Keepers

Coalescence

In the dark corner of a small alleyway, a pair of blood-red eyes watched a young man make his way home. Whistling and oblivious to the menacing creature observing his every move, the man sauntered down the narrow path half-drunk. Silently, the bearer of those ominous eyes approached the man. With a cry he thudded to the ground, clutching his throat. Thick blood flowed from the large, jagged cut that ran across it. Within minutes, the young man was dead, his corpse in a pool of his own blood. His body drained of fluid, began to shrink. His skin melted and his flesh fell off leaving behind the haggard framework that was his cadaver.

The corpse would lay there until the morning when it would be found. News of the death would reach every ear in the small town. Though besides his family, if he had any, little shock would be felt at the news of his death for he would simply be one amongst the many who had died in the same mysterious way.

*****

Eirik watched helpless as Anahita tended to the young forest keeper. Alayni lay on her bed in the cabin. He'd rushed her there when she'd refused to awaken after falling into a fitful sleep. With the way his essence responded to her uneasy one, it seemed she was trapped in her own dream unable to wake.

Anahita being the most sagacious among the three had attempted to connect with the forest keeper's essence as she would have done with her familiar, Mahalakuka. Hours had passed yet, no response was received from the keeper of the forest. Unable to unravel the mystery behind Alayni's ordeal, earthbreaker and wavecaller vacated the room to search through their respective books of old, leaving Eirik behind to tend to the young keeper.

"Beware! Beware!" Alayni's voice jerked the sky keeper from his thoughts. He rushed to her side. Clutching the hand she extended in his own. Her eyes remained closed but her mouth mumbled incoherent words.

"Beware the beast, beware its rage! Behold its strength, behold the destruction it brings forth! Beware! Beware!" she yelled.

The forest keeper rose with a scream. She jumped off the bed and out of his reach. Wrapping her arms around herself, she huddled into a corner, eyes wide, tears streaming down her face. She stared unblinking at Eirik. It took her seconds longer to realize he was truly before her. She ran into his warm embrace. Sobs shook her entire body, her trembling hands clutched at his tunic.

"I saw it, it's real" she cried.

"What? What did you see Alayni? You were asleep and then you wouldn't wake up..." Eirik started to speak but, she interrupted him. Her trembling body pushed away from his. Despite her obvious fear however, her wide eyes shone with conviction.

"I thought it was an illusion or perhaps some riddle i could solve with time but, it's not. It's so much more than that" she explained. Still within the sky keepers embrace, she wiped her tear smeared face with her hands.

"The beast that shakes the earth. Its so vicious, so vile, Eirik. I...i don't know how I'm supposed to..."

The forest keeper broke into another series of sobs. Eirik could see she was shaken by whatever it was she'd seen in her dream state. Her words confused him. Even more so, they filled him with dread. Was the young forest keeper going insane or had she truly seen a beast so vile it had terrified even her. A keeper whose domain lay in the wild. He held her close until she stopped crying. Exhausted, she once again fell into deep sleep. This time, a peaceful one.

*****

The raven dived, heading for the capacious delve that housed its master. The silhouette of its large and lustrous body followed close behind. Its wings carried it past the entrance and through the bends. Guided by its sharp-sighted eyes, it flew through the dark hallways of the large cave until it reached its master's lair.

A caw alerted him of his servant's return. His lips widened into a malicious smile as he awaited excitedly, the parcel the black bird brought forth. The last piece of the puzzle finally, within his reach.

For centuries past, he had searched for souls that carried his body parts. One by one he found them and kept them safe. With the final piece, his throat, in his hands, he could confect his body and become whole. Never again would he need to leech off the unworthy corpses of mortals.

He took the bloodied piece from the bird and placed it with the others. A wall of body parts stood before him. Next to it lay the obsidian staff he had been using to absorb his essence from where it lay buried, deep within the earth. Once his body is whole, he would no longer need to rely on it.

Beside the staff, on a small pedestal stood a large goblet filled with fluid. Blood from the purest of mortals would suffice until he regained his powers completely.

"Soon Gorak, i will be whole and nothing will stand in my way. Not even the so called keepers."

A crackly voice uttered the words. The body his soul occupied was old and ebbing. It would not be long before it would no longer be able to hold his soul. When that time came, he would be ready.

He turned away from the wall. The frail fingers of the body he occupied signaled the bird. It flew and perched onto his shoulder.

"I have another task for you, Gorak. Go to Pyre Island. Remain there and watch the harbinger's sleeping form. When it is time, I will use you to harness her power."

The black bird let out a sharp caw that echoed in the spacious cave. The obsequious creature, eager to serve its master. It spread its large appendages and with a flap of its wings jumped off the dark master's shoulder, the sound of its flapping quieting as it flew further and further away.

"Behold my wrath, Nivierin."

The uttered words floated in the air. The wind carried it far into the sky. It floated over the cursed land, over seas and oceans, through the forest trees and the icy mountains, over grassy plains and dry deserts. Until finally, it slipped through the cracks of the lonely mountain on a small island in the middle of a vast ocean. A small breeze blew the whispered words to the ears of the body deep in slumber.