Stillborn 1 - The Dark Kingdom: Chapter 1

 

1.

In a dark, confined chamber, a blind man was carving mysterious signs on the walls. It was painfully slow and demanding work, and after each finished sign he had to stop and feel around the carving with his sensitive fingers to make sure it was perfect. Consequences for the slightest flaw would be dire, he knew that more than well, as it was not his first time writing Sul'Awen - the secret language of might.

It was considered lost and forgotten everywhere in the world, except the dark labyrinths of Everdeep. A Gargoyle Lord, generally known as the Winged One, declared it strictly forbidden to use almost immediately after breaking through the aethergate and taking control of the southern realm of Angarath. After destroying the City of Palantheon, and all the mystics there, the Winged One had proceeded to the Holy City of Astaroth. He did all this to rid the world of the knowledge of Sul'Awen, seeing it as the only thing in Falchrest that could cause him harm, and after a century of smothering the nests of secret knowledge, his efforts began to seem successful. But a few distant places remained where the practice of might was still thriving - and Everdeep was one of them. The influence of the Garkin invaders had not yet reached the underground realms.

Known as Garaz the Blind, he was one of the most powerful mystics living in Everdeep. His real name was Garaz Gar'Sinth, born to one of the wealthiest families of Arakhnest, the capital city of the Arathans. Although he came from a rich family, it was not the sole reason for his high position. His incredibly high talent and fierce dedication had helped him to become the man he was today. For decades, even centuries, he had invested every spare moment of his life to study Sul'Awen, earning him a seat in the Red Council without additional support from his family. The might was everything to him, the fulfillment of his life and the very essence that made him complete, yet every passing moment he yearned for more.

Garaz was far from home. He had arrived to this small outpost town of Tholrun to do something very important. Far from the disturbing crowd of Arakhnest he was about to create something that had never been done before, something that would greatly help the Arathans in their persistent war for existence, especially against the Weavers, which had become more and more of a problem lately. The endless attacks against the guard patrols had caused the outpost towns to slowly slide into a constant state of war, keeping the border watches alert and ready around the clock. It was time to stop the Weavers from killing the Arathans, and even more so, from enslaving the prisoners they caught alive. The Weaver's poison affects the mind, forcing the helpless victim to follow their orders, and to some extent, feel themselves as a part of their brood, which causes the infected Arathans to develop loyalty for their masters and turn against their own kind.

All that was going to change soon, and instead of a long and exhausting war, the Weavers would be destroyed once and for all. All their nests would be annihilated, and a new, more powerful breed of Arathans would be guarding the borders of the Dark Kingdom. Garaz was preparing the stone chamber for a miracle to come true. He had planned this for years, and all he needed now was an example to present in front of the Mag'Reth, the Red Council. These new warriors would not back down no matter what kind of an enemy they were facing. There would be no man or a beast powerful enough to stand against them, and Garaz the Blind would be remembered as Garaz the Wise, the great mystic who helped his people to become the most powerful one in the entire Everdeep.

Dreaming about the future with a slight, cold smile upon his face, Garaz continued carving the signs. He refused to rest at this point, for his volunteer would arrive in the following afternoon. The chamber had to be finished before that.

 

* * *

 

Lunah An'Arath was sitting comfortably on her soft couch, enjoying the breeze generated by two slaves who waved large fans made of waterbeak1 feathers in front of her. It seemed like a luxury, but in fact, even the lowest ranks of noble families owned slaves. Commonly they were war prisoners and spies caught in the tunnels around Tholrun, who were forced to eat bluedust fungus, a type of a mushroom that kept their minds clear while providing complete control. The fungus caused an extremely strong addiction, which made guards inside the houses obsolete. The slaves under the influence would never run away, for they did not want to miss their daily dose. The lack of bluedust caused immense physical pain, where every nerve-ending of the body is activated and sensitized to an extreme, turning even the slightest, softest touch to resemble a stabbing knife. Those few slaves who were crazy enough to escape into the tunnels were usually found within few hours. They either took their own lives once the pain began to take over or they returned, assuring their loyalty, swearing oaths to never escape again. But the strongest struggled far enough to lose their sense of direction. They wandered aimlessly in the tunnels, screaming and moaning, until an Arathan patrol or one of the many underground predators crossed their path. The soldiers found it easier to slay the maddened slaves rather than dragging them all the way back to the city. Once the withdrawal symptoms progressed far enough, the chances to recover grew extremely thin.

Lunah stretched her back and sighed contently. She was heading to Gil'Uldaran the next day, a large structure in the center of the town owned by the Red Council. There she would be meeting Garaz the Blind, one of the greatest mystics that had ever lived, who had offered her a chance to be a part of his experiment. She was told that it would help the Arathan nation to completely wipe out the threat of Weavers. Without a second thought she had agreed, wanting her share of the glory what such creation would bring upon him, not to mention that a merit like that would guarantee her a swift promotion in the academy.

After closing her eyes she ran her fingerstips along the soft skin of her stomach, causing slight comfortable tingling sensation. If Garaz wanted specifically her, she would gladly do anything to please this man. A close relationship with such a powerful and widely recognised mystic would instantly improve her personal status. They had an age difference of hundreds of years, but it was nothing strange among the Arathans. Many respected mystics, both male and female, often had younger lovers to satisfy their needs. The greedy boys and girls wanted a fast way to the high positions within the academy, and elder mystics wanted to taste the passion of a young flesh - an arrangement that was most beneficial for both sides.

A light smile played on Lunah's red lips as she thought how proud her mother would be to see her reaching a council position in Gil'Uldaran younger than anyone else before her. All she had to do was to make sure that Garaz the Blind would be pleased with her.

Her mother, Ussa An'Arath, was a teacher of the secret language at the academy. Her responsibilty was to oversee the classes for all the younglings beginning their studies. Her father, Findalas An'Arath, had died under mysterious circumstances while he was with a border patrol in the tunnels. A rumor was that Ussa had him assassinated, which was not a rare practice among the Arathans. She wanted to offer herself to the mystics in higher positions to promote her own career, but naturally, she was not able to do that while being chained to someone else. In her youth, Ussa had greatly appreciated the strength of the warriors when she was starting her career by teaching the secrets of might in the warrior school of Nerak'Chath in Tholrun. The purpose of the training was to provide young warriors all the skills they needed to enchant their own weapons and armor. There she met Findalas and fell in love with him. They had two children together before Findalas died, Parian and Lunah. Parian was their firstborn. He moved away from home to become a priest of Shar'Leth2, a powerful religious group worshipping a demon of the Underworld.

Lunah was the younger child, who had just started as an entry level mystic in Gil'Uldaran. She was showing promising potential, and her teachers agreed for her being an exceptionally gifted child. Garaz had an relatively easy job to find and contact someone like her.

 

* * *

 

The midnight hour had passed a long time ago, but Garaz was still working on the signs he had been carving for days. Deep beneath the halls of Gil'Uldaran, he was finally getting close to finishing his work. The walls, the floor and even the stand, which was covered by a selection of soft blankets, were all full of Sul'Awen marks. The spell he was constructing was one of the most complicated ones ever made. He was preparing to summon a creature from another world, and such a spell was always extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to accomplish, even for the most skilled mystics of Everdeep.

Then he thought of Lunah, his chosen assistant for this experiment. The poor girl had a dream to become a lover of Garaz the Blind, and he surely had a big role planned for the girl, but unfortunately, it was not about his desire for her flesh. Lunah was very talented and extremely ambitious, a perfect mother for the new breed of the Sin'Garath3 warriors. The rewards were great, but she might have to pay a high price for them, a price that could ruin both her body and soul.