“Set the sails, wave goodbye.”
“We take to the sea.”
“O’ where is my lover, my heart grows fonder.”
“Where will my lover be?”
Anakari was born with a natural gift of song, but she rarely shared that gift with anyone aside from Aldorus. He loved nothing more than hearing her soothing voice as they relaxed around their fireplace in the evenings. Like honey to bread, her sweet voice enveloped the forest around her. She was completely unaware that someone else was in the forest, watching her ever so closely.
“I travel so far, from my home town.”
“Travel to lands far away.”
“To find…”
Her song was interrupted by a flaming arrow piercing through the air and landing a few feet ahead of her horse which whinnied and reared in panic. The flame flickered wildly for a moment before quickly growing and snaking its way around Anakari in a perfect circle.
The bitter cold forest was forgotten as her heart raced to keep up with her adrenaline. Dropping her lantern in a fumbled attempt to balance and calm her horse, she uttered a spell that armed her and engulfed her hands in blue flames.
“Who goes there!” yelled Anakari into the darkness, puffing steaming breaths before her. Pumping blood hammered inside her ears.
She heard rustling in the trees around her. Something was darting between them, but was hidden within the darkness.
A woman’s voice from high in the trees blurted, “Why do you make so much noise? Stay still! Demons are near, watching us from the darkness.”
Anakari’s head flicked around in panic, searching for signs of movement in the darkness. She threw small, blue fireballs and saw glimpses of shadows darting between the trees.
Her voice heightened as she screamed, “Demons? What are they? I was heading to Crondor, I am lost, please put out these flames! They’re frightening my horse!”
The mysterious woman’s laugh cackled, “What little you know… the flames are protecting both you and your horse. No demon would dare cross them to get to you. Crondor? You are far from the path to Crondor. Now, stay perfectly still!”
“I will do as you say, but I am not useless; I want to help.”
The flames danced and licked the air around her. The only sound was her rapid breathing. Then, she heard them. They rustled through the forest, gaining ground on her position.
After several silent seconds went by, a tall, strong woman burst from the tree top, performed a reverse somersault to land cleanly on her feet in front of her, a newly drawn flaming arrow almost died out in the speed of her fall. The woman concentrated over Anakari’s shoulder, her stretched bow creaked as it strained in her grip.
Anakari couldn’t help but stare at the woman’s face. She saw small scars on her right cheek and neck.
Her face hardened as she ordered, “Get down!”
“Alright!” replied Anakari, shaking off her hood and laying on her horse. Anakari’s silver hair draped down her shoulders and onto the horse, her long elven ears poking through. It felt as if time slowed down events took place in slow motion. Anakari’s heavy heartbeat and deep breathing filled her senses.
Anakari watched as the fiery glow of the arrow move past her. The sound of a demon shrieking was heard soon after. She began to lift her head and caught sight of Yuski, her protector, running toward her in full flight, shooting her a frustrated glance and mouthing ‘Stay down!’
Yuski reached behind her shoulder for another arrow, holding it in her vice-like grip as if it were a sword. A shadow demon extended its shiny claws as it launched at her, its dark form shifting through the air. Yuski screamed as she twisted sideways to pound the arrow through the demon’s skull. It crashed to the ground, scurrying away from the circle of flames.
In one smooth motion, Yuski prepared a fresh arrow and flicked her fingers beside it to activate the spell within. Taking aim, she fired it deep into the chest of another shadow demon, spitting on it in disgust.
Taking a moment to calm her breathing, she returned to Anakari. As she turned away from the stricken creature, the magic arrow burst into flames and the shadow demon disintegrated slowly into the ground.
Yuski prepared a fresh arrow, unsure yet of their safety, and circled the barrier of fire with her back to Anakari. Like an eagle waiting to strike, she hunted for prey.
When Yuski completed her patrol and extinguished her arrow, Anakari’s heartbeat slowed down and she breathed normally again.
Yuski looked over the elf, her face full of distrust. She reached into her pocket and stared at something glowing within. Hesitating for a moment, she drew another arrow and pointed it directly at Anakari’s heart.
The elf drew a sharp breath and raised her fists at the ready.
“It is impossible to be sure in these dire times. I need to know that you are not a demon,” said Yuski.
“How could I possibly be a demon? I am obviously a sorceress,” asked Anakari with an offended tone.
“A demon would say no different and they are magical beings. If you attack me, then I can only assume the worst in you. Lower your fists or I will have no choice but to defend myself,” challenged Yuski.
Anakari reluctantly lowered them to her side, narrowing her eyes in annoyance and signed, “If I was a demon, why would you have saved my life?”
“It is unusual for demons to attack another demon, but I have been wrong in the past by putting my faith in the comfort of that rumour. Just stay still and I will make sure that you are who you say you are. I will not harm you if you truly are just a sorceress.”
Taking quick glances into her pocket, she circled to the back of Anakari’s horse and neared the barrier of flames. Anakari did not trust Yuski to have a weapon drawn behind her and decided that enough was enough. She chanted a spell, “Permoveo mihi quo meus os tantum animadverto.”
With a flicker of light, Anakari disappeared from the back of the horse.
“What in the name?” exclaimed Yuski. She released her arrow to rip through nothing but thin air. It landed with a solid thud in the trunk of another tree.
Anakari peered around the corner from the tree that she had transported herself to and chanted another spell. She observed Yuski from afar, desperately searching for Anakari. She whispered another spell, “Deceptus suus intus orbis terrarium.”
Yuski yelped as two hands reached up out of the earth to grab her ankles, knocking her off balance. More hands of earth reached up to grab her arms and lock them into place. She struggled to free herself from the ground, but could not move.
“By the gods!” grunted Yuski, “Who are you?”
Anakari approached from the woods with flaming fists at the ready and spoke firmly, “I told you that I was no demon.”
“If I set you free, will you put out these flames and let us go?”
Yuski stared at the sorceress in shock and disbelief and asked, “You aren’t going to kill me?”
“Why in the name of Marithia would I want to kill you? I am not foolish enough to allow someone I do not know to point an arrow at the back of my head!”
“Of course I will free your horse, but I was only trying to make sure you were not a demon,” she replied.
Anakari straightened up and spoke proudly, “You have saved my life and I owe you thanks for that. I may be new to these parts, but do not take me for a fool or a weakling.”
She chanted, “Solvo habitum in suus.”
The hands released their grip, moulded back into the earth and disappeared, allowing Yuski to stand. She dusted off the dirt, pulled out a small bag from her coat, sprinkled a small amount of sparkling dust onto the magic circle of fire cast by the arrow, and the flames disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“Obviously you aren’t a demon or you would have killed me when you had the chance,” staring at Anakari’s flaming blue hands, “and you do look like you could take care of yourself,” she laughed, turning away.
I’m still lost in these woods and I could u
se her help, she thought.
“Wait,” said Anakari, shaking her fists to extinguish the blue flames.
“My name is Kari, I am a sorceress and am obviously lost. It appears that we have met on rather unusual circumstances. I could really use your help getting to Crondor. Do you know the way?” she asked, smiling in an attempt to gain the woman’s favour.
“The name’s Yuski and I am a demon hunter. I have been in these woods long enough tonight, so it will not hurt for us to head to Crondor together. After all, if we do face any particularly dangerous demons… I could use the help of a sorceress like you to destroy them. It may allow me to prevail unbruised, for once,” she replied, shaking hands.
Picking up her lantern, Anakari mounted her horse again.
“Would you mind if we ride together on horseback? It would get us to a warm bed more swiftly,” asked Yuski with a smile.
“You don’t have a horse?” asked Anakari in disbelief, reaching down to help Yuski climb aboard.
“It’s somewhat of a challenge to hide in the woods with a horse, is it not? Crondor is this way,” she answered sheepishly. Yuski pointed west, and they headed quickly through the forest.
“That was a beautiful song that you were singing, but I would suggest avoiding drawing attention to yourself in Marithian woods. Has anyone ever told you that you have an enchanting voice?” asked Yuski.
“That is very kind of you; and thank you for the warning. My master Aldorus told me often how much he loved me to sing for him. I was wondering what demons would be particularly dangerous as those demons looked dangerous enough to me.”
“These are dire times and ever since the day the red shaded moon rose into the night sky, demons that would otherwise never see daylight made their way back to Marithia. Those demons should not be here and I intend to return as many as I can to the underworld with their tails between their legs. Although some demons have been in Marithia all along, hiding among us,” began Yuski.
Anakari shivered, looking on the surrounding forest with even more terror than she had before. She felt very unsafe despite having a demon hunter perched directly behind her. She gripped her reins tighter.
“What are these demons and how do you know so much about them?”
“Demons are my life; to be more precise, hunting them is my life. I was born into a family of demon hunters and that calling runs through my veins. Demons have been around for hundreds of years and we work tirelessly to rid them from Marithia. I take great pride in banishing them to the underworld by a blade or arrow. The demon I was waiting for in the woods tonight is of particular concern,” said Yuski.
“What makes that demon so special?”
“I suppose I better tell you the whole story, but this may take some time, are you sure you want to know?”
“Of course,” answered Anakari.
“As you wish, let me tell you how the elder demon, Wumvarn, came to be. What we know has been obtained from many sources. My father collated all of that knowledge into a book which was then passed on to me by birth right. Many years ago, far before you or I were in this world, there was a great war with the almighty demon of darkness, Shindar. The details of that war are not important for this story, but after Shindar’s defeat by the dragons and most of the Forces of Darkness had been destroyed in battle, something awful happened,” continued Yuski, pausing to drink out of a water flask in her coat.
She offered the drink to Anakari, but the elf wasn’t thirsty, just impatient to know more.
“No, thank you. Please continue, what awful thing happened?” said Anakari, drawn to the story and forgetting about the bite of the cold.
“There were stragglers after the war and a large number of Shindar’s army had been left behind in the retreat to the underworld. One town managed to trap one of his survivors in the nearby woods one night, a shadow demon called Wumvarn. With flamed torches in hand, they circled it. However, instead of killing it quickly, the townspeople decided to exact revenge for those who had fallen to the Forces of Darkness. For many hours which must have felt like an eternity, they used any weapons that they had to slowly torture, and cruelly kill Wumvarn. Their bloodlust was quenched by the demon’s blood curdling screams before it eventually disintegrated, falling into the ground,” said Yuski.
“By the gods!” exclaimed Anakari, wide eyed.
“The gods had no part to play in this. The townspeople didn’t realise the consequences of what they’d done. They had themselves turned to evil to punish and kill the demon. Wumvarn fed on their fury, on their malice. They gave the demon a new purpose and reason to cling to life; it was not as easy to destroy as they thought. Wumvarn’s soul hung on with whatever essence it had left. Rather than dying, it possessed a nearby tree, letting go of its tortured remains. The townsfolk, thinking there were no Forces of Darkness left in the surrounding lands, failed to stay vigilant. Slowly, over time, people started to go missing. Wumvarn, still safely sheltered in the tree, would take anyone who neared it. Its tentacle like roots would drag them deep into the ground below, where the demon would feed on their carcasses. Each victim’s death added to its growing power. Men, women and children were all taken.”
“Those poor people,” said Anakari.
“Indeed. Nobody knew that Wumvarn was silently gathering strength, and inside the tree, it was also building a new body in readiness for a return to the world. Using the strongest parts taken from its victims, it created a new body for itself. More and more people went missing as Wumvarn’s need to feed increased. It needed to sustain its new body. More people had to be taken or its body inside the tree would rot and be unusable.”
Anakari raised an eyebrow in suspicion as she asked, “How do you possibly know that?”
“Much later, when the demon had taken its human form, they found the tree ripped open like a casket. The shape of a human body was missing from within the wood.”
“Oh,” whispered Anakari, wishing she had never asked.
“The final victim that was found buried near the tree was of a skinned woman, with her heart ripped out. Wumvarn, now released from the tree and walking free, only consumes hearts. We think that she does this to keep her skin young.”
“Her?” Anakari asked
“Yes. She walked into the town as one of their own; they had no clue that she was a demon. One by one, she despatched nearly all of the town’s people. Eventually, with so few hearts to feed her, she abandoned the town and walked the lands of Marithia. To avoid suspicion, she would change skins and live different lives. Nobody knows whose skin she wears now or has worn in the past,” said Yuski, pausing to take another sip of water.
“She is the demon who I was expecting to be coming this way tonight, but it looks like I have met you instead. Can you see why I had to find out if you were a demon? I have been tracking her victims across Marithia. With all the bloodshed from the war, most of her kills go unnoticed. If a poor soul has their heart ripped out, most Marithians would just assume they died at the hands of the Forces of Darkness. And in truth, they did. But this demon’s interests are solely her own. I don’t think anyone could control her… she appears to answer to no-one.”
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the orb she used earlier, reaching around to present it to Anakari. She whispered, “This is one of the greatest weapons that I wield. It will glow in the presence of a demon. A regular shadow demon glows green. An elder demon, like Wumvarn, will glow blue.”
Anakari took a moment to look into the orb, noticing a faint blue glow from within.
“Yuski, should we be concerned that your orb is glowing blue?”
Yuski laughed, putting her orb back into her coat pocket.
“The orb can find demons over lands far away; the faint blue glow is exactly why I was waiting in the woods. I know that Wumvarn is somewhere nearby. Why do you think I checked my pocket before accepting your invitation? I certainly wouldn’t want to ride a horse with Wumvarn anytime soon, it would be a heart wrench
ing experience,” she joked, “So, and now it’s your turn… what do you want to go to Crondor for anyway?”
“Actually, I’m not sure. I heard that it is a safe town and I want to ask some of the locals if the name ‘Daessar’ means anything to them.”
“Daessar? I am sorry Kari, the name means nothing to me… but I might know someone who can help you. He lives near Crondor and is more knowledgeable in Marithian history than anyone I have ever met. If there is meaning to the name… he will likely know what it is,” she answered.
Anakari looked up as the forest thinned and she found comfort as her familiar stars returned to her view. She smiled as she said cheerfully, “You were right, Crondor is this way, but I suspect it will take some time to reach there.”
“Yes, continue on until you reach a well beaten path and we will arrive at Crondor when the moon is at its highest. I am completely exhausted, so I hope you don’t mind if I rest on your back? I’ve been waiting for that cruel demon for days in those woods and my muscles ache from the earlier battle.”
Anakari could really use her help, and she seemed a valuable ally for her journey. She also had the chance to kill her and didn’t.
If she trusts me enough to ride with me then perhaps I should trust her as well, she thought.
“Sure, make yourself comfortable and I will rouse you once we arrive at Crondor,” replied Anakari.
Yuski wrapped her arms around Anakari’s slender waist, snuggling up to her back. At first, the young elf froze in shock when Yuski put one of her hands inside her coat, but she relaxed when she realised that Yuski was just looking for a way to secure herself on the horse.
Yuski took a deep breath and casually said, “If the orb glows bright blue in my pocket on our journey and I fail to notice, let me know before Wumvarn gets to your elven heart.”
Anakari almost jumped out of her skin and yelled, “What!?”
“Just kidding,” giggled Yuski, “You are so jumpy! Neither of us are likely prey for Wumvarn. She prefers men who she can easily seduce.”
Anakari sighed deeply, forcing herself to relax.
Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising Page 8
