Chapter 2

Merianna

I awoke to the sound of snoring. I was warm and comfortable, thick blankets wrapped around me, making it feel like I was in a cocoon or a nest. I felt like I was in a dream, still sleeping.

The burning in my chest that had been constantly jabbing at me was gone, just a dull throbbing was emanating from there now, and my body was relaxed, nothing really hurt at all. My eyes were still heavy and with a sigh I snuggled deeper into the covers, rolling over on my side.

I was glad that night had fallen, the slight breeze that drifted into the room from outside was refreshing, bringing with it the smell of fresh greens and vibrant earth. It was also as if the night itself had a smell of its own. Musty, mysterious, dark and raw.

I tried drifting off into sleep again, but the snoring wasn't letting up. That insistent deep barrelled snoring...

I slowly sat up from between the blankets and stared blearily at the source of the irritating sound. Vaguely I saw that it was the same guy that I had seen in the clearing. He was sprawled on a stiff back wooden chair.

His head was cranked all the way back as if he wanted to support his head on the wall behind him but was too tired to scoot the chair back. Because of that his mouth was hanging as open like a cave in the mountains and let rumbling snores leak out. His arms were lank at his sides spilling over the armrests like rolls of fabric almost would. His legs were limp and sprawled out straight in front of him. His whole body was tilted to the one side of the chair making it teeter to the heaviest side.

I tilted my head and glared at his snoring face. My body seemed to creak with aches, and my vision was blurry with exhaustion. I couldn't sleep with his insistent snores rattling the stone walls of the room, and I didn't know what it was, but something about him just irked me.

Almost unconsciously my fingers itched towards one of the heavy pillows close by. Deliberately I heaved the pillow over my head and tossed it with all my might towards my target.

It hit him squarely on the neck and chin. The instant the pillow made contact, his body tensed and he started to flail when the pillow fumbled into his line of sight. The chair tipped just that extra little inch that I had been waiting for. With a satisfying crash he fell to the floor breaking the arm rest that ended up underneath him.

He scrambled up so fast I could barely see. He scanned the room braced for attack, his eyes flew over me like I wasn't there, but after the second scan his eyes finally rested on my irritated expression and crossed arms. He stared at me and blinked.

Now that I was satisfied that the snoring had ceased, I nodded once and then crawled back underneath the covers. Falling asleep again almost instantly with a satisfied smile on my face.

Noch

Ahhh... Royalty, having so many serve me hand and foot. What more could a king ask for?

This throne made of griffin down lined with gold makes me never want to get up ever again.

"Scylla, what do we have planned for today?" I asked with glee while giving my Gorgon in chains next to me an evil look. Gorgons are wretched creatures with snakes for hair, nasty off colour skin, a blighted temperament and the power to turn people to stone. This one next to him had her snakes cut off, only had one eye and a nice fat chain around her neck served as an accessory, making her harmless.

"Torture for me and then a hunt later, massster." she hissed looking slightly apprehensive.

"Wonderful! I do love a good torture session! What are we hunting today?" I already knew the answer, but I loved making her say it. "The hunt will conssssissst of mortals and ... myself, massster." she hissed with fear.

"Brilliant! Fetch me my slippers and do so quickly or I will have your rear on fire again!" I boomed out. I couldn't explain how much I loved bossing her around. The feeling was abs-

"Ahhhhh!!!" I screamed as a boulder came crashing down on me.

My eyes suddenly flew wide open and I jumped up in full battle stance ready for a fight. I scanned the room left and right but saw no attackers, except a very annoyed little girl. I looked around again and saw a pillow on the floor next to me, then I realised ... THAT COW WOKE ME UP!

Just as I was about to say something, she pulled the covers back over herself and went back to sleep. How rude ... I thought to myself. I supose it is time to get up and go see Fog anyway.

I shambled around my room yawning, picked up a shirt here some pants there and then headed to the washing room. At a first glance it looked empty and plain. I walked over to the wall on the far right, deep to the back of washroom and started to draw my finger over a simple inscription on the smooth wall.

The rune word for water lit up when my finger reached the stone where it was inscribed. A line of energy flowed from the inscription straight up to the ceiling. Water first started to trickle out from a section in ceiling slowly. Then it gradually became a gentle rain that fell on me from above. Just like everything else in this castle, all was controlled by magic or rather some call it magic where others would call it energy. I waved my hand at the door to the washroom and heard a distinct 'click' meaning the door has locked.

I proceed to get undressed and stepped in under the rain to clean myself. That girl might be... I doubt it but there is a possibility. I thought to myself while washing my long hair with a Soaproot and Lavender.

It's still too soon to know… she might not even be here long enough to matter. I thought to myself again as I shook my head. I pushed the thoughts aside and focused on relaxing during my shower.

Once I was satisfied with my cleanliness, I wiped my hand over the rune word again, erasing the energy from the wall and the water receded to a drizzle then disappeared altogether. Leaving the room as dry and plain as it was before.

I threw on my clothes and snuck past the little girl like smoke. Although, I was tempted to thump around the place like a bull and make her miserable. Instead I slinked past unheard, avoided making any noise and tried not to step or trip over the debris on the floor. Which was left by the hurricane known as me. Quietly I opened the massive wooden door and slipped out into the old corridor.

That girl better get a room of her own soon or leave, I can't sneak out of my own room like this forever. I thought to myself as I walked down the hallway, lit by wooden torches held up by energy instead of fixtures against the walls every few feet. This place had always perplexed me, and I used to spend days just wandering around here looking for secrets ... there were so many.

I reached a dead end, then a smile broke out across my face as I looked around for curious eyes. All clear.

I reached inside myself for some energy and channelled it into my hand as I lifted it up to the wall.

"Sa-hek-nono-vite..." I whispered the incantation and the wall reacted in kind. First it trembled slightly, then the stone bricks started moving inward, revealing a corridor that looked like a mouth of pure darkness. I sighed. Let's go see an old man about a little girl.

I stepped into the black corridor. It was so dark that it felt like walking into a void on the other side of the Atrium’s Gate. I looked back in time to see that the bricks were moving back to seal up the wall again. As the last brick shifted back into place, the last sliver of light was snuffed out, leaving me in utter darkness. The black emptiness so dark it was almost seemed tangible.

Hmmm ... I always feel so at home here, probably because nobody unimportant knows of this little part of the castle, hehe…

I reached inside myself for energy once again, but this time I reached deeper into myself for my living flame. The living flame is one of the ancient bloodline elements that can only be passed down via a bloodline or be gifted. If you are gifted with an ember the ember grows and changes along with you.

I lifted my hand and drew my inner flame into it. A flame suddenly sparked to life in my hand and lit up the space around me. The base was warm red and the rest was orange, like a sunset in the evenings or a hearth in a household. For each person with a living flame inside them the flame is unique, and depending on the person it resides in, it comes in different colours meaning different aspects. Mine was the hearth flame, meaning hospitality and sacrifice.

I pushed a little bit more energy into the flame to make it bigger and brighter. It responded to my will easily and happily lit up the corridor around me. I proceeded to walk down the dank corridor, hoping that I would reach the end soon.

Hmmmm ... Maybe I should get something to eat first.... I thought to myself as I finally approached the dead end. Rather not. I thought while turning slightly to the left. A smaller hidden passage revealed itself and I continued onward. I nearly reached a dead end again but this time I halted halfway down the hall and touched a glowing rune on the wall to my left. It opened easily with stones shifting to the right to open a small doorway for me.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Someone howled in a screech. Then out of nowhere a sword came flying past me, missing my head by a hair and lodged itself into the stone wall behind me. The broadsword wobbled slightly with the force that it was propelled with while I stood frozen in my tracks.

Ahhh, Arasule. The only person in this entire realm who would greet me with murderous intent for reasons that are, apparently, all above my understanding. I could never understand why she despised me so much. Every one of our encounters start out with her initiating the first blow and ends with her helplessly surrendering. We were both a part of the same Order, animosity like this shouldn’t be tolerated. Yet I bet Fog sees it as entertainment on his end… maybe on my end as well I had to admit.

"Morning, you wretched hag." I replied as calmly as possible, if I kept calm around her, it usually riles her up even more. Which of course was the gleeful intent.

"Do you wish to die today you piece of troll shyte?!" She screamed at me again, but oddly enough I didn't see her anywhere in the dark room. There was enough light from candles through the room to cast shadows and shapes, but I was still unable to see her in the gloom. Then another thought suddenly hit me. Why is she in Fog's room?

"The offer sounds wonderful, but I'd prefer to die by the hands of a beautiful young maiden with flaxen hair and ivory skin." I replied calmly with a smile and ran a hand through my hair.

If I keep this up she might really kill me. Hehehe.

Arasule appeared in her mid-twenties in this lifetime and could be seen as the epitome of chastity’s destruction to any virtuous male. Soul wise she was a nasty old bat shit crazy hag that was most likely birthed when Atlantis got swallowed.

"Anyway, before you start your usual diatribe about how you're the most beautiful lady in the land. Why are you in Fog’s room, and where is he? Also why do I hear you but I can't see you?"

"You seem to be losing your touch my dear." She said in an agitated tone but still didn't reveal herself. I was starting to get annoyed, she's clearly up to something. If we're going to play like this, then fine, let's play.

"I don't have time for this Arasule Benegotë, just tell me or...”

I scanned the room with my mind and energy, looking for any other energy sources within the space, then something strange caught my mental eye.

She's invisible… The old hag finally finished that little potion she'd been working on!? This was turning out to be very interesting. Now ... how shall I attack? I wondered gleefully.

Fire? No, too much damage. Water? Hmmm.... That would be interesting, but I just bathed. Nature it is then. It was a good thing this castle was old and filled with plant life in almost just about every nook and cranny.

I reached for energy through the ground, and channelled everything into the roots below. I urged the roots to follow my will and grow rapidly upwards through the soil. A second later, wild roots burst from the ground, engulfing the room. They flailed blindly all over the space to capture my target.

"Gods be damned!" Arasule shrieked as a root wrapped around a squirming invisible object. Probably an arm or a leg. More roots wrapped around the invisible parts of her body and within a matter of seconds she was captured and restrained.

Suddenly she reappeared in the grip of the roots. If I were any other male I would have found this situation incredibly arousing. She was breathing hard, her chestnut hair spilled flatteringly around her heart shaped face and ran loosely all the way to her soft hips. One of my roots had managed to snatch her around the waist and wrapped around her body under her chest, making her voluptuous gifts from the creator almost seem to pop out of her low bodice. Her legs were almost in a similar situation, her skirts were lifted high up to her thighs where the vines had wrapped themselves around her smooth skin to detain her. Her long, smooth, flawless limbs were exposed and her feet were bare. Her grey green eyes were sparking with rage, her full lips were curled in distain and colour rode high in her sharp cheeks, in either embarrassment or rage I could have cared less.

Being who I was and how well I knew her. I found all this highly amusing. It took everything in me not to laugh my head off at that moment.

I walked up to her enraged face and gave her my most sinister smile.

"I win. Now answer me, where in Hades' name is Fog?" I demanded staring deeply into her flashing eyes.

"Next door, you old bastard! You waltzed into the wrong room! Now let me go or I'll turn you into a toad and cook you for dinner!" She sneered at me while trying unsuccessfully to flail her limbs.

"See, now was that so hard?" I touched the roots and gave the mental command to not let go of the prisoner for another five minutes. Then I turned around and walked to the door. "See you soon you wretched hag." I said happily as I waltzed out and tapped the wall to close it after my escape.

I stepped into the hallway and walked to the next section of wall that was marked with a glowing rune. Oops. I should have paid more attention to the runes before I waltzed into Arasule’s domain.

As I neared the next glowing rune, a heavy wooden door slowly appeared. The wood had Fog's markings scrawled all over it. All written in spectral energy that could only be picked up by a trained eye. The markings were made form a special sword that he had in his possession. The markings glowed brighter as I approached, which meant that Fog was inside.

Opening the door, I saw Fog sitting at his wooden desk reading a grimoire. Fog had always had this rather strange ambient aura to him, almost like fog itself. He looked otherworldly with his long white hair and pale skin, he had a lustrous beard like no other that was grey. But his most prominent feature was his ears, which were slightly pointed like an elf’s, yet he had no elven blood. He was what we liked to call an Anomaly. Something that should not be, but was.

"We need to talk." I announced.

He turned calmly to see me and then closed the grimoire. "Then talk."

I walked inside to see his room was as perfect as always, with a broken sword mounted on the wall. His bed was made almost like it was never used, and there was not even a single trace of dust on any of the shelves.

How in Tarterus’s dank depths does he do it? No matter how clean I try to keep my room it somehow always ends up in shambles without Doris's help… Not that she thinks my room is worth cleaning in the first place… I thought peeved.

I pushed the thought from my mind and took a seat on his bed. I held out my hand and spoke the name of my pipe "Feahu" to summon it to my hand. In a burst of flames, my pipe appeared in all its smoking glory in the palm of my hand. It was covered in marks, scratches and dents from wear and tear and age. I didn’t have the heart to make a new one. I took a deep puff and blew out the smoke in a gust of air and revelled in the sweet sanity it provided me.

I looked at Fog, then started explaining everything that happened on my hunt, laying focus on the girl and what she might be.

About halfway through my story, a screaming shriek that was shrill enough to scare the dead back into their graves cut through the air. "WHERE'S MY SISTER!!!!!!!!!?"