Dark Moon Rising (The Prophecies of Zanufey)

by A. Evermore

  Asaph nodded slightly.

  ‘It turned blue when the dark moon rose. Always here, in the Tower of the Flame, great fortress of the Dragons, it burned red for the flame of Feygriene the Mother, the Sun Goddess. Now it burns blue, blue for Zanufey, protector of the dead, the Night Goddess. The prophecies do not lie, the dark moon is rising to shine down upon us all and awaken the Raven Child. I have my own appointed tasks in this life and now I have one last to complete before I too shall go forever from this world.’ There was a far-away look in her eyes as she spoke softly, and then she looked at him.

  ‘Find the Raven Child, Asaph. The very fabric of our world is held in the balance. Baelthrom grows stronger by the day, soon it will be too late and all the power of Maioria and beyond will be his. Keteth draws close, you must reach her before he does,’ she said, her voice rose in earnest and her almond shaped eyes grew wide.

  ‘I have given my soul to help the peoples of Maioria fight against the fate that befell my people. The Immortal Lord is a plague that infects and destroys all life. He will not stop at this world but will tear the very fabric of the universe apart in order to bend it to his will.’

  Asaph listened in silence and then a question came to mind, ‘Tell me this, Yisufalni the Ancient, what is this Dawn Bringer?’

  She was silent for a while as she looked at him and he suddenly felt very young and naive under her gaze, though there was nothing patronising in her eyes, only tenderness and an age-old sadness. Her mouth softened and then there was the flicker of something on her face, he wondered if it was fear for suddenly he too was afraid.

  ‘It is written that there can be no day without night as there is no light without dark, there must always be a living, breathing, exchange between the two, a cycle. Zanufey is the darkness that is the night, as Feygriene is the light that is the day. This you well know,’ she said. He nodded listening intently.

  ‘The time of Feygriene’s light is soon to pass and the Great Goddess’s dark self is soon to reign. It is written in our prophecies that there is another that is chosen, one chosen by Feygriene to lead the light back into the world when the darkness brought by Zanufey’s own, wanes. That one is called the Dawn Bringer, that one is you Asaph, if you wish it.

  ‘For the Dawn Bringer follows the Raven Queen as the day follows the night, and the night, in turn, follows the day. Do you see, young Dragon Lord? Zanufey brings the night, the cleansing dark and purification of old ways. Her disciple is the only one who can hope to stand against the Immortal Lord. But the darkness cannot be without the light forever and the Dawn Bringer is that light, blessed by Feygriene.

  ‘The Dawn Bringer shares a bond with the Raven Queen, who the Raven Child must become. It is through that bond you will find her. King Asaph of Drax, your mother knew the mantle of the Dawn Bringer would come to you before she gave birth, hence your name.’

  Asaph’s choked down a lump and tried to calm the inner turmoil. He stared at her dumbfounded; his mouth opened and shut several times as he tried to comprehend at least one thing she said.

  ‘But you do not have to accept the task, Asaph, you must do as your conscience dictates.’

  ‘All of my life I have dreamed of her,’ Asaph said. ‘You are right about the bond between us, though I don’t understand it. I will accept this task, or die trying I guess. But what if I fail?’ he whispered, hating to speak his fears aloud.

  ‘More afraid am I of what happens next if you succeed, for the future is dark, unknown to me,’ Yisufalni replied, softly. ‘If you fail then she is lost and so too are we… Come, we must not delay. Come closer to the flame,’ she said and he almost gasped aloud as she motioned to him for her hands each had six long fingers, all slender and smooth.

  ‘Look in to the flame, Asaph. Do you accept the mantle of the Dawn Bringer?’

  ‘I do,’ Asaph said, but his voice seemed to come from far below him. As he stared into the blue flame a face formed, the face of the girl in his dreams. She was smiling at him, which was odd for she never smiled.

  ‘What do you see, Asaph?’ Yisufalni’s voice drifted down to him like feathers on the wind.

  ‘I see her face, she is smiling.’ The flame grew swiftly then and engulfed him in cool blue light. The room became hazy and insubstantial. The floor dissipated and he stood on nothing but air. It felt as if he was moving upwards swiftly. A mass of blue-white clouds swirled around him and the air grew so thin he became dizzy and lightheaded. All at once the light and clouds went and a universe filled with stars surrounded them. Far below a blue and green orb turned and he knew it was Maioria.

  In dreamlike awe Asaph watched entire galaxies swirl in the blackness as he continued to move upwards. Warm light touched his face and he looked up at the sun, though its intense fiery light did not hurt his eyes. As he moved towards it, it grew hotter and hotter and he became afraid. But another face formed in the sun that also smiled: skin of radiant gold, eyes of molten amber and hair as dancing orange flames.

  Joy and love coursed through him melting away the fear as he looked upon the face of Feygriene. He dropped his eyes trembling in awe as the heat that emanated from her engulfed him. Ever hotter it grew as the Sun Goddess and the sun became one and the same. Hotter and hotter it burned until he could feel the heat filling every single cell of his body. He cried out in pain and fear and begged for it to stop, knowing all the while the pain would stop if he ceased to resist it, but he could not let go and the heat grew. Fire was all around him and in the blinding light he glimpsed that golden face, sombre and resolute and awesome. With golden arms she beckoned him closer.

  ‘No, I cannot!’ he screamed but his words were eaten away in the roaring fire as he moved towards her. His skin burst into flame and the fire consumed him. He opened his mouth to cry out, wanting death to claim him and take the pain away. The Dragon within stirred and he looked inwardly into those cooling sapphire eyes and let go.

  ‘I cannot be destroyed by fire, I am fire itself!’ Asaph cried, his voice a roar louder than the roaring flames that consumed him. Fire erupted from his mouth and his body disintegrated as the Dragon form took over. He looked down and saw he was no longer made of solid matter but of fire. He had become a Dragon made of living, breathing flames and the pain that had consumed him had gone.

  Slowly the roaring flames ceased and turned blue and calm once more, moving gently in some unfelt breeze. The blue light was like cool water washing over him, extinguishing the fire Dragon and leaving Asaph whole and in human form once more. The chaos he felt earlier was replaced with serenity and the purist love, untainted by human desire, as he stared into the blue flame. Slowly it grew darker until he was surrounded by pitch black.

  ‘You have surpassed the Trial by Fire, my son,’ an unearthly voice whispered, echoing through his being. ‘Bringer of the Dawn, find the darkness and bring to it the light.’ Then the awesome presence disappeared leaving only loneliness and emptiness within him.

  A ragged gasp shook Asaph and he sat up in the place where he had fallen, brushing a bewildered shiny-purple beetle from his belly. He groaned from the pain in his head and winced when he touched a sore lump on the back of it. He felt his body, checking everything was still there.

  The fire was still vivid in his mind and he winced again when he touched his chest, for though his body was whole and not blackened, three jagged swollen red lines radiated out on his skin. They were hot and sore to the touch and though they would heal scars would surely remain.

  ‘Trial by Fire... Not just a dream...’ he said aloud in a trembling voice. His hands shook as he did up his shirt and stood up. The jungle was now alive with birds singing and a monkey appeared to be laughing at him from the safety of its high perch. The raven was gone; the ring was gone.

  He sighed, it was a long walk back and try as he might he could not call the Dragon form; he was far too tired to muster the anger. With slumped shoulders he trudged back through the forest; it would be late indeed by the time he got home.
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  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The Wisdom Of An Old Shaman

  Asaph walked all day with nothing but the soft pink fruit of the tallan trees to keep him going. He looked longingly up at the brown bunches of kocha nuts from the kocha tree far above him but it would take too long to climb those trees and he wanted to get back. He would surely suffer the next day for eating so much of the rich fruit and already his stomach rumbled unhappily. He walked onwards at a pace, keen to tell Coronos all that had happened, desperate to embark upon his quest before it was too late.

  His legs ached sorely by the time he saw the soft glow of the village fire in the distance and he wondered how many leagues he had covered for now the sun was beginning to set. They always lit a village bonfire on the rest day and the entire village joined in a communal feast. He had hoped to slip unseen up the ladder to his house but Kahly, with her usual sharp eyes, spotted him from amongst the bustle of people. She bounded over.

  ‘Where on earth have you been? It was just me and Jommen this morning!’ She said crossly.

  ‘I’m really sorry, something very odd happened,’ Asaph said, ‘a raven stole my mother’s ring and I chased after it. And then I fell and hit my head,’ he was glad for the glow of the fire hiding his reddening cheeks.

  Kahly laughed incredulously and shook her head, ‘I think you hit your head first!’ she said.

  ‘I’m not lying, Kahly.’

  Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, her face softened, ‘I’m sorry, did you get it back?’

  Asaph shook his head. Kahly squeezed his arm, at a loss for words. ‘Come, have some food, you must be famished,’ she linked her arm through his but he faltered.

  ‘I must speak to father first,’ he said, eyeing her laden plate hungrily.

  ‘Sure, then take mine for now, I barely touched it and can get another,’ she shoved her full plate into his hands. Hot red potatoes encrusted with black salt and covered in thick spicy jungle stew filled his nostrils. His stomach refused to say no and he stuffed an over-filled spoon into his mouth and mumbled thanks.

  Kahly winked and bounded off. He carefully climbed the ladder holding his plate precariously in one hand.

  Coronos stared at him over the thick curling smoke of his long pipe, his eyes searched deep into Asaph’s own for a long time after he had told his bizarre story, but the young man did not blink. Then the older man sighed, tugged the pipe out of his mouth and looked away.

  ‘Honestly, Asaph, there has never been a dull moment with you about,’ he said.

  ‘Then you believe me?’ Asaph implored.

  ‘Yes, unfortunately I do. The orb would have told me had you lied,’ his hand brushed his cloak pocket where the orb lived. ‘But who needs the orb… I could always tell when you told the truth, though you rarely lied.’

  Asaph laughed and grinned. ‘Great! So when do we leave? No, it must be right away!’ Asaph jumped up and nearly hit his head on the roof beam.

  ‘Sit, sit,’ Coronos waved him back down with a scowl. ‘No, in fact go, go get some more food, I need time to think.’

  Asaph’s smile turned to a frown and then a smile again, wondering what to make of his father’s reaction. But the older man had turned away from him and stood staring out of the window at the raucous feasting occurring below.

  Asaph was about to say something, thought better of it, and disappeared out of the room. He was still hungry anyway and knew that once Coronos had decided upon something he would not be budged. He skipped joyfully to the Down Rope, grinning all the way, never seeing the watchful eyes of Gharupoha as he sat smoking his pipe on his doorstep.

  When the young Draxian had disappeared into the crowd, Gharupoha stood up, grabbed his smoking pouch, and made his way to the older Draxian’s house across the walkway between the two trees.

  He knocked twice and entered without waiting for a reply. Coronos was leant upon the windowsill but stared down unseeing at the wooden floor. He had not heard the old shaman enter. Gharupoha spoke a silent greeting in his mind and was not surprised when the Draxian picked up on it and turned look at him a little startled.

  ‘It seems that the time has come for you to leave us, and I knew it would be so with the rising of the dark moon,’ Gharupoha spoke first, intrigue bright in his weakening eyes.

  ‘Please do come in, I needed time to think but now that I’m alone I cannot think at all,’ Coronos said, motioning for the shaman to enter. ‘Yes, the dark moon changes everything.’

  Gharupoha closed the door and sat down on a big cushion before the fire. Coronos and he had spent many evenings over many years talking of all things; the past, the future, Drax, the Old and New Worlds. Gharupoha busied himself refilling his pipe as he spoke.

  ‘In truth I have seen this day coming since the day you first arrived on our shores,’ the shaman said. Coronos blinked in surprise for the second time and stood up straight: the old shaman was always full of knowings.

  ‘The dark that spreads in the east from which you fled will not stop at your shores. Indeed, long ago I saw a vision where the whole world had fallen into the Dark Rift. But since you arrived that future was gone and instead I could not see past the veil, I cannot see the future, it has not been decided. You must go on this quest, friend Coronos, I feel our very lives depend upon it,’ Gharupoha finished.

  Coronos rubbed his chin and stood silently for a long time and then sat down on the other cushion beside the shaman, busying himself with his own pipe.

  ‘Will you tell the others why we have gone and that we intend to return?’ Coronos asked, his voice sounded sad.

  ‘Of course, and they shall be very jealous,’ Gharupoha chuckled. ‘Asaph must find for himself a partner; there is none strong enough for him here. His is a path of Kings.’

  Coronos shot a glance at the old shaman, wondering at his words though he said nothing and Gharupoha merely continued to look at the fire dancing in the hearth. Gharupoha was the only person that Coronos had told of his own connection to the King and Queen of Drax, but he wondered how much the wise shaman really knew of Asaph.

  The two men sat silently for a long time, the smoke from their pipes curling up together above them. Then they talked of many things late into the night for each knew they would not speak again for a long time.

  The next evening Asaph and Coronos stood staring east out to sea as the sun sunk into the trees behind them. Each shouldered a full sack of provisions containing mainly food and clothes, pocket-knives and string, and other simple but useful tools they had decided to take. They had managed to get a few hours sleep in the day and, as the day came to a close, had slipped away to this shore unseen.

  ‘There will be no moon this night, and no stars either, from the looks of it,’ Coronos said, looking at the spreading blanket of grey clouds above. ‘And I am glad the dark moon has not risen this night, I find it unsettling.’ He leant heavily on his staff, the damp weather was making him stiff.

  Though his stave was a mark of his status as a member of the Wizards’ Circle, and perhaps he still was he mused, but here, on these far distant shores, the staff was just a relic of the Old World and very useful to keep an old man upright. He could wield magic, but knew he was not a powerful Wizard. He was a member of the highest order of Wizards because he was the Keeper of the Orb of Air. Coronos turned to look at the young man beside him.

  ‘I do not doubt what happened to you this day, Asaph, I only doubt your sanity for what you choose to do now.’ Asaph looked at him and then smiled when Coronos winked. Coronos softened his sombre tone.

  ‘If there is something more I should know…’ he fell silent when Asaph looked away. Coronos sighed inwardly, he knew Asaph had not told him everything that had happened earlier but decided not to press the boy. Not a boy, a man now, he reminded himself. Of late he felt Asaph was more closed to him than ever before, as if there was something he wanted to tell him but could not. All things come in blessed right order, at the blessed right time, he reminded himself of t
hose sacred words often quoted, but it did little to ease the worrying father within him.

  ‘One does not need to be a Dragon Lord to be powerful,’ Coronos chanced, knowing it was an ice-thin gamble. He immediately regretted it when the young man’s cheeks coloured and then he walked away to stand at the ocean’s edge.

  Is he ashamed he is not a Dragon Lord like his mother? Coronos thought, looking at Asaph’s hunched back and slumped shoulders. Perhaps he is but why has he kept it from me if so? Dragon Lord or not, he does not yet understand his full power; indeed I do not, yet I feel it even with my dwindling skills. It feels like a chain of unbreakable iron. After a respectful few minutes Coronos went to stand silently next to Asaph.

  ‘You know she has plagued my dreams ever since I can remember,’ Asaph said. ‘Now I understand why. I do not deny that I am afraid of this task before me, yet there is no way in the world I would ever turn it down or give it to another. I feel a lot for her, Father, I cannot explain it... it goes beyond this lifetime,’ he shook his head, as if searching for the words. ‘You do not have to follow me. In truth, for your own safety, I wish that you would not.’

  Coronos turned back to the ocean. Earlier he had listened somewhat astonished as Asaph recounted his vision, which he insisted was no vision at all but real, and the scars upon his chest too were real. Coronos only half-believed Asaph because deep down he was afraid, afraid of what it meant if Feygriene herself had appointed a divine task upon him. ‘I have left and lost many most dear to me. I will not lose another,’ he said, tapping his staff resolutely.