When the darkness lifted, all that was left, was light. Blinding, bright and unbearable, burning deep into the soul. I sought the comforting embrace of the dark, but it had been vanquished. There is nothing that can endure in this light, as nothing can exist solely in darkness. There must be balance. And so, I will set out to find the darkness and bring it back into this world.
It was far past the hour of the wolf, and the night was slowly disappearing, making way for the first glimmers of twilight on the western horizon. Stars begun to fade one by one as the darkness was chased away by the light.
None of this daily spectacular phenomenon drew any attention from the people in the tavern, though, as they were more concerned with the owner of that place that also had begun to make way for the day. He did it slightly rougher than nature outside, as he threatened his wasted customers with a heavy bat underlined by even more threatening words, though not very creative.
"Git, ye limp lizard! Get out before I nail yer head on me wall!" Baryuk, the tall, muscled owner of the tavern, poked his bat in the ribs of a passed-out man under one of his tables. His arms were the size of small tree trunks, and he had no trouble at all dragging poor Git out from under his measly cover.
I quickly finished my own drink and got up to gather my cloak and other belongings. Time had passed, and I had a long way to go still.
Two other customers didn't need Baryuks encouragement and made a quick exit through the front door, before they'd become his next victim. Gits friend, passed out with his head on the table, jumped up at the sound of the door slamming shut and tried to draw his sword. Seeing as he wasn't wearing one, he looked quite foolish as he gave a puzzled look when his hands came back empty.
"Balls!" he muttered and sank back into his chair. "They took my sword! Can't fight without my sword."
Baryuk looked up at him, both his massive hands clamped around Gits ankles, and raised one eyebrow.
"Quit yer mumbling, Kael, there's no need for a sword anymore. Now get on and take this useless piece o' horsedung home with ye."
Kael pushed himself up, leaning heavily on the table, and looked at Git.
"He can't fight no more, Baryuk," he said softly. "King's got no need for soldiers in times of peace. Look what's become of us. Sad, empty lives, living out their time before we have to face the judgment of the Gods. What will they say when we stand before them? All the things we've done..."
His voice cracked at the end and he didn't finish his sentence. I couldn't say for sure from this distance, but I thought I saw tears welling up in his eyes. I frowned as I swung my bag over my shoulders. The Kingdom had known peace for decades now, and the Wordgiver of Sarmas had ordered the King to disband the armies. I did not feel sorry for all those men that wandered the country now aimlessly, having served their country for years. While some of them had tried to start a new life, trying to forget the past, I had found most of my target research group had picked up the bandit profession. Most of them had gathered in groups with their former companions and roamed the countryside, preying on the peaceful civilians. With those thoughts, I looked at Kael and Git with disgust. There were plenty of ways to make oneself useful, and these two had obviously chosen the bandit option.
Kael and Baryuk dragged Git onto his feet. Kael grabbed his mate's arm, put it over his shoulders and his mate grunted softly, mumbling inaudible things to his friend.
Once again I loathed the task that had been given to me, tracking down and documenting these worthless human beings, to report to the King what had become of them. I had only started my journey two weeks ago, and already I found myself wishing for it to end. Not once had I met a kind man; all of them had been bitter, unwilling to talk to me, some even threatening my life if I kept speaking to them.
It was a suitable punishment for someone like me.
I wrapped my cloak around me, preparing for the early spring weather, and made my way to the door. Unfortunately, the door opened before I reached it. I shivered as the cold outside air blew in and lifted my cloak from my back.
Thick, pitch-black darkness crept over the floor like a wave of the ocean. There should have been light outside already, but instead my eyes found only more darkness. It was as if I was staring into one of my ink bottles from up close. An uneasy tightness made my heart race. Fear clasped his cold hands around my throat and I felt a shiver go down my spine as I stared into the darkness. It was almost as if there was something looking back at me...
"Mister, I'd advise you to step back quickly."
Kaels voice cut through the hypnotizing blackness like a knife. I stumbled backwards, until I reached the three men, and finally tore my eyes off the dark that was slowly filling the front of the tavern.
"Wh-what is that?" My voice was unnaturally high-pitched. I looked at Kael, but his eyes were fixed upon the darkness in the door opening. They showed nothing of his earlier drunken state, nor his sadness. They were burning with hate.
"That, my friend, is what started the Light War thirty years ago."
He had to be wrong. I looked at Baryuk, who had taken Git over from Kael and had put the old soldier down in a chair. He now grabbed his bat and positioned himself next to Kael. As I felt my own fear, I saw nothing of the sorts in the two men. Though Baryuk looked nervous, and Kaels shoulders were strained and tense, neither of them looked as deeply afraid as I was.
"Baryuk..."
"'Fraid he's right, mister," he said. He too wasn't looking at me. "Tho I'd thought those things had all been driven back to the underworld."
"Not even Moqueth can hold these things for long," muttered Kael. His hands brushed aimlessly alongside his hip, where a sword would've been. "How's Git?"
"Still sleepin'," answered the tavern owner, rolling his neckmuscles loose and grabbing his bat tightly with both hands. "Gave him a lil' pep, tho."
"Then we best pray to the gods," was Kaels grim reaction.
I looked at both of them, suddenly clean and sober as they faced the threat that was coming at them, and that I was the only one that felt fear. My feet stumbled backwards, but neither Baryuk nor Kael reacted to my silent and cowardly retreat. But to my defense, I wasn't trained in combat, and I doubted that my talent for words would be of any use here. As my back hit the wall, and my trembling hands clasped my cloak, pulling it tightly around myself as if it would offer any protection, I found myself staring at our enemy again.
This is what started the Light War thirty years ago. Kaels words echoed in my head. Texts from old books tumbled through my head as I watched the unworldly darkness creep into the tavern, spreading its eerie tentacles over the tables and chairs. As soon as the ink had spilled over, there was not even the slightest hint of shape visible anymore.
When the Light Eaters emerged from the depths of Moqueth, the earth trembled under their touch. The soul of the world, the light that gave us Light, feared them, for they were the messengers of the apocalypse, the doom prophecy.
And though we rallied our forces, gathering in great numbers to fight this eternal darkness with all our strength, the darkness would consume us whole.
If it had not been for the Word, given to us by the messenger from the god Sarmas, our very existence would have been erased.
"The Light Eaters would flee when the Word was spoken." I whispered the ancient words, as if I could disperse my fear this way, and tried to suppress the urge to run away. "For the Word was spoken by the Gods when this world was made, and would create the purest light."91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlZHLICKy0
91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6uoUPfPOm
Few were chosen to speak for the Gods, and unfortunately I was not one of them. Or maybe I should say fortunately; if rumors were true, speakers died early and horribly.
I saw Baryuk and Kael stand next to each other, one with his wooden bat, that looked quite silly in the face of this evil, and one with his bare hands clutched into fists as if he could punch the darkness back.
"Th-the Word," I continued, wiping the sweat from my forehead, "shall vanquish the Dark, and guide us towards the Light."
The darkness now covered half the tavern, but it might as well have been a castle, or anything else. It was pure black, a nothingness that scared me more than death. I could feel an icy cold coming from it, and the promise of non-existence as I had read about. I was sure that if the Light Eater touched us, it would erase us from the world. There was no doubt about it, nor would there be anything we could do to prevent it. My legs felt like wax and I sunk to my knees, cowering against the wall.
"Baryuk, move back," grumbled Kael. He looked over his shoulder as the big innkeeper did as he said, but his grey eyes weren't looking at me. I followed his gaze, and saw his drunken friend Git. The old, grey-haired soldier was still in the chair they'd put him in, his mouth half open and a wet trace of drool down his chin.
"Git!" Kael said loudly. "Git! Get up, bud. We need you here."
I doubted he would be able to wake him from his comatose state, and even if he did, what would that feeble man be able to do? He looked old enough to be my grandfather, and where Kael and Baryuk at least had the body of a properly trained soldier, whereas Git instead looked more like a thin scarecrow. I looked back to the front of the tavern, and saw the darkness of the Light Eater now almost touching Baryuk and Kaels feet. We were most likely seconds away from being swallowed into it. I closed my eyes and sent my last prayers to the gods. Had I known I would've died on this idiotic errand, I would have...
"ZHANGIT AHLLAERYS!"
I shrieked like a little girl and pressed my back against the wall when Kaels voice thundered through the tavern. It crashed through my ears, my head, deep into my soul. The tone had been so commanding, so intense that I immediately wanted to jump up and do as the speaker had said. Deep inside me I realized that Kael had spoken a Word of Power, and had my name been spoken, I would've undoubtedly obeyed his every command in an instant. Such was the power of this man, and I vaguely wondered if he might be one of those legendary Speakers...
I yelped again when I saw Git suddenly jump up, his eyes wide open and the look of a hunted animal in them. He looked at me, confused, searching, and then turned to Kael. His friend made a gesture towards the Light Eater.
"Vanquish it!"
Git stumbled forward, muttering something I couldn't hear over the sound of my own heart beating. He raised his hands and began to move them in strange patterns, as if he was painting in the air. His slender fingers left trails of light in the air, that pulsed with a soft, warm light as they hung in the air. Obsessed with the beauty of it, I forgot all about the darkness surrounding us. Eagerly I drank the light in with my eyes, as if it was liquid courage pouring into me. Tears streamed down my face, both of relief and happiness in the face of this calming light. I'd been so utterly wrong. But who'd blame me to not suspect the elderly, crippling drunk of this odd pair to be the powerful one?
"Hurry up, Git!"
"Cannot hurry," mumbled Git, as he weaved the intricate patterns of light together. "Mustn't hurry. Has to be perfect."
"Kael!" Baryuks warning drew the soldier's attention just as the Light Eaters dark tentacles started dripping down like stalactites. Kael cursed, jumped backwards as the tentacle began to leak thick drops of darkness onto the floor. It formed puddles on the floor, that quickly spread out towards Kael and the innkeeper. Both moved further back, until they stood next to Git, who was still weaving with an intense focus.
Kael looked at me. "You'd better come stand here, mister."
"Th-thank you, I'm f-fine here." My voice was loaded with fear, and I saw Kael look at me with a bit of pity, but mostly with anger and impatience.
"It wasn't a suggestion, mister." He quickly stepped towards me, grabbed my arm before I could protest in any way, pulled me up and dragged me back with him. "Stay here, or die. I will not say it twice."
I wished I had the courage to argue with him, or at least voice my own opinion, but fear had taken away my voice completely now as my eyes fell upon the darkness that was now surrounding us completely. The only parts of the tavern that hadn't completely disappeared in the black nothingness, was the little piece of floor we were standing on.
If I had been able to move a single muscle, I would've closed my eyes, but I was frozen. From the corner of my eye, I saw Git move his hands so quickly now that it was a blur.
"Almost," he whispered, his entire body trembling as he weaved. "Almost..."
"Git..." warned Kael as he stepped back to avoid touching the pools of darkness. His back touched my shoulder. "Any time now."
"Yes, yes..."
On my other side, Baryuk had to slap back a falling tentacle that swallowed his bat the moment he touched it. With a scream he let go of the weapon before the dark could reach his hands and jumped backwards. Now that he was closer, I could see that his hands were shaking too. I swallowed heavily and pressed my nails into my palms. Our island grew smaller and smaller.
"Git!"
As soon as Kael yelled his friends name, he finished his pattern. He opened his mouth, and I heard a word, even though he didn't move his lips. It was not a language I had learned, and I knew more than fifty from all over the world. I wasn't even sure it was a word, or even a language. It was more like a feeling, a warmth that touched me deeply as I gazed upon the intricate pattern he had woven in the air in front of him. It now began to burst, as rays of light exploded through the lines with the sound of a thunderstorm. I wanted to touch that light, make it mine, but at the same time I feared its power.
If it had not been for the Word, given to us by the messenger from the god Sarmas, our very existence would have been erased.
"Down!" A hand grabbed my shoulder and pushed me on the floor. I screamed, but the sound was lost in the enormous explosion that followed. No longer was it a comforting warm light, but a piercing hot blaze that burned mercilessly on my skin and into my eyes. I closed them, in fear of going blind, and covered them with my arms.
Agonizing seconds, maybe minutes passed as the lightstorm blazed through the tavern, roaring with the fierce power of divinity.
When the silence finally came, someone pulled me up and shook me.
"You alright?"
I let my arms down and opened my eyes, blinking rapidly as I looked up. Kaels grey eyes looked at me, as he held me in his firm grip. Still in a daze, I nodded, and he released me. I had to grab a table to not instantly drop dead on the floor. Table? Was I not dead? Had we been saved? I looked around, saw Baryuk get up from the floor, exchange a few words with Kael, when they both turned towards Git.
The old man stood frozen in the middle of the tavern. His eyes were looking into the distance, through the open door where there had once been a terrifying enemy. We hadn't dreamed all this, had we? I took a deep breath, pinched my own arm, and looked back at Git. Kael now stepped towards his friend and put his hand on his shoulder.
"It's gone, old friend," he said gently. "You did well."
"I always knew we had failed," Git answered, almost too quiet for me to understand what he was saying. Kael frowned. "You knew it too. Knew they'd come back for me."
"You're blabbering, Git." Kael pulled his hand back. "C'mon. We're going home."
"Home?" Git laughed coldly. Finally, he moved, turning towards his friend. "There is no home anymore, Kaelyn! They are back, and have come to finish what they started! The Darkness will consume the Light! I am old, and I have to face the judgment of the gods soon. I have Spoken for the last time, and you and I both knew this time would come. You know what must be done."
"Git..." Kaels voice broke off, filled with pain.
Unexpectedly, the old man turned towards me and jabbed his finger in my direction. His eyes shimmered with madness.
"You shall Speak in my name!"
"Git, no! You promised!" Kael moved, but his friend was faster. He moved so fast, I couldn't do anything to stop him. In an instant, he was in front of me, so close our noses almost touched. A ripping sound, as he tore away the buttons of my shirt. He placed his hand on my bare chest and spoke a single word. Pain shot through my body from the place where his hand was touching me. I screamed as the pain blurred my vision and robbed me of all my senses. It was as if my head was being pierced with lightning bolts, and my body crushed under a mountain.
"Git, stop! Not an innocent one! We agreed you'd choose me..."
The voice faded, everything faded, until there was only light. It was so bright, so blinding, it consumed my entire self. I lost consciousness.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUE33gbQZW
