by Dan O'Brien
“Yreth, I see you have returned,” spoke Karian as her eyes snapped open. She pushed herself from the throne, turning her hateful stare upon the shadow.
“Yes, my mistress.”
“And the warrior Xeno?”
“He and his companions have entered your Tower. They navigate the maze as we speak,” the shadow replied, features hidden as they once were.
“You could not kill him?”
“He was more resilient than most mortals. He fought with strength unbecoming of a human,” returned the shadow.
Karian paced.
Her arms were behind her back, hands clasped. “There are three,” whispered Karian as she searched with her eyes closed––her arms extended, feeling the air about her.
“Yes, a child and a soldier accompany him. I sense only sadness in the other warrior.”
“He means to kill me this time,” replied Karian as she opened her eyes. She looked out the stone window at the wintry caps of the mountains.
“Shall I release the trials?”
“No, I will play no games this time. I must confront him for my master, and for myself. There will be no illusions as to who is the victor this time.”
“As you wish, my mistress.”
“Leave the Tower. Join our master to the east. He has plans for you.”
“Understood. Farewell, Mistress Karian.” And with that the apparition disappeared once again, leaving Karian to her thoughts and the solitary confinement of her cage.
*
The stairwell spiraled far above them.
The depth of the darkness seemed to redouble with each step. And when they thought they had climbed as far as was possible, there were more stairs and stone before them. Xeno seemed sadder the closer they came to the distant light at the top of the stairwell. Needless to say, Uthen and Maian worried about their traveling companion.
“Master Xeno?” queried Maian with a weak voice.
“What is it, Maian?”
“Why does the story of Devonshire sadden you so?”
“Why do you think it saddens me, child?”
“When you told us of the Song Maiden and the king, you spoke of them with remorse and regret. It was as if they had affected your life in some way.”
Uthen looked on, recognizing that Xeno had a way of avoiding such questions––the things that haunted his past. “Is it not a sad story?”
“It is.”
“Then that is why it saddens me. Is that what you wished to know?”
“No, it was as if you had a connection to them.”
“What you suspect is true. I was born in Devonshire––their history is my history. My people were templates of what could become of man, and it was all torn down by the darkness. It saddens me greatly.”
Maian nodded.
They continued up the stairs in silence, until Xeno stopped them with a wave of his hand. Moving ahead of them, he disappeared around a corner. He reappeared again, his finger on his lips as he motioned them closer.
“We are here,” he whispered.
They crept through the darkened hallway.
Emerging into the half light of the room, they viewed the solitary throne and the slumbering beast at its side. The were-beast turned its head and growled deeply, rising on its haunches for a moment. It laid back down as Karian emerged from the darkness and waved her hand for him to sit.
“Xeno Lobo,” she called.
“Karian. Widow,” he replied. The moment between them was far stranger then either Uthen or Maian had imagined.
“Father would be displeased with you, coming here to kill your own sister,” replied Karian, drawing her blade from the darkness and tracing circles in the air with it like a child. The shadow fire danced lazily at her command.
“Sister?” replied Uthen incredulously.
“Oh, he didn’t tell you of our checkered past together, of the kingdom of Devonshire and the fall of its people. And don’t forget the son of the king, Xeno Lobo.”
Maian’s face twisted into anger, the Widow’s words creating a spark in her eyes. She stepped forward, her arms straight at her sides. “Then you are the beautiful Song Maiden Ariana, corrupted by the forces of darkness.”
Karian turned at the child’s words and her hands erupted in darkness, a beam of convoluted shadow leaping toward her frail frame. Uthen leapt in front of the girl, taking the force of the blow. It sent him crashing against the cruel stone of the walls.
Maian notched an arrow and let it loose.
Notching another as the first sang through the air, she let it go in succession. Karian turned her blade and deflected each, sending the splintered shafts into the darkness. Picking up the child from across the room, her outstretched arm shook with power.
“Let her go, Ariana,” spoke Xeno, his blade still not drawn.
Karian flung the child atop Uthen, and then turned back to Xeno. “You use my former name, brother. There is no need for such formalities among bitter enemies.”
“The only enemy I have is the darkness and the hold it has over you. You are my sister and I will not allow the darkness to have claim over you any longer. By your death, or by your redemption, I will see my sister freed.”
A thin, childlike laugh erupted from Karian. She pointed a mocking finger at Xeno. “Wonderful speech, brother, but it means nothing. The darkness has given me so much. What can you possibly show me that would make me turn my back on such a giving benefactor?”
“At one time, I would have thought showing compassion would have been enough. But you are far beyond mere words now, so another road must be taken.”
Karian brandished her blade, the shadow steel glowing like fire. When she moved it through the air, it seemed to grow and recede like a true flame. She swung her blade at Xeno’s head and he dodged easily. His blade remained in its sheath, but this mattered not to Karian as she struck again. This time at his chest and as he parried with movement, she swung vertically. Xeno flailed for a moment, losing his balance.
“Why do you not draw your sword, brother? Do you still harbor some misguided belief that I will turn from my path?” mocked Karian as she swung the blade again, this time glancing the stone.
Sparks lit up the dismal chamber.
“I wait only for the opportune time, and it has come.” Xeno rolled to his feet and drew a bluish orb from his side satchel. Brandishing it in his gloved hand, the swirling masses of colors washed over one another like waves upon the shoreline. Karian stepped away from her brother’s outstretched hand.
Her eyes became wide, mouth curling into a sneer. “What manner of trickery is this?” she roared. Her face was flushed, blade falling from her hand and diminishing into the stone that surrounded her. She fell to her knees, a brilliant glow emerging around her and engulfing the room in its surreal light.
Xeno moved closer, the orb beginning to bleed its colors. The orb destroyed itself, becoming vapor and fog. A figure built itself from the magicks. The form vibrated and convulsed, and soon became solid. The features were identical to Karian, except born of a brilliant sheen of light and innocence––the blonde hair was white and the sour features were soft and pleasant.
“This is who you once were, your former self,” yelled Xeno as the orb disappeared from his hand. Only the figure remained, standing over Karian, smiling.
“No,” Karian whispered hoarsely as she looked upon her reflection cast in ethereal form.
“It is time for you to disperse. I reclaim my body, my soul,” spoke Ariana, her words like song.
Karian rose, her chest heaving and shoulders sagging. Tears streamed down her face. She moved her lips as if to speak, but no words came. As the apparition placed her clear hands through Karian’s body, the vile eyes of the servant of the darkness disappeared and the gentle glow of the Song Maiden Ariana returned. She faltered for a moment and then regained her balance, her eyes filled with emotion.
“Brother,” she called as she placed her slender hand on Xeno’s cheek.
/> Xeno closed his eyes and placed his hand over his sister’s. “Sister.”
Uthen regained consciousness with a start, and with him came Maian. Both of them looked on in shock at the moment between brother and sister, Xeno and Ariana. The dark robes of Karian had disappeared and been replaced with a stark white dress and cloak. A thin, crafted blade was hidden within a sheath along her back.
“Xeno?” queried Uthen as he rubbed his head and rose from the cold stone beneath him.
Maian stood as well.
She was suspicious of the Song Maiden. “Is this your sister?” queried Maian, looking on in disbelief.
“This is the Song Maiden Ariana, princess of Devonshire, and my sister,” replied Xeno.
“How?” came the simultaneous question from both Uthen and Maian.
Xeno looked at Ariana.
“Love.”
“What becomes of us now? What of the lands burdened by this evil plague?” asked Maian as she looked out upon the cold cliffs and mountaintops beneath them.
Ariana stepped forward beside the young girl. “There is a darkness that has spread across Prima Terra. The winds speak the name of the Dark One. I was taken by this darkness, and now I shall battle that darkness. My brother and I will return to our home, reclaim it from the shadow,” spoke Ariana.
Maian did not turn as Uthen placed a hand on her shoulder. “And what of us?” asked the soldier.
Xeno looked to his sister, his eyes softer than they had been upon their journey. “You may return to you homes,” he replied.
The young girl shrugged her shoulders, hands digging against the cold stone of the window. “And what if we have no home, what then?”
Uthen looked down at the girl sadly. “What if we no longer think service to a king is enough? What if we wish to fight the darkness that threatens to consume us?” spoke Uthen.
Xeno smiled.
Ariana looked back at her brother, her angelic features glowing. “Then we forge ahead together, stronger in numbers and friendship,” spoke Ariana, her voice like a song.
“Do not forget that the road we travel will be dangerous. People will die, lives taken before their time. We do not mean to quietly fade into the night. We wish to seek out those who battle the Light and teach them fear,” spoke Xeno, touching the hilt of his blade.
Maian nodded––Uthen as well, though his somber face knew the dangers. Together, they looked out upon the world as the cold brought it to its knees.
Their journey had just begun.
