The Shadow Within

INVASION

The horse huffed as he scratched his back playfully against the coarse tree trunk that stood next to him. The night was pitch dark amidst the cold woods and the soldiers sat down around a fire that they'd lit to counter the freezing cold. Horses stood around their encampment. Spark however, sat further away from the fire, on a large boulder that stood slightly leaning on a tree trunk. 

Around him stood his personal guards, Kar and Ston, and three other captains of his squadron. See Spark had divided his fifteen men (excluding his guards) into three groups of five men each and each group had a captain. The captains always stayed close to their commander as they helped him keep the squadron organized. 

The air was fresh and the sound of crickets could be heard from deep within the closely packed trees. As Spark and his captains were engaged in conversation, a white raven came flowing in flight down through the thick dark canopy and swerved, seeing their fire from a distance, and directed itself toward their encampment. It flew steadily, flapping its wings powerfully and easily rested itself onto the back of one of the horses close to where Spark sat. Onto the raven's right leg, a rolled-up tiny scroll was tied by a white string. 

Spark immediately recognized the white figure on the horse's back and immediately stood up to take a better look. 

"Kar," he called, and Kar immediately looked at him. 

"That's the message over there, go get it," he added, pointing Kar to the white raven who still stood still on the horse's back. 

Kar went over and quickly untied the string freeing the scroll which he immediately clutched into his right arm. He then said the magic words and the white raven immediately took flight rising again above the dense trees and flying away into the darkness. 

The raven was not the only one of its kind. There were more white ravens used by the Trakoran soldiers to communicate with their base and each other. The ravens were spelled with magic and one needed only say some words and it would know exactly what it was being commanded to do. 

"What does it say?" Spark asked Kar, who now stood in front of him with his gaze directed at the opened-out scroll in his arm. 

"More Cleansing orders," he replied instantly. 

"Where?" 

"The Temple of The Eagle Lords," Kar said and paused, raising his face from the scroll into Spark's bloodshot eyes. 

"There is more," he continued. "We are to find The High Sceptre Lord and obtain from him whatever information we can, by any means necessary, about The Shadow Emerald and we are also to make sure to check for it in the Eagle Crypt," he paused. 

"Whatever that is," he added and shrugged, the other four soldiers laughing jokingly. 

"We are also to wait at our location as two troops of footsoldiers have been sent alongside a sorcerer and will accompany us shortly." He continued. 

"You heard the man," said Spark to his three captains. "Get your men ready, we depart immediately as soon as the others arrive. There was some water on the huge rocks we left about a mile back, we'll double back there and give the horses a drink before proceeding to the Temple." He added. 

His captains then immediately departed from where he stood after giving him an obedient knod and walked quickly away leaving Spark with Kar and Ston, his guards. 

***********************.       ***********************

It had now grown completely dark at the temple and the window inside the High Sceptre's throne room was now covered by a long green curtain that stretched the entire height down to drag on the floor. 

Rachel sat on one of the wooden chairs around the oval table. She now wore a heavy cotton cloak that Akashar had brought her to counter the freezing cold inside the temple. 

The High Sceptre Lord had kept her busy with unending chatter as he explained to her his life and what had led him to commit himself at a young age as a monk at the temple to learn Shadow Magic. He explained to her how he grew up at the temple and how he slowly learned and mastered Shadow Magic upto attaining Tier Two of Shadow magic mastery, the Sceptre. 

Rachel learned from him that attaining The Sceptre for him was a big achievement, one that he had been working on for quite a long time. He then, after attaining it, vied for the leadership of the monastery which he easily won considering his level of mastery since his competitors had mostly been Tier One Shadow magicians. 

Jerome, on the other hand, had left the two inside the temple building chatting and gone off to his chambers to obtain some materials he required for the Naming ceremony he was about to perform. He had been told how to perform the Naming ceremony many years ago at the Shadow Village of Bodenia and he was determined to replicate it to now  name Rachel as The Shadow Medium. 

His chambers were on a tall tower which was one of two that stood erect right at The Red Gate of The Temple of The Eagle Lords. The two towers towered above the massive temple building and over it to see into the jungle beyond and acted as the two pillars of The Red Gate itself. In between the two towers and above The Red Gate, a massive sculpture of an eagle was etched suspended by its two wings each wing built into one of the towers on either side. 

For a moment, Rachel and the High Sceptre Lord had now sat in silence from exhaustion of talking for long. As they did, Rachel contemplated everything she had just learned and was taking a minute to take it all in. From all she had gathered from the Sage, she know knew that the plane crash she had been in had actually killed her, and that this here, her being alive was a second chance at life. 

She had by now pinched herself enough times to realize that this was now her new reality and she had no choice but to learn it, understand it and navigate her way through it. Whatever it was, she had decided to keep an open mind, learn it and be the pro she always knew herself to be. 

The door to the throne room then suddenly clanked as it glided open and Jerome appeared. 

"Come," his voice resounded as he faced where Rachel sat. 

"Come over to the auditorium, everyone else has already been cleared out." He continued. 

Rachel then immediately rose from the chair and walked slowly towards the metal door. The High Sceptre Lord also rose from his throne and again wore his favorite reed sandals. He then picked up a huge leather coat that was placed on the left arm of the throne and covered himself with it. He slowly walked down the four stairs to the level floor and followed Rachel out into the auditorium. 

Rachel realized she had not noticed this much detail inside the temple when she had first teleported into the auditorium as she was noticing now. 

The auditorium was lined with stone pillars at either end that crossed the entire length all the way from the entrance to the door into the Sceptre's throne room on the other side. Each of the pillars had one massive spiral carved onto its surface high and facing inwards to the auditorium space. 

On each of the carved out spirals, a small green flame, resembling the flame on a gas cooker, waved smoothly and the light from all of them combined was enough to fully illuminate the entire auditorium. 

"What's that?" Rachel asked Jerome. 

"How can a flame be burning on that concrete stone?" She continued, pointing at one of the glowing spirals. 

"Ohw that's not a flame," he answered as he carefully poured some white powder down on the floor of the empty auditorium following the spiral carved onto the floor. 

"That's the magic," he added, "that's Shadow magic, it courses throughout the walls of this temple." 

Rachel and The High Sceptre Lord now stood aside and watched him as he carefully traced out the spiral with the white powder. As he continued, Akashar walked in from outside the temple and walked over to join the two observers. 

At the very middle of the expanding spiral that Jerome had traced, a small circular space had been left. 

"Shadow magic is light and it shows itself as a green flame," he said walking up to where Rachel stood as he was now already done tracing out the spiral. 

"That's your first lesson, repeat it after me so you never forget..." he said to her and reiterated. 

"The Shadow is light and it shows itself as a green flame..." 

"The Shadow is light and it shows itself as a green flame," Rachel repeated. 

"Okay good," he said, satisfied. "Now walk over there and sit down on the circular space at the middle." He told her. 

Rachel first removed the heavy cloak she had on and slowly walked towards the centre, skipping over the lines of white powder. 

"Now sit completely on the ground and cross your feet right in front of you." Jerome said. "Like this," he added, lowering himself gracefully into his meditating posture. She then followed his direction and assumed the position betwixt the white expanding spiral that surrounded her. 

"High Lord," Jerome said, rising to his feet and facing the High Sceptre Lord. 

"We are also going to need help from seven of our most trusted lords. You see naming of a Shadow Medium is not like anything we are used to. In fact in my lifetime not one has been named. I only know about this because it was explained to me by a Shadow mage at The Shadow Village of Bodenia who happened to have witnessed the last naming of a Shadow Medium which happened over a thousand years ago."

"What do you need the lords for?" The High Lord responded. 

"During the naming, the energy of The Shadow must be summoned and concentrated by seven minds of experienced Shadow magicians so that it can crystallize in the land of the living and take form inside of The Medium. It is however not compulsory to do this simultaneously with the Naming process. It can be done before or after. " Continued Jerome. 

"Akashar," The High Lord called to Lord Akashar who stood a few paces beside him. 

"Go to the sleeping chambers and get Lord Varius, Lord Teridus and five other Lords of The Inner Circle and bring them here." 

"Yes sire," Lord Akashar replied and began walking towards the door that led outside the temple building. 

*********************.       ******************

"Commander Spark," Ston, Commander Spark's personal guard called him. He was now moving on his slowly-walking horse towards where Spark's horse stood with him on its back. 

"This gate is made of reinforced iron and the wall around the temple isn't actually a wall, it's hard rock there may be no way of getting over it." Ston continued. 

"I gat this," said the sorcerer, lifting his right leg over the back of his horse and jumping midair to the ground, sticking the landing. 

"Tell your men to move away from the gate," he continued, speaking to Spark whose horse stood right beside. The sorcerer wore a long cloak with a huge black hood that covered his head and the locs of his red hair only appeared slightly under the hood. 

The soldiers quickly cleared the space in front of The Red Gate following a command from one of the captains and the sorcerer walked forward and stood in front of it. 

He then pressed his palms hard against each other in front of his chest and slowly started parting them and then suddenly, a wave of Force began to steadily build up in between his arms. As the energy in front of him slowly grew, he continued circumnavigating his palms around it giving it more amplitude and then BOOM! He thrust it forward into the gate, powerfully hitting it off its hinges and flying the pieces off into the air. 

"Alright boys," growled Spark. "It's go time." 

The soldiers then screamed as they stormed their way through The Red Gate brandishing their swords in the air and immediately beginning their pillage. 

************************.       *********************

"What was that?" The High Lord blurted. 

Lord Akashar who had now just gotten to the door opened it slightly and peeked outside. 

"Soldiers," he said, shocked, and quickly facing back to the High Sceptre Lord. "They have already breached the gate... They're inside the compound," he added and quickly turned back and slowly pulled the metal door closing it and immediately rushed towards Jerome and the High Lord. 

Rachel also now quickly rose from where she'd been sitting, not knowing what to make of the situation and walked back over the white powder to where the three men now stood, joining the group. 

"I should have guessed Adark would hit us next," The High Lord spoke, in disappointment. "Him targeting Shadow magicians can only mean he is looking for The Shadow Emerald. He obviously couldn't find it at the Shadow Village and that's why they're here. I can't believe he's resulted to messing with Ancient magic to feed his greed for power." He continued. 

"We must complete the Naming ceremony now," Jerome intervened. "It is the only remaining hope." He added. 

"There isn't time to do it here, the two of you must leave immediately and find a place in the woods to perform the ceremony, we'll find a way to do the summoning here." The High Lord said. 

"Hold up, don't you guys have magic powers, can't we stand and fight them." Rachel asked. 

"You don't understand little girl," The High Lord answered her. "Shadow magic is not violent and is not meant for fighting. The Shadow is light... don't you remember?" He continued and immediately turned to Lord Akashar. 

"Go and do all you can to find the lords or just bring any that you can find... What are we to do?" He'd now turned to Jerome.

"Here," intervened Jerome, pulling a scroll out of the pocket of his long cloak and giving it to The High Sceptre Lord. 

"These are the incantations you must chant together until the energy has risen and you cannot stop until the green flame grows and disappears on its own." He continued. 

"Take her and go," barked The High Lord at Jerome. No sooner had he finished saying the words than the front door made a bang as it clanked open. Seeing the opening door, The High Sceptre Lord turned to Akashar... "It's all up to you now," he said and handed him the scroll carrying the incantations. "Go quickly, find them and do what must be done." He added. 

"Go now, all of you!" The High Lord insisted as Spark pushed the door open and walked into the temple auditorium accompanied by his guards Kar and Ston. 

"Merius, your hands...," Jerome said to her quickly. Rachel took a minute to remember she was Merius and immediately put her palms on his as he chanted the words and they immediately disappeared. 

Lord Akashar, on the other hand, seeing the men walk in, quickly hid himself behind one of the pillars inside the auditorium and watched them walk slowly towards The High Lord. Spark dragged the tip of his bloody sword on the floor behind him as he now walked slowly towards where the man stood. 

"That's definitely him," said Kar. "See his robe," he added. 

As the three walked, Lord Akashar crept quietly in the opposite direction headed towards the door, hiding behind one pillar after the other. 

"What do you want? This is a house of peace, your violence is of no use here..." The High Lord said to the three approaching men. He said this to pump up his confidence as he was beginning to second guess his decision to remain and stand his ground. 

As soon as he spoke, Kar rushed to him and kicked his right knee hard from the back throwing him suddenly to kneel onto the ground before Spark. Ston, on the other hand, investigated the surrounding and noticing the metal door at the far end, began walking towards it. 

"So here's the deal," said Spark to The High Lord. "I'll be asking you some questions and every time you answer something I don't like or don't answer at all, one ligament of your body will be parted from you... sound good?" 

"You can go to hell." 

"I'll take that as a yes..." Spark said and grinned slightly. 

"Commander," Ston called, pushing open the metal door to the Sceptre's throne room. "This here looks like his throne room, the crypt must be in here somewhere." He continued. 

"Good," said Spark looking over to see the inside of the throne room from a distance and began walking towards it. 

"Kar," he called as he walked away. "Bring him to me."  

As they all walked into the throne room dragging The High Lord on the floor, Lord Akashar, who had now been hiding at the last pillar to the door now crept slowly to the door and opened it, stepping outside. 

There his mouth went agape to see the c*****e of bodies of dead Eagle Lords scattered all across the compound. He was stunned as he looked over across the compound to see the Eagle Lords' sleeping chambers on fire and heard screams from inside the building as the soldiers continued their pillage. 

More armed men on horseback continued riding around the compound of the temple and slashed down monks up from their horses. Some foot soldiers had already constructed gallows at the middle of the compound that separated the temple building from the sleeping chambers. Others helped them line up more monks and executed them one by one. 

Akashar now stood at the door to the temple building, his arms covering his mouth, awestruck at the scenery. As he stared, one of the riders spotted him and immediately came charging towards him brandishing his iron spear in the air. 

"Tasarakarum polifaderem..." He chanted and POOF! He was gone. 

Lord Akashar then instantly reappeared inside the very top room of the right tower that overstood the Red Gate. The impact of the blast that had blown the Red Gate was so great that the two towers now stood shaky. In fact, as Akashar saw through the tiny window, the left tower was now already collapsing alongside the sleeping chambers building which stood beside it and still burned atop. 

The fire, as he observed, had gobbled down the roof of the building causing it to cramble into the walls and bring everything down with it. The massive Eagle sculpture above the gate was not spared either, only a small part of it was left hanging on the now standing tower. 

The Temple of The Eagle Lords had been brought to its knees. The dark fumes from the burning fire rose up in clouds akin mountains and tainted the night sky deepening the dark night. Even the wolves who lived down at the far side of The Blue Woods must have noticed something was a miss as none of them howled tonight. 

Inside the room, high in the tower alone, Lord Akashar understood what was at stake. He knew that the fate of the land of the living now depended on them awakening The Shadow and naming its Medium. He also remembered quite clearly that Jerome had said that it required seven minds to summon The Shadow... but now everyone else at the temple was either already dead or dying. It was now all on him to attempt to do it alone. He had no clue what the consequences would be or whether or not it would even work but he had to try. 

So he he moved over to the very centre of the room where a huge spiral was inscribed onto the floor and sat down, crossing his legs in front of him and closing his eyes to begin the summoning. He then remembered he'd been given the scroll containing the incantation and quickly pulled it out of his pocket. 

As soon as he closed his eyes again and said the chant for the first time. The tower began to shake gently and the spirals inscribed all around the room began to glow faintly. The more he raised his chanting pace so did the glowing grow. 

"Akasana tapuk kelem seluina porathrus sindola..." 

He poured his passion and life force into it and gave it everything, rolling the words powerfully around his tongue and invoking his rage at what The Dark Lord had done to the temple he called home. He repeated the phrase over and over, his eyes still closed, and each time he did, the power emanating from the room grew stronger and stronger shaking the tower now with much vigor. 

The green glow from the spirals had now consolidated into flames which were now gathering and connecting into each other both inside the room and outside at the pointed tip of the tower. Akashar opened his eyes slightly and saw the now full-on fire as it flowed in a circle around him, a section of it rising along the wall up to the tip of the tower. He knew not what was happening as it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. 

He however remembered that Jerome had said they should continue until the flame disappeared, so he closed his eyes again and gave into the chant some more. 

The flames then suddenly burst out, powerfully exploding the room alongside the standing tower and shooting its debris high into the sky. Akashar's body was blown up into untraceable pieces by the magnificent strength of the explosion. 

The mighty wave of power resounded its strength and in the middle of the dark night, a great green light burst above the trees of The Blue Woods lighting up the sky powerfully for about a minute and then it subsided back into utter darkness. 

Old is this song 

Of The Shadow and The Force 

Ready to ride a new horse 

Powers of Ancient again at odds