Here we go with another installment of Harbingers. I'm fairly pleased with this one. I have to agree with Dax on this one part. This installment would have been a lot easier to do if I could have just filmed the entire thing. Granted I would need an incredible budget to pull it off, but it would have been easier to get all of my points across. The fight will seem a bit disjointed, but for the most part just assume everything is happening at once. It'll make more sense that way.
On a side note I thought I'd share with you something interesting from the world of my work. I'm currently working in a restaurant, which isn't special, but a new employee is. It's kind of freaky, but one of the new bussers looks like Lance. There are a few differences of course, such as Lance doesn't facial hair that I'm aware of. But it's a remarkable resemblance, certainly look alike material. Just thought I'd share that with you all.
Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me about both Saga and Harbingers. And at the risk of sounding repetitive, I love hearing from you guys. Let me know what you think, both the good and the bad. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@yahoo.ca or Mist_dark@hotmail.com I check both addresses, so you'll get a fairly prompt reply, but I do have to use school computers. Special thanks go out to Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Hamado, Dax and Phoenix. There are others of course, but due to my ability to forget a name almost the moment after I hear it, I can't remember them.
As for the legalities. This story in no way, shape and/or form is supposed to imply anything about the members of the group Nsync. If you are too young or it's illegal in you area to be reading this, please leave. If homosexual themes offend you, leave as well. As weak as those themes are in this story, they are still present. Parts of this story are based off the RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
Enjoy the story my friends, Until next time, Rune
PART SEVENTEEN
The Monolith was even larger then Maria had said it would be. The pure black stone that made its walls rose seamlessly out of the ground. From where they stood at its base, the Monolith blotted out the rising full moon. Even in the silvery darkness of early night the Monolith was a dark patch against the sky.
"So this is it?" Chris asked. "I was expecting something..more foreboding."
"You wanted something that's worse this?" Josh asked. "Would you like the earth to split open and belch flames at us?" He shook his head for a moment. "Sorry. I'm a touch edgy at the idea of meeting Yesena again." He shuddered slightly in the darkness. Calypso mimicked his movements.
"Let's get inside," Maria said firmly. "They know we're coming, but I'd like to give them as little time to prepare as possible."
Pyre nodded. "The entrance should be around the side. And there's probably something nasty waiting to greet us."
"Of course there is dear," Justin said. "We're walking into a den of evil. There's usually something sent to greet visitors in these places. It just wouldn't be proper otherwise."
The dragon grinned and rolled his eyes. He gave his lover a quick kiss before moving silently around the side of the Monolith. The blonde smirked and followed him. Calypso had found a baggy pair of pants and a matching shirt that would allow her to shapeshift without ripping her clothing apart in the process. Both she and Mala moved as quietly as the two vampires and Brian. Josh, Chris and Joey moved as quietly as they could, but they still made more noise then the others. Cro bobbed after them, making absolutely no noise.
If the Monolith itself wasn't foreboding enough for Chris, the entrance certainly was. large black columns rose on either side of the entrance. It was almost impossible to distinguish between the stone, the columns and the blackness beyond. The group stopped just outside the entrance to stare inside. Only Pyre and the vampires seemed to have no difficulty seeing what lay beyond.
"They certainly like it dark don't they?" Calypso remarked to no one in particular.
"They know that we're coming right?" Chris asked.
"Even if they didn't before," Maria said. "The vampires would have smelt everyone here except David and myself. And Yesena would have sensed our presence by now."
"Then there's no point in stumbling around in the dark," he responded. He held his hand above his head and a ball of fire appeared in the air. He dropped his hand and the ball remained floating above him, shedding a fair amount of light. "Let's go visit our wonderful friends." His voice held its usual sarcasm, but his face showed none of that. He was here for a reason.
The inside of the Monolith was exactly like the outside. Black. Even with the light it was difficult to tell what was solid and what wasn't. More then one quiet curse was muttered because of a stubbed toe, or someone banging their arms or legs against the wall. The path they followed actually led ever so slightly upward. Which surprised everyone, they'd all assumed they would be heading underground. In any case the elevation was so slight that you wouldn't notice it unless you stumbled.
They followed Chris' ball of fire for a few minutes. The passageway widened into a cavern of sorts. It was a large cavern, probably a hundred feet high. And easily that wide. At the far end was another passageway. Standing in the center of the cavern was a white figure. The figure was a genderless humanoid with the palest skin anyone had ever seen. It appeared completely human except for its lack of gender and the fact that it had no eyes. The sockets were there, but they were empty.
"A Wraith," Cro hissed.
"A what?" Joey whispered back.
"This thing is really dangerous," Cro told them all. "Its grasp can bring death and it's very strong. But it can also steal abilities. We're going to have to be very careful with this thing. Let's try not fighting it."
"I doubt there's much chance of us not fighting it," Maria said. "We might as well get this over with. We might actually be able to kill it. There's enough of us."
"You are right on time," the Wraith told them. "I've been given the privilege of dealing with you first. Not to kill you, but to play with you."
"You're awfully confident," Joey said. "There's only one of you, and there are considerably more of us."
The creature actually smiled. "Numbers mean little to me mortal. Very little. I can take each of you separately and I will be able to deal with you as a group."
Pyre stepped forward to put himself between the Wraith and everyone else. "Are you sure you can deal with a dragon? We are very difficult to handle when we want to be."
The Wraith laughed. "I'm positive I can deal with a dragon, I've done it before." It appeared to be about to say more but stopped suddenly. It cocked its head to one side as if listening to something. After a second it sighed. "It would appear that Sayer is ready to deal with you. I'm afraid our little engagement will have to wait for a bit."
The ball of fire above Chris' head suddenly winked out. There was a quiet movement in the darkness and a sudden force shoved everyone backward. When Chris had returned the light the Wraith was disappearing down the hallway. It took a moment for everyone to realize why they'd been shoved backward. Pyre had for no apparent reason assumed his natural shape. They'd all been shoved away from him by his rapid increase in bulk. The dragon looked as surprised as everyone else.
"That's never happened before," he admitted as he returned to his human shape.
"The Wraith took your ability to shift," Cro told him. The book snickered along with Calypso and Mala. "I can see why Justin enjoys your company in bed Pyre."
The dragon's cheeks flushed. His clothing had been shredded in the sudden transformation. He shifted again and became a smaller version of his natural form. He was about the size of a horse. He'd easily be able to fit down the passageways.
"Leave my boyfriend alone," Justin said as he protectively put an arm around the horse-sized dragon. "He's more then just a good body." Kissing the dragon on the nose he looked at the others with an arched eyebrow.
"I think the Wraith's far enough ahead of us now," Maria said briskly. She moved toward the passageway the creature had vanished down. "It's probably with Sayer by now."
The light shed by the ball of fire made sure that no one tripped or stumbled in this passageway. This one was a slightly lighter shade of black then the other was. they moved along for about ten minutes before the sounds starting catching up with them.
"What is that?" Calypso asked. "It's almost like an animal of some sort."
"Worse," Brian said. He, Maria and David were all on edge. "Vampires. And a lot of them."
"How many," Josh asked worriedly.
"More then we thought," Maria told him. The petite vampire had stopped walking and was facing back the way they'd come. "At least three hundred." She tore her eyes away and looked at the others that had also stopped. "A slight change in plans I'm afraid. Justin and David won't be able to hand these alone. Brian and I will stay behind with David. Justin you go ahead with the others."
Justin wordlessly handed Brian the vials of holy water that he'd gathered before they left the castle. The servant nodded in thanks and accepted them. After the blonde had strapped the vials to his waist he loosened his bow. He held it down, but ready to aim in an instant. He faced down the passageway.
"Be careful," Pyre told them.
The first wave of vampires could be heard by the others when they had moved further down the passageway. They were too far away to be of any assistance, but they could hear their companions fighting the creatures. Now and again they would see the flashes of light that accompanied Brian's arrows.
"I hope they'll be alright," Mala said quietly.
They continued to follow the path the Wraith had taken. Or the path they assumed it'd taken. There were now turn offs or alternate ways to go, unless there was a secret passage they were unaware of. They guessed that they were about halfway through the Monolith now. At this point the ground sloped downward rather then upward like it had before. But like before the sloping was very gentle and it was almost impossible to tell that there had been a change at all.
Before long the gentle slope changed dramatically and they all had to lean backward so that they wouldn't fall forward. Cro and Justin made slight comments about being able to fly and didn't have to worry about falling. The others just made due.
The slope ended very abruptly and the passageway opened into another cavern. This one was much larger then the previous one had been. It was hundreds of feet wide and an equal distance high. It was also lit. Chris let the ball of fire disappear the moment they saw the light from the passageway. There was no reason to waste strength when someone else was doing the work.
The Wraith was waiting for them off to one side. It had a wicked looking grin on its face. Yesena also stood off to one side, across from the Wraith. Richard was kneeling next to her. Unlike his mistress, the human hadn't changed his attire since Justin and Pyre had first met him. Forming the third point of the triangle, Sayer stood toward the back of the chamber. He was dressed in his usual blue robes and held a long red staff in one hand. Neva stood slightly behind him to his left. She was watching the newcomers, but the look of hatred on her face was for Sayer alone. In the center of the triangle were the Gemini. They were locked in their usual embrace and seemed oblivious to everything around them.
"I almost wish that it was pleasant to see you again," Sayer said. "But I imagine I will recover."
"Sayer don't play with them," Wraith said. "I enjoy fighting, but I enjoy killing more. Let's get on with it."
Sayer smiled and completely ignored the Wraith's comment. "I see you've brought your pet dragon. Glad to see that things will be slightly evened out. Not enough of course, but a little."
Pyre stepped forward and returned to his natural size. When he had achieved full size he roared and belched flames. "I am no one's pet priest."
"Almost impressive," Sayer said confidently. He snapped his fingers and Neva stepped back away from him. Still fixing him with hatred she reverted to her natural form as well. The human skin melded away and another adult dragon filled part of the stone chamber. "But then I have my own dragon, and that does take away from your abilities."
"Enough talk Sayer," Yesena snapped. She whispered something to Richard and he nodded. "Remember I want the Siren alive."
Richard leapt forward with startling speed. Chris launched a bolt of fire at him, but the servant leapt into the air and came down in a perfect summersault over the bolt. He used his momentum to come to his feet and keep moving. He aimed a punch at Justin's chest, but the blonde side stepped the blow. Stepping behind Richard and looped his arms over him, pinning Richard's arms to his sides.
"That was a tad easy," Justin muttered.
"Yes it was," Richard replied calmly. A smirk touched his face as a ripple of energy coursed across his eyes. An instant later Justin was thrown backward. A hole was burned in his shirt. Electrical energy coursed over Richard's body. "Just a tad to easy."
Justin shook his head and then swept Richard's feet out from underneath him. He grimaced when the electrical energy came in contact with his own flesh. His skin may have been impervious to normal weapons, but it didn't protect him from energy of any sort. Coming to his feet, the blonde flew over Richard and went to tackle Yesena.
"Don't every give a command like that without my agreement Yesena," Sayer snapped. He raised his staff and pointed it at the group that was still clustered near the door. A ball of fire leapt from its tip and hurled itself at them.
At the same time Neva shrieked and pushed her way into the air. Frost issued from her mouth once she was clear of Sayer. Pyre bellowed again and followed her into the air. Thankfully there was little dust on the ground or they would have raised a cloud that the entire chamber would have been rendered sightless.
The group by the door threw themselves away from the fireball and it landed harmlessly where they had been standing. When they had all regained their feet Sayer had dropped into a prayer position, the staff nestled in the crook of his arm. A shimmering barrier formed a dome around him. Another bolt of fire, that Chris threw, bounced harmlessly off it.
"You'll not get through to a priest of the damned as easily as that," the Wraith taunted. "But you'll be able to play with him soon enough."
"Guess we'll have to make due with you then," Joey said grimly. A blade of mental energy appeared in his right hand and a shield similarly made covered his left arm.
Chris' body was covered with its usual crimson patterns seconds before he was engulfed in flames. He flicked his right hand out and a whip of fire formed in it. He made a similar gesture with his left and a flame shield appeared. Without saying a word he advanced on the Wraith.
"Nice toys," Wraith said. "Mind if I borrow one?" It raised its arm as if to block the blow from Joey's sword. Chris' fire shield vanished from his arm and appeared in time to block the blow. The second Joey pulled back to strike again, the shield reappeared on Chris and Joey's sword appeared in the creature's hand. Spinning Wraith knocked Chris' flame whip aside and ducked to avoid a bolt of mental energy that Joey tossed. Flipping backward the creature allowed the sword to return to its owner and instead snatched Chris' whip. Cracking the whip once Wraith snaked it around Chris' ankles and pulled the brunette off his feet. Chris was immune to the flames, but the whip still had some substance.
Josh's voice rose in time to block the incoming lightning bolt. He had somehow decided to take on Richard. The man may have looked harmless, but he was far from it. He was fast and could wield electricity like Chris could fire. Changing the song he was singing caused his shield to drop. A cone of pure sound flew toward Richard as Josh changed the song again to bring the shield up. The human servant brought up his own shield to dissipate the sound. Despite his efforts though, he was shoved backward a foot or so.
The hairs on Josh's body stood on end due to the electrical energy in the air. He made sure that his opponent didn't come within a foot of him, but that was getting increasingly difficult to do. Richard kept expanding his aura. At the rate he was expanding it, Josh wouldn't be able to be anywhere near him without touching it. The siren held no doubt in his mind that touching that much of the aura would kill him. Thankfully the aura did little to buffer the human servant from Josh's sonic attacks.
Josh dodged out of the way of a lightning bolt. He countered with his own attack, but Richard dodged that one as well. Rolling to his feet Josh threw another short blast at the man, which he dodged as expected. Cutting his scream short, Josh pivoted and blew a hole in the ground right where Richard was landing. The man went down hard. His head cracked off the side of the hole and his aura vanished.
The siren rose to his feet rubbing his throat. He'd never used his wail for that long before. He didn't have any time to think about the effects on his voice. He scanned the chamber to see where else he could help. The Wraith was holding his own against Chris and Joey, but they were fending off most of its attacks. Pyre was dealing effectively with the blue dragon. And Yesena was tackling Justin with ease. He wanted to help his friend, but he would only be in the way. He'd keep his eye on that confrontation; he'd known Justin for far too long to lose him to a vampire. Calypso and Mala were watching the Gemini warily while trying to break through the barrier that Sayer had put up.
"He's about done," Cro said. The book floated over to Josh and hover at shoulder level. "I don't know what he's got in mind, but it isn't nice."
Sayer returned to his feet and stared far wall. He raised the staff above his head and muttered something before bringing it down sharply. The barrier around him disappeared and ten goat-like demons appeared in front of him. He gestured at Mala and Calypso who were quickly falling back away from him. The demons surged forward.
"Told you it wouldn't be nice," Cro said.
"I gathered that," Josh snapped. His voice rose into a scream and knocked the first among the demons backward. "Any suggestions?"
"Kill them quickly?" The book offered. "They've only got one power you should be worried about."
"What's that?" Mala asked. She drew one of her knives and drew it upward sharply, slicing the nearest demon in two. Each half fell to one side and formed into a complete demon. Where there was one, there was now two.
"That would be it there," Cro said. "Don't cut them."
Calypso shifted into an ogress. Her muscles rippled as she bashed a demon's skull in. The creature collapsed in a heap, but didn't divide. "So we just have to crush them. This might be possible to deal with."
"Not completely easy my dear shapeshifter," Sayer told her. He pointed his staff toward one of the demons. A fine red line shot from it, cutting the demon in half. He pointed it again. In short order he doubled the number of creatures facing them. "I do want you to have a challenge to work with."
"Something smaller Calypso," Josh told the shapeshifter. He grabbed Mala and pulled both women close to him. He spun in a quick circle, sending out a concentrated wave of sound. When the demons stepped back to regain their balance he sung a shield into place. The demon's bounced off the shield, but couldn't break through.
"We're going to have to change tactics," Calypso said. "Josh, take out the Wraith. Sing it into stasis or something. That'll free Joey and Chris to deal with Sayer. Mala and I can hold off these guys for a while."
Josh nodded to show that he understood. He motioned to them to get ready. When they were in place he abruptly dropped the shield. He sent a single bolt of sound to throw Sayer off balance. Then focused his attention to the Wraith.
Yesena had easily dodged around Justin's original attack, but the blonde had expected that. He knew some of her strengths, and her certainly knew her weaknesses. He was confident that he could at least holder her off until Pyre finished with the other dragon.
He blocked a punch that the vampire threw at him. She put enough force behind it that he would certainly bruise. If it hadn't been for his magical ring his arm would have been broken. He responded in kind, to have his own blow blocked. He quickly realized that Yesena was working with more then the natural skills of a vampire. She had a great deal of skill as well.
Yesena flashed him a smirk before kicking him in the head. She followed with a roundhouse before he could recover from the first kick. She punched him twice in the chest before he touched the floor. He groaned and rolled quickly to his left to avoid the punch she aimed at his head. Justin swept his legs to knock hers out from underneath her. She saw the tactic and leapt into the air to avoid his legs. In mid-swing he changed the direction of his legs. He caught the small of her back. The vampire hit the ground hard.
They both rolled to their feet in a blur of motion. Grinning at him again the vampire launched herself toward him. Her attacks came quickly enough that he could barely fend them off, but they were fast enough that he couldn't really respond without leaving himself open.
One of Yesena's blows slipped through his defenses and slammed hard into his chest. The undead flesh came in contact with the silver cross that he'd decided to wear for this particular trip. She hissed in paint before she recoiling away from the holy relic. Justin took the opportunity to shift the tables on her. His fist took her in the face and he followed up with a few well-placed kicks to her mid-section.
Neva countered Pyre's fire-breath with a wave of frost. The two dragons were evenly matched. Their regenerative rates were healing any damage done by claws almost as quickly as it was inflicted. Each was impervious to either cold or fire, but was vulnerable to the other element. The fact that their breaths could actually harm the other was the only thing that prevented the battle from being completely stalemated.
Sayer raised his staff to block Joey's sword. He smiled at the psychic. His eyes flashed brilliantly and Joey fell backward staggered. He pointed the staff at Chris and a wave of blue flame issued from its tip.
"You control the aspects of fire," Sayer taunted. "What about the burning cold?"
Chris's aura barely protected him. He screamed in pain and moved out of the range of the blue flames. He threw a bolt of fire at the priest, trying to knock the staff out of his hands.
"I thought not," Sayer smirked. He twirled the staff in his hands and the blue flame consumed the incoming bolt. Despite his outward appearance the man was obviously a master fighter with the staff.
The Wraith had been stealing the abilities of his opponents and using them against them. Sayer didn't seem to need anything but his staff. None of their physical attacks would slip through his defenses, and he seemed completely immune to the effects of psychic attack.
"Come children," the priest told them. "You cannot hope to prevail against me or my cause. You will die here. Submit and I will make it a reasonably painless death." The priest never broke his rhythmic fighting while he spoke. He parried and countered without even breaking a sweat. The concept of the clergy being pacifists left both Chris' and Joey's mind forever.
Sayer raised tripped Joey with the staff and raised it above his head to crush the psychic's head. He brought the staff down. And missed. The bunt of the weapon cracked the stone next to Joey's skull. The confusion that crossed the priest's face showed that he hadn't even considered missing.
"You sought...."
"To control.."
"Us."
Everyone had been to busy fighting to notice what the Gemini had been doing. They all assumed that the two men would remain in the middle of the room and continue their intimate embrace. Apparently they had decided to take sides in the confrontation.
"We are...."
"Not blind."
"We do...."
"Not wish..."
"Your guidance.."
"Any longer."
The men looked at Chris and Joey. "We leave.."
"You in peace."
"You.." they said to Sayer.
"Are marked."
Sayer, Joey and Chris just stared as the two men wrapped arms around each other's waist and left the chamber. Everyone made way for them without realizing they were doing it.
The chamber was wracked by an earthquake. The chamber split in two. Most of the demons that Calypso and Mala were fighting fell into the large fissure that opened. Josh lost his footing and his song stopped as he fell to the ground. Justin and Yesena stopped fighting one another so that they could regain their balance. Justin hovered into the air, while the vampire transformed herself into mist. Neither Pyre or Neva paid any heed to the commotion below.
A wave of nausea swept into everyone. The chamber flickered around them and then shimmered back to solid. They felt a wrenching sensation. For an instant they ceased to exist, then they returned to reality.
Joey recovered more quickly then anyone else in the room. He threw himself into Sayer, knocking them both to the ground. The priest was still stunned from the sudden erasing and recreation of his existence. Another wave swept over them all again. This one lasted longer then the first.
"We may be just about to cease to exist," Joey whispered to the priest. "But you're going to die before that happens. I share Chris' feelings on this matter."
Sayer tried to raise his arms to throw the other man off, but Joey had made sure to keep them pinned to his side. All that happened was a large red gem slipped out of his pocket and skittered across the floor. The priest slipped a hand out of Joey's grasp and reached for the gem.
"Oh no you don't," Joey muttered. He mentally sent the gem sliding toward Chris. "Chris. Break that thing."
Chris looked like he wanted to burn Sayer to a crisp more then breaking a gem, but nodded when he saw the determination on his friend's face. He closed his eyes and started breathing deeply and heavily. He knew the gem wouldn't break easily, but he was pretty sure he could do it in one shot. Carefully the singer focused his thoughts and a ball of fire filled his palm. With further concentration the fire began to singe the air around it. Chris heated the ball until he could barely hold it. Then he let it fly toward the gem. He kept it tightly focused so that it would do maximum damage. The fire melted the gem the second the two came in contact. When the smoke cleared all that was left was a small hole. The surrounding rock had melted along with the gem and it was impossible to see where one began and the other left off.
A shriek of triumph from above stopped any remaining fighting in the chamber. Everyone looked up in time to see Neva knock Pyre backward. She oriented on Sayer and dove. As she flew downward she shrunk.
Joey was momentarily stunned by the loud noise and Sayer took the time to throw him off and get to his feet. He backed up several steps before Neva slammed into him. The dragon was the size of a Great Dane when she knocked him off his feet. Her teeth sunk into his neck before the pair hit the floor. Blood began spewing in every direction. There wasn't enough blood in the priest to amount for even half this blood. Neva's claws ripped into the priest's chest. She tore threw his ribs and into the tender flesh beyond.
Somehow the priest was living threw this process. He was obviously in great pain, but he was still alive. He tried to scream in agony, but his missing throat prevented the sound from issuing. The dragon also seemed in great pain, but the gash on her throat was working the same effect on her as it was on Sayer. She reached in with one of her talons and carefully cut the priest's heart from his chest. With one final convulsion of pain Sayer collapsed. Neva threw her head back and tried to roar in triumph. A shudder ran through her before she could finish moving her head. She collapsed on top of the priest's body.
Everyone in the chamber looked stunned at what had just happened. For a few moments no one even thought of moving. The demons that hadn't fallen into the fissure disappeared when Sayer had died.
The joyous toll of a single bell rang through the chamber, shattering the silence.
Yesena slipped around Justin and ran to Richard's side. She helped her servant to her feet and turned to leave. "Come Wraith. The priest has failed, and our part is done."
The Wraith nodded its agreement and ran to her side. "He was a fool, but we knew that from the beginning."
"Where do you think you're going?" Pyre asked. The dragon landed neatly in front of the only exit.
"Even rats desert a sinking ship," Yesena said. "Why shouldn't the crew do the same thing. "We were doing what comes naturally to us dragon. Our quarrel is finished for now."
Wraith looked at Joey for an instant before returning its sightless gaze to Pyre. The dragon abruptly rose into the air and was set down on the other side of the fissure. "For your sake, I hope we don't meet again." That said the three of them vanished into the tunnel beyond.
Chris carefully walked over to the remains of Sayer. He picked up the staff and turned it over in his hands. He and Joey had both let their mental weapons vanish when the dragon had suddenly turned on her former master.
"I wanted him dead Joey," Chris said softly. "But not like that. No one deserved to have died like that."
"He got what was coming to him Chris," Cro told him. "He tried controlling a dragon. Not generally a good idea."
"Still.." Chris let it trail off. "Now what do we do?"
"We should probably go home now," Maria offered. She and Brian came limping into the cave. "Yesena's cleared out the rest of her vampires. The ones that could still move that is."
"You guys held out for that long against them all?" Josh asked in amazement.
"They backed us into a corner," Brian admitted. "They couldn't get us from behind so it wasn't too hard to keep them at bay. But they did kill David."
"I hate to point this out," Calypso said. "But we still don't know where Lance is. This seems to be the bottom of the Monolith. Where is he?"
"He's right here," a voice said.
They turned as a group to see Lance standing in a shimmering gateway. The blonde had changed his robes from black to white. He also had a glow about him. He radiated a calming light.
"The Balance has been restored."
The joyous toll of a single bell rang through the chamber, shattering the silence.
The bones shifted inside the coffin. They realigned themselves underneath the tattered remains of the black robe. Once they'd rearranged themselves into their proper order the flesh began to form. First the ligaments and tendons, then muscle tissues and blood vessels covered the bone. Organs formed inside the various cavities. When everything was properly formed the skin covered everything. Long black hair grew from the scalp.
Weakly the marble lid was shoved off and deep breaths of air were swallowed. Selvar gasped at the sudden rush of life. He opened green eyes that hadn't seen this room in five years. It took him several minutes to adjust to life. He'd been dead for so long.
When he recovered he sat up in his resting place. Carefully he pulled himself over the side of the coffin. He held onto the side of the marble table to support his weight. His legs felt like rubber at first. Slowly he stood straight and took a tentative step forward. His legs shook, but held. He took another and then another. By the time he reached the door he was walking strongly.
He closed his eyes and willed his thoughts to clear. They did listen to his commands, after a fashion. Slowly they let his situation become clear to him. He was alive. He had died, but he had been given life. But how?
The answer came to him as slowly as the realization had. Lance had come to the Realm of the dead and then left again. He had said something about the ring the necromancer had given him after the battle. The first thing he remembered after the blonde's departure was waking up in the coffin.
"Everything will become clear in time child," a voice said.
Without turning around Selvar knew it was the Guardian of the Forest. He didn't know how, he just knew. "What's happened?"
"You are the Guardian of Death child."
"But why?"
"Because Fate has chosen to send you down that path. You will perform your duties well child. Do not worry." The Guardian was smiling with pride when the elf looked at him. "Now you must come with me. We have much to do and eternity to do it in."
If Selvar didn't know any better he would have sworn the Guardian had just made a joke.
TBC
There. That should answer a few questions. Not a whole lot of course, but just a few. Actually that should answer a lot of things. Let me know what you think.
Rune