The Legacy (The Darkness Within Saga Book 1)

by JD Franx

  “Watch, and pray it works,” she whispered, “only because you are my vehr, my friend. It will pay part of my debt to you, should it work.” Yrlissa took a last look around to be sure no one would notice and whistled a soft trilling sound, repeated three times.

  Within seconds, she pointed up into the trees off to her right and Ember saw two birds land on a branch about fifteen feet away. The colouring of their feathers was the most vibrant she had ever laid eyes on. The two birds appeared to be a mating couple and were twice the size of a full grown chicken, yet they had beautiful plumes of blazing green and blue feathers rising off the top of their small heads. The vibrancy of the orange and yellow plumage that ran down their long necks and into their sleek bodies almost hurt her eyes. Long string-like tail feathers, close to three feet in length, dazzled in colours of dark red and purple as the tail fanned out behind both the male and female. Only the curling black streaks that marked the sides of one and not the other separated the sex of the two birds. Ember had never seen such a variety of bright colours and designs on any other living creature.

  The moment the two birds landed on the branch they trilled back to Yrlissa using the same whistle-tones she had. When they finished their chirps, she again made a trilling sound back, only this time it was a lot more complex. The two birds took flight and Ember watched with awe as a glittering light surrounded their tail feathers while they were in flight. They passed right in front of her and Yrlissa, and with a snap of their wings, flew into the trees on the far side of the trail leaving behind a three foot long, red and purple tail feather that landed on Ember’s right foot.

  Yrlissa smiled as she nodded at Ember to pick up the feather.

  “What just happened, Lissa?” Ember asked, as she straightened with the feather in her hand. It tingled against her flesh with magic she didn’t understand.

  Yrlissa laughed as she explained a small part of what they just witnessed. “Those are the Kuhnee’Qua. My people called them the Kway. They have granted you and you alone, safe passage through any of Talohna’s enchanted forests. You will not come to harm here, no matter the situation as long as you carry that feather. Do not lose it, Ember. It is beyond rare. There are only two legends of the Kway granting someone a feather. It may well save your life someday. To be granted such a gift... You must be very special.”

  Ember smiled, but had a confused look on her face as she placed her hand on Yrlissa’s shoulder. “I doubt that, but why are you so happy? I’ve never seen you smile so much.” she said.

  Though she made a visible effort to stop, her smile continued, as if she couldn’t control it. “Ah, Ember. I would have to give you a lesson in ancient Dyrranai in order to explain.”

  Ember held out her hand as they started walking again. “I don’t know about you, girl, but I have all day,” she smiled.

  “Fair enough,” Yrlissa laughed. “I’ll try to make it short. I told you and Max before that I have lived for a very long time. Well, I am not proud of some of the things that I have done in that long life. I cannot tell you everything, yet, if nothing more than for your own safety, so keep that in mind.” Again Ember just nodded and smiled as they walked, understanding this was something Yrlissa needed to say.

  “All right, first your Elvehn lesson,” she continued. “Remember before I told you the Elvehn I speak is very old. It is different from what is spoken today by the Elvehn people of Ta’Ceryss. It is similar, but the language has evolved. When I told you we were in one of the last Kuhnee’Larre and that it means enchanted forest, kuhne means to enchant. You must add a second ‘e’ to make it past tense, it changes to enchanted. Still follow?”

  Ember nodded and smiled, a mischievous smile creeping across her lips. “Yes, so far so good. Though if you start asking me to conjugate verbs I’m going to run. My Spanish and French classes were the worst,” she joked, but only got a blank stare in return. “Never mind, Lissa. Go on.”

  “Good, the next word, larre, means forest, the two combine to make the words enchanted forest. So, Kuhnee’Qua is similar but, qua means dove. As I said before, we call them the Kway, therefore it loosely translates as enchanted dove. They are, among many others, protectors of forests like this.”

  With a light shiver crawling up her spine, Ember glanced into the forest. “What kind of protectors? You said the guardians were the ones to worry about.”

  “They are, nahlla. The protectors won’t hurt us so long as we don’t harm the forest itself. The guardians, on the other hand, won’t really care.”

  “What are they? The guardians?” Ember asked, getting off track but still focused on the dark shadows deep into the woods.

  “Creatures of magic. Here, people believe they are the Whispers, but no one alive has ever seen them. I doubt the DragonKin even know what they are.”

  “Hence the name, Forest of Whispers,” Ember concluded, getting a nod from Yrlissa. “What about the other forests? Do you know what they are?”

  “I know of only one other Kuhnee’Larre. Other than where we stand, there is only one enchanted forest left. It has been out of the reach of Man and Elvehnkind for over five thousand years.”

  “That seems like a heavy loss, Yrlissa, for a world that thrives on magic,” Ember said, as she shifted her focus back to her friend.

  The Elvehn assassin frowned as the last of her smile faded away. “You, of all people would see it that way and say so. Of course you’re right. At one time there were many Larre, all of them enchanted and home to the Elvehn.” Ember could tell that Yrlissa felt the loss personally.

  “I’m sorry, Yrlissa. It must be hard for your people to know so much has been lost. Was the Cataclysm responsible?”

  Yrlissa gestured for Ember to keep walking. “No, it was not Jasala’s fault. Most of the enchanted forests were destroyed long before she was born. But enough of that, I was teaching you old Elvehn and telling you about the doves. It was and still is a very important bird to my people. It meant peace at one time, as it still does to many others. But more importantly to the Dyrannai Elvehn, it represents forgiveness—Asalahn Qua.”

  Ember noticed that Yrlissa’s eyes had a glossy look and she stumbled, visibly upset. “When I called the doves, though I hoped, dearly, I didn’t expect that they would come. Doing so means the Kuhnee’Qua have forgiven me. My people, the Dyrranai, were protectors of the enchanted forests over ten thousand years ago. We protected the Dyrannai Forest and the Druids were the Guardians. Someday, before too long and when it is safe to do so, I will tell you why I need forgiveness, but I cannot yet. Forgive me for keeping a secret from you.”

  Ember stopped walking and grabbed Yrlissa’s arm. “I would never hold it against you, Lissa, I understand. When you feel the time is right, I’ll listen, like I always do. Thank you for showing me the doves, they were beautiful and amazing. You know, I just might hold you to teaching me more of the Elvehn language, it’s very beautiful.”

  Yrlissa nodded, her smile returning. “Thank you. You are a truer friend than one normally finds in Talohna. I will teach you anything you would like to know about my language. It is almost dead now. It will feel good to pass on the knowledge of the Dryannai people.”

  “I’d like that, Yrlissa, a lot.”

  “As for the forest, just remember, Ember, that one can normally be safe under the mystical cover of the Kuhnee’Larre, if you are respectful. Unless of course, you are in the Midnight Canopy, but that story is for another time.”

  Ember chuckled as they carried on. “Enough stories for today then.”

  Having continued following Giddeon, Saleece, and Kasik as they talked, the remainder of the afternoon passed quickly, and it was soon time to look for a place to set camp for the night. As the early evening approached, the light breeze that had been blowing through the trees all day died down and a calm settled over the forest. Once the sun was low in the sky, shadows darkened the woods and Ember began to feel uneasy. She was sure that she could hear faint voices far back in the trees, but soon
decided it must be her imagination brought to life by Yrlissa’s story. Giddeon reminded everyone to stay close together because they still hadn’t found a suitable place to make camp. Ember pulled her travel hood up onto her head as the early evening air cooled drastically.

  Moments later, movement flickered in her peripheral vision off to the right, amongst the shadows of the trees. She spun to look, but there was nothing there. As she turned back and continued walking, something moved out of the corner of her eye yet again. Faster, she turned, and again nothing was there. As she focused her attention on the darkened forest to her right, she reached up and lowered her hood with the hope that it would happen again. With her hood down, she could hear the eerie whisper of hollow voices and knew this time they were real.

  Movement burst through the trees on her left as she heard Kasik yell, “Did anyone just see that? What in Tyr’s bloody blade was it? Can any of you hear those cursed voices?” he said, pointing to the group’s left.

  “I did, saw it twice on the right side as well, and I can hear whispering,” Ember spoke up, trembling with fear. “What’s going on, Yrlissa?” she asked, as both Max and Kasik drew their blades.

  “Giddeon? Kasik?” Yrlissa hissed, in a low voice, as both glanced her way. “We need to find a place to defend, now!”

  “Can you tell what they are?” Giddeon asked, as he looked at Yrlissa. “Saleece? How about you?” With the lone exception of Max, the group rushed together and then picked up their pace, frantic to find a place they could make a stand.

  Yrlissa’s head whipped around as she answered Giddeon. “I can’t tell what they are. My magic won’t penetrate what they’re using to shield themselves. They’re hunting us, Giddeon. Playing with their prey like a Salzaran desert cat.”

  Saleece also answered her father, as they picked up their pace. “I can’t feel them either, Father. My magic’s too weak, all I can sense is the fog beginning to settle in just outside of two hundred feet from where we are. It’s blocking everything it touches,” she panted, as panic began to set in. Giddeon gave them both a brief nod. It was obvious the fog had deadened his senses as well.

  They continued to move faster, spotting several shadows dart back and forth inside the dark forest from time to time. They just started into the waist-high fog when Max dashed onto the road ahead of them, no one even realized he was gone.

  Spotting the others through the mist, he shouted, waving. “Here, Giddeon. There’s a break in the trees that heads up to a flat area with a cave in the mountains. It looks like there’s a tunnel system at the back if we have to retreat. We should be able to defend it.”

  Giddeon nodded. “Lead the way, fast. We’re being hunted. If we have to retreat into the caves, hopefully we won’t get cornered.”

  Max turned back the way he came and the others rushed up the side trail behind him to the mouth of the caves just as the thick blanket of fog settled over the whole area. The shadows didn’t follow them but they could still make out laughter and other voices, most no louder than a whisper.

  Stopping to catch their breath upon arriving, Yrlissa stood watching the forest from just outside the mouth of the mountain cave.

  “Welcome to the Forest of Whispers,” she said, with a sarcastic frown on her face. She shook her head and then turned to enter the cave.

  The mouth of the first cave was large but the interior of the cave was even bigger. At least thirty feet deep, it narrowed at the rear into a tunnel system as Max suspected. It gave the small party from Cethos plenty of room to build a fire and settle in for the night. It was obvious that others had also spent nights in the cave. Stacks of firewood and a campfire circle were already present. The fire had a cook stand built at the front of the stone circle so one could move hot coals from the larger fire to the stand in order to cook food. Kasik and Giddeon did a thorough check of the cave and its tunnel system and it seemed to go on without end. Though they would still have to post guards, they assumed it would be as safe a place as any to spend the night.

  The wyvern pack showed up almost three hours after full dark. With the heavy fog blanketing the area, all three wizards failed to sense the danger. With Kasik watching the front of the cave, Max was on guard at the back tunnels when the first attack came from that direction. He fought all the way back to the main cave where the others were asleep, retreating as fast a he could without being overrun. Desperation lent power to his tired muscles and he managed to kill two of the smaller lizards while trying to get back to the fire and warn the others. Once inside the cave, he pushed over the pile of firewood and Giddeon lit it up with a small fireball spell, the sticky flames jump-started the roaring fire keeping the wyverns at bay.

  The mouth of the cave on the forest side was another story. Kasik’s yell let them know trouble was coming from that side too. Wide open and sloped down towards the forest, the wyverns had approached almost to the cave entrance before he saw them. They were close enough to scent Giddeon’s group, a meal the hungry lizards weren’t going to let go without a fight.

  The first attack from the cave’s entrance was from a young wyvern. Kasik’s sword whistled through the air, cleaving the creature’s head and ending the threat. The second attack came from two gangly adults. Both charged up the hill and jumped into the air, snapping open leathery wings. Similar to flying squirrels back on Earth, Ember stared in terrified amazement as the two lizards caught the gentle currents of air, intent on gliding inside the cave where they could do the most damage with claws and leg spikes.

  Yrlissa turned as the low whomp reverberating in the wyvern’s throats warned of the attack. She whirled with both hands in the air as she barked her spell. The last word left her mouth as Ember crashed into her, knocking her down. The two-thousand pound wyvern lashed out, its venomous claws whined through the empty air where she just stood. The wyvern landed and spun on the prone women, but the spell was already active. Long twisting spikes of roots erupted from the earth along the front of the cave and burst through the stone floor inside, coiling and twisting like vile serpents. Catching its attention, the lizard lashed out at the roots instead, but was snagged by foot-long barbs. Roots coiled around its legs and body, dragging it across the stone floor as the second wyvern tried to veer away from the cave’s entrance. The gliding lizard was too slow, and the animated root system of the enchanted forest tore into it from several directions, forcing it to the ground.

  The final stages of the devastating spell sprang to life as thousands of smaller roots erupted from the original spawn points, racing out to coil around both wyverns like thin constrictors, crushing the remaining life from the large wyvern’s bodies. Dozens of other wyverns watched from down the slope, shrieking with fury, but they refrained from further attack as four of their kind died in a matter of minutes. The reverberating wail from some of the wyverns rolled across the open area before the cave. When the magic of Yrlissa’s spell finally ran out, both of the monstrous lizards laid on the ground, torn and crushed, obviously dead. The barbed spikes and their smaller constricting roots pulled free of the bodies and slithered back into the earth.

  “Thank you, Ember. They’re faster than I thought,” Yrlissa said, as she got up from the ground and offered her saviour a hand. Ember shook with a combined dose of fear and adrenaline as Yrlissa helped her stand, but she smiled with relief as she glanced around to see everyone all right.

  Giddeon’s shock at what Yrlissa had done immediately turned to anger. He grabbed her arm, spinning her away from Ember and forcing her to look him in the face.

  “No one can cast that spell any longer! What in the Nine Hells of Perdition are you? What are you not telling us?” he yelled, still staring at her in disbelief.

  Yrlissa pulled her arm free from his grasp. “Back off, Giddeon! I’m warning you. What I am capable of is not your concern. We have more important things to worry about right now.”

  Reluctant to let his interrogation go, he snapped, “This conversation is not over! That spell has been d
ormant since the Cataclysm. No one alive knows the trigger words, let alone has the power... You should not be able to cast it. It’s not fucking possible.”

  “Get over yourself, you pompous ass,” she yelled back, her fury fuelled by the rush of battle. “You may be the only ArchWizard, but you don’t know everything about magic. This world has forgotten what real magic is. Count your fucking blessings instead. My spell kept those creatures out of this cave. We will not have this conversation again, Giddeon. Unless you are prepared to test your magic against mine.”

  He stared at her hard for several seconds and then eventually forced his attention back to the screeching, agitated wyverns that were still an immediate threat.

  With over a dozen of the biggest lizards still out front, it appeared that they were all preparing to rush the cave and attack at once. Ember knew they were running out of time. Her nerves almost shot, she rubbed the feather the Kway dove had dropped at her feet earlier. As they walked during the day, Yrlissa had woven the feather into a necklace and then placed it around her neck before she sealed it with magic. She told Ember that it would never break and it would never come off unless she wanted it to; a single word would activate the magic that secured it.

  Not understanding magic, she didn’t realize her worry and fear were being channelled through the feather. She rubbed the necklace for mere minutes when the whispers and laughter from earlier in the evening returned. This time, however, the sound continued to get louder and instinct told her that it was getting closer.

  “Can you hear that?” she asked the others. “It’s coming towards us isn’t it?” Hearing it also, the others moved to the front of the cave. “Look,” Ember cried out, pointing towards the forest before anyone could answer. “The wyverns have calmed down.”

  Saleece breathed the words to reinforce her weakened shield. As she stepped up beside Ember at the mouth of the cave, the shimmering green shield enveloped her as well. The others stopped nearby, with Yrlissa standing beside Ember on the opposite side of Saleece. The fog slowly dissipated until they could see down the trail that led them to the cave. Saleece, Giddeon, and Yrlissa still couldn’t sense anything with their esoteric sight, but down where the two trails met through the trees, they could see three hovering white lights moving towards them. When the incandescent glimmer cleared the end of the woods a hundred feet in front of them, it became apparent that the glow of lights were actually shaped like people.