Ascension (Unbound Prophecy Book 1)

by J. L. Jackola

  Daneele broke her traumatized stare as he moved beside her. She hadn’t realized her Council had arrived. Daneele looked at her with wide eyes and asked, “What is that thing?”

  That brought her senses back. She knew they had to act fast. “I don’t know, but we need to get it away from that village.” She looked around at her surroundings. They were close to the south-western border of her land, close to Tenebron, so they only had so much space to work with before they’d be backed into a corner against the boundary. It didn’t matter; they had to distract the beast and draw its attention from the village and its inhabitants.

  “Let’s go. We need to pull it back here away from the people. I need all of you to get in front of it and blast it with your power. I’ll take the rear and hit it hard. If that doesn’t bring the thing down at least we’ll get its attention.”

  With that, she shifted, her Council close behind her. She landed in front of the beast. It stood at least twenty feet tall and was broader than the house it had just destroyed. Its skin was blackish green and emitted the foulest odor. Its face, if that’s what it could be called, had two huge black eyes and what looked to be a mouth but what remained was more of a moss-covered blob. Its teeth as enormous as rock were bared as it snarled at her. She could see the decay that clung to them. Where a nose should have been lay what appeared to be gills that moved as it breathed.

  All together it was like something from a nightmare, and it had turned its attention to her. In just a few steps, it was standing over her, reaching down to grab her. That’s when her Council blasted it with a massive blow of magic. The creature paused a moment, then swatted them all away as if they were tiny insects.

  Violissa used this moment of distraction to her advantage and called the roots below the creature to reach up and pull it to the ground. It howled as it fell, then ripping free of the tendrils as if they were a mere annoyance, it quickly stood back up. She called up her powers and blew it back as far as she could from the reach of the village, then she shifted closer and repeated. The creature stumbled. This time it slammed hard into the boundary shield that divided her realm from Tenebron. She watched as it shimmered and vibrated at the impact. Before she could cast the next spell, the beast was up, and she was sent flying. She shifted mid-air and watched as her Council tried to hammer it again with their powers. No matter how much they threw at it, they only seemed to annoy the creature. It roared and threw out its arms, only this time instead of hitting them, Violissa watched in horror as four smaller versions of the creatures burst forth from its arms. They scurried toward her Council and she knew that she was now left alone to deal with the monstrosity that had given birth to them.

  Sinow’s head was pounding. The calming spell Violissa had placed on him during their last meeting had worn off, and the Darkness had surged back in response to being kept at bay for so long. He needed to release it before it threatened to overwhelm him, but he had yet to think of a satisfying way to release it. He was contemplating heading to the dungeons to have a little fun with the prisoners when he felt it. He turned his head toward the eastern boundary. Something had hit the boundary wall hard enough to send the air around him rippling. The reverberation was followed by a massive thud louder than any sound he had ever heard. He quickly called out to the Council nearest him and ordered them to report to the area of impact then he himself shifted.

  Keary was the first to arrive. “Can you see anything through the boundary shield Sinow?”

  Ever since the ascension, he’d been able to clearly see through it right into Violissa’s realm. The magic of the border caused a slight misting of things on the other side of it, but he could still make out Violissa through it. His heart raced and the power within surged again in response before he could take in the entire scene. Within seconds he had determined the source of the disturbance. She was fighting something the likes of which he had never before seen. The thing towered over her as she fended it off. Around her, Council fought smaller yet still lethal creatures so were unable to come to her aid. She was holding her own, but even with all her powers, she still appeared taxed. Suddenly the creature grabbed her and threw her straight toward the boundary. She came flying toward them and landed just feet from where Sinow stood. She looked up, surprised that they were there, and he felt the skip in her heartbeat as their eyes met.

  “Sinow?” she said questioningly. She didn’t have time to say anything further before a massive black slimed hand came tearing through the border to grab her leg and drag her back through. It all happened so quickly he knew she hadn’t had time to shift away from it. Sinow shifted to follow her, not bothering to even look back at Keary. The noise of the battle assaulted his ears. He shifted closer to the creature, catching Violissa’s attention as he did.

  She looked curiously at him and started to say something when the creature’s hand slammed into her and sent her flying across a field of downed trees that had been felled earlier in the battle.

  “Violissa!” he yelled out of instinct even though he knew nothing could hurt her. He drew upon all the anger and power that had been raging inside of him over the past few days and poured it out at the beast. It roared and swayed at the impact. Sinow took the moment of weakness and went in for a second round, shifting to its other side as it turned to face him. A black mist of power swirled around him, and he felt the Darkness within fight to overcome the control he was trying to maintain. He released another blast, but the creature didn’t respond this time.

  “Sinow! Stop!” he heard Violissa yell as he blasted it repeatedly with a mix of fire and Dark magic that swirled in a red and black haze around the creature. Sinow! she screamed in his head. Stop, it’s feeding off your Dark magic! Sinow paused and stepped back to look at the creature. She was right, it had grown and was getting bigger as he watched.

  No, this can’t be, he thought as he backed further from it.

  They both watched in horror as the thing straightened up, now twice the size it had been. She looked over at him. “You can’t fight it, but you can restrain it for me. I want to try something.”

  “Whatever I can do to help.” he replied, thinking he needed to rectify the damage he’d just done. He shifted to the creature’s backside and sent his powers out to grab hold of it. Long thick black tendrils of magic encased its head and arms, wrapping around its torso. Sinow pulled back his power to tighten the binding. He struggled as the use of his powers to such a degree let the Darkness within him creep further out. That part of him looked around at the chaos and destruction the creature had caused and relished in it. He instinctively wanted to release it and watch it wreak havoc. Here he was in Cirillia with a creature even Violissa couldn’t seem to defeat. Why was he helping? Why shouldn’t he let it run loose? Sinow cursed himself and pushed the thoughts away; he tried focusing on Violissa, but the way his heart pounded upon seeing her only exacerbated the conflict within him.

  He found his distraction as he watched her blast the beast with a massive bolt of arcane magic. Blue and white light flared from her hands as the beast howled in anger. A mist of green moved into that stream of magic, and he felt the beast weaken. As he watched the green mist grow a deeper shade, he realized it was the same as he had seen in the sacred woods that day she had healed the trees. The beast stumbled as her power increased. Sinow tightened his grip, and its arms began to flail. It let out a deafening cry then suddenly exploded. Black clumps the consistency of tar-like blood went flying everywhere.

  Sinow relaxed slightly and looked over at Violissa. Even covered in what remained of the beast, she still looked beautiful. He shook himself free of the creature’s blood and noticed her Council had begun shifting near to them. The smaller beasts they had been battling had all disappeared when their parent had been defeated.

  “What in the Fates was that thing?” he asked Violissa, hoping she would have the answer.

  She shook her head, apparently just as baffled as h
e was.

  “It was a Torathar,” Cyric answered for her. “And one has not been seen in our world since the early times of our people. I’ve only ever read of them.”

  “Where did it come from then?” Violissa asked, still mindlessly wiping the black muck from her arms.

  “King Sinow,” Cyric started as he turned toward Sinow, “I think you’d better summon some Council for this. As the elder, Kanine would be a good choice.”

  Sinow bristled at the idea of Cyric giving him orders, but the look on the man’s face stopped him from reprimanding him. He had never seen such a deeply worried look on a Lightbearer.

  He closed his eyes and called to Kanine, then he called to the few Council who he could feel were close to the border. “It is done. You will need to let them through since they cannot cross. They are directly across from us awaiting your arrival.”

  Daneele stepped forward as Sinow spoke. He looked at Sinow questioningly for a moment, probably wondering how he could see through the boundary. Sinow guessed Violissa had acquired the same talent upon her ascension. He could vaguely see Keary still standing near the boundary waiting for his return. He knew they’d be able to sense Daneele’s Light magic only when close enough. Once they felt the magic, they would use their own to open a space in the border just as they had done for the ascension.

  He watched Daneele shift away. They all stood there in silence, waiting for him to return with Sinow’s Council. He glanced at Violissa, not wanting to meet her eyes since the rage was still coursing through him from the fight. The images kept running through his head. How had she destroyed the creature and why did his powers only manage to strengthen it? He’d felt a moment of weakness at the realization that his powers were helpless against the creature. Darkbearers were always considered the fiercest and strongest, yet Violissa had done what he could not. He thought back to that moment when she’d destroyed it. He lingered on the image of her at that moment, her golden hair flowing in the wind, her face a picture of determination and strength, yet the beauty that graced it was magnificent, and her eyes, her eyes had been the most brilliant shade of green he’d ever seen. They had radiated and shimmered. The magic that flowed from her hands had been almost unreal. He was familiar with the shades of power that ran from both Darkbearer and Lightbearer, but what came from her was a mix of both the bluish hues of her arcane Light powers and the vibrant greenish glow of her nature gifts. It was a power he’d never before experienced, and his skin had prickled at the sensation. Before he could ponder on it any deeper, Daneele returned with Kanine, Faolan, and Keary.

  Sinow continued to keep his distance from Violissa as well as her Council, worried the ire within him would react if he were too close. Violissa seemed to realize this and stayed back. She held his gaze. Although his mind continued to replay those images, his heart beat raced, and the heat within him rose in response. It killed him to feel so weak souled when he was near her. Forcing himself to look away from her, he turned to Cyric.

  “They’re here, now no more delays, tell us about those creatures,” he demanded.

  Keary moved next to him, looking like he wanted to ask what was going on, but one look at Sinow must have told him this was not the time nor the place.

  “The Torathar,” Cyric began but was quickly interrupted.

  “What did you say?” Kanine asked sharply. Sinow gave the man a deep look, and Kanine lowered his eyes. “Let him continue, Kanine. You’ll get your answers, but I want mine first.”

  “As I was saying,” Cyric continued, “the Torathar were an abomination created by the Fates long before any other race walked these lands. I only know what legend says of them, Kanine may be able to help.” He looked at Kanine questioningly.

  Kanine looked at his king before answering. Sinow nodded in approval and he spoke, “Probably not. Not much was known about them, and the last time I even heard stories about them was as a young child. Those stories have long been forgotten by most.”

  Cyric nodded. “So, I will share what we know from those stories. Long ago, before the Fates created even the Elvin, they made the Torathar. It was their first attempt at a higher creature and it went horribly wrong. The Fates made them from the very ground we stand upon, pulled mud and clay from it, then added their magic. At first, they were only mounds of mud, the magic did no more than give them some form of shape. They barely moved, and they had no sense of intelligence. They simply wandered the world much as a leaf caught by the wind might. So, the Fates decided they had made a mistake and left them be. They turned their attention to creating smaller creatures to hone their skills, those animals that wander our world now are descendants of those smaller creations.

  “Not all the Fates wanted to give up on the Torathar. They decided they would work at adding more life into the forms and began experimenting with them without the knowledge of the other Fates. Much to their excitement, it began to work, but as they poured their powers in the shapes, they realized too late that they had made a mistake. Those Fates had powers bound to the Darkness, and they had not given the forms any balance of Light to provide a moral compass. The forms began destroying everything the Fates had built, pulling down trees, tearing up the land, killing the animals. Worse, they seemed to multiply on their own.

  “The other Fates were furious but what was done was done. They saw a balance was needed, and so on their second attempt at higher life they created the Elvin, thinking nature abilities would counteract the destructive need of the Torathar since they too had been born of nature. They were wrong. The Elvin were too weak and the Torathar easily defeated them, sending them hiding into the forests of what is now the Hidden Realm.”

  Cyric paused to take a breath then continued. “The Fates then created the Darkbearers hoping, as their powers were bound to the same Darkness that seemed to drive the creatures, that they could in turn control them. Again, they were wrong. Instead of restraining their powers, the Dark magic of the Darkbearers only managed to strengthen the creatures. The Fates realized they’d made yet another mistake. They had tilted the balance of power to the Darkness. The world they created suddenly fell to chaos, and so in one more attempt to fix things they created the Lightbearers. The hope was that they along with the Elvin would balance the Dark powers and that they would work with the Darkbearers to defeat the Torathar.

  “We all know this didn’t go as planned. The Darkbearers and Lightbearers did not get along, and so the Torathar continued to rain destruction on the land. The Lightbearers had settled near the Elvin and so it was by chance that during one Torathar attack the Elvin King and the Light King fought side by side, their powers intertwining as they fought. That blend of power was the force for which the Fates had been looking. The combination brought the beasts down as nothing had ever been able to do before. That was the beginning of the end of the Torathar. Or so everyone thought.”

  Sinow had picked up on something Cyric said and just couldn’t seem to work it out. He had been pacing as Cyric talked but now swirled around to face him. “Wait, you said only Elvin and Light magic could defeat them.” He noticed the sharp intake of breath from all Violissa’s Council, and Cyric’s suddenly restless hands.

  “Yes, you did,” Violissa added quietly. She looked as though she were contemplating those words as well. Sinow looked at her, and when those brilliant green eyes met his, he came to a realization. He continued to hold her gaze and spoke, “You’ve been hiding something from her, haven’t you?” He turned to Cyric. “You’ve all been hiding it from her, from all of us. There’s a reason only Violissa was able to defeat that creature, isn’t there?”

  “Now Sinow…” Daneele interrupted with concern in his voice.

  Sinow continued, blatantly ignoring him. He looked back at Violissa. It all made sense now, the golden hair, the green eyes, the nature abilities; all the characteristics that were no longer seen in anyone in their world. “Why can Violissa defeat the creatures when
no one else can?” he demanded, again still meeting her eyes, watching the realization settle in her as she began chewing her bottom lip.

  “Someone needs to answer me now,” he growled. But the answer came from someone unexpected.

  “You know why, my liege. Why force them to say it when you know the answer?” Kanine said.

  Sinow turned around and glared at his Council. Before he could speak, Cyric said, “You knew? How?”

  “No, I suspected. A few of us did.”

  Sinow was trying to wrap his head around what Kanine had said when Violissa spoke. “What are you saying, Kanine? Cyric, what is this about? You need to tell us.” Violissa spoke firmly, but Sinow could sense the subtle quiver in her voice. “How can this be?”

  Daneele was looking down at his feet as were many of her Council, as if they were all children who had just been caught doing something wrong. Cyric answered, “It was not our place to tell you. The Fates, they swore all of us to secrecy. They told Aradisa that you could only find out when the time was necessary.”

  “I would say now is that time,” growled Sinow. “What in the Fates is going on?”

  Cyric glanced at him with a look of frustration as if to tell Sinow he wasn’t helping, then let out a heavy sigh and turned back toward Violissa.