back to give Elryia a final look, but she was nowhere to be found. The mist had closed behind him, and now was all he could see no matter where he looked.

  He tried his best to stay focused and move forward, worried about getting lost within. But as the mist swirled around him, growing more dense, the colors growing darker, Grahamas wondered if he already was.

  With no indication on where to go and no set direction to travel, Grahamas simply walked in the direction he faced, the mist breaking and rolling around his torso and limbs. The yellow clouds crossed their way into the darker blues and the once calm layers of Sayassa had been breached and forced into chaos.

  Thin, wipsing apparitions rushed by him, some seeming fit to charge right through him, others lingered and hovered in front of his path.

  "Grahamas..." Came a female voice far to his left, and when he turned to it, he saw only a rushing mist.

  "Stay with us Champion..." came another, this one male.

  "Yes, Champion. Stay with us."

  "Forever."

  Three souls gathered in his field of vision, spinning hypnotically in a counterclockwise circle before spreading out and drawing themselves vertical, resembling long thin clouds th
at had been stretched beyond their limits, silver shimmers gliding from bottom to top along one, then the others, and Grahamas swore he saw flashes of a face—perhaps his own—ripple along them.

  The Champion raised his hand to push them out of the way and continue forward, but his fingers cut right through them before dissipating and diluting back into the clouds around him. "This... is interesting."

  "Grahamas. You have no idea."

  Graham heard another voice, one behind him, and this was one he knew very well. Keeping his guard up he turned to face it. "Tallvas?"

  "Aye."