The war was long and arduous, tiring both sides. But it was the Eternal war, the war between the Goddess and the one known as the Shadowlady. The struggle between the two had become a stalemate. With both sides exhausted and locked in a state of equal power, it seemed that the tide would be frozen forever.
Till a dragon half-breed crossed the forbidden line between mortal and divine.
Never before has evil and good worked in unison for the same goal: salvation. Faced with a Chaos greater than any under Light or Darkness, the Goddess and the Shadowlady cast aside their ambitions and combined their might to destroy the threat.
Yet...
Sealed from the world by the two deities with the help of their chosen, the Seven Sentinels (1), the threat was forgotten.
And so it would have remained...
Dark.
A drip, constant.
Somewhere, a creature of the tunnels scampered, clawed feet skittering across the floor of stone.
Dark. So dark. Oppressive.
Only twin pinpricks of gleaming crimson tore through the thick blanket of black. Ruby eyes of telltale infravision.
Searching...
The dripping continued in a maddening rhythm.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
A soft rustle of cloth on stone, as It took a step forward and then another. Another. Another. Another. Faster. Faster. Another. Faster. Only a blur...
Drip. Drip.
A high-pitched shriek, muffled by uncaring rock and earth, exploded throughout the tunnels, echoes amplifying the terror and pain forced into that single, primal cry.
Dissatisfied, It continued Its hunt.
Drip.
A sudden, sharp toss of the boat threw him from his cramped niche, sending his face to have a close and violent greeting with several other boxes in the dark cargo hold.
Scowling at his sudden wake-up call and the taste of blood in his mouth, he straightened, risking discovery to give his a limbs a good stretch or two, wiping at his cut lip.
"I don't get paid enough for this," he muttered, feeling his nose to make sure it was all there and then knuckling his back to work out the kinks. Granted, he was doing this for revenge and fulfillment of his master's wishes, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy the seamier part of his job.
The ship rocked again, nearly sending him sprawling. Above, shouts could be heard and thunder crackled with a sudden intensity so great that his ears rang. Grabbing the nearest object to keep from spilling onto the floor, Valgarv glowered at the ceiling. "I know you hate me. There's no damn need to prove it!"
A creak. And then, to his right, water suddenly gushed in with a sudden thick burst of white brine and foam as the Maryanna ripped her underbelly along a reef.
Pressing himself up against the trunk of the tree, Zelgadis peered discreetly around its berth toward the owner of the voices.
"Geez, you have no idea how long I've been holding this!"
"No kidding!! Che, 'wait till morning' my ass!"
The voices were abruptly accompanied by the sound of water hitting foliage.
A slow flush began to burn on the tip of Zel's ears as he realized what they were doing, spreading to his cheeks. He jerked back behind the tree, closing his eyes and fighting back the blush.
"How embarrassing," he muttered.
"Quite," came the whispered, highly amused reply.
His eyes flared open in surprise, hand quickly traveling to the hilt of his sword in unconscious reaction.
The sight of an attractive young woman in a flimsy nightdress grinning down at him filled his vision, eyes smiling as she giggled. Reaching up, she brushed some of the lush, unbound violet hair from her elegant face, before stating, "I don't recognize you as one of my bodyguards."
Zelgadis choked.
"And if you're not one of by bodyguards, then that means you're some sort of bandit or highwayman," she continued, still grinning. "Why, I wager that you were planning to waylay my men while they were preoccupied, right?" She gave a sudden squeal of delight. "Oooo, can I watch? I've never seen a real fight before!"
Zelgadis choked again as the woman grabbed his hands and jumped up and down like a hyperactive child, face pleading to see the fight that might occur if she kept up with the noise.
All he had to do was knock her out and then he'd be on his way.....
She stopped bouncing around, as if hearing his thoughts. "You're lost, aren't you?" she inquired, taking on a sly look.
Zelgadis jerked his hands out of her grasp, drawing the dagger belted on his thigh. "Warui {Sorry}. This is going to hurt." He flipped the blade around in his hand. The woman tilted her head curiously, but didn't look the least bit frightened.
"Oh come come!! If you're lost, just admit it! Then I can help you get out."
He paused, raising a brow.
She grinned. "Of course, you have to give me something in return."
The other brow shot up. "What keeps me from just taking you hostage and making you show me the way out?"
Those smiling eyes made it hard to gauge her reaction. But if the quirk at her lips were any indication, she was entertained by the entire idea. "Why, nothing really!! You seem a dangerous fellow and might even manage to chop your way through my guards. Of course, if you do take me hostage, then you'll have to keep a constant watch over me to make sure I don't escape and you'll have to deal with any of my surviving bodyguards, because they're quite loyal to me, you know. But really, nothing will stop you."
Somehow, he had the feeling he did not want to deal with that ... not from any danger, but this girl seemed like she would go out of her way to make him regret taking her hostage.
"What do you want?"
She drew in closer, peering at him through her ever-smiling eyes. Zelgadis instinctively pulled back farther into the shadow of the tree, hiding the monstrous facade that forced him into self-exile from his home...
"I want you...... to do the hokey-pokey for me!"
Zelgadis nearly facefaulted. "Wh-what?"
She poked him in the chest, giggling. "You heard me."
He blinked, standing there in stunned silence for several moments before breaking out into harsh laughter, cynically amused by this entire ordeal. Only the spiteful gods would force him into this situation.
"Let me get this straight. You want me to do some goofy little dance for you, in order for you to help me get out of this accursed place?" He laughed again, holding a hand to his forehead. "For all I know, you're probably stuck here too."
She shrugged, drawing back and folding her slender arms over her chest. "I never said you had to believe me. Yet, if you don't believe me, you'll have to be a very lucky man to get out of the Forest of Confusion during your lifespan." A sweet smile.
"Anything else can I do for you?" He tested the edge of his dagger with his thumb, looking up at the woman through lowered eyes. Goddess, she's taller than me!
A smile and a slight shake of the head. "Now chop chop, let's see some shaking! Else you'll never get out of here, Mr. Man..." She tapped a manicured finger on Zel's nose.
Being lost is better than suffering this embarrassment. But nonetheless, he sheathed his dagger. With a disgruntled, sullen face, the mercenary reluctantly lifted his left arm and began to intone rather flatly in his nasally vocals, while mimicking the necessary motions with less-than-proper enthusiasm:
"You put your left arm in
You put your left arm out
You put your left arm in
And you shake it all about."
He paused, glancing archly at the giggling girl. She noticed his look and tried to smother her laughs, while motioning for him to continue.
Goddess, whatever I have done to receive this horrible punishment, I repent!
"You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself about.." Zelgadis strutted about, his face an absolute mask of promised death. Then, clapping to accentuate the words: "That's what it's all about. Hokey-pokey."
The girl tossed back her head and roared with laughter, tears pouring from her eyes as she fell over onto the ground, clutching her stomach.
Zelgadis stared hard at her, emerald eyes like jeweled daggers. "Happy?" he managed to ground out through tightly clenched teeth.
Gasping for air, she sat up, wiping tears from her smiling eyes. "Are you crazy?" She nearly broke into another fit of gut-rending laughter. "You still have to do your other arm and your legs!"
Zelgadis opened his mouth. Then shut it. Then opened it again. Closed it. Finally, in a muttered tone, "The Goddess damn you."
The girl smiled up at him. "Maybe later. Now, shall we commence with the dance?"
The water swirled around him, a thick cold blanket of dark blue brine and salt. Valgarv clawed at the liquid, scrabbling for the flashes of light that appeared above him, but the churns of the current shoved him down further into the inky abyss. His chest felt like exploding, begging for air.
Then suddenly, he broke the surface of the water, mouth wide to gulp in the sweet, sweet air.
The waves tossed him around with almost a careless gesture as he furiously swam to a floating piece of ship, clinging onto the wooden plank to keep from being pushed back under the horrible water.
The ship was almost completely submerged now, only the prow and mast still above the furiously beating waves. Valgarv had barely managed to keep from being trapped in the ship, by scrambling out of the hold through one of the small windows, plunging into the freezing ocean below. Ahead were several lifeboats, filled to the brim with sailors and guests.
The rain had lessened, but the water was no less cold. Already he could feel the water's freezing fingers tickling up his torso, taking away all feeling.
Hello, Death. We're old friends, aren't we? I want to ask you a boon out of friendship.
He could feel his mind slipping, his consciousness wavering between oblivion and reality.
Let me finish this. And then you can claim me as you have claimed everyone else in my life. A simple boon, all I ask is Time.
There was a shout, someone on one of the nearby lifeboats pointing to him.
When I finish it all, you will have many more souls to grow fat upon.
Suddenly it wasn't cold anymore. Smiling softly, Valgarv rested his head on the plank, eyes closed as the waves splashed over him with reckless abandon.
When I fini ..............................................
Zelgadis sat stiffly on his cushion on the floor, his face set in a cold, apathetic mask as he regarded his host resting on another cushion across from him. "So, you are able to escape the dweomer of this... Forest of Confusion... simply with your presence, Xellos-dono?" The dim candlelight flickered, casting long shadows on both of the occupants in the lush tent.
Xellos-dono smiled that infernal smile again, proffering a fine glass of amber wine. "That's all you really need to know .... eh .... what did you say your name was again?"
Zelgadis considered refusing the glass, but as another flash of his humiliating dance for this lovely lady shot through his head, he eagerly grabbed the glass and tossed back its contents in one shot. "I never said," he replied, handing back the glass.
"Oh, you're so cold...." She winked at him. "Maybe a few more dance turns will loosen you up."
He shot her a Look. A wiser person would have been burned, buried, and doomed to eternal torment by laughing Mazoku creeps who enjoy naughty tentacles and the occasional dubbed anime.
She only laughed and set his glass down on a nearby table. "I was joking, joking, Aoi Otoko-san {Mr. Blue Man}." She reached out with a fluid motion, giggling at Zel's shocked look as she whipped his cowl off his head, revealing the monstrous face that was the direct result of the Incident that had so changed his life.
Zel's eyes were as round as saucers as Xellos-dono studied him, lips pursed. With a curiosity that would have killed a cat, she touched the dark stones that decorated his blue skin, hand traveling down to pull off this cloth that hid half of his face from view.
Zelgadis flinched, jerking away and quickly drawing the hood back over his head. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He bit his lip and turned his head away, again ashamed of his appearance, again cursing the name of his relative that had made him like this.
She smiled. "Eh, I thought as much. I wasn't sure if it was just the night or my eyes. So, Aoi Otoko-san, what's your story behind your most interesting form?"
Zelgadis stood, glaring down at her. "I do not need to disclose any such information to the likes of annoying little brats like you. Xellos-dono--" He ground "dono" out through his teeth. "--I would like to say I've enjoyed your company, but I'd be lying." A stiff incline of the head. "Saa, a good night. I expect you to fulfill your end of the bargain tomorrow." He turned for the flaps that served as the exit of the tent.
She made a face at his back. "Now, now, Aoi Otoko-san, no need to leave mad... It was an honest inquiry."
"Che." He walked out.
Xellos-dono watched him go with a smile, resting her chin in one hand. Finally, she reached for his glass and filled it from a crystal decanter, sipping at the golden wine. "I truly have the Shadowlady's own luck." She laughed darkly, amethyst eyes burning in elation.
It blinked as it emerged from the mouth of the cave, the thousand thousand thousand lights of the stars pricking into Its sensitive vision. It squinted, staring at the unfamiliar shapes before It, a tiny growl issuing from Its throat. Slowly, It stalked out of the cave, sniffing noisily at the strange scents that blew on the cool breeze. Then It smiled, a big toothy grin that was monstrous to behold, and It lifted Its head toward the night sky with its many lights. A howl, long and clear, pierced the night, shattering the silence of nature with Its terrifying scream.
It could detect the scent of something It only knew from Its deepest memories.
The hunt began now.
(1) : Not to be confused with the Sentinels present in the original, "Shadowlight"... The Sentinels in Shadowlight are third generation and the ones mentioned above are first generation.