Chapter 10: A New Foe

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A tall, slender female figure dressed in long, white robes with a gold trim was sitting on a majestic throne. The figure was the Queen of Gar’nashia, and her horns were decorated with numerous gems and gold rings, in place of a crown. A male figure stood beside the throne; he was the Queen’s advisor, and the second most powerful person in the country. The throne room was empty save for the pair, which was a rare sight, as numerous guards usually stood guard over their country’s monarch.

“Tell me, what’s the situation now?” the Queen asked in a low voice. She knew that they were alone in the throne room, but one could never be too careful. Walls had ears, and she didn’t want anyone spreading the information she was about to hear.

Clearly her advisor thought the same, as he replied in the same undertone, leaning forward to whisper in her ear with a frown upon his face.

“There have been more reports of people going missing all over the country, more so than the past two years. We haven’t been able to find where they are being taken too, though a few of those allegedly missing returned to their families after a week at most. They claim to have no recollection of what happened, but they have been acting strangely, and their families say that they are essentially not the same person anymore.”

“One particular individual attempted to assault his wife, and would have killed her had their neighbour not heard her screams. We have restrained him for the time being in the dungeons, but our attempts at finding out more haven’t been progressing well, to say the least. He keeps spouting something about returning home to the Abyss during our interrogations. He doesn’t eat or sleep, and has been trying to bash his own head against the cell walls. It’s as if he wants to die. We’ve restrained, force-fed and sedated him to prevent that, but it seems we’ll get nothing more out of him.”

“I’ve dispatched some people to keep an eye on those who’ve returned as well, in case they exhibit the same strange behaviour. I’ve also consulted the history books and various experts, but I’ve found no clue about who or what the Abyss is,” the advisor finished with a sigh, running a hand through his greying hair.

The Queen sat in silence for a few moments, taking in all the information that her right-hand man had just laid upon her, before she spoke up in a tight voice.

“Good job, that was far more than I expected to hear. For now, tightened the guard around the major cities, and spread word to our forces to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals. Reveal no more though; we do not want our people to panic. That is all.”

“By your leave, your majesty,” acknowledged the advisor with a curt bow, before he left to perform his orders.

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The soul floated out of the Rift. There were others like it flitting around as well; souls as black as the night. It was slightly different, though. It had peculiar yellow streaks running through its otherwise fully black appearance. Other than its appearance, it also had a different mission compared to the other black souls.

The Abyss, the one the black souls called master, had given the mission to the soul personally. It was the only thing the soul could remember clearly. A weak thought seemed to tug at its consciousness, telling the soul that it was forgetting something important, but the thought was overpowered by the master’s commands.

The Abyss had seemed annoyed when giving the soul its mission. Of course, the soul could not see the Abyss, as it did not seem to have a tangible form, but the voice ringing out in the soul’s consciousness had told it enough.

“It retained some of its form? How could this be? Unless… could this be his influence?” the Abyss had muttered, before instructing the soul with its loud, penetrating voice. “No matter, child. Your mission is to stay close to him and await my orders in the future.”

The soul shook with pride as it neared its destination. It would not disappoint its master. With that thought in mind, the soul floated down into a white-shelled egg, before its consciousness faded out.

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“Death begets life, and life begets death; as one life falls, another rises to take its place.”

Draygor awoke with that thought in mind. He wondered what it meant. He had no idea at the moment, but it seemed like an important clue to his existence, and he recited it again under his breath, committing it to his memory.

Suddenly, Draygor realised that he had no idea where he was. He observed his surroundings, and concluded that he was inside what seemed like a small wooden hut. It took him a bit of effort to sit up on the small bed; it felt as if he hadn’t moved his body in months.

Ah, that’s right! He had been stabbed, and he remembered using the Last Breath as well.

“That’s not a spell I want to use ever again…” muttered Draygor under his breath, wincing slightly at the memory.

Glancing down at himself, Draygor realised that there a few obvious changes to his body. He had grown taller, his tail had grown longer, and there were more scales – white in colour of course – adorning his body now. There was a large scar across his midriff from the wound, and his horns seemed to have started growing, as evidenced by the little white nubs poking out of his head.

“Wait! This means I’m at least eight years old now… it’s been three years?!” he said aloud in shock. Draygor had witnessed people using the Last Breath before, but he’d never met one who lived to tell the tale, thus he certainly hadn’t expected a three year coma.

“Yup, I’m definitely not using it again if I can help it.”

Another question rose up in Draygor’s mind as he absentmindedly stroked his scar. Surely he would have died from such a severe wound? Who had treated him? He received his answer just mere moments after that as a familiar voice called out.

“Ah, master! You’re awake!”

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Draygor tensed up the moment she walked into the hut. He had tried to jump up for a fight, but had collapsed onto the floor almost immediately; he hadn’t moved in such a long time that his body simply refused to follow his commands.

“YOU! You’re the one who stabbed me!” he yelled, staring at the roughly twenty year old Gar’nashian woman – with dark blue hair and black scales – accusingly as he attempted to prop himself up on the side of the bed.

To his surprise, she immediately prostrated herself and began apologising, her voice quavering in fear. “I’m sorry, master! I was foolish and didn’t know better! Please punish me if you must!”

Draygor was speechless.

“Did she call me master? Wait, is she really crying? What is going on?!” he thought as he stared at her.

After a few moments, Draygor managed to calm her down enough for a conversation by promising that he would forgive her. “First off, what is your name?”

“This loyal servant is Kha’na, master. I have no last name – I gave it up when I joined the Cult,” Kha’na said in a wobbly voice, bowing her head down to avoid his gaze.

“Explain everything to me then, Kha’na. Starting from how I became your master.”

So, she did. Kha’na told Draygor how Shaitan had instructed her on her task personally. She had brought him out of Gar’nashian lands as per Shaitan’s orders, and had nursed him back to health for the past three years while he lay in a coma. They were out in the Great Forest, which was not in the territory of any country, where she had managed to stumble across an abandoned hut. While the forests were usually home to many strong beasts, the hut was in a pretty well hidden spot, so they had been safe from any attacks.

Draygor decided that he could trust her, after hearing the entire story. Kha’na had devoted her life to Shaitan; she wouldn’t go against the orders of her god.

“Thank you for saving me,” he said sincerely, and was rewarded with a small blush from Kha’na as she bowed at his praise. “Though, please just call me Draygor. ‘Master’ is too… formal for my tastes. Agreed?”

“Yes, mast – Draygor! I hope you will find my service worthy. Though, I am curious… just who are you, master? To speak with He Who Takes Lives so casually…” Kha’na asked, a look of curiosity upon her face, and Draygor sighed inwardly as he noticed that she had forgotten to address him by his name.

“Guess it’ll take a while for her to get used to it…” he thought, before giving Kha’na the answer to her question.

“To be honest, Kha’na, I don’t really know either. The gods were the ones that approached me first, and while they seem to know me, I cannot recall the reason for their familiarity. I do intend to find out, however. So, if you’re really interested to know, follow me to the end, and I promise we’ll find the truth!” Draygor responded confidently, causing Kha’na to nod her head enthusiastically.

“I wonder why Shaitan bade you to bring me out of Gar’nashia though… perhaps there’s some trouble back home that could have posed a risk to me while I was unconscious?” he wondered aloud, earning a shrug from Kha’na.

With Draygor’s questions about his current situation mostly answered, he began thinking of home. He thought about his parents, about Dhi’na. Did they know he was alive? He would have liked to set off on their journey home right away, but his legs were still weak from inaction, and unlike three years before, he couldn’t expect Kha’na to carry him all the back since, since he’d grown quite a bit since then. Thus, the pair had to delay their journey back into Gar’nashia for a few days.

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As soon as Draygor had recovered most of his bodily strength, both master and servant set off on their journey home. He had wondered how he was to explain Kha’na’s presence to his parents when they eventually got back, though he decided he’d think about it on the way home. It would take a month at least, after all, since they were going the whole way on foot.

With Kha’na’s help, he managed to fashion a crude quarterstaff from the bark of one of the trees in the forest. The trees in the Great Forest grew tall and sturdy, and the staff made for a great weapon with the hardness of the wood. Quarterstaves had been Draygor’s weapon of choice in his previous life, as they were extremely flexible in combat; he could use it to bludgeon people in close combat, and – when enchanted appropriately – as a conduit to channel mana more efficiently for spells that he was unfamiliar with. Plus, it doubled as a walking stick in this case. Draygor wielded his new weapon with great familiarity, which drew numerous glances of curiosity from Kha’na.

Along with Kha’na’s daggers, the two of them made short work of any wild beasts that attacked them. There weren’t any situations dangerous enough for Draygor to resort to using magick, so he refrained and used his quarterstaff more during fights instead. Most mages usually only concentrated on one field of magick after all, and he didn’t want to raise too many questions by using multiple spells from different fields of magick. He needed the physical practice anyway, since his body was still that of a growing child’s, and didn’t have the strength that he’d had in his previous life yet.

As the month neared its end and they arrived the edge of the Gar’nashian borders, Shaitan sent a message to Draygor via Kha’na.

“Hone your strengths, strange one. The Abyss has awakened, though it will be a long time before it gathers its power. So too must you regain your true self, in order to contend with it.”

It was straightforward, yet cryptic in its own right. Draygor understood that he would have to grow stronger to fight with the Abyss from the message, but he had no idea what the Abyss was. He had asked Kha’na if any of Shaitan’s teachings mentioned the Abyss, but she was at a loss as to what it meant as well.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll find out eventually. For now, I will have to train harder! I’ll become stronger than I was before!” Draygor decided after much thought, pushing the clue of the Abyss into his growing pile of leads. Much of his original strength would return to him as he grew, but he would push himself further. He would build his strength, and he would find out the truth! That was his purpose!

Soon, the pair crossed back into the lands of the Gar’nash, and home was in sight.

Chapter 10! Hope you've enjoyed it.

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