Fallen Empire

by Keith McArdle

  This man’s soul returned to his body.

  You know the risks. When was the last time you bound a nature spirit with a human?

  Once, many, many moons ago. She fell silent, took a deep breath and closed her eyes once more.

  And?

  The second verse came to a close and she fell silent.

  It worked, is that not enough?

  I care not. I will do as you say…this time.

  You do me a great service, Gorgoroth.

  Silence.

  Gorgoroth?

  I am here, Wiccan. Show me this…human!

  Endessa could feel the distaste with which the last word was whispered into her mind.

  She nodded and swayed, humming the first verse of The Resurrection.

  * * *

  “Come,” Verone said, “we have much to talk about.” She smiled, took his hand and led him away from the Frost River towards the luscious green grass, deeper into the warm sunlight. He shivered as the ice melted from his beard and his clothes started steaming.

  He stood still and bathed in the heat. “Gods, that’s better.”

  Vyder closed his eyes and smiled as Verone hugged him. “It’s been too long husband, I’ve missed you.”

  “And I you,” he muttered, holding her close.

  A hand clapped onto his shoulder and pulled him away from Verone. “We have unfinished business on the other side of the Frost River, human!”

  He saw the fear in Verone’s eyes as she stared over his shoulder at something much taller than he. She screamed and stepped back.

  Vyder turned to the newcomer and found himself staring at a dark green mist wafting in the air before him. He followed the mist upwards focussing on the piercing, glowing blue eyes glowering down at him from high above. The thing had form. It was not just a random cloud of green mist but took the shape of a massive, humanoid, well-built tree. The legs were tree trunks, the torso a single mighty trunk, the shoulders wide and powerful, arms sprouting into large branches, fingers small, leaf-covered appendages. The being’s face was a thick shrub. Bright blue eyes stared at him, waiting for a response.

  “On the other side of the Frost River?” he glanced at Verone and tried to step towards her, but the powerful hand held him steadfast.

  “That’s what I said, little human.”

  “But I am on the other side of the Frost Fiver.”

  A loud, creaking, groaning and hissing sound exploded from the mist-green being before him. Vyder thought it sounded like mocking laughter.

  The thing held out an arm towards the way Vyder had travelled. The leaf-covered finger pointed towards the river and the snowstorm blustering across the surface.

  “Not this side of the river.” The strange, mocking laughter again. “That side!”

  “But I’m dead!” Vyder tried to shake the hand off his shoulder.

  “Vyder! Come to me!” Verone screamed, running towards him, but she stopped as if held at bay by some invisible barrier. “Vyder!”

  “You come with me now.”

  “Verone!” He ran towards his wife, but the hand on his shoulder clenched an even firmer grip, stopping him in his tracks. “Verone!”

  “Hush now, little human. You will see her again. She is eternal, forever, and she’ll be waiting for you here when our time together is at an end.”

  The entity dragged Vyder away from Verone. She tried to follow but could not advance past the invisible barrier in front of her. Her lips formed his name, but no sound reached his ears.

  “Don’t do this,” Vyder said as he felt a chilling blast of ice wind as they approached the Frost River.

  “I have no choice, human. We are together now.”

  “I’ll kill you!” Vyder blurted, although truth be known, he felt powerless under the force of the mist that held him prisoner.

  He heard the familiar creaking and groaning. “I was alive on this earth before your monkey ancestors were swinging between treetops, bickering over a piece of fruit. You cannot kill me.”

  He struggled against the strength of the mighty entity but failed, his feet almost sliding out from under him as he was pulled out onto the icy surface of the river.

  “Why do you struggle, little human?”

  “I’m dead, I’ve done my time amongst the living. I want to be with my wife!”

  “You will be with her before you know it, small man. Time is but a fleeting blink of the eye. But you and I are bound together now, for a little while, at least.”

  “My name’s Vyder, not little human.” The assassin growled, trying to shrug the powerful hand off his shoulder.

  “Is it, little one?” He swore the thing shrugged. “That’s interesting.”

  Vyder’s teeth started to chatter as the familiar, unforgiving freezing cold worked its way through the layer of his clothes and began caressing his skin with relentless assault. Ice formed in his beard. His lips, face, and fingers went numb as the cold sunk towards his bones.

  “Gods, it’s cold.” He stammered the words through lips that felt thrice their normal size.

  “Is it?” the being pulled him on across the Frost River. “How unfortunate.”

  Vyder threw a glance over his shoulder as he slipped and stumbled onward to try and catch a glimpse of Verone, but the far bank upon which she stood was hidden by a thick blizzard. Wind howled in his ears, and he realised his lips were frozen shut. He could no longer speak.

  “Calmly now, Vyder. Calmly, little human.”

  He felt the being’s hand gently touch his head and experienced immediate warmth spread through his body. His lips parted, and he gasped for air.

  “You might be a human monkey, but there is no need for you to suffer.”

  Vyder nodded, enjoying the heat spread through him, destroying the freezing cold and driving it from his skin. “Thank you.”

  “It has manners, too,” the mist muttered to itself.

  Vyder looked at the being towering over him. “What is your name?”

  “My name?” It seemed to fall deep in thought, and Vyder thought it would ignore him entirely. “My name. An interesting question, and a long story. I have been called many things over the millennia.” The entity’s pace slowed. “I’ve been named Demon, Tuatha, Thoth, Legion, and Gorgoroth, which is of course, my real name.”

  “Gorgoroth?”

  “That is what I said, Vyder. Do you doubt?”

  “No of course not.” He took a breath and controlled the worry ebbing through him. “Why were you dubbed Demon?”

  “I am a caretaker of this world. Well, one of the caretakers of the world. I will always strive to protect our nature. Your Wiccans call me a nature spirit. If someone threatens to harm the order of nature, I will destroy them. For instance, several years ago, a man once tortured a dog for pleasure. He started cutting off its paws until I intervened.”

  “What happened?”

  Silence.

  “Gorgoroth?”

  “Hmm? Oh, I manifested into the physical realm and ripped the human limb from limb. It takes so much power to do that it almost destroys me. But I was so angry. I’ve only ever been able to walk the physical realm on two occasions. I healed the little dog as best I could, then hung what remained of the puny man from the town hall of the village in which he lived as a warning to the others while the villagers slept. I imagine that instance and thousands like them are why I have been called Demon.”

  Thousands like them? What has this thing done?

  “Oh, you don’t want to know, Vyder. I have done things to people that would make you sick to the stomach.”

  He looked up at the piercing blue eyes. “You can read my mind?”

  “We are one and the same now, human. I can read your mind as you can mine. That, I think, will become more apparent when we inhabit the same physical body.”

  We cannot be one and the same. Surely!

  He shrugged his shoulder to rid the mighty han
d from him, but when he was unsuccessful, he pulled away and felt pain lance through him. Vyder glanced at his shoulder and noticed Gorgoroth’s hand had grown. The fingers were long tendrils, which had worked their way beneath his skin and intertwined themselves beneath his right armpit and down his flank.

  “Oh trust me, Vyder.” Gorgoroth laughed in his strange hissing way. “We are one and the same until it is done.”

  He felt the nature spirit grin.

  How in the bloody hells can I feel it grin?

  Because we are one and the same. Remember, little monkey? The sibilant voice intruding his mind made him jump.

  So you can not only read my thoughts but be part of them?

  Endless questions, Vyder. Endless questions. It tires me. It bores me. There will be plenty of time in the coming months, maybe years, for questions. For now, perhaps we should walk across the Frost River in silence?

  “Maybe,” Vyder turned to look up at the tall nature spirit, “but what is it that you—”

  It wasn’t really a question, Vyder. Now shut up and walk!

  * * *

  Griff wiped his fingers on his trousers in disgust. He placed the empty bowl upon the ground and stood, a groan erupting as his knees nearly crumpled, but he managed to stand and stretch his legs. The thick, black goo now covered Vyder’s wounds. He frowned as he focused on the dark liquid he’d painted on with his fingers.

  Is it the light?

  He squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them, blinking rapidly. Refocusing upon Vyder’s body, he noticed the dark liquid had solidified into a cream-coloured crust. He brought the hand he’d used to paint the stuff on, but his fingers were still covered in the sticky, tar-like substance.

  Maybe my body warmth has kept it in liquid form. Yes, that must be it.

  He noticed Endessa was still knelt before the fire, although she was now silent. No more humming or singing could be heard from the old woman. Her head was bowed as if she was praying. Griff heard a snort nearby and turned to see Miriam stroking the horse. Both of them stared at him. He smiled tightly, but no longer able to face the questioning hope in Miriam’s eyes, turned away to look at the dead body at his feet, instead.

  * * *

  Vyder’s foot slipped upon the icy surface of the frozen river. He braced himself in an attempt to regain his balance, but there was no need, he continued walking unimpeded by the slippery surface.

  You human monkeys are such clumsy creatures.

  The dark mist that was Gorgoroth seemed to point at the nearby bank.

  Not far to go, Vyder. We are almost there. Now let us embark upon this journey together. The sooner we start, the sooner we can get it over and done with.

  “I’d prefer to be with my wife. I’ve lived my life. I’ve died.”

  Vyder felt himself shoved forward.

  It is not a request. Walk on human.

  “Why do you hate people so much, Gorgoroth?”

  Another time, monkey.

  “No. Now!”

  Vyder slowed and attempted to stop. He faced the dark mist but was pushed on. He heard the hissing laughter boom out from the nature spirit.

  Demanding little creature, aren’t you? We will talk about it later. That is the end of it. We have things to do.

  He was pushed forward, one boot making contact with the bank of The Frost River.

  And places to be, so no more questions, Vyder. Later, much later, we will talk.

  He strode up the bank, more confident that he could feel his boots gaining traction upon the hard ground. He felt the warm bubble Gorgoroth had thrown around him disappear. The air immediately became cooler, but it was still comfortable.

  “Thank you for keeping me warm.”

  Gorgoroth remained silent as they walked.

  Vyder frowned as he began hearing a dull thud for every four or five of his footsteps. The noise seemed to be coming from beside him. He twisted and jumped in surprise as he saw the dark, misty vapour that was Gorgoroth had been replaced by a solid, very real tree-like being. He stared at the thing towering above him. The bright blue orbs glared back at him. The nature spirit laughed.

  Steady there, Vyder. It is still I. Soon, very soon, we will be amongst the realm of the living. Then I will be able to take my revenge upon my enemies. I shall kill them, blot them from existence, ensure their destruction and complete extinction.

  * * *

  “That’s enough now, boy. My hand is going numb!”

  Miriam stopped stroking the horse and dropped the clump of straw to the ground. She clenched her hand into a fist and relaxed it. She slapped her hand against her thigh and feeling returned to the palm and fingertips. The horse nuzzled her gently.

  She smiled. “No! You’ve had enough patting for today.”

  Her attention was drawn away as she saw Griff jump back from the supine body of her master at his feet. He went to his knees, holding fingers to Vyder’s throat as if checking for something.

  She took a step forward. “What’s the matter?”

  Griff ignored her.

  “Griff?” she asked, tentatively walking forward, ignoring the soft nose of the horse pushing against her cheek.

  “I think…” Griff pushed his fingers deeper into Vyder’s throat, “I think he’s alive, Miriam.”

  “What?” She hitched her skirts off the ground and ran to the doctor. “He’s alive?”

  Silence.

  She clutched Griff’s shoulders and shook him. “Is he alive, Griff?”

  “I think so, yes.”

  Miriam held a hand to her mouth and staved off tears. “Oh, Gulgon.” She fell to her knees, hands still holding onto Griff. She looked over the doctor’s shoulder and stared at Vyder. She held her breath, looking at his chest and, for the briefest moment, thought she saw the skin over her master’s breast bone move upward.

  A trick of the mind, maybe?

  A single tear slid down her cheek, and she sniffed, one hand still firmly clamped over her mouth.

  Is he breathing?

  His chest moved again and Miriam flinched, her eyes widening. Her hand slowly moved away from her wide-open mouth.

  “He’s breathing, Griff,” she whispered. “I think he’s breathing.”

  “I can feel a pulse,” the near-doctor said over his shoulder.

  “Is that a good thing?”

  The would-be doctor laughed. “Yes, yes it is Miriam. It means his heart is beating.”

  What in the hells does that mean?

  “Oh, he’s alive alright.”

  The sudden voice made Miriam jump, and she looked up to see Endessa standing nearby. She crossed her arms and scowled. “He’s alive, Miriam. Your master will survive this. You still have a home, my love. And perhaps we have alleviated the chance of our kingdom descending into all-out war.”

  The Wiccan’s face softened, and she smiled.

  “Oh, thank you!”

  She burst to her feet and ran to Endessa, pulling the Wiccan into a tight embrace. “Although, I care for Vyder, he is like a son to me. It is not just about a roof over my head.”

  “I understand, my love.”

  “His heart beat is very slow, Endessa. Too slow.”

  Miriam pulled away from the Wiccan and turned to Griff.

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” Griff said, holding Endessa’s stare. “What does it mean?”

  She turned back to Endessa.

  The Wiccan held out her hands. “It’s the only way I could bring Vyder back from the Frost River. There was only one way to do it, and now Vyder lives. Is that not what you wanted?”

  “It is.” Miriam smiled.

  “How did you bring him back from the other side?”

  “I bound his soul with that of a nature spirit. They are one and the same and, together, will inhabit the same body.”

  Miriam sniffed and turned to the Wiccan. “What does that mean exactly?”
>
  “It means your master lives,” Endessa snapped.

  “But?” Miriam prodded, her eyebrows rising.

  The old woman cursed and crossed her arms once more. “But he may not be the same man you remember. Think of it like Vyder will now have two personalities. At any moment, you might be talking to Vyder or to Gorgoroth. I’m sorry, Miriam, it’s the best I could do.”

  “At least he’s alive” She fell silent and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Gorgoroth, you say? How could you possibly entice a nature spirit into such a…bond?”

  Endessa shrugged. “He wants to take his vengeance upon his enemies for past wrongs. It means Vyder lives, and Gorgoroth is able to slay those who have wronged him. It’s a win-win situation.” Endessa scowled. “In a manner of speaking, anyway.”

  “What does that mean? Who are Gorgoroth’s enemies?”

  Endessa shifted from foot to foot and cleared her throat but did not speak.

  “Endessa?” Miriam placed a hand upon the Wiccan’s shoulder.

  The old woman looked at the ground.

  Miriam shook the woman. “Endessa!”

  “It’s the only way I could coax life back into Vyder. You must understand, Miriam. You must understand!”

  “For pity’s sake, Witch,” Griff leapt to his feet and advanced upon the older woman. “Answer the damn question!”

  “Humans!” snapped Endessa. “Us!” she gestured at the three of them. “Happy now? Gorgoroth’s enemies are all people on the earth. He’d happily kill us all.”

  She let out a breath. “But I think I can stop him.”

  Griff chuckled without humour. “You think?”

  Miriam glanced down at Vyder, and her breath caught in her throat. The assassin’s eyes were open and staring at her. But that’s not what caused fear to ebb and flow through her like a river of ice. It was Vyder’s eyes. They were the brightest blue and his lips were creased in a way that was half-smile and half-snarl.

  IV

  “Vyder?” Miriam knelt beside her master and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Vyder can you hear me?”

  “Yes, he can hear you.”

  Miriam stumbled back as she pushed herself to her feet. It looked like Vyder. Well, except for the eyes! But it wasn’t Vyder who spoke. Gone was the thick highland accent, replaced with a deep, gravelly voice that sounded as if each word was spoken in a snarl.