“Who are you?”
“Me? I am no one of any significance. The more important question might be, who are you?”
I didn’t answer.
The forked tail of his robe flapped as he came clinking across the floor of stone. I watched him with a cautious leer. Now would be a valuable time to have my sword. But I still have a dagger. I drew it quickly, spinning it underhand.
The man halted, raising his arms on either side of him. “I assure you, you won’t need that. I have no quarrel to you.” He resumed walking, clinking louder as he neared.
I lowered the dagger, though I wasn’t so naive as to stow it away. One could never be too careful with strangers.
He stopped three feet from me and graced me with a formal bow. “It’s an honor to meet you—whoever you are.”
“Darwin,” I said warily. “Darwin Valkyrie. And yours?”
“You may call me... Guardian.”
Something was penetrating about this man. I didn’t know whether to be cautious or welcoming. His resonant aura kindled an indescribable feeling, like a nameless emotion. It was bizarre for me. The Militia had severely trained me to decipher others. He extended a gauntlet, awaiting my own. I paused. Something about it was startling, yet naturally correct. As I grasped it, the gauntlet dematerialized, peeling away, and revealing a mocha hand branded with near transparent runes.
I shook it, the touch petrifying me with spine-shooting shock. I gasped with a loud airy breath, a strange feeling showering me with anxiety and awe. It was an overwhelming force that made me want to buckle at the knees. In his orange, burnishing eyes was an outer-worldly strength. He stood for a moment just staring at me as if he was pondering something or waiting. “Welcome to the Shrine of the Amethyst,” he said.
I looked around, finding the pedestal behind me and glowing inscriptions on the walls that had hitherto gone unnoticed. The light on the top of the pedestal, once formless, lessened in luminance, unveiling its round shape. An orb. Guardian walked beyond me, going to its preceding steps. “It seems you’ve discovered something beyond. Something that has been awaiting you—something that could be rightfully yours.”
“What?” I said. “Mine?” He gestured to the pedestal.
“Before we begin, do not assume that I am suggesting you’ve happened upon your preordained destiny, or whatever wide-eyed notions have you. You were not by any means chosen. Chance, or coincidence, may better describe this transaction. Put simply, it was only a matter of time before those ruins came tumbling down and this place revealed for all to see. Think of yourself, simply, as the first contender to happen upon this unlikely place. The orbs slept long in this era, quite longer than the last... It seems their plans have eluded even their greatest of servants this time.”
I winced. Contender? Sleeping orb? I backed away, a multitude of questions forming in my mind. “Whose plans?” As Guardian was about to handle the glowing orb, he stopped, turning around.
“You know of whom I speak,” he said matter-of-factly. “The makers of this world are no mystery.” He went for it once more, and the light died in an instant, exposing the cooled, round orb that fit perfectly in his palm. The three enchanted sheets flew upward into the air, slowing their revolutions. “The Superiors hid this one well. Let’s see, shall we.” At missing speed, Guardian whipped back and fired the orb toward me. Staggering, I caught it just before it hammered into my abdomen, my hands stinging. It happened so fast. I stood frozen as I looked into the orb at my distorted reflection.
“What’s all this about?” I brought myself to say, looking up. The man, Guardian, had vanished. When the orb flickered, I held it before me. It shook and blinked brilliantly.
I heard Guardian’s voice. “The Amethyst.” But he had vanished. “Within it are powers one can learn to control, authorities made to be unleashed at the proper time. The Abyssians are bringing swift destruction to Vail, even sooner than before. The one to wield this orb must stop them. It is given to you for that reason and that reason alone.”
“Powers... magic?”
“Surely you do not believe mere hopes and dreams will conquer this evil. Of course, magic.”
Superiors and magic—two things I detested. I looked at the cool stone derisively. I want nothing to do with it. I climbed toward the pedestal to set it back there.
But the orb shined and then shined brighter, concealing my hand in its brilliance.
“It seems you may indeed be the one,” said Guardian. By consequence, he would recite a riddle. “Just an inch from death you will soon feel, but the great powers within have only begun to build. If indeed you should best the pain, you shall know the greatness there is to gain. It is the fate of the world that you must bend, to give it a chance, in the end. In time, you will see your doubt shall pass, and the might of the orb will be within your grasp. It has chosen you as an Orbed One, Darwin Valkyrie. Do well.”
My eyes shut impulsively, and just as the odd stranger said, severe pain surged through every bone in my body. My mind ached and felt invaded. Blaring voices spoke of unknown things in my head. I felt something ripping me in two. I screamed in agony.
Forcing its way, the orb implanted itself into my left hand, glowing with warmth. Blood leaked. I was losing myself again to unconsciousness. In an instant moment, my body levitated into the air, suspending from nothing. A sharp sensation shot up my spine. I thought my throbbing head would explode. The agony was so excruciating I could no longer scream. I convulsed. It was then that I thought I was going to die.
But the pain went away suddenly. I hit the ground with a thud and took a breath and another breath. All was quiet. When I opened my eyes again, it was to the blurred sight of those three pages floating toward me on the musky air like feathers. With all my strength, I sat upright and grasped them.
Navirru kneeled in awe before Adara. There was no greater honor than being in the presence of Galothaia’s, Arkangel, and given the task of wielding the ruling orb, the Amethyst. He was the middle child of all his siblings expected to have a future far less worthy than the privileged and grand destinies of his elder brothers. Even his younger ones were more of a prize. But the mauve light attached to his palm made him the most important being in all of Vail. Even amid a war that would decide the fate of the world, all the Ruling Races had gathered to the orb’s shrine: Elves, Naiads, Giants, Minotaur, and the Angels. Even many of the lesser races had come. Dwarves, satyrs, sprites, trolls, and even the Elves’ greatest enemy: men. Only something as grave as Abyssians could unite them. Navirru dared not to look up until the anointing finished and Adara the Arkangel vanished. Everything in existence was looking to him now.
The glyphs upon the pages were the writing from an old tome or ancient book. Doctrine? I grasped another page to look upon.
He had finally learned of the truth of his destiny. The ruling orb, the Amethyst, has made its choice long ago. And it meant more than he could ever know. It had been many centuries since Adara the Arkangel had anointed him. Above the core, veiled from the day star, desperation raced him, and the benevolence of the Amethyst wanted to console it. Tragedy and sorrow are to become of him when he comes to understand that the spirit quails silently deep within one of his siblings...
I didn’t understand. My body and mind felt like goop, spilling out of my control. The last page read:
It was finished. And he swore an oath he should return for the liberation. For now, it remains as a septic prisoner. He hopes for absolute peace until then, as his fate is to be where the walk is untouched by patrons of inwards thirst. Thoughts took him as he stood with others. On the vessel of the last decade, he left the captive behind and what separated earth took him to meet more like them....
The pages shriveled in light, and I climbed to my feet. I was limp, my mind still spinning. A jolting force was moving through me. I felt feverish and, after a while, numb. When the sudden thought of Nova came to me, I realized I had to find a way out of there. Hold on, sis. I looked around, my im
paired vision split in tandem. There wasn’t a single door around other that the one I’d entered from. And that led to a dead end filled with skeletons.
I must get out of here—I need to get back to Lucreris, I thought. Another force struck me. Suddenly it felt as if I had pitched forward off a cliff. The cave left me, and I was somewhere else again. A city. Lucreris.
It was a vision, but far more lucid than the ones I experienced earlier. I could hear, smell, and feel all around me. Heat from a smoldering flame had started in Lucreris from the south. sifters hunted through the streets, preying on the innocent. A flash took me to the north where a dozen nasracans leaped from the shadows, drawing their tail-blades and the swords wrenched from fallen men. In a courtyard of stone, I saw a woman protecting my sister.
Irvina, I thought in relief. Her face was the last I saw covered in burning debris; her chakram ready to conquer all that came forward.
“Irvina,” I yelled into the cave. I thrust back as if something yanked me. With a knock, I was back in the cave. And in another moment, I was gone, my body disappeared, darkness crawling over me once more.
A pack of sifters chased after a man that nearly matched their speed. A shoulder-length ponytail swung behind him. The hunt rustled through the trees of someplace far away. The man ran from them clenching a bleeding arm. His breaths were heavy, and his chest heaved with fatigue. There were too many, and his wounded arm dangled heavily.
A sifter tackled him down a forested knoll. At the bottom of the jarring ride, the man grabbed the Abyssian hound by its mane and tossed it, slamming it into a tree. Quickly he ran again. Another pack came shooting toward him. But there was distance between them now. He looked back. A green light flickered in the direction he had been running, but his close watch of the monsters kept him from noticing. The light expanded and brightened the closer he came. By the time he turned toward it, it was too late. It engulfed him. He vanished. A green flash was all that I saw before I toppled again into blackness.
“I sense that he is someone close to you.” It was another unknown voice again, this one throaty and pervaded with prudence. “Do not worry. The Emerald will see that no harm comes to him.”
The Emerald?
“An orb like myself. Now that I have awakened, so have the others. There are six of us left for you to find.”
What happened to the man that disappeared in the light?
“If he is chosen, he is to become an Orbed One, and he will find you. The destinies of the Orbed Ones are intertwined.”
What does this all mean? Are you the Amethyst?
“Yes. I too am the ally that will aid you along the journey. All will be made clear in time.”
There was a light that flashed and burned.
Blitzkrieg
The memories of Blitzkrieg's host-spirit came before him in visions again as he stood in the citadel of Ortiz. Whoever this body belonged to, his spirit was strong-willed and passionate about many things. The man had a closeness to the others who had once fought alongside him. Blitzkrieg felt a barrage of emotion in his heart as if he had one. Of the many souls trapped within him, this one man was stronger than all the rest. Perhaps it was why the Inevitable had chosen to birth him in this body. The man’s name eluded him. He was but one of many who’s strength and memories blended with other souls and created the Whole Abyssian known as Blitzkrieg. He pushed the man’s crying memories from the forefront of his mind and thought only of the brilliant scheme of his leaders.
With the Kingdom of Arkhades now under his firm control, he could move the design forward. Ortiz was even easier to take than the capital, not that the black city had as much fortification. Once they caught wind that their steward was nothing more than a prisoner, there was not much fight left in them. It had been the least number of casualties a battle could provide, though there had to be some, to get the point across. Lord Sergei of Ortiz handed the city over on a silver platter.
Blitzkrieg found his submission strikingly dishonorable and killed him for it. To him, no disloyal man of such frailty had a reason to live.
Memoria had indeed been the perfect place to build his maker’s capital. The rolling desert land was in the center of all other continents of Vail like the heart. From it, destroying the rest would be easy. Rubbing his finger across the blade of one of his swords, Blitzkrieg took his mind to the thing that his leader wanted to find. He hadn’t told Blitzkrieg exactly what he was looking for, as that bit of information wasn’t ever truly intended for him. Somehow, he knew that his maker had stored knowledge of it somewhere in the memory of one of the souls he possessed and would likely come to fruition when he encountered the thing itself. What if finding it was a test, something that would or wouldn’t prove him worthy. He carried no apprehension about it. He would either be successful or die for his failure.
Judging by how quickly he was leading the Abyssians to conquer Memoria, he would come across it eventually. Half of the continent belonged to them already. There weren’t many lands of Men left to destroy and rebuild in the name of the Inevitable. Only two kingdoms governed Memoria, and one was already in his control.
Two men of the Shadow Legion came before him. Blitzkrieg looked at their faces, but they could not see his. The man to whom his body once belonged was allies with this league of dishonorable, yet brilliantly proficient killers. Now Blitzkrieg owned them, and they held on to his every command as if hung from the edge of a depthless cliff. Exceptional loyalty they had for this... man.
“General, King Akhadius has been tossed into the dungeon. What is your next command?”
Blitzkrieg sheathed his sword. “Gather the citizens of Ortiz before the citadel. I wish to address them. Do as I say, but I warn you, bring no harm to them. They will earn their suffering soon enough when they’ve become slaves or Abyssians. Go to the slums. Bring me all of those well enough to work. Let no one leave. They will be marked—like the cattle they are.”
“As you command, General.”
They left to do what he had ordered. Blitzkrieg stood. “Now to destroy Lucreris,” he said, moving on to the next phase. Then he felt something hit him, something powerful, yet invisible as the wind. It startled him and commanded his attention. He swiveled his hood. There was a tremor upon Memoria, one of such potency only magical beings could feel. With a wave of his arm, he vanished in a flicker of black light.
The Amethyst
I woke up in a dark room. Nothing but a bed and barrels filled it as I looked around, my blurred vision converging into focus. I had not a clue where or when I was. Two children were playing and laughing nearby, stressing the creaky wooden floor—a girl and boy no older than five or seven. I sat up, my head pounding thunderously. My chest and back felt like something had been beating them in my sleep.
After three listless blinks, the two children appeared beside the bedpost, quietly gaping with electric blue almond eyes. “Finally. He’s awake,” I heard one of them say or thought I did.
“We have to get Papa,” said the girl.
“Papa will want to know about this,” said the boy.
I crawled backward. I could hear them, but their lips weren’t moving. I lifted my left hand. In its center was the orb, flawlessly round and slippery smooth. Not a dream, I remember thinking. “Hello,” I greeted them, my throat metal dry. They leaped and backed away, running out of a door somewhere in the near black distance. The sun burned in my eyes when it opened and closed.
I heard whispers that grew as I stumbled for the exit. Outside I hid from the sun until my eyes settled against its noon light. It was right above me, the only object in the cloudless blue.
“Is that the strange man who appeared from nowhere?” I heard a woman say as she walked past. It was an elder with a walking cane. A scarf wrapped her head.
“I can’t believe Spang left him in there with his children,” said another woman who watched me from her porch. She was a young brunette flapping a doormat in the wind. Then a barrage of voices struck me each time I
watched someone move.
“Who knew a man could sleep for four days?”
“Where did he come from?”
“Why does he have that strange gem in his hand?”
“Is he dangerous?”
“I want him to leave this place.”
“Why hasn’t Mum said anything about supper today?”
“It isn’t good to take kindly to strange folk in these dark days.”
“He bears the tattoo of a Fox. Why’s the Militia here?”
The incessant voices amplified. When they grew unclear, I sunk to my knees. The Amethyst flickered. Do I hear their...
“Thoughts?” another voice completed, one clearer than all the others. The Amethyst. “Focus. Think merely of a quiet place.” But I couldn’t think of anything, except how much my head hurt and how uncomfortable my body felt. “Very well, I will diminish your suffering—for now. Eventually you must learn to harness control of your new faculties yourself.”
All became quiet. I took a breath and stood. Where am I?
It was a village entirely of wood, the grass well-nourished and more dazzling than jade. The only distinct feature was an archway of rock leading up to what I discovered was the largest house. Underneath and beyond it was a snaking pathway leading someplace unknown.
The residences were decently sized, much larger than average dwellings of commoners. The trees gleamed like emeralds, and in the center of town was a well and a black bull in the bushes beneath the shade of a tree.
From the path beyond the archway came a crowd of men with swords, sporting their leather armor, all of them laughing and bickering. The two children from the house trotted before the leading man—a burly fellow in a leather breastplate and fauld and an ash-blue tunic. Laced boots strapped his shins. The men behind him wore similar garments, most of them larger than him. “Looks like he’s finally come to, men.”
Enigma: Awakening Page 11