by Dan O'Brien
“No place is sacred in a heart as dark as yours,” replied the figure, his face holding the merciless grin of the ages.
“You’ve lost everything, haven’t you? Not a soul left to save. You are pathetic. You are a nonperson, mortal,” laughed Xzin maniacally.
“You are the fool. Your power is insignificant in the place you wish to open. Your place there will be one of servitude and waste. You are the pawn in this game.”
The figure began to laugh, low and throaty at first. Then it became louder, high-pitched. Xzin brought his hands to his ears and howled in pain.
In desperation, he lunged at the figure – who in the light looked like Rider. He moved from one side to the other as though he knew the attack was coming. Rider caught Xzin’s extended leg and brought his elbow down on Xzin’s knee, crushing the kneecap on impact.
Xzin fell to the ground and extended his arm to grasp Rider, but to no avail. Rider merely caught the arm and used it to launch Xzin into the far wall. He bowed to the destroyed figure that lay beneath him and faded into the wall from whence he came.
“Come back, you bastard. How?”
Xzin shook his fist at the wall, but received no response.
* * * * *
Xzin sat up quickly in his bedchambers and looked about. Two forms moved on either side and then turned toward Xzin, their eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
“My lord, is something the matter?” Two women of identical build and facial structure lay on either side of him. They sat up in unison and began to caress his back. “Can we relieve your stress, my lord?”
“Not now. Summon Edge and Hocher immediately,” replied Xzin, wondering if his dreams were a portent of things to come. The two women filed out of the room and Xzin, for the first time, contemplated what it would be like to fail.
* * * * *
Rider woke up in a kind of haze with Wei standing over him. He put one hand on the ground and pushed, overcompensating and falling against the wall. He grabbed Wei to steady himself.
“Are you okay?” inquired Wei.
“Just a bit shaky. Where are we?”
“Not completely sure yet, but we are definitely underground. It is much darker than before, and my sensors indicate that it is far more humid here.”
“So we’ve been taken by the bottom dwellers.” Rider looked about and found that they were trapped in an entirely earthen room. The only door was above them, emitting a pale scrap of light.
“Have you tried to get out through there yet?” asked Rider as he turned back to Wei.
“Not yet, I awoke just before you did.”
“Let’s go then. What are we waiting for?”
“Indeed.”
Wei jumped up and grabbed the edges of the hole. Rider followed suit. Pulling himself up behind Wei, Rider dusted off his pants and was interrupted by a faint tap on his shoulder.
“What is it?” replied Rider, getting up and turning toward Wei. A gigantic crystal sat in the middle of the cavern. The luminance extended to the far reaches of the room. The light also extended upward, above the crystal itself.
“Hard to hide something like that. What is it?”
“That is the homing crystal of Nevar. It is their power source. It is their sun,” replied Wei as he moved forward, closer to the crystal. As they neared it, it seemed to shine a light blue rather than a white light, and it seemed much smaller up close than it had appeared at a distance.
“Do you think this is what Xzin is after?” asked Rider, pointing to the blue radiance. Wei moved closer yet. An open, bound book with transparent pages rested on a pedestal atop the crystal.
“This is what Xzin is looking for,” replied Wei, gazing at the iridescent book in front of him. The sheer magnitude of energy encompassing the book caused Wei to fall to his knees before it, and he did not possess the power to regain his composure.
“Are you okay?” asked Rider as he rushed forward and tried to help his friend to his feet.
“You are unaffected by the radiance?” asked Wei incredulously, looking up at Rider with awe on his face.
“He is indeed,” called a voice from behind them.
They turned and looked for the source of the voice, but the brilliance of the light from the crystal impaired their vision. Footsteps sounded closer until the figures of several beings could be seen against the backdrop glow of the crystal.
“Who are you?” asked Rider, as he tried to steady Wei.
“I am Reftein, chief of the people of Nevar,” replied a figure closest to the front. Their features were becoming clearer. Their eyes shone an iridescent yellow, and their bodies were covered in ragged clothes. Rider would have classified them as demons.
Reftein’s face was composed of pale red flesh and black patches that wove canyons deep into his skin. Two, smooth, curved pieces of bone protruded from either side of his head. The extrusions were creamy white in color and ended in sharp points. As the man advanced, Rider could make out tiny ridges at the nape of his neck that extended beneath his clothing, apparently down the length of his spine. His clothes were dusty and filthy, but with an aged quality to them that made Rider think perhaps there was power within them, lying dormant.
“We have come to warn you of an evil man who plans to steal the Dark Compendium,” began Wei, regaining his balance and deactivating his bio-armor. “His name is ….”
“We know. Hira Xzin, warlord of Baldor,” finished Reftein. He turned and paced back through the crowd of his people, looking upward into the darkness of the cavern ceiling. “I hear it in the wind, in the earth, in the darkness; his name is upon our world and his stench of destruction and despair is all too evident.”
“Then why do you leave the book out?” asked Rider, pushing Wei so that he could get closer to the chief.
“Do you know where you are?”
James opened his arms, but an answer escaped him.
“Do you know where you are, James Rider?”
“How do you know my name?”
“I hear your name, as well, James Rider. My people listen to the callings of the universes. We hear the plight of all,” replied Reftein. “The truth whispers that you are to deliver us from pain. Only you can defeat the evil that Hira Xzin is planning.”
“Then we must hide the book immediately before the minions of Xzin come here to get it,” broke in Wei as he stepped forward to grasp the book.
“No,” boomed Reftein, his right hand raised into the air. A black circle surrounded by a vibrant purple light emerged from his hand. The light thrust forward and entangled the book in one smooth motion. A force field contained the book and the crystal.
Wei hit the floor face first; his arms limp at his sides. Rider ran to him and turned him over so that he could face his fallen comrade. Rider looked up from his friend into the soulless eyes of Reftein.
“Why did you strike him? He only meant to help,” inquired Rider, rising from a crouch and slowly stepping toward the gathered crowd. “All he wanted to do was to get the book away from here so that he could stop the slaughter of your people.”
“We do not fear death. We only fear what will happen if the book is removed from this sanctuary. It’s very presence here keeps the delicate fabric of existence in check.”
Reftein’s aura powered down, and he looked much older than he had before. The wear lines of age could be seen as if some intangible time creature was stretching his face. Looking at the man, Rider found himself wondering how he could ever hope to defend these people against the onslaught of Xzin.
* * * * *
The halls of Xzin’s fortress echoed with the footfalls of fools. Hocher and Edge moved silently through the inner sanctum of this castle of sorts.
“Why do you think he has called for us?” asked Edge.
“Anger.”
“You think he is mad at us for not killing Rider and the others?”
“No.”
“What could it be then?”
“Anger at Nevar.”
&n
bsp; “You mean that demon world that houses that stupid book Xzin is always raving about?”
Hocher merely nodded and continued to stride toward the double doors of Xzin’s personal chambers. Edge slipped behind him, his sword at his side as he cast glances from side to side.
“This place is strange sometimes, eh?”
“Hollow.”
“You mean the walls are hollow?”
“No, the meaning is hollow.”
“Why can’t you ever make sense? Don’t you know how to form sentences?”
“You talk too much,” replied Hocher, as he pushed his weight against the double doors. They glanced at Xzin’s massive frame set against his dire throne, his features shrouded in darkness. Xzin said nothing when they entered the room. He only watched Edge fidget nervously under his scrutiny.
“Perhaps the two of you are wondering why I have summoned you here,” boomed Xzin. “I want you to go to Nevar and retrieve the book.”
“What book?” asked Edge without thinking.
“The Dark Compendium, the book I have been questing for eternity, you sniveling, insignificant little fool.” Xzin rose from his throne and descended upon them, coming within inches of Edge’s face. “I must have that book. Let nothing stand in your way. Take anything you need and go to Nevar before it is too late.”
“What about him?” asked Hocher, calculating his words carefully.
“Leave him to the forces on Nevar. I imagine that his powers will be nothing compared to their combined force,” replied Xzin.
Edge and Hocher bowed quickly and retreated from the room before Xzin could utter anything further. They closed the chamber doors behind them and made their way down the hall as quickly and quietly as possible, never once looking back the way they came.
“The sorceress Myridia locked away the seven lords of the shadow with the seven orbs of absolution. The seal of evil was cast in Aridus Castle, and the seven orbs crowned the throne of evil. It would lay dormant for all eternity.”
-Teachings of the House of Kenylon
The crystal shone no matter which direction you looked at it. Each fragment reflected, and the light extended into what seemed like the heavens. Rider leaned against the earthen walls and gazed into the simplicity and luminance of the crystal. He felt as though something was calling to him from inside the layers of light.
Rider.
“Is someone there?” whispered Rider into the darkness.
James Rider.
“What do you want?” called Rider again, this time with a hint of uneasiness in his voice.
They are coming for you.
“Who is coming for me?” Rider began to move closer until he was peering deeply into the crystal.
Time is coming for you.
“Time: what do you mean?” Rider felt as though he had stepped into the center of the crystal; he was totally immersed in the light and felt himself float upward. “Who are you?”
In time you shall realize all things.
“Why are you telling me this?” whispered Rider, as the light lifted him higher into the air.
You have been chosen to represent truth.
“What is truth?” Rider’s eyes began to glaze and felt as though he were no longer in his own body.
Truth is the ultimate power, and it cannot be learned.
“Then how can I wield it?”
It can be given, and it can be taken away.
“I don’t understand.” Rider spoke flatly, defeated.
You are to defend the people of the Light.
“People of the Light. You mean the people of Nevar?”
No. The warriors of the Light require your guidance and leadership.
“Warriors of the Light ….”
Yes, in time you shall become a Bearer of Truth, as terrible as it may be.
“How can I defend this truth if such warriors of the Light cannot guard it?” replied Rider, his connection to the physical world becoming more and more distant.
You will pay a price, the cost being your freedom, your humanity.
“My humanity? How can I exist as anything other than human?”
Never say something cannot be done, bearer. You shall see many things come to pass that you once thought impossible.
“You speak in riddles.”
I am merely an extension of your own mind. My questions are your questions. My answers are your answers.
“Was it you? The voice I first heard aboard that Baldorian vessel so many years ago?” asked Rider incredulously, the tone and inflection of the voice finally connecting in his mind.
You heard me then, and so shall you again. Good-bye, James Rider.
The light dimmed slightly, and Rider found himself standing before the crystal again. He shook his head and rubbed his temples, making sure he was awake. Rider’s body was the same as it had been moments before, but he couldn’t shake the voice that had spoken to him.
“Weird,” whispered Rider.
“What’s weird?” called a voice behind him. Rider spun quickly to find Wei standing there.
“I just had the strangest ….”
“What was that?”
“I had a dream, right here, while I was awake.”
“And?”
“It was so vivid; it was real.”
“Why do you believe it a dream then?”
“Because it couldn’t have happened. It was like I left my body and somehow entered the crystal.”
“Interesting. Perhaps ….”
“Perhaps,” James repeated.
They stood in silence for some time before Reftein and the others returned. Wei acknowledged them, but Rider’s attention was focused on the crystal.
“Gentlemen, I don’t believe your warlord is going to attack us and take the book. You have overstayed your welcome. It is time for you to leave,” called Reftein.
“I want to know more,” replied Rider as he picked up the book from the altar. Rider turned quickly to face Reftein.
“What have you done, you fool? That book must never leave that altar,” screamed Reftein, his hand energized at once.
The purple light whisked through the air, but halted before Rider. He met the oncoming wave of energy and cast it aside with a flick of his hand.
“Perhaps you serve Xzin, Reftein, and you want us to leave the book here so your master can come retrieve it. Maybe you just now received word that he is sending someone,” replied Rider, mocking Reftein as he powered up. A green glow enveloped his body. “If you want this book, you are going to have to get through me.”
“Rider, what are you doing?” Wei reached for Rider’s arm, trying to get his friend’s attention. “These people are the guardians of the book by right. We cannot take it from this place.
“We must, Wei. There is no other choice. The crystal spoke to me. I believe Xzin is coming for the book and Reftein is going to let him have it.” Rider brought his hand up, a green burst erupting from his palm.
Reftein deflected it.
“You are correct. I am indeed a minion of the almighty Xzin. However, what you failed to realize is that you are trapped,” laughed Reftein, as he hunched over in convulsions.
The sound of tearing clothes and screams of agony brought Wei to alert. He powered up his bio armor and brought his weapons systems to full.
“You will now feel the wrath of the demons of Nevar,” roared Reftein as his body lurched forward. The clothes tore and his skull lengthened and narrowed.
Standing up, he had grown about a meter and his minions had followed suit, all reverting to their primordial states. Their foreheads sloped forward and their eyes had grown hungry; their hands had elongated and grown sharp claws.
Their mouths hung open, and rows of razor-sharp teeth extended far into their skulls. They hunched forward as if they could not stand upright and their hands dragged closer to the ground. Reftein raised his right claw and pointed at Rider.
“We’ve consumed your kind for centuries, you fool. We are th
e demons of Nevar, and we will now devour you in the name of Xzin,” roared the beast that stood before them.
Blades energized from Wei’s hands and the suit began to shine a deep blue. “There is one thing you forgot,” called Rider as he stepped backward into the light of the crystal. “You have to catch us first.”
Rider and Wei shot up the tunnel of light toward what they hoped would be the surface.
* * * * *
Xzin strode back and forth; his robes dusting the ground and his hair weave bouncing upon his back with each stride. The wind atop the fortress was quite strong, but didn’t push Xzin from his predestined path. He stopped midstride and turned toward the two figures at the corner of the building.
“Rione, bring her to me,” called Xzin over the roar of the wind. “Now you get to see what true power is.”
Rione dragged the reluctant Mela to him.
“You are a fool, Xzin. You have no idea what you are dealing with, and no idea of the consequences. You will only destroy yourself by carrying through with this.”
“What do you know, mortal? Neither you nor your soon-to-be-dead friends can stop me,” laughed Xzin, flipping his robes out against the wind.
“What do you plan to do with me?” replied Mela, raising her head to meet Xzin’s stony gaze.
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” Xzin turned and went to the altar. It featured a vacant pedestal. Mela lowered her head and allowed Rione to push her to the ground. She listened to the ensuing wind.
* * * * *
The tunnel indeed led to the surface of Nevar. They searched for the landing site, but it was not within visual range. Rider turned to Wei and shrugged.
“Where did the Quicksilver go?”
“The pillar is just north of us. We should head that direction.”
“Do you feel that?” whispered Rider, motioning for Wei to come closer. “It must be an earthquake.” Just as Rider finished his sentence the ground exploded and several winged demons emerged in a cloud of dust.
“What the hell?” yelled Rider over the swirling winds and shattered earth. Wei shook his head and steadied himself on one knee. He raised his hand over his eyes. The dust began to settle, and the forms became more visible. The demons of Nevar had spawned wings in order to follow them.