Dark Form_Book 1 of the Shadow War Trilogy

by M. A. Da Costa

“My body hasn’t woken up yet. I’m on the other side of this wall,” she points her thumb behind her.

  “How are y—”

  “In astral form? I can't give you a whole run down because that’s too much information to go through; most of which I don’t even understand. However, I do know that I feel more like myself in this form. I’m…free!”

  Crystalline looks through the window and smiles. I’m happy for her but most of all I understand the feeling. Every time I use more powers, I can feel a connection with everything around me. It’s fantastic. It’s also too much at times.

  “How long have you been in that form?”

  “A day or two after Asvarp brought us back here, I managed to escape my body. By accident, of course. Since then, I’ve been wandering around the tower. It’s HUGE. On the verge of endless.”

  I laugh, “wizards love their towers.”

  Crystalline nods and we share a mutual happiness. Now, I turn my head towards the window, letting my eyes focus on the sunlight; glancing over, I notice her eyes are glowing. Her hands hover at the sides of her head and her transparent body shifts in place.

  “Black magic!” She whispers.

  In a single breath, her body fades away like a mist; part of me wants to worry about what just happened but exhaustion says otherwise. I lay my head back down and close my eyes, allowing my thoughts to fade away.

  Moments later, I hear a voice in my ear calling to me. I nudge my shoulder in refusal to wake.

  I eventually do to see Crystalline looking at me, “what’s going on?”

  A hardy expression masks her inner fear, “Asvarp is in terrible!”

  Quickly, I push the rock beneath me so that I am in a sitting position; I shake my head to clear the drowsy fog over me.

  “How? What? Why?”

  “Shadows are attacking him. He needs your help!”

  “I don’t have any strength, plus, this room doesn’t have a door,” I respond to her plea.

  “Zarvick!”

  I give a slight groan, “hold on.”

  Clutching the earth beneath me, I close my eyes; vibrations discharge throughout the tower’s stone structure. My mind opens as the tower’s silhouette forms into my thoughts; finally, Asvarp’s outline pops into the structure as the waves bounce off of his figure.

  “I’m not really sure what I just did but I know where he is.”

  “We must go to him,” Crystalline stands.

  “How?!” I seriously just want to murder her right now.

  “Use your head!”

  She should really learn to control that anger. I think for a moment before an idea comes to me; I just have to get to him the same way I found him.

  “Calm down,” frustration replaces my drowsiness, “I have an idea, however, I don’t have the strength to go through with it.”

  “I’ll handle that,” she grins.

  Her spirit jumps into my body, I feel her power filling in the holes within my strength. Immediately, I sink into the earth, becoming one with the tower; slithering through the ground, I emerge into the room where the mage is battling it out.

  Stone coats my head as I observe the situation; I see Asvarp surrounded by five shadows: he blasts one with a burst of magic and swats another with his staff. A stray shadow sneaks up behind him and lunges forth. Instantly, I leap at it; the ground molds with my skin, morphing me into a giant stone golem.

  Thrusting my left-hand forward, a large rock arm slams the creature into the wall, obliterating it. One of the bigger shadows leaps at the old man as the rest of them surround him; using my other hand, I pluck it from the air then toss it up. As it falls back down, I transform my fingers into huge spikes, impaling the beast.

  I push myself forward, the lower half of my body is infused with the floor. Surprisingly, it helps me move faster. Reaching Asvarp in a matter of seconds, I force my giant body into the ground, manifesting stone barbs that pierce through the last of the shadows.

  I slowly ascend to ground level with the mage; my body reverts to its elvish appearance. I let myself sit back on my heels as I sense Crystalline’s spirit leaving my body. Now I really am worn out. I think that I’ve had enough fighting to last for several lifetimes.

  Glancing over I see a large circular area raised above the rest of the floor with many symbols engraved into its surface. What was going on in here?

  Asvarp paces back and forth, muttering what I assume to be foul language. For an old man, he sure has a lot of hidden fire inside of him. With an abrupt turn, he gazes intently into my eyes; he almost looks shocked to see me.

  “Zarvick, what are you doing here?”

  “Crystalline said you needed some help, so here I am,” my words slur out of exhaustion.

  “You should be resting,” he replies with a clearly irritated tone.

  “I should say the same for you,” I snap back with some of Crystalline’s attitude, “you may be powerful but you’re still a mortal.”

  After giving me a momentary death stare, he takes a deep breath, “you’re right. I do need to sleep. I should also eat but first…”

  The mage throws his staff forward, casting a milky sphere towards the center of the platform; I fall backwards into a slight fetal position as it zips past me. He quickly throws his free hand over his head, projecting a shockwave of topaz energy; coming into contact with the sphere causes a black gaseous form to rise. Hollow eyes emerge from the shadows as it takes flight, charging me with dark talons and a readiness to kill; its mouth is a gaping void jailed in by raging fangs.

  A rush of burgundy light pulses through the shadow’s silhouette, blasting it back onto the platform in a more solid state. In a blink of an eye, Asvarp steps onto the platform, spouting a tide of force that ripples towards the shadow; gradually, it wraps around the dark creature.

  Propping myself onto my elbow, I get a better look at the shadow: it’s an elven woman with a long blue dress, cracked dark skin and white hair. Who is she? Better yet, how did the mage just create her out of nothing?

  Peering over my shoulder, I find Crystalline crouching down by my side.

  “Zarvick, how did you give the shadow a form?” Asvarp glances in my direction.

  “It-it wasn’t me…,” I take a deep breath, “it was Crystalline.”

  He bends his fingers, on his free hand, in odd ways before outlining his eyes with his forefinger. Subsequently, the old man looks over at the translucent Crystalline. A distinct expression of distastes masks over his face.

  “You are in astral form.”

  Crystalline nods to Asvarp’s clear statement. He shakes his head then proceeds in telling her to leave. She rejects. This is no fun for me. When he frowns, there is a surge of authority around him; she vanishes a moment later. Right when Asvarp is about to send me away, the shadow begins to act out.

  “Foolish old man, I will kill you!” Her voice is tainted with evil.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that several thousand times before. Obviously, they all failed,” Asvarp smirks. “Just to let you know, I have contorted the gravity between the two of us; twisting the pressure around you so that it keeps you in place. You’re not going anywhere.”

  The shadow tosses and turns, trying to break free of the invisible hand around her; Asvarp just ignores her little tantrum and intensifies the gravity. Within moments, she is as stiff as a board.

  “Since you defy the natural laws on the physical plane, I don’t have to worry about squishing you.” Asvarp smiles. The monster begins to take a different approach and begins reversing her shape. “Don’t bother going back into your gaseous form, you’re trapped in a solidified state.”

  “What do you want with me?!” She shrieks.

  “Answers,” he responds calmly.

  “Answers to what?”

  “What is Reaper and who is helping it?”

  “Asvarp, what’s going on?” I chime in.

  Both of them pass a quick glance my way before going back to scolding each other. />
  I’m sorry I asked, I think to myself.

  “I don’t have the answers you want,” the shadow lies.

  “Why don’t I believe you?” Asvarp says through gritted teeth.

  “How about you let me go and I’ll tell you whatever you want.”

  Asvarp contemplates the shadow’s request; then, surprisingly, releases her from his grasp. Unsurprisingly, she lunges forth in outrage. Thrusting his staff forward, it releases three topaz colored rings that strike the monster head on. She is blown out of the black smoke and into her physical appearance.

  Suddenly, multiple shock pulses burst along her surface; the creature’s body rises a little as the ruvtag shines with flashing images. The old man waves his hand in the air, stopping the shadow’s seizure; he then slams the base of the staff hard into the platform; sparks race out from the colorful stone at the staff’s basal, igniting the chaotic runes along the stone surface. The symbols swirl through the earth as they align themselves into a circular pattern on the platform.

  Lifting his staff the runes illuminate a brilliance of colors; casually the colors dim away as Asvarp steps off of the platform. The shadow gets to its feet, becoming a mass of raging smoke, ramming into the cage that Asvarp has set-up for it; with each strike a burst of magic glimmers above the edge of the platform. Rapidly, the smoke fills the area within the shielding.

  “You’re just wasting energy,” Asvarp chuckles, “you’ll never break free.”

  I force myself into a sitting position despite the agonizing pain shooting through my body. I’m not really sure what just happened. I still haven’t gotten passed him creating a shadow.

  What isn’t he telling us?

  “Asv—”

  “Shut up. You must rest.”

  Raising his hand, my vision swirls and burls as reality spins all around me. Everything re-aligns itself and I find myself sitting on a bed in the room that Crystalline was once in. I’m never going to get any answers around here, am I? I shake my head and lay down. A tingling sensation along my left side forces me to shift my head; looking over I see Crystalline’s spirit sitting next to me.

  “Hello,” she smiles.

  “I thought you went back to your body.”

  “No, I just phased into the veil between the two planes of existence.”

  “Huh?” I’m lost.

  Rolling her eyes, she replies, “I turned invisible.”

  Why didn’t she just say that?

  I begin to close my eyes out of exhaustion, however, Crystalline’s presence doesn’t allow me to sleep just yet.

  “We have to talk.”

  “About?”

  “About the connection that we share,” the tone of her voice pleads for me to pay attention.

  “What about our connection?” I ask.

  “We each share a piece of one another’s powers.”

  I raise an eyebrow. Clearly, I am missing out on the part where all of this is supposed to just come together because she replies with an irritated look.

  “I am able to access a portion of your energy, which is why I am able to make constructs out of my spiritual energy.”

  “But I can’t do anything with your power,” I grimace.

  She entwines her fingers into mine and everything becomes hollow; looking around I see auras and silhouettes moving all over Elvendora.

  “You can interact with the spiritual plane, it’s why I can interlock our souls to give you power,” Crystalline let’s go of my hand. “Although, I’ve never been there.”

  Her body is a little less transparent than before but I still see her as a ghost. This bit of information isn’t what I wanted to hear but helps to know that our connection goes deeper than just being immortal zouvxes.

  “How did you figure all of this out?” I ponder aloud.

  Crystalline gives me a beautiful grin, “I’ve been spying on Asvarp since I left my body.”

  “Isn’t it dangerous being out of your body for this long?”

  “Yes, but I’m an exception; besides, I am learning a lot.”

  She smiles again and I begin to drift away as my body completely shuts down; Crystalline slows fades away as I fall asleep. At least one of us is getting answers.

  * * * * *

  A light shines at the end of a dark tunnel. A dark form rises from the fog, standing before a woman in a dress crafted from nature. They don’t seem to notice my presence but I pursue forward with caution. They appear to be in an argument, however, I don’t hear either of them speak; instead, I witness black tentacles lash out from the figure and pierce through the woman’s dress. Life blackens as her now brittle garment falls into ashes; her body dissolves as her spirit fades.

  The form turns to me, its eyes glow with contradicting thoughts; Reaper approaches me with haste. Reality warps about me as a portal swirls through the fabric of time and space; Reaper’s cloak shrouds over me as I fall backwards into the opening. A shimmering image phases through the darkness; it slowly shifts into view as I continue to descend into an endless abyss.

  Finally, I realize that the image is a stone attached to a small spike. My body unwilling turns to see a podium with a hole in the center; I instinctively grab the stone and jab it into the hole before I slam against the invisible floor.

  Waves of life burst through the darkness and three womanly figures appear in the distance, shrouded by light. Gradually, their lights brighten as I am consumed by a gentle touch; my conscience floats back into my body, and I feel lost…more than usual.

  * * * * *

  I leap forward as I wake; it takes a solid minute for me to remember where I am; Crystalline leans against the wall, staring out into the window with a distinct expression, clearly lost in thought. She is no longer transparent and is just as gorgeous as when I first met her.

  “You finally woke up?” I whisper.

  She shakes her head, “no, I’m still in astral form. I’ve been practicing and testing my limitations as you’ve been resting; turns out that I have access to more of my power in this form than I do in my own body.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “How so?”

  “You possess spiritual powers, right? So, you’d think that that power is at its strongest when it isn’t within a ‘shell’.”

  We both stop at my moment of pure genius. I’m taken back by how easily that registered in my mind.

  “I didn’t think of that. Without being in my body, I have no physical wall filtering out some of my strength.”

  “Yes, but your body is your physical strength,’ I remind her.

  “What if I didn’t need my body?” Her mouth is left ajar with the possibilities.

  “That’s not possible, what else would tie you to Elvendora?”

  “You.”

  I just sit there and come to a shocking realization that she could be right. Oh, dear Elvendora, why is everyone around me crazy? I shake off the thought and slide my legs off of the bed; most of the pain in my muscles has faded but I’m still not at full strength.

  “Crystalline, why are you acting like this?”

  “I just never felt this way before, and…and after Levouay,” she turns away from me, “I need to be stronger.”

  “And you’ll become stronger, I promise.” I walk over to her, placing my hand on her solid ghostly shoulder.

  She slides her hand over mine, a glow electrifies between our touch; our fingers interlock as she turns to me. We stand face to face, I feel so close to her but I refrain.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper. I can’t let you risk your own life out of pride.

  My other hand hovers above her chest as a whirl of energy seeps through her spirit; her appearance becomes more and more transparent as I drain the physical properties from her soul. In turn, I feel the rest of my aches and weariness fading away. Crystalline vanishes and I just stand there, silent. Honestly, I’m not even sure what I just did; nevertheless, I had to do something to stop her from making a stupid decision.

  Sof
t knocking echoes through the room. I tap the pads of my bare feet against the floor sending a vibration through the earth; a distinctive silhouette is outlined on the other side of the door: Genu. “You may enter.”

  “I see that you are getting better,” he secretly judges.

  Genu walks in with his hands behind his back, beneath his cloak, looking like the old wise man back at Meta Village.

  “I’m feeling a lot better. Probably because of you and Asvarp,” I respond trying to conceal my thoughts.

  “You’re far too modest Zarvick.”

  “…is there something that you needed?”

  He straightens his stance, “Asvarp would like to discuss some of his new found knowledge with us,” he walks back through the doorway but stops halfway through, “I thought I heard Crystalline earlier as I approached the door. Where did she go?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Genu just nods and walks away; I quickly catch up just to be met with silence. My dream pops into my head and I glance at him; there’s no telling if he is reading my mind or not. Only one person can tell me what it means but even Asvarp is starting to seem untrustworthy.

  We eventually reach the dimension door after what seemed to be an eternity of walking; he opens the door and we are instantly sucked in, refiguring in Asvarp’s study. I’ve seen weird but not crazy tired mage weird. He appears to be out of sorts; words float all around the room as he continues to write with his fingers.

  “What language is this?” I ask.

  “The language of the mages. It’s incomprehensible to anyone that doesn’t understand the magical arts. Also known as words of power,” Genu responds.

  Asvarp mutters something incoherently, causing the words to shine.

  I stretch my head forward trying to figure out what he just said but Genu puts his hand on my shoulder.

  “He’s lost his mind.”

  “Asvarp, are you alright?” I contemplate.

  He turns to face me and I jump back; he is more old and raggedy than ever. It’s amazing how fast he let himself go in only a short amount of time. Trying my best to ignore his appearance, Genu and I take a seat at the table.