by Darin Dion Hunt
"Please, don't leave…" The young woman asked.
Travis still backed away, but then he stopped and walked
back up to her. She was a beautiful lady, but she was hurt
badly. His parents had warned him about speaking with people
that he did not know, but for some reason he felt drawn
to her. And, she did have the Mark of the Elders on her
breast. His father had always told him that when he saw
that mark, he was to obey the one who wore it.
"I'll go and get help for you…" Travis told
her.
"No… It's too late for that! Please, I need to
tell my story. I know that you are from the House of Gidia!
I am too; I know that you do not understand. But, I need
you to tell my story to the elders, when they arrive at
the Black Dragon Inn. Please?" She begged.
"Okay…" Travis answered.
A smile came over her face briefly, before pain wiped it
from her. She took a deep breath and prepared to tell her
story.
*
"Gidia, father of our house and the eldest of the
seers, passed with the changing of the seasons. Before he
died, he had a terrifying vision of the ancients. He saw
the ancient lords reborn in this world and dragon kind rising
once more. I was chosen to investigate his vision because
I was taught the old tongue by my father before he
was taken from us. The elders gave me 300 moons to see what
I could find, then we would meet in Talos Valley at the
Black Dragon Inn, and they would decide what must be done.
"I set out on my journey on the last day of the harvest,
I would attempt to find the Kavachi people, for they have
served and worshipped the dragon gods for as long as can
be remembered. If Gidia's vision were true, they would know
of it and probably be the ones behind it. I searched for
90 moons and found no one! I began to think that the map
that the elders gave me to find the Kavachi village was
wrong, or that they had abandoned their ancient village
and the lands that they called home in the Crystal Mountains.
"Soon after, I began to question whether or not I
believed in the tales of our faith. I had not spoken in
the old tongue since my father had been taken and I found
myself doubting if I could remember the language. It had
been so long since that night, when the stranger came to
our house asking for my father. When the elders finally
discovered that the stranger was a demon of some kind, it
was too late! So many died fighting to save him, but that
creature still took him away from me.
*
"It was on the 100th moon that I found them, deep
in the Crystal Mountains, in a hidden valley. They accepted
me easily enough and shared their knowledge and history
with me willingly. I was surprised to find them so willing
to accept me, but they told me that it was their way. I
told them of the House of Gidia and of his vision, and they
told me that their elders had been given knowledge of a
ceremony that would allow the souls of the old lords to
join with the soul of a human. In doing so, they would be
reborn into the world with the body of a human, but the
soul of a dragon.
"A woman with child was told that her baby would not
survive after birth; she agreed to allow the ceremony to
take place using her child as the vessel. The ceremony was
successful, but the soul that came through was not one of
the dragon lords. The soul that came through was older and
far more powerful than that of the old lords. The elders
said that he was the son of an ancient, a forgotten child
that was no longer spoken of.
"Before the woman could give birth, the Kavachi were
attacked by a race of demons known to them as the Mongai.
They hunted the woman down and killed her, taking the child
from her womb. They took the child to the pit of Shakasa
where the dark one sleeps. There they threw him into the
abyss. The elders told me that this all occurred over 100
years earlier, and that; they were now ready to free the
child from his prison.
"I did not understand how the child could still be
alive, but they assured me that he was.
"They allowed me to accompany their chosen warriors
to the ancient site to aid in the rescue.
*
The demon race known as the Mongai, half-human and half-feline,
lived at the base of the great pit of Shakasa. They saw
us coming and attacked; I have never seen such carnage.
In the end, one warrior, Nazius, and I survived.
"We freed the child from the abyss. One hundred years
had passed since they took him, yet the child that we freed
appeared to be no more than 12 years old."
*
The woman let out an offal moan and fell silent for some
time. Travis reached out to touch her and as he did, she
once again began to speak.
"When we freed him from the abyss. Another came out
with him, a dark, evil priest, born of The Dark One himself.
Jabez is his name; I lead him away from the others and fought
him, and I have now paid with my life…
"The child is being escorted back to the Crystal Mountains
by the last of the warriors. They will pass through Talos
Valley.
"I tell you now, that I have not seen anything that
would lead me to believe that the child is evil. But, the
dark priest, Jabez, will destroy all life in order to regain
possession of the child. Please, you must tell the elders
of my tale. They must turn their attention to the priest
named Jabez. .
"Please, pass on my tale…" She finished
telling her tale and fell asleep.
*
Travis stood up and ran back towards the Black Dragon Inn,
he wanted to show his parents the young woman and tell them
of her tale. Perhaps they would understand what she was
talking about…
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