Ulmir’s Domain. The Flying Lion Painted World. A Few Hours Before the End of The Tribulations.

After being thrown inside the painting, Javad landed on a rocky surface. There were small black stones everywhere around him. He inspected some to find them dangerously sharp. In the distance, he could see some ponds from which a gray smoke emanated. High up above, he heard the roars of the flying lion. He looked up to see the creature circling the air. Its roar filled the air as it soared the sky.

The sky above him got dark and the wind even picked up speed every time the gigantic beast flew above him. It didn’t seem to mind Javad’s presence though. Perhaps it didn’t even notice him. The beast flew above the Priest once more and Javad noticed something he hadn’t before. Wherever the beast flew, a trail followed.

Drops of blood showered the ground as the lion flew by. Someone had injured it, badly. Was it Darkstar? Was he really inside the Painted World? Javad didn’t know what to think. He looked around for a sign of life. There were but some dead plants and melted rock. The High Priest was sure his deadly enemy was inside. But Javad wasn’t as good a tracker as Utar. He didn’t even know where to start from.

‘Utar will pay for his treachery,’ he thought as he walked around the area. He could see the volcano in the distance. The earth beneath him was rumbling. He didn’t want to approach the mountain of doom just yet. He had to make sure Darkstar wasn’t lurking somewhere. The only sounds he could hear were the howling of the wind and the lion’s wings flapping in the air.

He heard the creature roar then heavily land on top of a cliff made of obsidian rocks. The creature walked about in a circle then curled up into a ball. Its wings covered its entire body. It was too big of a monster not to notice. One could only gaze at it for hours, taking in all its glorious form.

Javad was doing just that when he felt a sharp object pressed against his back. He slowly raised his hands in the air then attempted to look back. The sharp object was thrust a little further in his back and Javad looked forward.

“Who - who are you?” he asked.

“Any sudden moves and I’ll chop your leg off,” the voice said. “Throw your weapon to the ground, kick it back then slowly turn toward me.”

Javad did as he was told. He slowly turned to look at his assailant. He saw a man, a head taller than he was. He wore boiled leather under ring mail and held the strangest sword. He could tell it was Darkstar’s sword from the azure light that shone from within.

The cracks had disappeared however. The sword now shone a blue light. The brightness of the light changed as an immaterial shape danced inside the weapon. It was definitely a divine weapon from the looks of it. ‘How did Utar not sensed this?’ he found himself thinking as the man searched him thoroughly.

Javad detached his eyes from the sword to look at the one pointing it. He didn’t care about the man’s auburn hair or his other facial features, for the man had the strangest eyes. They were pitch-black with rectangular pupils that shone a bright golden light. Javad’s breathing got ragged. Sweat covered his forehead as the man before him inspected him with his strange eyes.

“What’s a Priest doing here?” Zedd asked. He didn’t look intrigued. It looked as though he were enjoying this situation. “I’ve seen you in the vault with Utar. You must be Javad, the coward.”

“Y-you’re not s-s-supposed to be h-here!” Those were the only words Javad could mutter. His mind was in shambles. He could only think of the man in front of him and how he’d deceived everybody else. He didn’t even understand how he managed to get inside the Castle unnoticed, let alone to find his way inside this Painted World.

“As well as that!” Zedd pointed behind the Priest. Javad turned back to see the lion, still curled up and sleeping. He turned to look at Zedd who was smiling, still inspecting him with his peculiar eyes. The man flicked his fingers then Javad’s sword flew into his hand. “You’ve interrupted a jolly conversation I was having with our dear beast. He asked me to get rid of you first. Any last word?”

“W-w-wait!” Javad yelled before Zedd could attack. “I-I know a secret way out of the castle. I can help you get away from Utar.”

“Is that so?” Zedd asked, his sword still pointed at the Priest. Black Eyes looked at the sleeping beast then at Javad again. “You must be good with Miracles I presume?” Miracle was the name given to healing magic, the kind that mends bones and reconstructs muscle tissue.

“I was instructed in the art,” Javad answered. “I’m not as good as Lord Supreme, but I can mend broken bones.”

“Excellent!” Zedd pointed his sword forward, urging the Priest to move.

“Where are we going?” Javad asked.

“We’re paying my friend there a social call.”

Javad instantly turned around and shouted a “What?!” at Zedd. His fear had overcome his cowardice and for that he got a good smack that made his teeth clatter. Zedd pushed the Priest forward then continued walking.

“Don’t make this harder than it already is,” he told the Priest in a saddened tone. “Heal the beast and we all leave. It’s simple.”

“What if it eats me?” Javad answered once more.

“Are you bleeding?”

“No,” Javad was moving slowly towards the flying lion. Sharp obsidian stones nicked his leather boots. If he kept walking in that field, he’d be bleeding in no time. It felt like walking toward a mountain since the beast had covered the entirety of the obsidian hill with its enormous body.

“If you’re not bleeding, it won’t eat you. Besides, it’s not hungry,” Zedd was still pushing the coward priest forward, urging him to move faster.

“How would you know?”

“I’m only answering your questions since I’ve been alone for quite a while. Otherwise I would have cut your leg and offered it to the lion as a peace offering.”

“Peace?”

“He might be a bit angry at me you see. I didn’t know he could speak, so I attacked him. We had a conversation in which he threatened to eat my brains last. But I convinced him I came in peace.”

“How did you manage that?”

“Like this!” Zedd threw a punch that landed on the poor priest’s back. Javad felt his body being propelled forward. His body landed among the sharp stones and rolled forward at a dangerous speed. He felt his left arm getting cut open. A warm liquid poured over his right eye as he kept rolling. The whole world seemed to have transformed into a complicated jumble of black and gray.

Then he came to a complete stop.

Zedd was standing above him. He had stopped the Priest’s continuous rolling above the sharp obsidian rocks. “Heal yourself before you bleed to death,” he urged him. His deep voice gave the priest a bad feeling. Zedd helped Javad sit then the Priest started chanting. He didn’t have time to waste. He could feel his body aching. Open wounds throbbed as blood left them.

“Great mother above, merciful and magnanimous, feel our woes and deliver us from our suffering. Heal our wounds and grant us strength, for we shall spread your name across the stars and in the oceans below.”

A bright golden light shone above the priest. The wound above his right eyes immediately mended. His lacerated legs instantly recovered and his messed up hair got back in place. Even the priest’s clothes regained their original form.

“You really are a good healer!” Zedd happily exclaimed. “I pack a heavy punch you see. Big cats don’t usually bend easily, but they fear strength. He spoke to me after I pounded him. Alas, he was too injured to trust me. Now, if you want to leave this place, I suggest you come with me and we heal that monster.”

“But that’s a colossus. Healing my tiny body’s one thing, but healing a mountain… I don’t think I can do it.” Javad protested.

“You’re just afraid to get close to it,” Zedd retorted. “I assume Utar threw you here, is that right?”

“Yes,” Javad replied.

“And I assume he’d finally realized I was here. So he asked you to bring me back to him. Lord Supreme was here too. So he doesn’t trust the High Priest anymore and turned to you, to report to him Utar’s every move. But pray tell me, dear Priest, how will you leave this place after you capture me?”

Javad looked at Black Eyes helplessly. He bit his lips and remained silent. Zedd noticed the Priest’s puzzled look. He let out a victorious smile then spoke.

“You think Utar has some special spell to observe what we’re doing here. You think he’d come for us as soon as you capture me. But you see, dear Priest, there’s no leaving this place without mister lion’s permission. Surely Lord Supreme told you that, as he told Utar as well.”

Javad looked up, his pupils were dilated and his mouth was involuntarily open. “It can’t be,” he said in a whisper.

“You know the ways of the church, dear Priest. They’re ruthless and cunning. You’ve been used to serve a greater purpose. The Contest had gone awry for reasons nobody understands. They need a scapegoat, and that would be me and you, unless we work together.”

As a Priest, Javad’s job was to take care of contestants and keep the realm secure. He had to go for expeditions outside the castle to calm the Faeries during their wrath. During this year’s hunt, his miracles were needed to help calm the beasts. But when he finally arrived to the Plains’ border, he watched it get blown to smithereens due to Vaneel’s Corruption. If it weren’t for his miracles, he would’ve died too.

“I would never become a devil’s ally!” Javad spat at Black Eyes. His eyes had suddenly switched to hatred and spite.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s that attitude about?!” Zedd exclaimed. “Why do you call me a Devil? What do you know about me?”

“Utar fears you and despises you. You destroyed the Fairy Plains and killed the Imperials. You used treachery to get inside our realm, despite the High Priest’s warnings. You escaped his watchful eyes for days for reasons we don’t know about. Everything about you spells mystery. What should I call you if not a devil?”

“Call me Darkstar! It’s a fitting name for someone dark and mysterious like me, don’t you think?”

“I think it’s a name fitting a dead man,” the Priest retorted.

“Whatever you say, Priest! So you intend to stay here forever?”

“You can kill me if you want,” Javad answered. “But I won’t help you get out of here. You’ll starve or that flying beast will eat you. There’s nothing to eat or drink here.”

“Tell me, Priest,” Zedd started, emphasizing the last word. “What do you know of Painted Worlds?”

“They’re worlds inside a painting. They have a life inside, like in our worlds. You’ll soon run out of energy, and there’s nothing to eat here.”

“Painted Worlds obey different rules, Priest. It really depends on who created them. This one’s special, you see. It seems to be stuck in time.”

“What do you mean stuck?”

“There’s a loop that repeats itself. The lion told me before you arrived here and interrupted us.”

“So?”

“So unless you choose to help us heal the beast, we won’t – “

Zedd stopped talking and the Priest felt his body being forcefully pulled into the air. It felt like a vacuum was pulling them upwards. The flying lion was pulled in the air too and everything became a blur.

Javad was back where he started, staring at the obsidian rocks and the ponds with gray smoke. A flying lion had just flown above him as blood drops rained on the ground. It felt like a déjà vu. He couldn’t tell if he’d already lived this experience or not. He couldn’t even remember why he was standing there.