Loud and terrifying crashes were basically Daniel's alarm clock every morning. It was what he often imagined the world ending sounding like, honestly, but it was entirely normal thanks to his mom who worked the night shifts at the nearby hospital and often careened around their apartment like a hurricane personified in a five foot five woman. Kicking at the blankets tangled around his feet, Daniel blearily wiggled his way to the edge of the bed and sort-of flop-shuffled over the edge, granting him a sore nose as his face met the floor with an angry crunch.
“Shit—“ His angry shriek of pain was granted with silence and Daniel blinked at the floor, suddenly wide awake. Lifting his face from the carpet, he squinted out his open door at the hallway.
“—Mom?”
Not even a distracted hum for an answer. For that matter, there was no typical sound of bacon sizzling or—well, any sounds at all or smells of breakfast being cooked. Yawning, Daniel contemplated changing out of his pajamas before exiting his room but only rolled out of the blanket properly before getting to his feet and shuffling down the hall to the kitchen. The decidedly empty kitchen. The rest of the tiny apartment was equally devoid of his mom, which didn’t bother him much, except for the fact the apartment was also empty of any notes, typical for when his mom blazed in and out for a change of clothes before running errands. He was reaching for the phone when he realized the floor was shaking.
A short exclamation of surprise (thank god his mom wasn’t around to hear it) was all he had time for before Daniels ass made friends with the linoleum of the kitchen floor. Great—now he was sore in two places. The vibrations only increased as he sat there, and he scooted so that his back rested against the counter. Maybe what had woken him had been an earthquake—
“Ah, shit—“ Fumbling with surprise, Daniel barely caught the bowl that slid off the counter top above his head and he clutched at it like a lifeline as the shaking increased. Breath quickening, he slid his feet up against the chair that shuffled towards him like it was possessed and squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as he was holding onto the stupid bowl. It felt like forever, sitting there, but he only made it to the count of six-thousand-and-one before the shaking subsided. His fingers, however, felt like they’d become one with the bowl and they made ugly popping sounds as he let the bowl clatter to the floor.
Definitely not the usual morning racket of his mom. Letting out a shaky breath, Daniel stood and stepped the few feet to the window in the kitchen and pulled the curtains back. It was like looking out onto a scene from a movie about the apocalypse, he thought dazedly. Smoke billowed in the distance, alarms bleeted out their warnings from what seemed like every car on the street, and what few people were on the street looked as shaken as he felt. His fingers tightened in the fabric of the curtains and Daniel let out another breath to steady himself. Nothing was damaged, building-wise. They’d be okay.
But his mom probably wouldn’t be back for ages, because of it.
His earthquake theory quickly evaporated though, as soon as he cast his eyes to the west, and saw that the smoke clouding the sky wasn’t because of some fire that had broken out, but because of a long, dark oval shape with frantically blinking lights that obscured a good portion of the view of downtown.
His mom definitely wouldn’t be back for ages, Daniel thought, blinking slowly.
God, had they been—attacked?
Washington D.C was a much better target, wasn’t it, though? Why attack Denver, of all places? What was there that was so important? It didn’t look like a weapon, though, Daniel reasoned as he pressed his nose to the glass of the window, squinting to try to see through the haze as the smoke began to drift towards the apartment building he stood in. Not an earthquake, then. Maybe not even an attack. A crashed ship, maybe? A flutter of excitement made his belly tense, and Daniel grinned. Aliens.
Letting the curtains fall back, Daniel headed for the phone. Busy as they likely were, he was going to call the hospital. They were used to him calling, anyhow, and they’d at least let him talk to his mom, or let him know she was there and alright. It took all of five seconds to punch in the number, but felt longer as he listened to the dialing tone while he waited for an answer.
Flexing his grip around the phone, panic began to set in, paranoia throwing different scenarios where his mother had been caught up somehow in the crash, crushed beneath the ship—
Daniels thoughts were interrupted when the phone was picked up, a curt voice sounding into his ear.
“—aniel?”
Crap, he hadn’t been paying attention.
“Yeah, hey, is my mom there?”
“Have you looked outside?”
Oh, great. Alice had picked up the phone. Sarcastic, bitter and actually kind of pretty, but he always crossed his fingers for her not to be the one who picked up. Daniel’d spilled coffee on her once, when he’d been bringing some to his mother during a particularly rough shift. She’d never forgiven him.
Clearly.
“Look, is she there or not? Also, really not an answer, thanks—“
“Wow, look—“
“Alice.”
“…Yeah, no, she’s not here.”
She couldn’t have led with that, instead of answering with ambiguous words laced with hatred? Scowling at the air in front of him, Daniel clenched his fingers even tighter around the phone. “She would have left work by now, okay? Did you see her leave, at least?”
“Uh, no. Bathroom break at the time.”
The disdain in her voice was clear, and it made him bristle. Aka, Alice had been outside smoking. What a work ethic, what a bitch. She was speaking again, though, and he listened begrudgingly.
“Look, just tell her to come in, alright? We’re crammed full of idiots complaining about bumped heads.”
“How?!”
“How the hell should I know? Phone her, dipshit.”
“But what—“
“Look, I’ve gotta go.”
Daniel was left staring at the flower printed blue curtains his mother had bought on a whim because they reminded her of her own mothers house and the quiet whine of a cut-off call sounding in his ear. Gritting his teeth together, he slammed the phone back into its cradle. He had to take a second to catch his breath, but it didn’t really help. His mom hadn’t come home, she’d left at least an hour ago if she’d kept to her schedule, and there was an alien ship crashed into Denver outside.
Oh god, he was panicking.
Sliding down to his knees, he rested his head against a cupboard and drew in shaky breaths until he could straighten his thoughts out again. Going outside seemed pointless; a siren whistled through the air, audible even over the countless car alarms still blaring away. Neither he or his mom had cellphones because of costs, so unless she came roaring through the door, there was no way they were contacting each other. And even if he did leave the apartment, he doubted he’d find her.
…maybe he’d been woken by the real end of the world, he thought dully, worst-case scenarios flashing before his eyes and he knocked his head against the cupboard softly to try to knock them away.
Daniel sat there, knees splayed and eyes shut tight.
The chime of the mantel clock contractively to its name sat on the kitchen counter was what startled him out of his haze. For a half-second, he’d thought it was the doorbell. His hopes had fallen just as quickly as they’d risen when he realized it wasn’t. But he couldn’t keep sitting around. Calling the hospital again wouldn’t help, so he resolutely didn’t think of anything that could have happened to his mom in favor of stumbling back to his bedroom to look out the window. A stream of cars was passing by beneath, at a snail’s crawl, and already some of them were piled high with suitcases.
Raking his fingers through his slightly-too-long hair that drove his mom crazy, Daniel worried at his lip and stared at the endless cars. His heart skipped a beat (and not a good skip, either), when out of the very shadows, airmen probably from the nearby air base materialized seemingly as if from nothing. He couldn’t stay any longer, not now that he’d seen the military. It was easy enough to extrapolate from the people already leaving the city and the speediness of the airmen how things were going to go.
Things were definitely going to get serious—more serious than they already had, with a crashed alien ship, he thought wryly, snorting softly to himself. Even as he moved away from the window he could hear shouted orders, men directing traffic and attempting to organize a smooth evacuation.
It was quick work to pull jeans and his favorite ratty old t-shirt on and to fill up his backpack with the survival kit his mother kept around. There was just enough room for a spare set of clothes, which brought a little smile to his face. That was something his mom always insisted on; an extra shirt and pair of pants just in case, ‘because you never know’. Daniel was quick to clatter out of the apartment after that, taking the stairs two at a time. He had to assume, he figured, that his mom had—or was being—evacuated. That she was safe.
Kicking the apartment buildings door shut behind him, Daniel blinked at the chaos that surrounded him. The cars were at a standstill now, and people were struggling in a mad rush to make it on foot instead and he had to step back into the alcove of the buildings entrance to avoid being trampled.
Despite the chaos, his eyes caught on a strange shadow flickering across the mouth of the alleyway across the street, and when he raised his chin to get a better look, a black shape with two glowing lizard-like eyes blinked back. “—Hey!” Jumping what was probably a foot in the air, Daniel held back a startled scream, though a little sound escaped him anyways as he whirled around, breaking eye-contact with the…the person across the street. Jesus.
A dirty girl was crowded into the alcove with him now, and he meant that literally, thanks—she had dirt all across her face, and her hair look like a terrible, unmanageable tangle even pulled back as it was.
“God, I’ve been trying to get your attention for like, two minutes.”
Daniel took a half-step back despite himself and his backpack collided with the wall, startling him for what had to be the fifteenth time that morning. She looked decidedly irritated at that, he thought. Daniel had the sudden vision of a lion chasing down a gazelle—her hair might as well be a mane, bushy as it was, and he snorted at the thought despite himself, though the smile faded as her gaze sharpened.
“Now that I’ve got your attention, genius, you can stop jumping around like a rabbit.”
Daniel’s mouth pulled down into an affronted frown, but before he could speak, or even think of a retort,
Sikkrinzes voice echoed harshly in the quiet hallways of the royal palace, and Myzandril winced, raising a finger to shush him. Silence was imperative to the dark task they’d undertaken between them, and now that the night had finally arrived, Myzandril wouldn’t allow even his youngest brother to accidentally foil anything- there was no time for doubts, not now.
They both knew that, and Sikkrinze fell silent though Myzandril could tell from how his hands shook the fear remained. Both of them slipped through the doorway to the Kings- their fathers- bedchambers, daggers at the ready, footsteps as silent as they could make them. The King lay in slumber, his harried and fretful face peaceful in sleep.
For a split second, Myzandrils resolve faltered, memories of brighter days with their family and his childhood nearly staying his hand. Sikkrinze watched him though, eyes bright and trustful and terrified, and Myzandril steeled himself. Their father was corrupted, past the point of no return. They themselves were past the point.
Myzandril would cure the wild country of Kzan of the shadows that crept softly across it.
The ends justified the means.
Myzandril breathed deeply, raising the dagger, feeling more than seeing Sikkrinze shrink into the corner, unable to wield his own weapon. That was fine. It was Myzandrils duty- he was the eldest. He would protect his siblings, would protect all of Kzan.
Sikkrinzes sharp cry startled him, his dagger clattering out of his hand when his arm was jerked backwards by strong hands that dug into his arms and drew blood. Snarling when his chin met the cold marble floor with a sickening crunch, Myzandril kicked out, backwards, making contact with soft flesh. There were brief grunts, but the holds on his arms only tightened as he struggled.
There were too many hands, too many guards holding him down, Hanndraz rising from his bed with an impassive face, and Myzandril slowly stilled. Sikkrinze was sobbing in the corner, and he closed his eyes so as not to see the mess he’d made of things.
Kzan would fall.
A gentle hand danced across his face, soothing the burning pain that spread through his jaw, but Myzandril kept his eyes closed. That gentle touch was worse than the agony, worse than his failure. It was a falsehood and a mockery to the father he’d loved as a child.
“Myzandril.” Hanndrazs voice was weary, carrying in it tones of a disappointment so strong Myzandril wondered again if he’d been wrong.
But doubt was the snake in the grass, he reminded himself, opening his eyes to stare at his enemy- no longer his father, or any loving figure in his life. Hanndraz smiled when he did so, wolfish fangs flashing white in the gloom of the dark room. There was that strange glint Myzandril hated in his fathers eye, a strange blackness that bled into his eyes from the corners and spoke of a poison so deep it could never be removed.
“Take them to the courtyard.”
A pause, and Myzandrils heart fluttered again in fear. The courtyard meant execution. “No.” Hanndraz said slowly, and that dragging out of the word was more terrifying than the courtyard and the thought of the guillotine. The guards halted where they stood, clawed fingers digging into his arms as Myzandril stumbled to his feet. “Leave Sikkrinze here.”
“Bastard!” Myzandril snarled, kicking out again. The last he saw in the flickering lamp beside Hanndrazs bed was Sikkrinzes wide eyes and Myzandril howled.
“Bastard!”
~
The courtyard was beautiful, in a grim sort of way. High stone walls, snow covering the ground. The platform and the guillotine, had, of course, been cleared. The chill still crept into Myzandrils knees as he kneeled there, chains linking him to one of the posts that raised the guillotines platform high. He was an example, a warning to those who would defy the tightening grasp of the Wolves of Kzan.
No one gathered yet- executions were always mid-day, and the sun barely crept into sight over the walls and footsteps echoed through the courtyard like thunder, snow crunched beneath the persons boots.
Myzandril would not look up, would not greet whoever came to mock him, would not give them any satisfaction. He would greet death like a friend- he knew it would all end in his death, after all. Myzandril had made his peace with it, though the crushing blow of defeat made it bitter.
“Myz.” The voice was whisper-soft, and so, so familiar. Raising his head, Myzandril bit his lip to prevent the whine from escaping his throat, though from the eyes bright with tears in his brothers face said it had been heard anyways. “Myz…” Kyzander embraced him, fingers digging into the soft silk of Myzandrils shirt. Soft, but not warm, and Kyzanders fingers that rubbed in gentle circles granted him a bit of warmth to protect him from winters chill.
“Kyz.” Myzandril replied, softly, closing his eyes as he leaned his forehead against his brothers shoulder. “Is—“ Sikkrinze safe. Had Myzandril doomed him as well? Oh, he’d known he would, he had. Now, though, all he wanted was the little pup to escape the claws of Hanndraz without a scratch. Myzandril would take the blame, and he knew Hanndraz would place It all on him. He hoped.
“He’s going to be exiled.” Kyzander said, drawing back, hands moving to cup Myzandrils face, a frown marring his face as he rubbed a gentle finger of Myzandrils bloody and bruised chin. “You may have fractured it.” His voice was soft, the words meaningless. It was a wound of little consequence when Myzandril faced the guillotine in only a few hours.
Exiled. Something in his chest lightened at that- Sikkrinze was tough, though his heart was soft. His little brother could survive that, thrive, even, in it.
“I—“ Kyzander faltered, kneeling in the snow before Myzandril and letting his hands fall to his lap. “I would turn that fracture into a permanent break, Myz.” Kyazander laughed, but it was a laugh that felt as cold as the wind that had begun to blow, and Myzandril shivered despite himself.
“I wouldn’t blame you.” His smile was more of a grimace, but neither of them remarked on it. “Kyz. Kill him.”
Silence fell between them, and Myzandril grimaced. Kyzander had refused to believe him, refused even to talk about it. There was little chance that he’d believe it now. “No.” The breath he’d been holding came out as a weighty huff, and Myzandril smiled lopsidedly at the laugh from Kyz. “I’m sorry, Myz. Fathers eyes grow as black as his grip on our country, it’s true, but I cannot kill him. My claws are not as sharp as your fangs, brother mine.” Kyzanders voice trailed off, and Myzandril followed his wandering gaze. The executioner emerged from the shadowy entrance to the palace proper, footsteps heavy and loud, followed by Hanndraz and a small assortment of people.
Followed by Sikkrinze. Kyzanders whine was echoed by Myzandril, and the smile on Hanndrazs face grew as he approached them both. Kyzander shuffled away from Myzandril, nearly tripping over himself in his haste. “Take him.” Hanndraz said quietly, gaze holding steady with his own.
Myzandril kept his face impassive, though he knew the stench of fear was heavy on himself. Not fear for death, though that was likely what everyone assumed. Sikkrinze would be forced to watch, as would the rest of his family, he saw, as he took the small crowd in, save for his mother. Small mercies.
His feet were half-frozen from the hours he’d spent in the night, covered in gently falling snow, but Myzandril hardly noticed as his head was forced into the curve of the Guillotines wooden frame, the executioner moving to the side. Sikkrinze was looking at him, Myzandril thought, with a sorrow heavier than he’d ever seen. Look away, he thought, lips twisting downwards in a silent snarl, tears pricking at the edges of his eyes.
Look away, little pup, and forget the sins of your brother.
Down came the blade, the last sound his ears heard the muffled cries of his brothers and sisters, the shing of the blade, and the sharp, victorious cry from Hanndraz.
More play-by-play outline that I'll be working off of. Advice/ideas still appreciated!
PROLOGUE
-Myzandril getting caught trying to kill his king-father, beheaded, younger brother getting exiled, Kyzander slipping out the back.
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-Kinu, Kulua, exploring the city ruins in Rothgirn forest. They find the temple center and Kulua removes the necklace around Stone!Vulfolke neck.
-Kulua and Kinu look over the necklace(Kinu is still reluctant).
-Vulfolke wakes up, surveys them, and runs Kulua through. Kinu tries to run, but he blacks out even as Vulfolke catches him- Shirri saves him(his spirit is in the necklace) by taking Kinus soul into the memory. The necklace is lost in the water covering the temple floor. Vulfolke leaves(Kinu is technically dead).
-Kinu is too ashamed to return to his nomadic tribe when he wakes and makes his way to Norhades port.
-Denach is in port, stocking up on supplies. Kinu sees him conversing with Shenn and Evyren. Kinus wearing Shirris necklace. He stows away on Denachs ship.
-The sky is darkening quicker than night would usually fall, and Denach sets sail early.
-Begin with Tonemu arriving in the main city of Dya’ge. At his side is Cadriena and Padrielas, his two bodyguards that remained loyal to him as he was dethroned. They arrive on foot, weary from traveling. Tonemu and his bodyguards are welcomed into the court, and Tonemu instantly takes note of Meika, who sits quietly in the back. (Tonemu is very curious) They end up becoming friends. Eilda, already friends of Meika, takes note and inserts herself into the friendship too.
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-Vulfolke opening the gate in his ruined city open fully. Shadows pour out and the sky goes completely black over the city. Cut to other shadow-generals waking up in their respective cities as the spell is broken. Vulfolke communes with Ma’tra through the gate.
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-Cut to Kinu being discovered on Denachs ship. Shenn and Evyren convince Denach to be leniant. Shenanigans ensue. They see the darkness spreading from Norhade(they’re only a days sail away).
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- Myzandril waking up in the shadowlands. He’s near an outpost by a mountain range, and he sneaks around to see whats going on. Finds Jalaula. Ends up “kidnapping” her to rescue her from the abusive nature of her surroundings…and she’s willing to tell him whats going on. They are chased by guards by Jalaulas “father”, captain of the outpost. Cue wacky chase scene across wastelands. Myzandril being a badass. They make it to a town.
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Cut to massive storm. Denach shipwrecks on Lorlea. They’re rescued by Krattenkirk(Myzandrils youngest brother) and his band of thieves. We learn about them, what he’s been up to since being exiled. Meet Esrell. We learn about the shadows spreading from Lorlea and Norhade, and Denach begins to figure out whats going on. Krattenkirk and his thieves reside in an old ruined city on Lorleas coast, and Kinfetter and Ma’tra and a small assortment of others emerge from a massive gate in the cities center. The fires are doused quickly, and Ma’tra passes by them unawares. Denach watches, knowing now EXACTLY whats going on.
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Cut to Carver observing his father falling to the shadows preying on him. Carver slips away, travelling to Dya’ge. Mini hilarious scene about Sillorrum and Nallu ‘complaining’ about another one. Chapter from Meikas POV, who observes Carver. Carver and Tonemu instantly irritate each other. Meika frets, trying to get them to get along, and Eilda thinks it’s all very hilarious.
-Sillorrum is unwilling to discuss that Ma’tra could be making a come-back, and dismisses them all, but reassures Carver and Tonemu that they are welcome in Dya’ge.
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-the sky is now “eternally” dark everywhere when people wake up the next day. Denach resigns himself to the fact he needs to go back to the center of the earth, and tries to slip away in the night, but Kinu finds him and sticks with him stubbornly. They slip out of the city, heading deeper into Lorlea on horses they nab from Krattenkirk. Chatting. Denach explaining things to Kinu. Kinu worrying about Shirri, and the necklace that hasn’t glowed in awhile.
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Refugees begin to pour into Dya’ge from Kzan, Lorlea and Mosonna. Carver reluctantly becomes the leader of all those from Mosonna, and Tonemu gracefully accepts the role to lead those from Lorlea and Kzan. Lots of conflict within the court on what to do with them all, and why its happening.
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Cut to Myzandril in the lowerlands with Jalaula. They’ve made it to the major city, in time to see Ma’tra leaving the city itself within a few people. Myzandril instantly recognizes who he is from childrens tales, and figures out whats happening. Convinces Jalaula its even more important that he get back to the middlelands now. Dradyn, in the crowd that watches Ma’tra leave silently, overhears and drags them into a house nearby. Informs Myzandril that he can get them out and Myzandril agrees. Jalaula recognizes Dradyn on Ma’tras son, and Myzandril still agrees- to him, the end justifies the means.
They move through the city in the evening, heading towards the palace. Guards are light, but they still are sighted and end up fighting their way the rest of the way to the gate in the throne room, but make it through.
They end up emerging from the gate in Myzandril, in another ruined city(massive underground cavern). See the dark sky and the unnatural shadows that flit in and out of the corners of their eyes.
----
Ma’tra marches into Dya’ges capitol unimpeded as everyone is stricken with fear, and those that do try to fight are easily and quickly killed. Sillorrum and Nallu are dragged out of the palace to be made an example of.
(this from Veigas point of view)
Veiga goes berserk and loses control of his flames, and the city begins to burn. Se manages to drag him out, Meika and the others following quickly behind in a massive and hurried evacuation. They all end up in the old tunnels and caves in the cliffs of Dya’ges east coast, moving as a slow group. Tonemu ends up taking charge, and Carver reluctantly falls in as a sort of second in command.
Cue setting up of camps and barricading of entrances.
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Travel scene with Denach and Kinu winding their way down the stone tunnels that begin to turn into diamond. They’re stopped by two guards, but are let through once they recognize Denach. But Denach isn’t allowed to enter the throneroom where Rona sleeps. So, late at ‘night’, Denach knocks them out and enters, waking Rona.
Shit nearly goes down, but Rona stops them. Rona is extremely weakened and exhausted, but also reluctantly reveals that he rejected his godhood and is essentially mortal now. Denach and Kinu hold on hope that they can stop Ma’tra with him still, though, and the vampires reluctantly allow Rona to leave since he is, after all, in their eyes, still their god. So they make their way back through the tunnels.
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Ma’tra has set up in the border city between Mosanna and Dya’ge, as its more centrally located. Vulfolke and Thirret are sent to rout out Carver and Tonemu and everyone else with the aid of the merman and mermaids of Allun who fell prey to Ma’tra quickly and easily. Carver and Tonemu actually manage to beat back the forces, but suffer heavy losses. (battle scene in here)
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Meika gets ideas into his head from all the history he’s read and learned and sneaks out the back(but is caught by Lyrzin and Eilda who go with him) as he leaves to try and close the gates to prevent any more reinforcements for Ma’tra arriving and maybe see if they can forcibly throw him back where he belongs. They manage to steal a sailboat and sail across to Lorlea, passing by Kzan in the west. They dock in the ruined city, running into Krattenkirk and his men.
Just in time because Karsitt and Kinfetter launch an attack on Krattenkirk, whos been holding out in the city. All of them end up captured, most dead, by Karsitt and Kinfetter, and go on their way back to Dya’ge to be presented to Ma’tra. (Evyren is gone at this point)
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People are flocking to Myzandril as he spreads the word that he’ll be taking Ma’tra down, and he begins to gain a heavy following. Rona and Denach emerge from different tunnels in Chakkali, coming out in the massive cavern city where Myzandril resides.
They become caught up in the massive moving out of Myzandrils forces as they set sail, and Rona, Denach and Kinu agree this is the easiest way to get to Dya’ge, and slip on board with the others.
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Carver and Tonemu are under siege by Vulfolke, Halverim and Karsitt. Tenseness, discussions, etc, and then they hear sounds of fighting. Myzandrils forces have docked nearby and are decimating the shadow generals forces with the element of surprise. Saved! Yay! For a while, anyways. Meet-up of all these characters, discussions on what to do next, etc.
Rona steps forward and convinces them of his identity and all agree(though Carver and Myzandril are reluctant) to get him to the city where Ma’tra is so that he can, hopefully, end everything without any more unneeded bloodshed.
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Joint forces march on Ma’tras city. They’re quickly surrounded by the larger forces of the shadow generals.
Once Myzandril, Carver, Tonemu and the others make it to the central courtyard where Ma’tra awaits(after brief scuffling outside the city, they are allowed all the way to the center without issue), where they see Meika, Eilda, Lyrzin and Krattenkirk.
Ma’tra emerges, brief back-and-forth between father and son. Rona emerges from the crowd, approaching Ma’tra. Karsitt at this point strikes, stabbing Myzandril in the back. Before he can cause more damage though, Tonemu and Carver move to restrain him, but he slips away to Ma’tras side.
Dyadrin moves forward to stand beside Rona. Rona moves forward while speaking, embracing Ma’tra. While Rona is trying to soothe and apologize, Dyadrin moves forward to embrace him also- but digs his dagger into Ma’tras neck. Karsitt moved forward to stop him, but Carver shoots him with an arrow. The bloodshed incites a proper battle to break out between the remaining shadow-generals and them. Rona collapses, crying, and Dyadrin digs the dagger in deeper. Veiga approaches to cast fire upon Ma’tra, burning him even as he dies from the dagger.
The enemy forces begin to flee. Cue end. And stuff. Etc, etc, other things happen. Myzandril dying, etc, Karsitt being captured and executed. Thirret and Halverim and much of the shadow forces are captured and killed. New governments rise up. Kinfetter and Vulfolke are both lost, whereabouts unknown(FORESHADOWING FOR A DIFFERENT BOOK?!). Gates are sealed.
Extremely rough first draft of the outline. Forgive me. u___u I'd LOVE feedback though, as I'll be working on a more refined, more detailed draft tomorrow.
MAIN PLOT:
Three hundred years since the great shadow war when Ma’tra marched on the middle-lands once he’d seduced the young god of lightning who was in love with the god of winter to open the first gate to the shadowrealm deep in the forests of Dya’ge where later Dya’ges main city would be built upon to forever safeguard the gate and prevent it from being opened again. He was defeated(duh). With Rona asleep, though, the balance is broken, and the planes of the lowerlands/middlelands/highlands are fracturing, and influences of the realms are slipping through. SO for the past 300 years Ma’tra has been forcing the cracks in Chakkali open more and more(this is why they have horns even though they’re not of the dead).
And boom we have Myzandril getting beheaded and fucking shit up in the underworld, and little shits Kinu and Kulua waking up the shadow-generals, and so the shadow-generals open the gates up fully and the middlelands fall into permanent night. King of Mosanna and Queen of Allun get corrupted by the shadows.
Dya’ge is always fucking neutral those aristocratic bastards. Kzan wants nothing to do with anyone. Orport is in the north and no1 cares about them. No one ever goes there. Norhade becomes inundated in the slavetrade. (Orport, Mosanna, Lorlea, Chakkali and the Barrow Islands participate). Chakkali is a major trading hub and tries to get along with everyone but is overshadowed by the stigma of their looking like the shadow-people of the lowerlands. Lorlea thinks they’re better than everyone else and is constantly trying to quietly conquer everyone. Barrow Islands falls under Lorlean kingship.
Ma’tra is gathering his armies and commanding the shadowgenerals to conquer the lands. Kulua is killed by Vulfolke when he and Kinu wander into the ancient city on Norhade and wake him up(which starts the chain of all the shadowgenerals waking up). Kinu flees Norhade, ashamed to face his nomadic tribe that adopted him, and terrified, stowing away on Denachs ship who is carrying Shenn and Evyren away from Chakkali and stops by Norhade. Kinu carries with him Shirris necklace, to which his spirit is attached to.
~MEanWHILE~. Tonemu is dethroned forcibly by the elven court and he flees to Dya’ge where he’s welcome to the court b/c hey information!!!whee. Befriend Meika? Meika is a loner. Eilda notices and forcibly inserts herself into the friendship and yay friends!
Karsitts bindings weren’t properly broken, even as he woke up when Vulfolke and the others did, the binding on him more powerful, and he’s essentially stuck in his mortal vessel. So he’s lying in wait, biding his time with the caravan as it heads to Norhades port. Makes ‘friends’ with Orin.
Back to Kinu and Denach and Shenn and Evyren. Promptly shipwrecks on Kzan before they reach Dya’ge by a massive storm(natures balance is deteriorating). Is rescued by Krattenkirk and his band of thieves.
Carver flees to Dya’ge, and meets Tonemu as another “refugee”. They do NOT hit it off. Meika stresses often trying to get them to be peaceful with each other. Eilda thinks it’s all quite hilarious.
Ma’tra finally makes an appearance once every country except for dya’ge, orport and chakkali falls to him, and takes up residence in Kzan, directly south of Dya’ge. Kzan refugees flee to Dya’ge. Lyrzin ends up meeting Meika and becoming friends, then friends with Carver.
Denacht, on Kzan, sees whats happening and resigns himself to the fact he needs to go into the center of the earth again to wake Rona, the star. Kinu sticks to his side, as does Shenn, though Evyren leaves.
Carver reluctantly ends up leading the dragon forces/refugees, Tonemu become the leader of all the other(non-Dyagians) that are rebelling and finding refuge in Dya’ge.
In the underworld, Myzandril and Dradyn and Jalaula meet and began to gather rebel forces there when Ma’tra is gone.
Even as Ma’tra begins to weave the king and queen of Dya’ge and the king of Orport under his spell by reasoning with them of the threat of the Lorleans, Myzandril leads his forces from the underworld. Dya’ge begans to waver, falling prey to Ma’tra.
Orport falls as well.
Carver and Tonemu go underground with their forces in Dya’ge, Myzandril emerges in Chakkali. Chakkali is essentially still free, but only because it has no set government, only nomadic tribes that are hard to find.
Denacht is barred from entering the throneroom where Rona sleeps, and fails to muster the vampires to war.
Carver and Tonemu are discovered by Ma’tras shadow generals in their caverns in the cliffs by the sea, and the shadow generals launch an attack with the aide of merman and mermaids from Allun. Carver
and Tonemu actually managed to beat back the attacking force, but suffer heavy losses.
Meika gets ideas into his head from all the history he’s read and learned and sneaks out the back(but is caught by Lyrzin and Eilda who go with him) as he leaves to try and close the gates to prevent any more reinforcements for Ma’tra arriving and maybe see if they can forcibly throw him back where he belongs. They sail to Kzan then to Lorlea and begin to trek across the massive continent.
Carver and Tonemu face another attack and also win, though even more narrowly than before. They can’t move anywhere but manage to hole themselves up deep in the caverns and a siege situation begins.
Denacht sneaks into the throne room and manages to wake Rona. Shit nearly goes down with the guards, but Rona stops them. Rona and Denacht emerge on Kzan from the diamond tunnels. Rona is extremely weakened, but also reluctantly reveals that he rejected his ‘godhood’ and is essentially, for all intents and purposes, mortal now. Denacht, Kinu, and Shenn hold on hope that he can still stop Ma’tra as they learn all that’s happened.
Slavetrade is booming, and Karsitt has stayed silent, though the shadow generals search for him. He’s befriended Orin, and eventually convinces him to leave with him, and they sneak off the slave ships in Chakkali.
Evyren is in Allun again, rescuing Kireta and eventually kills the queen, their mother. The attacks and support of the merpeople are withdrawn.
Veiga, Se, and other gods and reincarnations in Dya’ges court have remained silent and pliant until now. Sillorum and Nallu are murdered as an example, and Ma’tra has failed to convince the people the Lorleans are a true threat. With the murder of their king and queen, Veiga goes berserk and burns down the city. With the unexpectedness, Ma’tra is actually rooted from the area, though he quickly relocates in the border city between Mosanna and Dya’ge.
Pikete, and Pekite, twin sirens who serve Ma’tra. In the shipwreck Kinu lost Shirris necklace, and the sirens find it as they swim to Chakkali. Shirris power has waned, so far from his city where he died, but the sirens are captured by Myzandril, Dyadrin and Jalaula. They learn of things happening elsewhere(though they know bits and pieces from slavetraders). Pikete and Pekite easily switch to their sides, eager for a kinder leader. Dyadrin recognizes Shirris necklace, and imbues it with his own power, shadow-ridden though it might be, allowing Shirri to manifest again(who provides good advice).
Karsitt hears rumors of the rebellion gaining steam in the desert, and seeks them out with Orin(Who does not know he travels with a shadowgeneral). Karsitt is very apathetic, but is swayed by Orin to assist.
Meika, Eilda and Lyrzin got interrupted as soon as they stepped foot in Lorlea, captured by the elven guards and brought to Ma’tra, back to Dya’ge. Lyrzin manages to escape, though.
Karsitt continues under the pretense of helping, and mobilizes with Myzandrils and Dyadrins forces as they take the port town and acquire ships forcibly to sail to Dya’ge.
Back during the confusion when Veiga burned the city down, Se dragged Veiga to where Carver and Tonemu are holding out.
Ma’tra drags Meika and Eilda out to the courtyard of the border citys central area to make an example of them and behead them. First, though, he leaves them chained there so that news can spread to Carver and Tonemu about them. At this point, Myzandril docks in Dya’ge with his forces, quickly and easily sweeping the port. Rona and Denach dock shortly after Myzandril, having joined up in sea. Lyrzin runs back to Carver and Tonemu, informing them about Meika and Eilda. Myzandril and forces hold Dya’ges main port, and Ma’tra resides in the border city.
Carver and Tonemus forces emerge from hiding to merge with Myzandrils. Rona becomes more withdrawn. Joint forces march on Ma’tras city. They’re quicky surrounded by the larger forces of the shadow generals.
Once Myzandril, Carver, Tonemu and the others make it to the central courtyard where Ma’tra awaits(after brief scuffling outside the city, they are allowed all the way to the center without issue), where they see Meika and Eilda.
Ma’tra emerges, brief back-and-forth between father and son. Rona emerges from the crowd, approaching Ma’tra. Karsitt at this point strikes, stabbing Myzandril in the back. Before he can cause more damage though, Tonemu and Carver move to restrain him, but he slips away to Ma’tras side.
Dyadrin moves forward to stand beside Rona. Rona moves forward while speaking, embracing Ma’tra. While Rona is trying to soothe and apologize, Dyadrin moves forward to embrace him also- but digs his dagger into Ma’tras neck. Karsitt moved forward to stop him, but Carver shoots him with an arrow. The bloodshed incites a proper battle to break out between the remaining shadow-generals and them. Rona collapses, crying, and Dyadrin digs the dagger in deeper. Veiga approaches to cast fire upon Ma’tra, burning him even as he dies from the dagger.
The shadow generals weaken, their source of power turned quickly to ash. Their forces begin to flee. Cue end. And stuff. Etc, etc, other things happen. Myzandril dying, etc, Karsitt being captured and executed. Thirret and Halverim and much of the shadow forces are captured and killed. New governments rise up. Kinfetter and Vulfolke are both lost, whereabouts unknown(FORESHADOWING FOR A DIFFERENT BOOK?!). Gates are sealed.
Semi-complete list of notable characters. More to come in the side characters section, of course.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
Meika; Reincarnation(god of animals), young, raised/adopted by the “current” king and queen of Dya’ge(Sillorrum and Nallu). Youthful, naïve, easily trusting, protagonist. Youngest prince. Dya’gian.
(formely Eillu) Kinu: Orphan from slave-trade, raised in nomadic tribe on Norhade. Best friend, Kulua. Human.
Shirri: Ghost(living memory) in the ruined city in Rothgirn forest. (W/ Eronde, pet lion). Part of Halverims harem.
I’ll be posting my progress every day on this blog, so please, feel free to bug me in the evenings to make sure I actually complete NaNo this year. :I Fantasy story of a supposedly epic scope, with a bunch of characters. Unbeta’d, of course. Proceed at own risk.
An unearthly chill made him shiver and he crept closer to Kulua, squinting into the darkness as a pale glow began to emerge from the shadows. “Kulua?” Voice barely a whisper, he felt Kulua return his grip equally tightly, both their steps faltering to a slow halt even as the glow kept approaching.
“I see it.” Kulua sounded frightened was Eillu’s only distant thought as they shuffled backwards a step. Through the gloom, though, the glow took on the form of a—man in harem clothes?—and a lion, padding alongside him. The strangeness of the sight momentarily stole his fear and Eillu blinked in puzzlement as the pair almost seemed to glide to a stop in front of them. The brightness of them caused spots to appear in his eyes and he had to squint, releasing his grip on Kuluas arm, only to have his hand snagged instead. Pausing, Eillu peered at Kulua, and in the dim glow cast from the figures he could see the fear on his cousins face.
The man seemed so benevolent, though, that Eillu couldn’t be afraid, standing still as a see-through arm reached towards him, fingertips coming to rest warmly against his forehead, even as Kulua struggled to escape. Eillu found himself tightening his grip on him though, and his cousin strained in vain—and was that the darkness returning? It seemed to welcome him back as though he was a long lost friend, and, despite himself, he found his eyelids closing. The last thing he heard was a sharp cry from Kulua, and the first spark of worry shot through him…and then the darkness claimed him.
It was getting to be a habit, Eillu thought fuzzily, blinking up at the sky in bewilderment. Had—had it all been a dream? One long, incredibly detailed dream? No, he realized, rolling onto his side and coming face to face with a wildly untrimmed rosebush. Not a dream. Although—pushing himself into a sitting position, he blearily took in his surroundings, and the distinct lack of his cousin beside him.
As indicated by the rosebush, he sat in a garden surrounded by high walls, made of the same white stone of the city, Eillu noted. Water rushed through the garden somewhere nearby, birds trilled sweet songs and all in all, it felt…peaceful. Or, rather, it would, except for that same feeling of wrongness he’d had all the damned day long. It felt more distant here, though, almost appeased by the soft, motherly glow that surrounded and dimmed everything.
“You’re awake.” Jolted out of his observations, Eillu scrambled to his feet, tripping backwards as a result. Tanned hands caught him though, and he stared with wide eyes up at his rescuer. Blonde, wavy hair cascaded over equally tanned shoulders and—and—
“You’re the harem man!” He blurted out, shoving away and nearly falling again for his troubles. Eillu caught himself though, and he felt a brief pang of guilt for knocking into the flowers that surrounded them. “You’re…you’re…” A ghost, he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t leave his throat. What else could the man be?
“Not alive.” The man put, tone as gentle as his beautiful appearance and Eillu had to blink several times, sudden dizziness striking him abruptly. Worry crossed the mans face and he tried to approach, but Eillu backed up, raising his hands warily and the taller man stopped. “I’m…” His face contorted in distress, and Eillu frowned. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m trying to help you!” The words came out in a floor, frustration evident in his tone. “You shouldn’t have come here. This place consumes everything it touches.”
“It wasn’t my choice.” Eillu shot back, crossing his arms defensively, lips tightening before his mouth fell open in shock. “My cousin—Kulua—“
“Is safe.” Came the reply before he’d even finished speaking, and the man pointed down the path. “He appeared elsewhere, nearer the fountain. You enjoy the wilds more, I think.” What an odd thing to say, Kulua pondered, frowning. Before he could protest though, or even demand to be taken to Kulua, the man had entered his space like a bolt of lightning and caught a grip on his clothes to tug him down the path and Eillu almost felt as though he was being led round by his cousin again. “For now.” Glancing back at him, the man frowned deeply and Eillu found himself reaching to sooth the stress away, but was thwarted by the strangers free hand. A benevolent smile followed though, and his worries faded away once again.
There was something almost more unsettling about this garden than the dark temple, Eillu thought distantly, struggling now to focus. Something more threatening about the soothing presence than the ominous dark. “Who—who are you?”
“Shirri.” The response came promptly, accompanied by that same broad smile. When the lion bounded out of the surrounding shrubs, Eillu wasn’t even startled, instead offering it a lazy smile as it fell into pace with them. “And that is Eronde.” They rounded the corner as Shirri finished speaking, and, true to his word, there lay Kulua, asleep on the ground.
Half his brain said to run to him, to protect him and ensure that he remained uninjured, but a more dominant part of him kept him by Shirris side, contentment flooding through his body. Shirri—who looked at him with worry in his eyes. Eillu frowned, opening his mouth, before pausing. He had no idea what to say, what to ask—or even if he should. The sun beckoned him to lie down in its warmth, and as the peaceful feeling grew so did the desire to sleep.
“Don’t sleep!” A slap jolted him harshly back to reality, and Eillu raised a hand to his smarting cheek resentfully. Everything crashed into place for the briefest of moments, and terror struck like a knife in the back. “Not unless I bid you do so.” Narrowing his eyes at Shirri, Eillu backed away, glad for being allowed to this time. Shirri faltered, glancing at Kulua briefly before returning his gaze to Eillu. “You feel the urge to rest, don’t you?” A bitter smile twisted Shirris lips into something more resembling a grimace than any pleasant expression. “It’s the lure of the past, the gentle rose-hues of memories—it’s a far more welcoming embrace than the harshness of reality, don’t you think?”
Lure of the—past? “What are you saying?” Eillu demanded hotly. “Where are we? Who are you?” Too many questions, and he could feel the sleepiness creeping back in and he struggled to retain the sharp pinpricks of wakefulness, but he could feel it was a battle he was quickly losing. “Who…”
“Shirri.” The harem-man explained patiently, almost looking amused, and that was definitely rude. “I’m…a memory, you could say.” Another slap and Eillu hissed out a breath between clenched breath. “Apologies.” He didn’t look that sorry, Eillu thought resentfully, but relished the wakefulness that came with the pain. “Er—“ Looking lost, Shirri carded his fingers through Eronde’s mane, pausing for a moment. “This…this is what the city used to look like.” Here, he gestured towards the garden and Eillu followed the movement, taking in the mountains that rose up all around them. “And this….this is the Generals garden. Or, rather, the memory of it. My memory. It all gets very complicated very fast.”
Disoriented, Eillu stared at Shirri before stumbling towards Kulua. The words filtered in, but the they failed to take hold, concern for his cousin finally breaking through. His knees hit the ground a bit harder than he meant, and he’d surely have spectacular bruises there tomorrow if not already. When he place a hand onto Kuluas chest though, he could feel the heart beating strong. “A—general?” The words finally came out of him, and even as he cradled Kuluas head in his lap—he looked so peaceful—Eillu squinted at Shirri who was beginning to look a bit…blurry. Frowning, Eillu shook his head. That wasn’t right. People weren’t supposed to be blurry…
Then, suddenly, Shirri was kneeling before him, Eronde a looming presence at his side, frowning deeply. “You’re rejecting it. Of course you are. I’d hoped…” A deep sigh, and Eillu blinked dumbly at him, shaking his head to try to clear the clouds from it. It worked, for the briefest of moments. “…I’d hoped because you were awake, perhaps…” Clearing his throat, Shirri settled himself onto the ground, placing gentle hands on either side of Eillus face who could make no more protest at being touched so familiarly than a small disgruntled noise. “This will have to do, though, I suppose: Do not touch the jewels. There is an exit behind him, behind the stone image of him, but do not touch the jewels that rest about his neck—“
And then darkness again, and Eillu felt distinctly put-upon. All of this fainting, maybe he was turning into a girl. He felt a pang of loss as the garden faded like paper burning, but the darkness felt more like a friend than the garden had. Only this time—this time he was awake, he realized with a terrifying jolt. The darkness surrounded him, kept him afloat, but there was nothing around him.
Just the darkness.
His body was frozen, Eillu discovered, as he tried to walk. So was his head, when he attempted to turn it. Although, what did he expect to see? Shirri? Kulua? No, somehow he knew that if he turned his head, he would see something terrible. Fear made his fingers shake as they floated in the darkness, body trembling.
Underneath the terror though, he felt exasperation. Everything that day had played out like a fantastic tale you’d tell on a dark night—a fantastic tale completely bullshitted. The humor Eillu had begun to latch onto as a safety net disappeared instantly when he felt something brush against the back of his neck and his breath caught in his throat as his heartbeat began to race even faster.
“Shirri made a foolish mistake.” Puffs of air pulsed against his skin and Eillu trembled, struggling frantically against the darkness that held him in place. “By taking you to give you warning, he handed you straight to me.”
His voice broke on the first syllable as he tried to speak and he had to clear his throat harshly to even try to make any sort of sounds again. Terror made his voice tremble, and Eillu squeezed his eyes shut as he finally blurted words out. “Taking me? Taking me where—?"
“When.” The voice whispered, and Eillu could hear the wicked grin in the words. “Taking you when, little fox.” A low chuckle resonated through the air that grew stifling, heat spreading through his limbs as though a fever had begun to overtake him. “And the living were not made for such journeys. You are dead, and I am your judge.”
“My judges are the stars.” Eillu managed, throat constricting on his words, but he squared his shoulders—metaphorically. The cold, clammy touches became burning fingers digging into his shoulders and Eillu could swear he felt blood dripping from the wounds as sharp nails punctured his skin. Struggling not to cry out, Eillu bit his lip harshly before speaking again. “And you cannot…cannot hold me.”
This time, the voice outright laughed, boisterously loud. “The rules were broken hundreds of years ago by a child much like yourself, and those stars—“ The voice dipped dangerously low and Eillus blood turned ice cold despite the feverish feeling. This boded ill. “—those stars abandoned you to laugh amongst themselves.” The s of the last word trailed off in a hiss that echoed around them, before the voice chuckled again, loosening its grip on his shoulders. “But you are right, little fox, in one thing—I cannot hold you. Your soul still has a strong link to your body…” The relief he felt as the presence began to back away faded instantly when suddenly the voice was at his ear again, whispering as a lover would into it. “…but it will loosen every day, and the shadows will stalk your steps. We’ll meet again, little fox, sooner than you’d like, and it will not be the heavens you see, but the fiery wastelands.”
Then there was darkness again, but as he twitched his fingers deliberately against cold stone, Eillu could easily tell this was not that ominous presence that wanted to consume him. This was the temple, and he could hear Kulua coughing feebly beside.
“E—elly?” Kulua managed, and Eillu managed to not jump when his cousins searching fingers found his arm. The comforting embrace he expected didn’t come, instead, Kulua jerked his hand back, loud gasp echoing through the hall. “Your—your shoulder, Eillu—what--?”
Blinking, despite the uselessness of the gesture in the dark, he reached a cautious hand to his shoulder. Blood. Closing his eyes, Eillu willed himself to be calm. Calm. Kulua was with him. They had a warning from Shirri—who they could trust in this much, he hoped. Taking a shuddering breath, he shook his head before realizing Kulua wouldn’t be able to see it. “I’m fine. I’m fine, Kulua. Come on. We’ve got to keep going. We need to get home.” Eillus voice broke on the last word, but Kulua said nothing, only helping him to his feet and leaning on him as they both gained their footing.
“Home, right.” Kulua laughed brokenly. “I’ll never go on another adventure again, Eillu, I promise.”
Snorting softly, Eillu smiled fondly into the darkness. “Yes you will.” He replied with confidence, urging them to start moving despite their shaky legs. “And we’ll laugh about this later, I’m sure.” Despite his confidence, Eillu could feel a brokenness inside him. The darkness’ words echoed inside his head and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from spilling his worries onto Kulua. That could come later, when they were safe. Because while the presence wasn’t in this more natural darkness, an evil still lurked around some distant corner, ready to pounce on them.
I'll be posting my progress every day on this blog, so please, feel free to bug me in the evenings to make sure I actually complete NaNo this year. :I Fantasy story of a supposedly epic scope, with a bunch of characters. Unbeta'd, of course. Proceed at own risk.
“This is the jackpot, Eillu! Ay, everyone will be so proud—“
Tuning out the incessant chattering, Eillu squatted to scrape doubtfully at the cracked and overgrown stone tiles beneath their feat, squinting at the strange swirling patterns in mild interest. He and his cousin stood before an equally worn archway in the forests of Rothgirn, peering into the darkness of a seemingly endless tunnel. Or, rather, a crack in the side of the mountain that, as Kulua claimed, went to a strange courtyard. Truth be told, it was the last place he wanted to be at that moment. When Eillu peered into the darkness, shivers raced down his spine and nausea coiled in his gut, the weighty feeling of wrongness on his shoulders giving him no peace.
Technically, they weren’t even supposed to be there, and Eillu wouldn’t be, if Kulua hadn’t managed to drag him from his safe perch in the trees surrounding their caravans camp. Apparently, this mysterious courtyard on the other side of the mountain warranted enough interest to overcome his cousins crippling fear of heights (and Eillu had the bruises to show for it, damn him).
“I want to return to the caravan.” He protested half-heartedly, whining low in his throat when Kulua dug his fingers into his arm, dragging him behind him towards the crevice and into the depths of the mountain. As they entered the darkness, Kulua let go of him and Eillu wrapped his arms around himself in a small attempt to comfort himself. Their footsteps thunked heavily against the floor, fur boots catching on roots that Eillu could almost swear he saw moving as his eyes adjusted.
“You’ve no sense of adventure, is why.” Kulua replied absently, forging ahead enthusiastically enough Eillu had to hurry to catch up, and nearly tripping in the process over the roots. There—another scratch for his troubles and he grumbled under his breath, muttering curse words they weren’t supposed to know. “Mahi’uha won’t care. He would say we are being ambitious, and prosperity comes from ambition, after all!”
Silence fell after that, Eillu unwilling to muster up the energy to protest anymore. He’d been well and truly beaten by this point. Honestly, every adventure he’d ever been on he’d been on unwillingly, and, of course, it followed that every one of those adventures had been Kuluas fault. …Whose back he could no longer see, and once again he quickened his pace, breathing a sigh of relief when he could see his cousin again. Rubbing his arms, Eillu squeezed himself through a narrow point in the passageway, wiggling to get through. Kulua’d had no problem, of course, as skinny as he was.
His meandering thoughts were halted abruptly as they turned a sharp corner and suddenly stumbled out into a blingingly white courtyard. Small, overgrown with vines and host to a plain fountain, it seemed so innocuous Eillu almost shared in Kuluas obvious delight at making it through the seemingly endless tunnel. Except for the fact that the wrongness that had receeded during their trek through the darkness was back with a vengeance, making him heave for a second, stumbling to catch himself against the fountain.
“Eillu!”
Ah, there was Kulua. …And the sky? Squinting suspiciously up at the bright blue, Eillu rolled onto his side, pushing himself up and waving away Kuluas help. Standing again was fairly easy, only his knees smarting from…where he’d hit the ground? Strange—had he fainted? Wavering unsteadily on his feet, Eillu was grudgingly grateful for Kuluas comforting arm around his shoulders. “You should eat more, you know.” Kulua chided, skipping ahead when it was proven that Eillu could take careful steps forward without help. “Perhaps then you wouldn’t collapse as much, as if you were a girl!”
“Not a girl.” Eillu mumbled in retort, one arm wrapped around his stomach as he followed slowly, uninterested in peering with Kulua out onto the alleyway and the houses all butted up against each other, forming dark shadows. The wrongness wasn’t gone, only lurking in the bottom of his stomach like a sickness instead of the sudden fury it had become only moments ago. Shaking his head to clear his blurry vision, Eillu almost protested as Kulua ducked out into the alleyway, skipping into the shadows. He would have used all the logic in the world to stop his cousin, but when he turned around, bidden by some unseen force in his mind, the vines obscuring the tunnel they’d come through, his blood ran cold and stopped any words he wanted to say.
“Kulua, Kulua—“ Eillu squeaked, nearly running to catch up with him, and falling into one of the houses for his troubles. Kulua only smiled charmingly at him, of course, the dratted bastard, steadying him again before marching onwards determinedly. “Kulua.” Despite the demanding tone and firm stance he took, it was all for naught, Kulua ignoring him. They’d always butted heads, but this—anger made his fists clench and Eillu darted forward to grip Kulua’s shoulder, jerking him backwards. “We are leaving. Now.” Leaving, and never coming back. This place was cursed, clearly, and Eillu would have no part of it. “We’re leaving, and we’re telling the elders, and we will obey the rules set in place to keep us safe for once in our damned lives!”
“Rules are boring.” Kulua retorted, disdainfully plucking Eillus fingers from his shoulder, smiling disarmingly as he did so—or at least, as disarmingly as a sixteen year old scrawny boy with messy blonde hair could. “Come on, alright? Just a bit farther.”
The rest of his warnings about disturbing what shouldn’t be disturbed went unheeded—not even the mention of the vines caught his cousins attention. As the day progressed, though, they traversed further into the depths of the eerily well preserved city nothing else to sharpen his fear occurred, and as Eillu trotted along to keep up with Kuluas quick pace, he found himself relaxing, the feeling of wrongness slowly ebbing away. Still, even as Eillu found himself convincing himself silently that he’d hallucinated the vines, nervousness kept his eyes sharp and shoulders tense. The sky was darkening, and if the caravan hadn’t noticed their absence by now, they would surely miss Kuluas voracious appetite at the evening meal, and his own weary comments about what trouble he’d been dragged into that particular day.
The unnaturally smooth stone beneath their feet seemed to beckon them onwards, though, with its lack of seams—as If it had been laid there in some fluid state, then smoothed out. With his focus turned from the evening sky to the ground, Eillu missed Kulua stopping, and the strange lightening of the air around them, as if some weight he’d forgotten about had still been there…and left.
Blinking rapidily as he bumped into Kuluas back, Eillu peered out from the alleyway and his breath caught in his throat. After hours and hours, they’d found the center of the city. It had to be, for the massive square and the gigantic pillars that towered high could be nothing else. The road that stretched to the left and right—the main thoroughfare, Eillu supposed—was just as grandious as the square, and led, to the left, up the mountains slope. To the right, though, was where they both focused their attention. Sculptures of women in robes held up a weighty triangular marble roof, vines almost seeming as they were attempting to claim the building that sat atop its staircase. His stomach sank, despite the overwhelming awe at the now obvious scale of the city.
There’d be no convincing Kulua to turn back now, no matter the danger or the dark. And Eillu would not be able to bring himself to leave Kuluas side, unwilling to leave him to whatever dangers could lie ahead. Despite the claims of the other youth of the caravan, Eillu didn’t think he could be that heartless. And, well—if he did want to head back, it’d be on his own, and the winding streets were foreboding enough in the daytime.
“I bet that’s where the treasure is!” Kulua chattered excitedly, bouncing on his feet as he stared intensely up at the building.
“Probably.” Eillu replied dryly, resignation clear in his voice. A shiver ran through his body from the chill, wind picking up as they trudged forward into the square and away from the protective embrace of the city proper. “You know you’re not a treasure hunter, right? Or an adult, for that matter.” Technically, Eillu supposed, he was the adult here, with a full year on his cousin. Or thereabouts—an orphan found on the side of the road, his real age was unknown, and Kulua not actually his cousin. But they’d been raised by brothers, and so cousins they’d become. And a lifetime of trouble he’d had never asked for…Although he probably only had himself to blame for letting Kulua drag him into all of it.
“You’re not, but I am.” Kulua responded cheerfully, pace picking up as he gained new confidence in his approach towards the stairs. “A treasure hunter, I mean. I hope I’m never an adult. They’re all so boring.”
“You love that word.” Eillu muttered, pace slower as he followed—like always, like he’d been doing constantly that day. “Don’t you ever get tired of it?”
“Of course not. That’d be boring.” With extra emphasis on the last word, Kulua winked at him, and Eillu wrinkled his nose in disdain as his cousin finally reached the stairs, and began to bound up them as if he were one of the gazelle from the eastern continent that neighboured their mountainous island. “You should be more cheerful, Eillu. A whole city, one that no one’s walked in thousands and thousands of years, I bet! Isn’t that at least a little bit exciting?”
In a spur of the moment burst of childishness, Eillu stuck his tounge out at Kulua, squinting up at him and beginning his own climb upwards. His legs burned, but a smile tugged at his lips as Kulua rolled his eyes and threw his hands up dramatically, returning to making progress up the stairs. The steps must have numbered in the hundreds, but Eillu barely noticed them, too content despite the worry of the fear they were likely causing back at camp, too happy with their back and forth. Digging into his satchel as he paused on one step, he reached into the depths until his fingers bumped into a smooth piece of jade.
It had some sort of strange inscription on it, that none of their elders had ever figured out—Kulua had found it for him, years ago, on a different adventure when they were much younger. It’d become a sort of good luck charm for Eillu, and an object to remind him of his fondness for his cousin when his patience was worn thin by Kuluas seemingly endless exurberance for exploring and learning about the mysteries of the past. “Do you think we’ll have to spend the night here?” Eillu finally ventured, stepping up two steps at a time to catch up to Kulua, and finally matching his pace so that they forged ahead at the same speed. “The elders will worry. Mafhu and Koia will worry more.”
“Our Fathers will figure us out on an adventure, Eillu.” Kulua replied promptly, eyes glinting in excitement as they neared the top, and he paused to turn to Eillu with a broad, almost ever-present smile. ”And so will the elders. We’ll probably get a scolding, though, and I’m sure you’ll go off in a sulk, like usual.”
“I shouldn’t be scolded.” Eillu responded just as promptly, beginning to climb again when his cousin did. “It’s always your fault, after all.”
“You could leave me to my own devices, you know. Leave all the glory and fame to the greatest adventurer in the world!”
“You’d get yourself killed in a minute, o great adventurer.” With a soft snort, Eillu fell silent for a moment, shaking his head. “Remember that buck? I think you cried for days over that scratch he gave you on your arm.” And Eillu had come away with bruises from where he’d been knocking into a tree, and they’d been watched carefully for weeks afterwards, and it brought him back to soberness, smile falling from his lips. That particular adventure hadn’t gone well, and as they stepped under the overhang of the—temple?—and peered into the dark entryway, Eillu felt his stomach sink again.
The darkness from within seemed to promise something worse than a cut and a bruise, and he hunched his shoulders in, wrapping his arms around himself. The edges of his vision started to go dark again, and Eillu jumped when hesitant fingers touched his shoulder. Kulua. It was only Kulua, and he took a shuddering breath and let it out harshly, shaking his head to collect himself.
“Don’t worry, Elly.” Kulua wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, and Eillu leaned into it, sighing at the use of his childhood nickname. “Now come on!” And with that, the moment was over, Kulua darting forward into the building, the darkness swallowing up. Eillu remained there, frozen with a crippling fear. Squeezing his eyes shut he took one more deep breath to collect himself and stepped forward into the darkness. The sudden resounding crashes and trembling of what felt like the earth itself shook him to the floor and he kept his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to make it stop, fingers clutching at the floor in terror and knees smarting from where they’d smacked into stone earlier that day.
When he opened his eyes again, after the fearsome rumbling had stopped, the darkness remained—all around him. When Eillu stumbled to his feet and fell forward in his haste to exit, he found no doorway at all, no exit into the twilight. “K-kulua?” No answer, either, to his desperate call and terror struck him as surely as if he was being burnt by lightning. Alone, in the dark, alone, alone alone—
“No, no, no, Elly, calm, we’re safe, I promise—“ Shrieking when hands clamped down on his shoulders, Eillu froze in fear. “—It’s me, Elly, me, it’s only darkness, nothing to fear, I promise, we’re safe, we’re safe, shhh—“ Safe, safe, that was Kuluas voice and when he reached shaking hands upward towards Kulua’s face, that was exactly what he found, tell-tale broken nose and scar across his left cheek proving without a doubt it was his cousin. Several shuddering breaths later and a few choked sobs, he finally stood back from the embrace. “See? Safe.” Kulua spoke with a false confidence Eillu could tell he didn’t feel, and he reached out despite himself for his hand, and found Kulua already reaching for him.
With their hands tightly wound together, he could almost imagine Kulua nodding resolutely in the pitch black of the temples interior. “Alright. Forwards, because—“ Here, Kulua faltered, and Eillu squeezed his hand in solidarity, even though he trembled. “—because we can’t go back.”
Logic not even he could argue with, Eillu thought in despair, stumbling forward before catching his footing and walking so close to Kulua their shoulders brushed. His fingertips were the first to brush the wall opposite where they’d been, he supposed, as his gasp came before his cousins. It was short work from there to follow it to the left, until they reached a doorway. More darkness awaited them, their muffled footsteps echoing in the emptiness of the building despite the furs that kept them warm. They were going to their doom, Eillu knew, without a doubt, and a quiet acceptance overtook him. He would be strong for Kulua, at least. That was the least he could do.
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