Night had fallen in this strange island, but it had no moon. Instead it had something better.
The golden aurora lights glowed like burning veins in the dark purple sky, casting a soft golden light that pulsed every now and then. The clouds were now fully golden, illuminated as they passed under the glowing rivers of light.
Miss Freiya had said that was plasma, too high up to affect them but close enough to be detailedly beautiful.
'Breathtaking', Axle thought as he stared out the window from his bed.
They had gotten into a heated discussion with Sārūn, who soon grew unresponsive, when he refused to tell them more or at least explain himself.
Who even did something like that?
Mentioning their parents had struck a chord with them, parents who had been dead two years now, and he just refused to tell them how he knew them... what he knew...
Axle turned over in his bed, away from the window.
The builders had done a rather good job, inconceivably fast. While they were facing Sārūn other people had come to finish up the domed cottage, from decorations to furniture. They had watched as the frog boy caused water to be forced into an upward flow, creating a constant supply of water across the outer spiral groove into the house. Some other elf-bear-thing-girl had grown grass and flowers on the outer surface of the cottage within seconds. Lighting was done by suspending fires in cylindrical glass cases. They had watched bedding and other materials get woven midair and other furniture get crafted by people moving so quickly they looked like blurs. Their room had been built with two bunk beds and a single bed placed side by side. Hailey and Lyssa took the top bunks while Ashton and Keno took the bottom. Axle took the single bed.
"Axle... you up?"
Apparently Kenov hadn't slept yet.
"Yeah, can't sleep"
Keno laughed a bit.
"You probably got a full nap with how unconcious you were. Seriously, it took getting chucked through a wormhole for you to wake up."
Axled laughed a bit as well.
Silence for a moment.
"What happened...?"
"Huh?"
"You know what I'm asking, man... How'd you go unconcious? Does sore-un have anything to do with it?"
Axle sighed.
"No... No he doesn't. And it's pronounced saarun. If anything, I think he saved me"
"From the black guy?"
Axle raised an eyebrow and shook his head in the dim room light.
"I don't know what he saved me from. Hell, I don't even know if he saved me. Something happened with the book and-"
He sat up immediately.
"The book!"
"If you don't mind some of us are trying to sleep and pretend this is a dream...", said Hailey suddenly.
Then Ashton spoke up,
"Besides, whatever that book was doesn't matter now. We're a whole realm away from earth."
"Sounds like someone's accepting this whole thing...", Hailey teased.
"No it's not just a book! It's- I had a vision...!"
"A vision...", Hailey said dryly.
"What was it about?", asked Keno.
"I don't..."
He looked at his hands as he tried and failed to recall the events of the vision. All he could recall was the memory of searing pain in his head and the words 'I'm sorry'. Sorry for what? Who was sorry?
"I don't remember..."
Lyssa turned in her sleep, adjusting herself to a more comfortable position.
Hailey sighed and spoke,
"Look, we all have questions but, more than anything, we need to rest up before morning comes if we actually want to be active enough to get any answers."
"Low-key, coming here might be good for us. I mean, look at Hailey go, actually saying stuff that makes sense", Ashton grinned then brought his hands to his face, sheilding it from the pillow that came flying down from Hailey's position.
"Asshole"
"I'm not the one without a pillow", he laughed again.
Axle felt a bit more at ease now, it felt like his friends could adjust to anything. They adjusted quickly when their parents died. Same when Miss Freiya pulled them out of school to do virtual lessons instead. Even now in a strange new world they had adjusted.
'Miss Freiya'
Hailey was right, there were a lot of questions... but rest came first.
Shortly after, the sounds of slow breaths filled the room.
Outside the cottage Sārūn, Freiya and Thāleris sat by a small fire in silence, tree logs served as benches.
Sārūn's light was dimmer now, nothing more than a soft orange glow. He stared blankly at the fire, whatever thoughts he was having veiled by blank white eyes.
Firewood crackled in the heat and sparks drifted upwards.
Finally Freiya broke the silence,
"They're scared, Sārūn..."
She picked a small stick and poked the fire a little, continuing,
"They're strong children, tempered by the losses they've had to bear... But they're scared nonetheless. And while I know they'll adjust quickly, I can't help but be scared for them."
"And they have a right to be scared. But there is nothing I can do about this, the flow of events are beyond my control."
"I know. It all just seems so... rushed. They just got pulled into a strange world and you're taking them to that eccentric dragon barely a day later!"
"Freiya", Sārūn stared at her sharply.
She dropped her stick and sighed, bowing her head,
"I'm sorry I raised my voice, Light One", her voice wavered ever so slightly.
He could feel her pain. Her uncertainty and fear. That was what he was made for, to cast light on things, to guide, to help others see. And he saw her.
Sārūn sighed and stared at the ground.
"I can understand your fears. But you are aware of what the Dark One is capable of, moreso how little time it takes him to wreak havoc. And now that he has the Draevhaen, Ṣēndūl alone knows what chaos he's strong enough to unleash for now. My purpose is to guide and that is what I'm doing", he paused, then added, "Besides, Śāl'Tzærūn is the only one who can grasp their true potential and the quickest path there"
"Have you told them yet? Of the prophecy...?", Thāleris finally spoke.
Silence from Sārūn. Then he shook his head and replied,
"That will be tomorrow on our journey to The Core. Better sooner than later"
They sat in silence a bit more. Sārūn spoke again,
"Both of you should get some rest, we leave at dawn..."
He looked in Freiya's direction.
"No... we leave at high light. Let the children have some time to adjust"
Freiya looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Tears and hope. She nodded.
She and Thāleris rose to enter the cottage. Thāleris turned and asked,
"Sār, do you know who it's going to be?"
Sārūn rose without a word, then levitated into the air. In the next moment he was gone, only a gust of wind telling of his earlier presence.
The avian turned his confused gaze to Freiya. She shrugged and pushed the door of the cottage open.
********************
A dark hooded figure walked with refined grace towards the fresh ruins of a building, sparks flying as his daggers grazed the tarred ground.
Formless shadows rose before him, beginning the task of clearing rubble away so their master would not have to do it himself, even though they were just shells of darkness he was actively controlling. They were extensions of him, his eyes and arms, searching intently for something.
His breath hitched at the sight of dark brown leather and he dismissed his sword as the shadows pulled out the the book from the debris, tugging at it in a squabble to be the one to present it to their master. He bared his fangs and let out a low growl causing the shells to retreat and advance again slowly.
The air filled with the mixed scent of sweetness and sulphur.
Mōrūn grabbed the book in both hands.
A tremor of excitement ran through his fingertips as he held on to it.
"At long last...", his breath bated as he spoke, "The Draevhaen is in it's rightful place!"
Unhurriedly, he walked away from what was left of the building he had destroyed. Finding bare ground, he paused and opened the book, flipping through pages till he found what he was looking for.
Scanning the contents of the page, he murmured something in approval and knelt on the grass, setting the book down before him. Then he placed a palm on the ground.
With a searing sound the grass began to decay, rotting away in a curved line that extended from either side of his palm, forming the very pattern and symbols that he had seen in the book. Now a full circle had been formed, strange symbols taking different positions in and around the circle.
Mōrūn's shadow rippled and moved to his right side, he reached in and grabbed at something. Grunting in pain, he pulled harder at the thing inside his shadow, muscles drawn taut beneath his pale and tattooed skin. With a growl, he ripped it out forcefully.
A fist sized ball of semi-solid darkness pulsed with a gentle rhythm, shadowy tendrils squirming and wriggling like the ball was alive. It might as well have been... It was his heart afterall.
A short blade manifested in his left hand. The tendril latched on to his hand as he made to cut the heart, trying to stop him.
Annoyed, he dismissed the blade and brought the heart to his mouth with both hands, wincing as he bit into it in one fluid motion. His fingers dug into the holes his teeth had made and ripped the heart apart. A thick black liquid drizzled down his hands as he brought the split heart to the pattern of decay.
His fists clenched, squeezing the dark liquid on the circle. The liquid flowed freely, filling every line and symbal completely.
Nothing happened.
With unbound authority, Mōrūn spoke into the night,
"Ƚœḥðræhn þręn'çūl Yūrūn.
Śħęnđœrëł þȯrë, ïnŭm'næþ kœhrūl.
Ʒħūṃ þēn ŧarƥæ, ŧærrïżħ śā Mōrūn.
Yūrūn… ƞïxœrn şęł'vęrûn þǿr!"
The symbol suddenly ignited in pale and ghostly flames. They did not cast light, rather they brought a chill to the world. The light of the full moon suddenly seemed more defined, more profound.
A frail and ghostly hand rose from the flames and then another, both slowly being formed from the pale fire.
A sound came from behind Mōrūn and he turned sharply.
A delivery man looked in horror at his phone and back at the ruins of Axle's house, then at Mōrūn and the outstretched arms in the flames. The chains of his bicycle rattled as he turned to speed away.
Suddenly, the full figure of the wraith flew out, extinguishing the flames it was born from. Before the delivery man could get anywhere, the wraith had caught on to him by his head and dragged him off of his bike. Against his futile attempts to fight back, the wraith wrapped it's lower half around his neck, using both hands to pry his mouth open.
Then it stole from him.
Stole his life force.
A rush of white light left the man as his efforts became weaker, rising into the open mouth of the wraith. His hands dropped to his sides, limp, as life drained from his eyes. The last of the white light entered the wraith and it dropped the lifeless human on the ground.
The wraith began to change.
Long blonde hair grew from the once empty head, as the apparition became more tangible. Her skin became smoother, frame became fuller, the life she had stolen filled her with vigor. A white silk gown clothed her pale skin.
She exhaled, her breath visible in the cold air she emanated.
"There is much to be done, Yūrūn... Come.", said Mōrūn from behind her.
The pale beauty turned to face the one who had ressurected her, bowing with a smile that revealed blood stained fangs,
"Yes, Dark One..."
The night may have laughed with him before, but now, she stood beside him in the flesh…