The Awakening

by Gary Alan Wassner

  A putrid smell assaulted her senses and a tiny reddish pinpoint of a light appeared below her. The point rapidly increased in diameter as she neared the ground until it became a gaping hole. She hit the surface with a thud, somersaulted to an upright position and drew her blade all in one fluid motion. It immediately occurred to her that the bottom of the shaft was unprotected. No seals secured the aperture. She took a step to the left and felt as if she was crushing nutshells under her feet. Looking down, she saw that the ground was in motion as thousands of tiny insects, much smaller than those that attacked the city above, scurried out of her way.

  As her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she saw that the tree trunks around the opening looked strange. Observing them more closely, she realized that the bugs underfoot were running rampant all over the vegetation, consuming the trees themselves. She saw corpses in the distance and one large dead troll nearby whose heart was pierced by a bolt from a crossbow. There was no other sign of life anywhere within her scope of vision. Fires were burning out all around her, untended and unfed. Garbage and debris littered the ground and a rancid smoke clogged her nostrils.

  Robyn flew out of the funnel within another instant. He righted himself and joined Filaree. Neither of them spoke a word. They waited with bated breath for Cairn to emerge, but to their surprise, the boy fell to the ground next. Robyn assisted him to his feet and looked at him with a question in his eyes. Before Dav had a chance to respond, Cairn fell from the shaft to the earth beside them. He immediately stepped away and looked upward, seeking some sign of the Moulant’s approach.

  To his great relief, he heard a swoosh, saw the big animal slide heavily from the tube and land upright on his back legs with unbelievable agility. Cairn sidled up next to him and dug his fist into his soft fur.

  “A part of the battle has already been fought,” Filaree said aloud, breaking the silence.

  They could see the carnage everywhere and the movement underfoot and all around them.

  “The bugs that Colton unleashed above seem to have spawned some smaller cousins, and they are wreaking their havoc here as well,” Robyn said.

  “Insidious fiends,” Cairn stated with a scowl.

  “We can do no more to combat them down here than we did in the Heights. We must leave right away,” Filaree said. “This battle is not yet over, I suspect.”

  “Is everyone all right?” Robyn questioned.

  They all nodded.

  “We are near the northern-most point of Lormarion. It should not take us long to reach the perimeter,” he continued. “It is still daytime despite the darkness. If we can get out of the woods with no further incident, we will have a few hours of sunlight.”

  They walked cautiously through the detritus of battle, sidestepping the dead. Cairn broke from the group without a sound and walked a few paces to the east. He crouched down over something and removed his gloves.

  “Robyn? Can you come here?” he called.

  They all walked toward where Cairn was stooped over the body of a warrior clad in a light-colored armor, uncharacteristic of the elves in the south. He lay upon his stomach and his head and his helm had been cleaved clean through. Carefully, Cairn turned him over.

  “He bears the sigil of Eleutheria,” Robyn remarked over the scholar’s shoulder. “Do you see the etching on his breastplate? A snow-capped mountain upon a sea of ice?”

  “I thought the elves of the Ice Kingdom never ventured out of their own domain,” Filaree said.

  “They never did,” Robyn exclaimed.

  “Well, they’’ve done it now,” she said.

  “I wonder what could have stirred them so to abandon their isolation. They have always been very opposed to mingling with the world in any way. I have been there more than once, and I can testify to their adamancy.”

  “We should not question whatever it was that caused them to come all this way. I can only imagine what kind of reception we would have received had they not been down here before we arrived,” Cairn remarked.

  “There is another body over here,” Davmiran said, pointing to a nearby tree. “He seems so young.”

  “No younger than you, my friend,” Cairn said. “Though I venture he is many tiels older than you suspect.”

  “The elves age differently than we do,” Filaree said. “I wonder how many they have lost here. I see few compared to the numbers of the enemy.”

  “They are fierce fighters. It would not take a multitude to defeat a slovenly foe such as this one. But I am afraid that they could do nothing to combat the bugs either,” Robyn said.

  “It will take magic to do that, not metal and stone,” Filaree replied.

  “Would that we had the time,” Robyn frowned. “Or enough power now.”

  “We do not,” Filaree said. “We know that, Robyn. It is a great misfortune, but we must leave that task to another.”

  “If there is another who is capable of the work,” Cairn said.

  “Let’’s go. We waste precious minutes here. We know not what awaits us in the countryside,” Filaree said.

  “I agree too, though it feels wrong to leave like this,” Robyn said.

  “We can do nothing else. More is at stake this moment than the city of Seramour. It was built once. It can be built again,” Cairn said. “The boy here cannot be replaced,” he said, putting his arm on Dav’s shoulder.

  “Yes, I know. I am behaving like a child. The fabric weaves of its own will,” Robyn said with pursed lips. “Come. Follow me,” he motioned as he stepped away from the others.

  Adrianna awoke to the feeling of something crawling all over her. She brushed the insects off of her shoulders and chest and shook them from her legs. She was propped against a broad tree that was partially eaten already and her body was covered with the leaves and branches that had fallen as the bugs ate away at the main trunk. A shelter of sorts had been created around her by the debris, and she sat inside it and surveyed her situation.

  A sharp pain shot through her womb, and then the sound of Colton’s laughter repeated itself in her troubled mind. Her legs were damp and bloody, but she felt better for the murder she committed.

  I would not have that thing growing within me.

  Then, almost immediately, a wave of remorse washed over her, threatening to drown her in intensity. Her feelings for the Dark Lord were confusing and painful. At times she was overwhelmed by a uncontrollable and complete rush of love for him. At others, she reviled him and cursed his arrogance. But her devotion always returned, filling her with guilt whenever she thought badly of him. She could not hate him for long, despite what he did to her. In the end, she adored him and forgave him all his trespasses.

  She even began to believe once again that everything that happened was her fault, and she despised herself for what she had just done. She was not worthy, and now she deserved even the worst of his wrath. She would bow before him, grovel at his feet and beg his forgiveness. Her thoughts returned repeatedly to him, his beauty, his power, and all she could do was imagine ways in which she could win his love back again. He teased her with his domination, and she truly believed he did care for her at one time. She would rescue the elf and bring him safely back, and then he would forgive her. After all, it was not the Master’s child she murdered.

  She heard a sound in the distance and stilled her movements, her defenses immediately piqued. She had missed the battle that raged around her having been unconscious and unaware during most if not all of it. Fortunately, the debris of the forest and the bugs themselves had concealed her insensate body and kept her safe from serious harm. The rotten odor of the insects verily concealed her own human smell from others, better than any purposeful attempt on her part could have. Even the bugs were glorious—Colton’s creations, more products of his genius. She shifted silently and a tremor of pain coursed through her body.

  Where have they all gone? Something is moving over there. Not everything is dead. She looked carefully around the edge of the beleaguered tree and ov
er the pile of branches, and she thought for a second that she must still be unconscious or dreaming at the least. A group of four humans stood around the unmoving body of an elfin soldier and one was a blonde haired boy.

  Can it possibly be? Did he place me here intentionally after all? Am I to be the one to capture the boy?

  She grew flush and faint, her heart beat faster and faster, as she imagined what her master would think of her if she were able to subdue the heir and bring him back to him as her captive.

  There are only four of them and one is a woman, she calculated. The yellow-eyed one looks harmless enough. It is the other; the tall one, who will be the most difficult to subdue.

  Adrianna shifted again and quietly lifted her arms. She concentrated hard and a red glow encircled her upturned palms.

  I must take out the dark-haired one first.

  The glow turned from red to blue to white and it sparked and danced upon her hands as it formed itself into the shape of a pointed projectile about five inches long. She lifted it in her right hand now and turned slightly to aim, still keeping it concealed behind the broad tree trunk. She drew her arm back so that she could slide to the side, prepared to release the weapon. With her left hand, she pushed against the ground, trying not to make a sound as she moved slowly from behind the tree. Her victim had stood up again from his crouching position, affording her a much broader target than she had expected, and she silently thanked him for being so cooperative.

  That’s it. Move just a little bit more away from the others. I do not want to damage the boy when I kill you.

  Robyn turned his back on the group and motioned with his hand for them to follow him. Adrianna cocked her elbow and drew the deadly missile back as far as she could. She concentrated intensely, hoping to hit her opponent square in the chest. Then she let it fly.

  Something held her arm tight, preventing her from releasing the fire that glowed in her hand. She struggled against it, but she could barely move. She swiveled her head around to see what grabbed her and her jaw dropped in fear. The largest mouth she had ever seen, gaping wide with white teeth gleaming, was only inches from her face. A massive, fur covered paw held her firmly. She tried to break free, but to no avail. Summoning the power, she sent a charge through her arm, but it merely played harmlessly over the shimmering fur of the beast, and dissipated into the earth below its huge feet. Calyx growled a loud throaty groan and pinned the woman to the ground, while her remaining fire fizzled and went out in her hand.

  Cairn, hearing the sound before the others, sought his friend out immediately. He recognized the tone and he knew it was not a friendly cry. Rushing to his side, he found him kneeling beside a struggling, light haired woman of indeterminate age dressed in the red robes of the Possessed, the mark of Colton clear and obvious upon her features.

  “It seems we were about to be ambushed,” Cairn said to the Moulant. He turned his attention to the woman. “Do you have a name?” he asked, keeping his distance still.

  Adrianna did not respond. She turned her head away from him and refused to even look him in the eye. Robyn, Filaree and Davmiran joined them, surprised that any of the enemy had survived the battle in the forest.

  “Let me handle this one,” Filaree said, walking directly up to the prostrate woman and jabbing her with the toe of her boot. “What have we here? One of Colton’s harem girls?” she asked, trying to anger her enough to get a response. “Did you think you could hide behind a tree and avoid the battle completely? Are you a coward, woman?”

  Adrianna opened her dark eyes wide, and glared at Filaree from beneath Calyx’s furry paw.

  “What would you know of courage?” she spat the words at Filaree.

  “Ah ha. So she speaks. Good. We are making progress. Now tell me what I need to know and I will go easy on you. Force me, and you will regret it.”

  “I have nothing to say to any of you,” Adrianna replied, angry enough with herself already for uttering anything at all.

  “Do you really wish to make this more difficult than it needs to be?” she asked. “From one woman to another, what kind of man would have left you in such a desperate situation? Does Colton always require his ladies to sacrifice so much?”

  “I do what I do because I choose to,” she replied.

  “Choose? You choose to humiliate yourself? You choose to be kindling for his flame? You choose to die so that he can find peace for himself? What is it exactly that you choose, my Lady?” she questioned.

  “You do not know him. He is greater than all of you put together. He is everything that matters to me. I would gladly lay down my life for him. I love him,” she said.

  “And he disdains you. Do you not know that? What man would ask a woman he cares about to fight in his stead?”

  “Colton will be here too. He plans to enter the city when the time is right.”

  “So, he will arrive after the hard work is done, after the danger is past. You ask me what I know about courage? I know that no man of character would do as he does. Only a coward would send women to do what he fears to do himself. He must bear only contempt for you, you poor, deluded girl.”

  Adrianna struggled to free herself from Calyx’s grasp, thrashing back and forth upon the ground. It hurt her to hear Filaree’s words. The anger welled up within her, but at the same moment, she knew deep inside the part of her soul that remained intact that there was truth to what the other woman said. She could not accept it though because it invalidated all that she lived for. She felt as if she were being torn in two, as if her insides were being pulled out and stomped upon.

  “He loves me. You do not know anything. Soon you will see. Seramour will be a pile of sawdust and Colton will praise us all.”

  “Is it praise you want, woman? Find a husband who loves you. Colton will never care for anything alive. He disdains life itself. Perhaps if you kill yourself, then he may be grateful.”

  This girl speaks the truth, I know it. He will never love me. If I could bring him the heir in chains perhaps he would be grateful, but to what purpose? So that we all can perish? she thought.

  “What choice have I but to die? I can never forsake him,” she admitted aloud.

  “He has forsaken you already. Why do you find it so difficult to escape his evil? Surely you can see that there is no hope for you if you stay allied to him.”

  “There is no hope for any of us. The trees are dying. They are abandoning you for him. Do you doubt the wisdom of the great Lalas’? Your own people turn against you.” Suddenly, a thought came to her from nowhere and she uttered it without thinking. “He knows where the map is and he will find it. The light of the Gem will be put out forever. All of you are doomed,” she spat, and then she buried her face in the fallen leaves. “Leave me be. Let me die here if I wish.”

  Robyn placed his hand upon Filaree’s shoulder and coaxed her to back away.

  “It is fruitless, my Lady. She is too far gone to return to us. Colton’s embrace is never forgotten once it has been accepted. She has been touched too deeply by his evil.”

  “I only sought to gain some information, not to save her soul. I never dreamed she would be so obliging.”

  “She has revealed more than we could have hoped, but, it pains me to hear it,” Robyn replied.

  “If it is true, it is better that we know it now,” Filaree said.

  “Oddly fortuitous, I would say,” Robyn observed.

  “Do you doubt the veracity of her statement?” Cairn asked.

  “I have no reason to. And, if it is true, the import is enormous,” Robyn said. “But, we have no time now to deliberate over this. We must get out of this place.”

  “What shall we do with her?” Cairn asked, pointing to the captive. “We cannot take her with us, and now that she has seen us, we cannot leave her here.”

  “I can try to erase the memory of this encounter from her mind, but I do not know what defenses the Dark Lord has bestowed upon her,” Robyn said.

  “You must try,” Fil
aree replied. “Otherwise we have no choice but to kill her.”

  “Perhaps Davmiran and I together can accomplish the task more certainly,” Robyn said.

  “I am willing to do whatever you instruct me to,” the boy responded.

  “Then let us try. We have nothing to lose if we are careful. Just follow my suggestions and make certain that you do not listen to her voice once we get started. If Colton has taken over her soul, it will be his spirit that speaks, not hers. Though his power would be diluted and ineffectual, it would not be prudent for you to confront it now. You are not yet ready for that, my boy,” he said. “I will put her to sleep first. After that, I will require your assistance. Remember. Do not focus upon her words. Ignore them at all costs. Listen only to my voice.”

  “Will you risk the boy in this gambit?” Cairn asked Robyn.

  “No. Certainly not. I will intervene if I must. Her spirit cannot be so strong as to thwart us both, even if Colton has imbued it with as much power as it can stand. Her physical being could not support it. She would be torn apart. His presence will be a communicative one only.”

  “Are you certain, Robyn? All of our struggles would be fruitless if it were to end here,” Filaree said.

  “I am confident, my Lady,” he said to her.

  Turning to Dav, he beckoned him to join him in front of the woman who still lay under the massive arm of the Moulant. Robyn closed his eyes and concentrated. He drew his energy from beneath the soil of Lormarion, from the lifeblood of the earth, and then he channeled it through his body. Within his mind he saw the whiteness grow and intensify. When he could bear to be its vessel no longer, he opened his eyes and let it flow from him into the lady on the ground.