Kreydan zarathos
"Wake up!", a voice seemed to call out. "Wake up, brother."
Kreydan was trapped, he knew that. He was ready... To die by his brother's hand but somehow the betrayal hurt him more.
"You are alive", the voice said, louder this time, louder so the voice could reach him, make him aware of his state, make him stand up and take his hammer to kill those who have wronged him.
"I am here, here for you kreydan, I have risked myself for you", the voice seemed to be saying, kreydan was not sure who it was but he could guess it was a woman's voice.
Serene and pure. Gentle like slow waves crashing over beach.
Beach... He was on beach. He realised after opening his eyes and squinting them hard to make sense of his surroundings.
"Who is it?", kreydan said, low and muffled against the crashing waves.
He looked around, tried to move but it was futile... since he was trapped in chains, glowing and sparkling against the white sky, gulls wheeling around his head.
"Don't try to fight it, brother", the voice said. "I've come for you, Aldros does not care about you anymore. You were wrong, wrong to come here and expect that he would come with you."
"Amberia... How are you here?"
"The blessings of white tomb still runs strong... In my veins, brother", amberia said, raising her arms skyward. "I cannot embrace you but I feel your pain. I feel it. Brother... It's time you call harbingers of Aravan."
"What?! No... They are too...", kreydan was trapped, he knew that. Was it right to call for their help? Was it right to call upon them?
"Amberia, what are you doing? What is happening? What are you upto? I am confused how and why—"
"Shh... As i said, don't fight it. Just do what I say, call upon them and ask for their help. That's the only way, brother."
"The last time I saw you, you were trying to end someone's life. Who was it? I forgot —"
"An unfortunate event", Amberia said sharply. "One that wasn't meant for your or anybody else's eyes."
"I see. You still won't tell me anything. Why should I trust you then huh? Give me a reason."
"tsk...tsk...tsk... You are in no position to demand questions, you have foolishly followed Aldros and then... knowingly put yourself in trap of eldros, now you're his pawn."
"I am no one's pawn. Not even yours, sister", kreydan said, reluctant and stubborn as always, after all learned from his sister.
"Call upon them. Your only hope lies with them."
"They ask something in return. What is it this time?"
"They'll... W-well you have to", her stammering didn't ease Kreydan's worries. "As you know harbingers of Aravan works for old god... Aravan. Across the dark sea, which divides this continent and another continent called wrath of aegis...the middle continent, where king of all five continents sits in his high chair, kingdom of aegis reach... Well, West of there is Aravan island. Haldren who is another son of king kaisran rides in bone dragon, king kaisran himself is coming aswell. Jorath's most trusted one, 'wrath of old gods' they call her, nametri rides with her knights to attack Aravan island. An event that will either shape or destroy the future of sumaka. You must go there and aid prince jemriah and elf princess Irene, their son sonavr as well. They'll ask you of this, I am sure of it."
"Since when does gods started to care about their people? What is their plan in all of this?", kreydan asked, still confused.
"My work here is done. My eyes are diverted from their schemes and they... Grant me mercy for that sole reason", she said, looking straight at kreydan. "You are thinking about my part In all this, aren't you brother?"
"I am. But I also know you won't tell me any—"
"Let me grant you that bit then. After you save jemriah's family, he'll owe you his life. Ask him for dragmia, his sword, he'll give it to you, and just after that... I will come to you and take that sword. Understood?"
Kreydan sighed, a long sigh that came from exasperation. "Will eldros know about this?"
"Concealment, another one of my strengths, brother", she said. "That stone right—"
"Yes. Yes. I know how to do it", kreydan said impatiently. "Still not sure if I should do it or not."
"call upon them, time is moving faster than you realise. It doesn't stop for anyone. I hope you of all people would know that", with that she raised her hands, a curtain teared open behind her, and she... Left.
As the ethereal curtain dissolved, Kreydan's gaze swept across the landscape, searching for the perfect stone. His eyes landed on a small, sharply cut pebble at his feet, precisely suited for drawing blood. A faint smile touched his lips as he knelt, his movements hampered by heavy, glowing chains. Still, he managed to descend just enough to grasp the stone.
With a swift, determined motion, he flung the stone directly overhead, targeting his own skull. He understood that only a mere drop of blood was needed to initiate the ritual.
The instant the stone connected, a crimson trickle began to seep through his long hair.
He commenced his powerful invocation: "Aravan, God of Malice, I summon your harbingers to liberate me from this torment. My soul, from this moment forward, is yours to command. They may demand anything of me, even my legendary hammer, Dark Moth. I pledge an unbreakable connection; should I falter, I embrace the consequences of my ignorance and eternal damnation as a traitor to the old gods. God of Malice, I summon your harbingers!"
He remained steadfast on the beach as the waves, once gently crashing, transformed into a furious onslaught, growing increasingly rapid and aggressive. The turbulent water then began to coalesce, morphing into imposing figures that resembled knights, no, not knights, but harbingers, monumental in their scale, yet possessing an uncanny, delicate grace in their features.
Clad in dark armor, all five figures presented a stark silhouette against the white sky, embodying an aura of death. They resembled five black sabertooths poised to strike. Each wielded an equally dark sword, adorned with chains that also intricately bound their armor.
"A demigod calls upon us. Interesting", said the tallest one.
...
Soul binding of kreydan zarathos. (Year 1200 of S.B), letter to maekan wollis from Amberia.
Five figures, cloaked in shadows that drank the light, stood before Kreydan. Chains of ancient iron bit into his flesh. Impatience, a fire in his gut, warred with the icy grip of his glowing imprisonment. "Speak your demands, harbingers," he rasped, his voice raw. The air was stale, thick with damp earth and forgotten magic, a scent that prickled his senses with its ancient decay. He strained against the shackles, searing pain shooting through his joints, but the chains hummed, defiant, radiating a cold, dark energy that seeped into his very bones.
One, a shadow deeper than the rest, stepped forward. Taller than the others, it moved with an unsettling grace, its form rippled at the edges, an illusion of solid being. A faint, metallic scent, like a rock after a lightning strike, emanated from it. Its cloak, woven from night itself, absorbed all light, rendering its features indistinguishable. This harbinger, a silent herald of doom, spoke. "We seek passage, Kreydan, to Aravan Island. For your freedom, you shall secure it." The voice resonated, neither male nor female, but a vibration in his bones, weighted with ancient prophecy and an undeniable authority.
Kreydan scoffed, a dry rattle in his throat. Aravan Island?so she was right... What madness?
"You shall be freed," another harbinger intoned, its voice like rustling leaves in a forgotten forest. Shorter, broader than the first, it revealed a glimpse of cold, predatory eyes through the cowl of its cloak. An aura of decay, subtle yet pervasive, surrounded it, causing the very air to feel heavy. "And for your journey, we provide a vessel of ice. It will carry you safely across the treacherous waters."
A boat of ice? Are they mocking me?
The absurdity of the proposition warred with a flicker of desperate hope. Aravan Island, a destination fraught with mythical dangers, offered a perilous escape, but an escape nonetheless. Tales of ghost ships, frozen and dead in the heart of winter, flashed in his mind, echoing the chilling tales of the shadow grimsers, corporeal undead creatures of history who sometimes sailed in half-boats, heralding doom.
"I agree," he conceded, the words torn from him, a desperate plea for release. "Release me. I will fulfill your twisted bargain, however impossible it seems." He envisioned biting winds, groaning ice, the indifferent, crushing power of the ocean, but even that was better than rotting in these chains, in this forgotten lands of a new god eldros.
The harbingers exchanged silent, knowing glances, a subtle shift in the oppressive shadows that surrounded them. A collective, almost imperceptible, intake of breath filled the silence. One, a blur until now, stepped into a sliver of eerie, blinding light that seemed to emanate from nowhere. Its cloak, like solidified mist, parted just enough to reveal a gaunt, skeletal hand clutching a long, thin blade. The blade itself shimmered, absorbing light rather than reflecting it, a void made manifest. Then, swift and graceful, it descended. No pain, only sudden, absolute separation.
Kreydan's head was cut, single clean strike, head rolling over the shore, crabs and dead murese came, expecting a feast.
Kreydan's world tilted, plunged into an inky blackness that consumed all sensation. He fell, a silent scream caught in his throat, through an endless void where time and space dissolved into an incomprehensible nothingness.
Is this death? Not like this. Not after I agreed.
The thought, a desperate anchor in the abyss, clung to him.
Then, a gasp tore through newly formed lungs. He awoke. Air, cold and crisp, stung his face, invigorating him in a way he hadn't felt in an age. He lay on a solid, translucent surface, reflecting the pale, ethereal glow of a vast, moonlit sea. Before him, stretching into the unknown, was the shimmering, crystalline prow of a boat, crafted entirely from ice.
Its hull, a seamless sheet of polished ice, emitted a soft, internal luminescence, casting shifting patterns of blue and silver across the water. Sleek and narrow, it seemed alive, its curves flowing with an organic grace that belied its frozen composition. No visible sails or oars, yet it glided effortlessly, leaving scarcely a ripple upon the glassy surface. The deck, smooth beneath his touch, felt surprisingly warm, bearing intricate frost patterns that refracted the moonlight into tiny, fleeting rainbows. A low hum vibrated through the ice, a song of power and purpose, a subtle thrum that resonated within him. Around him, the ocean stretched, an endless expanse of deep blues and silvers under unfamiliar constellations that wheeled slowly across the heavens.
They were not mad. Or I am now part of their madness. This is real. An ice boat. Aravan Island. What awaits me now on this impossible voyage, aboard this vessel born of frost and shadow?
The questions hung in the frigid air, unanswered, as the ice boat began its silent, inexorable glide toward a destiny unknown.
World of sumaka through eyes of shadow grimsers —
Thousand years ago, king vorsatan killed us all. We were aboard a ship to meet our family across the dark sea.
King vorsatan killed us for our treasure, and so he got what he wanted but he forgot that killing someone in sumaka has consequences. Especially killing those who are harmless. We meant no harm yet we died.
Sea god Areyan made us shadow grimsers, we haunt the dark sea. It belongs to us, anyone who bears ill intention shall be killed by us. Anyone who has malice in their heart while travelling the dark sea, shall meet their end.
Surviving in dark sea is difficult but simple, bear no malice and we shall not trouble you.