The Good & the Shadow

Chapter 1

Intro to Nexus, Chazaq, Ikrin, and Orish

What’s to Come?

Fearfully and nimbly wayward is the march of a directionless desperate. Afforded a hope to overcome replaced for gruesome unabating nature of endangerment. Having chalice in hand, I commemorate lifelong tribute to bothersome coercive drudgeries. Yet occupancy of faith in fear is brought to contribute mastery over it by companionship of excellence and steadfastness to creations’ beyond. What’s to become of me? Alive or dead, the depraved will not slumber as my legacy’s belonging will always be unsilenced.

Iopen my eyes for the first time to a land not of my birthright. Absent of life, void of happiness, but the ever presence of hollow’s howl and the symphony of the undead are within the foretelling of my destiny and dreams. However, the lurking of a being far more fierce is yet to be discovered. For now, I’d combatted in inconceivable posthaste praxis, one of evil’s most unholy alliances at the highest peak of a horn-shaped mountain. The deathmatch was far more than I’d bargained for, and my surveillance of her constant tweaking position had me understand she enjoyed every moment of ichor she could wrench. I couldn’t go on as if this were my life’s epilogue, but for the vexatious and odious being, it was her overture.

Finally, her dominant moniker cheated my prowess to utter exhaustion. As I lay airing my scarred, bloodied essence, and my arms thrown out to posture for immediate disclosure, my right hand thwacked against the head of a dirt-and-rock-covered sword which gave a blinding light toward my adversary. She turned away from the luminosity of the blade while shrieking. No! Not the Ercasdian light! Atsaba can’t stand the light! I knew this was my one and only shot to live beyond this day, so I mustered just enough strength to lunge, grab the sword, and thrust it through her chest which protruded her upper spine.

The dry bone-covered land soaked up Atsaba’s essence as a dehydrated desert draws in a drop of rain never to be seen again, whereas her body was completely engulfed by the sword as if it were purposed to entrap her. Her blood that was spilt onto the putrid grounds of the exposed dead that stretched to unforeseeable length was instantaneously absent due to what seemed to be a hunger by the bereft underfoot. The remains of her blood somehow made an underground cavern of what I now call the Bloodmine because of its deathly odor and color. This ghastly and sinister gore burrowed its way to the mouth of the base of the mountain, which I also coincidentally and ironically name the Massacre Peak, and continue south of an unknown sea where the sounds of torment echoed for what seemed to be an eternity. I know the unseen, to my disposition, will certainly be found in due time.

Exhausted from the struggle, I faintly walk into the Massacre Peak, of what seem to be Atsaba’s former resident, and begin to fill her vacancy. I quickly grab a huge piece of bark skin from a nearby tree and fashion it into a door to ensure any element remain outside, spin a web hammock in the right corner of this rounded room, carve a boulder into a seat midleft, fashion a needed silken armor to replace the stench-filled and rotted skins of a rotted shrou soldier I stole from a battle in my former spider realm called Arachnis, and a fireplace I just lit purely out of remembrance of its moonlit nights and woodland scent. Though the fire’s dance told a story of my past, the reality I am far from it. The only possessions from my former realm was a bag of warp rock (a single rock that has the ability to teleport from one realm to another) that my friend, Aido, had given to me, weaponry of the deceased shrou, a few fond memories and an abundance of nightmares, and the very body my soul resided in.

As I sat and continued gazing at the burning ambers, my abstract ideals came to a mumble under breath, My confidant, my old friend, why did you risk your life for mine? As if to pause for a moment of silence, I looked to what Atsaba called the Ercasdian sword and said, My sword belongs to you. Until we meet again… I nodded off. Immediately, I found myself relentlessly hunted by the dark Shrou Queen, her soldiers, and possibly others for my whereabouts. I couldn’t stop running or take a break to catch my breath. I came across two of her spider patrons, but I dispatched of them with feverish fury, having amber blade in one hand and a makeshift dagger in the other. I awoke for a second but nodded off again. I have a faint memory as a youngling, being breastfed by what seems to be my mother sitting beside a fireplace, but I was dropped to the neighboring hearth of burning wood, which explains why I’m eternally scarred on the right side of my face. I began to question, Who was she? Was she truly my mother? and Why did she cast me aside as if I were of no worth?

I was in and out of the trance once more. This time I was hidden atop a tree about thirty feet high on a moonlit night while being able to witness my known enemy’s movement and conversation.

Ikrin said, I was trailing him, but he disappeared.

Orish, nodding his head with angst, responded with, I can’t believe we lost him again. The dark queen won’t be pleased to hear of this.

Ikrin said, Let’s just hope he found himself into her grasp.

Orish said, Aye, and let’s hope she rips his bloody head off.

My enemies walked away cackling at my expense while smacking each other’s shoulders in support of their queen handing me my fate. While doing so, Orish said, Do you think he’s aware that we’re the ones who killed his mum when he was a suckling?

Ikrin said, Who cares? We should’ve killed him too.

Angst and confusion started to get the best of me as my mind kept focusing on my woodland home being burned down and my deceased mother with it. I also heard her voice in my head say to me, Go in peace, my son. Don’t let the darkness carry you, but let my instructions be a wreath upon your neck and allow my love to dry your tears. I could kill them right now, and by the eight swords of Arachnis, I wanted to. However, I knew such commotion would bring others. I allowed their talks and presence to leave me so I could gain clear footing below. As I glanced back and forth to advance unobstructed passage, I paused because I felt stalked by an ominous shadow all in the name of seeking me out. All I knew and felt was sadness and remorse from this, but my soul repeated, Just stay alive. So much blood and death, but I continued to run ever onward. Will this ever end? Will I ever find peace? For many years, my memory is pillaged of the same continuing nightmares. On and on, battle after blood-soaked hellish battle. I screamed aloud, I need release and salvation from this!

Fading back to pure unconscious reflex, I found myself in the middle of my abode in fighting position while being shifted into half-human/half-spider form breathing heavily with sword thrust in a low guard, and my other blades brandished elsewhere. I recovered evening my breath while reminding myself that I’d been here for a short time. I took one last steady sigh, sheathed my blades, clothed myself with the silken armor, and went out to seek prey to quench my thirst. Sadly, the pickings were scarce. I was accustomed to survival due to my former primitive realm. However, I continued my routine for three moons not ever seeing a decent morsel cross my path or a single soul to shake arms with. I began to settle in my mind this shall remain my home of secrecy and solace, that is, until my contemplation was interrupted by three knocks sounding at my door.

I thought to myself, What a peculiar sound to hear on this blistering windy evening! As I slowly straightened out of my newly carved chair, I listened in again to affirm what my senses had heard was in fact a knock at my door which no one dared to do since I’d resided here. Once more, three knocks were announced, but even louder than before. I naturally concealed in the shadows away from my lit fireplace to get closer to my door while discreetly gaining weaponry. Thrice knocks again with mumbles underneath their breath, but with their armory and weaponry clumsily clanging about. Catching their scent through the air, and hearing further discussions between them, their dialect led me to a doubtful but hopeful belief that one of them might be like me. Surprised and somewhat relieved to have visitors be kind enough to knock instead of bursting in like the shrou, or constant interruption of the unknown aimless wails from the Bloodmine, I still took no chances based on my battle with Atsaba.

I drifted my hand slowly to open my timbered door while remaining in shadow due to entrapment that may lie in wait. Upon doing so, I noticed two things. One, a fully cloaked six-foot figure standing at my entrance. Two, the edge of my sword at the side of his neck. The unfamiliar was his hooded garbs, which seemed to be of hidden royalty with inscriptions of old. As far as I could tell, he dawned no weaponry or armory but unfoolishly gave thought that all were hidden under his cloak. He removed his hood, and I instantaneously drew to his hairless nature as well as his eyes and skin color, which were bronze in nature. I also took into account the tattooed insignias on his right cheek, right side of his neck, right shoulder, and what seemed to curve down his back told of his tribal character. I could tell he had a warrior’s build who took negligent care of the fact that the side of his neck was slowly being cut by my sword.

I was interrupted of further observations due to taking a brisk look of his guards behind him as well as him leaning in to speak discreetly, saying, We know what you’d accomplished here, and… Before he could say another word, a whirlwind of tormented echoes from the Bloodmine located behind my seat seemed to get louder and louder. Within two seconds, his guards had all their resources exposed ready to confront the unknown. Neither I nor the leader flinched, but he twitched with a smirk in agreement to ensure all was normal. He continued as he turned and straight-faced the guards and said, You needn’t worry about the woes of evil or about the evils that arrive. Your only merit for worry is The Good’s eternal wrath which leads to damnation. Dispense of your faintheartedness and rise to your legendary legacy of bravery. Live or die, let all peoples sing of your life’s procurement. Most importantly, know that… He pointed to the insignias on his robe as if to read it before me, saying, The Good shall prevail. The guards began to simmer down to a level of confidence whereas their leader turned back to me in like manner while motioning with his head for me to let him in and close the door. He said, We must talk privately.

Not trusting him, and my sword still at his neck, the two of us steadily slid a few paces away from the door so he was able to shut it behind him, which made his guards all the more anxious to protect their leader. Nonetheless, I kept my blade strong and gave a nod to welcome him to my humbly reconditioned home as well as to my chair that’s beside him. He made his way toward my seat, sat in it while throwing out his cloak from underneath him, and gazed at the fire as if to mourn its beauty. He spoke in a clear semideep voice, saying, My name is Chazaq. I’m one of the Ancients left in this land which hail from Stone Forge. Without batting an eye, he said, We’re in need of you.

My puzzled look of being needed by anyone other than the Shrou Queen making my skin into her warmth was exactly that. I scratched my head in amazement and walked in a circle as if to think about the offer as a nice gesture of sorts. I looked down at the floor where a small widow spider crossed my path, and I smiled at it with contentment. I bent down to offer my hand to pick it up; it crawled comfortably into my hand, and I began stroking its furry back. Chazaq noticed this and said, Spiders of that caliber are sure to kill with one bite. Surely you don’t mean to look onward without it being underfoot.

My comfort level concerning Chazaq’s unworthy statement became evident from within me but kept my cool in hopes to understand him a bit more. The spider began hissing at me for a few seconds as I gazed back into its eyes; it reared its fangs and bit me on the palm. Chazaq pointed his hand toward the spider’s act and questioned, Well now, I suppose you’re going to allow the spider to go free after it had bitten you to your grave?

His gleam of sarcasm was evident, but my adapting to it wasn’t. I kept my composure and pet the spider to approve of its newfound freedom on my floors and released him from my bitten hand. It skittered about to find a secure place to lie in wait for its next prey.

Chazaq challenged my intellect again with distasteful facial expressions, saying, Are you really that dull of a creature? Do you not have the will to dispose of a being not worth the foul it feasts? Anything that takes its time to spin a web is in opposition to a life of free will. On the oft chance you had the possibility of complete servitude of self, let alone to others, had now become obsolete to your very existence! He paused and looked to my new friend. I’ll do it for you! Chazaq stood to his feet, uncloaked himself, withdrew his wooden staff that was safely hidden inside his cloak at his back, and advanced my little companion to inflict fatal harm.

I swiftly moved about and slid just in time for my palm to meet the end of his obvious proficient weapon, as the back part of my hand was brushing on top of the hair follicles of the back of my arachnid friend. I turned and looked at Chazaq with rage and began to make attempts to thwart his physical agenda. I threw a double snap kick to both of his sides, but both were blocked by his weapon. I quickly morphed to half-human/spider to gain hand-to-hand advantage, but my opponent pulled apart his staff and made it into a four-sectional one. As we’d continued to push back toward each other, the spider was able to get away safely, as the guards knocked on the door to inquire if everything was as planned. We were too occupied to give an answer.

Our combat continued but came to a brief pause as we were at a blocked move stalemate with our hands locked with the staff, which gave way for Chazaq to say, Perhaps I’d met the wrong person! The one I sought was the one who killed Atsaba, sister to Eclyptus! You’re a weakling, a mistake, a feeble person with a great deal of luck on his side! You do not reserve the right to be here! We broke our grasp as he went into fighting position as we both stood in wait to ponder each other’s physique. The constant recall of the words weakling, mistake, and feeble in my mind’s eye were enough for me to remember glimpses of my life’s past. This, of course, was the pinnacle of my rage, and my visitor had officially worn out his welcome. The guards got louder and insisted they come in. Again, we paid them no attention.

He made a few steps toward me in another order of fighting while spinning and twirling his staff as if to block the air from hitting his body, whereas I allowed my emotions to course my veins. My body began to shake like a fish out of water, my head thrust upward as if my neck and body were meant to be in one accord. My clothing slowly fell downward but tore before falling completely, the hair on my body thickened and became a dark gray, my arms separate and became two arms on each side, my legs shifted higher toward the sides of my waistline and separate to become four legs on each side. My eyes separated and became four on each side, my mouth jet out to expose pincher-like fangs, my waistline got bigger and rounder with a protruding stinger, and my back now had an hourglass-shaped patch colored whitish gray.

Once this painful transformation was done, my legs stomped downward due to the mass I now possess causing the stone floor to pulsate, chip, and crack. Chazaq was now face-to-face with a massive spider and knew he’d found who and what he was looking for. He moved from fighting to regular mode having his staff at his side. He smiled emphatically and said, Now that’s what I’d hoped to have witnessed upon my arrival. He paused and nodded toward my spider-bitten injury and said, By the way, I see you’re not dead from the bite. Interesting. Perhaps now you’ll consider the invitation. He turned, walked toward the door, stopped in front of it, and placed a sealed parchment atop an opening in the wall on the right-hand side midway between the ceiling and floor. Chazaq opened the door as the guards were making their way in only to see me back to my normal configuration with less clothing, which I was struggling to keep together and called them all for departure. I progressed toward my opened door, watched them leave, closed it, grabbed the parchment left behind, as well as picked up the spider that crawled back to me. I pronounced to him, Welcome home, my friend. I shall call you Savvix. Savvix hissed in usual response.

I unfolded the vellum to discover a map of the present realm of Accuthca and a short letter to inquire my presence at the Waters of Neir, which read,

Hail, and well met, my fellow traveler! I’d make continued greetings of appreciation and gladness concerning your arrival to our lands, but as you could’ve guessed, the elements that be create a disposition of such a greeting. Hence, the purpose of this letter foregone to you is to seek your assistance to challenge, defeat, and end what’s causing the recession. If you’re in agreement and could aid in this request, meet at Corgann’s Forest, and a guide will lead the remainder of your path. Fare thee well, traveler.

Being confused about meeting at Waters of Neir but then told to meet at Corgann’s Forest, I could only assume a guide was provided to keep their lands safe from outsiders, which would explain why Waters of Neir was missing from the map. Perhaps allow proper protection for certain outsiders was the key. Either way, all my travels were led by my own steps regardless of what may be behind or in front of me. A guide was not necessary. Then again, a guide may be of good use to the cause of right, and perhaps a good prey later. I quietly accepted their guidance.

I traveled lightly and swiftly. Will they be able to keep up? That has yet to be determined.

Chapter 2

Nexus’s Expedition—On the Road to Neir

Closing the door to my home, I turned to take my next steps toward the journey that awaited my arrival. After I slowly made those steps, I began to realize this is not a road I’d yet traveled. The ground was different and difficult because it was filled with every possible skeletal fragment imaginable, bloodstained jetted rock and loose boulders, and slippery pebbles which are a dangerous combination to one’s fate. I stopped to look back at the Massacre Peak, but the steps I’ve taken were far from my noticing anything of a slight remembrance for my travels. As I continued to look onward for another moment’s plea, my head tilted upward to notice the clash of elements in the air from extreme eastern heat and uncontrollable winds to what was now covered with billows of clouds over the mountainous terrain. Though the elements were noticeable, my main concern was the idea of taking on this new adventure. I felt the unfolding of it will go without a sense of hope. I doubted my next steps will be any easier, let alone return alive to Massacre Peak. Nonetheless, I pressed on. Besides, what have I to lose anyway other than an unsecured undead habitat?

Traveling for a day through this dreadful hardness, the clouds still devoured the element. I took refuge in a dark corner where a tree stood covering it. I spun a hammock attaching it to the tree and mountainside it was next to. I lit a small fire and began cooking a small leftover morsel I’d kept for this occasion. Once I finished eating, I sat and looked at the fire as I’d done at the Massacre Peak only to think back on the semipeaceful aspects of my former forest home. I combined this harmonious thought, along with taking consideration of the current elements around me and found myself fortunate that I’d made it thus far. Before I could indulge in deeper thought, and perhaps a little shut eye, I heard grindings of rock behind me. I caught nothing of the air but felt an intrusion of some kind were evident. I douced the fire and moved to another shadowy spot about fifteen feet away thinking I’d been detected where I’d camped. Nonetheless, I was curious to see what needed to be seen.

The sounds continued and got louder as the seconds counted. To my amazement, a rock-like foot heavily landed one foot from mine making me feel a bit insecure. Not bothering to notice who or what this was, I moved to another spot fourteen feet away from where the foot landed. I concluded another foot was headed in that direction, and I moved again in hopes to dodge this crushing blow. Another foot came crashing down as well about ten feet apart from its other foot. Hoping there wasn’t a third, I quickly morphed into half-human/spider, which would aid in my stealth abilities.

I heard a gusting thrust, and within two feet toward my next plateau, a boulder breezed past my nose to land into a wall of a mountain behind me which is exactly where I’d camped originally. I began to move quickly in hopes to find to a safe haven. Another boulder breezed past me, in addition to five others, which aided my cause for a detour. At this point, I could care less what these creatures looked like. I knew I wouldn’t be a creature anymore if my curiosity got the best of me. I drew in thought, This isn’t the nature of the shrou, but the attempts to end my life were plain to see. Literally.

I saw a berm just within my reach, and I leaped over it out of haste while quickly forgetting what might be on the other side may be far worse than eating stone or a rocklike foot. Thank goodness, there was a floor of which I safely landed on. I slammed my back against the wall of the berm firmly standing upright to avoid the possibilities of further detriment and slowly gain my composure. My mind drew again, Who were they, and why were they attacking me? After shaking off the possibilities of death for a second time, I concluded this realm is just as fierce as Arachnis. I pondered, Is any realm safe for me? I paused and thought again, O how I dreamt of a day where I can have a family of my own to play music for and tell stories to. It seems this life will not bring me such deservings. Instead, my enemies are the only ones who will remember me as a sort of brood. I gave a few moments to take all this in, but I knew there was no time for sympathy or pity, especially since there were none to hear my life’s dolor.

After I took in a few breaths, I shifted back into human form. I turned to the right and noticed an opening in the wall which contained prelit torches with engravings of the same insignias as Chazaq’s garbs underneath each one. I touched the insignias and thought, Chazaq. I felt this a bit haughty of him to do such a thing, but I made my thoughts subliminal in order that I forge onward. The same kinds of torches were throughout every hall. The floor was purposely graded with a decline as if to lead to something of importance below. Most of the halls were desolate, but some identified a well-populated civilization once resided here. Evidence of this came to fruition as the halls began to go deeper and deeper to the bottom.

I exited through the final opening of the hall and found myself looking up the upward spiral hall casing and understood I was in the middle of an upside-down stoned pyramid with a base floor as some sort of courtyard and market. What caught my eye even more so was the throne in the center of the bottom floor I was standing on. It was made of what seemed to be metal currency and a few gems of what I assumed could only be mined in the depths. A crown and a bag of treasury rested on the seat of which I assume would be entrusted to someone of majestic worth. I thought to myself, Every creation’s authority proves to be a glimpse of failure. I took the crown and the bag of treasure off the thrown and cast it to the other side of the courtyard. I continued in thought, I’ve no reason to trust kings and queens anyway. I closed my eyes for a moment and got a snapshot of what the Shrou Queen had done to my people, and I opened my eyes with the same disrespect for authority that I always had