Neverquest – Part 140

Characters: Kendira, Master Luna
Location: ???
Time: Day 5 – Morning


Kendira rode close to Master Luna, holding the reins of her horse at the level of her chest. Some time ago, a thick and ghostly fog had settled in, leaving her with no sky or ground to use for bearings. Her own hands were faded in the mist. Without Luna’s spirit horse to guide her, she would have been lost in this soundless dream, this trance of the dead. Forever, it seemed, they had been here, walking on swamp and bone…though Luna assured her that they had left the Tower of Azure no more than three hours ago.

“Do not let me out of your sight,” Luna had said before they entered the fog and she said it again now. “Do not look in any direction but forward. Do not follow any light but the one you see before you. There are creatures that lurk here, that will steal you away should you lay eyes upon them…”

Kendira nodded, though she was following Master Luna from behind, and looked again at the dim glow of a lantern that was still a mile away. It swung and shimmered like a fairy in the mist, waving out to them.

“…What is that light, Master?” she asked.

“A warning.”

“Of what?”

Master Luna said nothing. The world was silent. There were no crickets in this marsh—no insects Kendira had ever seen—only the stench of decay bubbling up from the ground. Kendira shivered. It made her skin come alive.

Tightening the reins of her horse, she pulled up alongside Luna and spoke again.

“A warning of what?” she repeated. “What’s up ahead?”

Luna’s eyes remained forward. “…The town of Gravewater.”

“Gravewater?”

“Yes. You know the place.”

“I do,” Kendira said. “From my studies. But you told me…”

“Forget what I told you. Reality changes through time. The only hand you can trust is the one in front of you.”

Kendira nodded, numbly.

With a wry smile, Luna looked at her and returned to the light. “…My sweet apprentice, tell me what you know about the Last King.”

“I know what you told me, Master.”

“Then recite it to me. Leave out nothing.”

“Of course…” Kendira said. “It was in the time of Kings—after Dai Celesta had given birth to the human species and drifted into her eternal rest—that Man’s arrogance led him to believe Women were property. Our ancient sisters were seen as mere tools of sex and procreation…both terms of which are forbidden today. It was in this dark time that the teachings of our goddess were left to the pages of fable and myth. Nobody remembered. Nobody looked back. Only the rules of mortals mattered. …At least, that’s the story they tell in school.”

“And close enough to the truth that it doesn’t matter for your purposes today. Please continue.”

“Well… It was customary for the king to have a dozen Women at any one time to breed and make love with. And when he tired of these Women, he would have them beheaded and more brought in. He would even kill his own daughters, if he had any, to prevent them from being married—for every king feared sharing his wealth and power. With only sons, he knew his fortune was safe.”

“The greed of Men was their downfall.”

“Yes. It was because of that paranoia that one Woman kept her newborn a secret from the king. She dressed her child in peasant clothes and sent her to live in the village, where she grew up, not knowing she was the rightful heir to the throne. But one man knew… He was a knight of the royal court—one whom both the Woman and the Last King adored—and he had a son that he raised to marry this Woman’s child. That child was Sorena.”

“Stay closer to me. Your eyes are wandering.”

Kendira pulled on the reins. “The Woman never told the Last King of their child, even when he sentenced her to death for refusing to pleasure him. She died, leaving the secret in the hands of the one man she trusted—the knight. And he kept the secret from his son until one day, when he was fatally wounded in war. Then, while his son was carrying him off the battlefield, he told him everything. It was the Woman’s dying wish—and his father’s—that the king be overthrown. Only by marrying Sorena and confronting the king with the truth could the throne be won… And the son swore to see it through.”

“So he did,” Master Luna said. “…Or so they would have you think.”

“What do you mean?”

“…The knight you spoke of is Sir Frederick Ramsus and his son is the enigmatic Sir Andrus Ophericon. Both were soldiers and both set out to overthrow the king, yes, but there is a piece in history that has been left out.”

“What’s that?”

“Sir Ramsus did not die in war. He was murdered by the Last King.”

“Hm. Well, that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Doesn’t it, my apprentice?”

“Not at all,” she answered. “The Last King was a terrible person. He doomed the race of Man. When Sir Ophericon took over and became corrupted with the power of the Kings… When Sorena left him for what are now the Forsaken lands and came back to destroy all of Man… The blame rests clearly on him, Master. Men and Women could live peacefully today if only the Kings had fought back their hatred and suspicion.”

“Is that really what your teachings would have you believe, Kendira? You know as well as I that it was only because of this broken conspiracy that Women gained back their power. The chain of events that followed made us the dominant race on this planet again, did it not? The Last King may have forsaken his race, but he furthered ours. Why are we to blame him for anything?”

Kendira’s black cape fluttered in the wind and she had to hold it down with one hand. “It used to be because we wanted equality among our races… Now, I don’t know.”

“Oh, Kendira… You’re so dear to me. I wish I could tell you everything.”

She grabbed onto Luna’s arm. “Then tell me, Master! Tell me why we’re here in this strange land. This place is unfamiliar to me. I don’t know where you’re taking me or what you’re trying to tell me. I don’t know anything here.”

“…It’s for the best. Wisdom will only cause you pain from here on.”

“I don’t understand.”

Luna touched her hand. “…It’s your time, Kendira. I know you’re young—only in your third tier of aging—and these are dark times, but you must believe me that it always comes too soon and you never feel ready to embrace it. Don’t ever close your eyes. There will be no more questions when it’s over. I can promise you nothing in this mortal life, but I can assure you of that.”

Kendira stared up at her.

With the last of her smile, Luna pried her fingers away. “…This will hurt, but from this moment on, you are not to question me. Whenever we are alone, you are not here. I will speak to myself and you will listen. What I say is all you need to know. Anything more will you put you in danger that even I cannot shield you from. Do you understand?”

“…You know I don’t, Master.”

From out of nowhere, Master Luna let out a sudden hiss, bringing her horse to a halt, and she seized Kendira by the shoulders and glared down at her with such rage that fire reflected in both of their eyes.

“You will come to understand,” she shrieked. “Before this is over, you will feel the pain inside of you. You’ll know what it feeds on. Oh, yes—you’ll know it, my apprentice. You’ll come to hate it the way I do.”

Kendira was left frozen, staring into those eyes. She didn’t even notice when Luna finally released her. She could still feel the cold fingers like icicles around her skin and she shuddered. Her horse trotted on, following Luna through the fog, and she could only see an eye of fire in the light ahead.

“…The Last King always knew Sorena was his child. He also deeply loved the Woman who, though a commoner, had brought her into this world. It was that Woman whom the king pledged to marry, to bring an end to the injustice between our two races and the corrupt monarchy that existed in his day. But it was that Woman who betrayed him, for she secreted loved Sir Ramsus. Together, they had planned to exploit and overthrow the king. That was the reason for Sorena’s birth. That is the only reason.”

Kendira was silent.

“When Sorena was born, the king had only one choice—the Woman must be killed and the child must be taken away and never spoken of again. Nobody could know of his sin or the credibility of the dynasty would fall. And yet, the king loved them both. Determined to protect them, he sent Sorena to live in a village due south of Felwinter and told the Woman they must forget the child until the world became more understanding. But it never came to that.” She paused for a moment to guide Kendira around a fallen log and continued into the mist. “History lied again. Sir Ramsus never kept the child a secret from his son. From the day he was born, Ophericon was told he was to marry Sorena and claim the throne in his father’s name… But he never agreed. He wanted no part in the aristocratic world and he despised Sorena. She was a wicked child at best and broke the hearts of Men as easily as glass. Even the toughest of soldiers could not tame her. The suffering of others only gave her pleasure.

“When Ophericon was of age to marry, his father begged him for two straight years to take Sorena’s hand. He never conceded. The begging turned to anger and soon to rage, leaving Ophericon with no other choice than to confront Sorena. He limped to her house one night, after being beaten by his father, and revealed to her everything. He told her she was a princess and this land belonged to her. He told her everything she ever wanted to hear. And she listened with an ever-growing smirk on her face. And in the morning, she paid a visit to the king—her true father—and demanded power. It was the first time the king had seen her since birth, but he recognized her in an instance, for she shared his dark hair and icy blue eyes, and she threatened to unveil his doings to the kingdom if she didn’t have her way.

“My sweet apprentice, you’ve been told Sorena was a victim. You’ve been lied to all this time. It was the Men who were used. Sorena’s noble birth had to be kept a secret if the king hoped to keep his name, so she demanded her mother—the Woman the king adored so much—be killed. And to keep Ophericon and his father quiet, she had Ramsus locked in a cell for many years, on the grounds of conspiracy against the king. And while he was there, she slowly broke Ophericon, forced him to bend to her will, to beg her for mercy, all to keep his father alive. When Sorena finally had Ramsus killed, Ophericon was too obedient to even put up a fight. He watched his father hang and said not a word.

“Sorena had Ophericon wrapped around her finger so much that when she proposed to him, he had no choice but to accept, and they had their wedding on the same day as Ramsus’ funeral. That was all she needed—a husband who was little more than a puppet to her—and the Last King was of no more use. She openly told the kingdom what he had done. She told the people of his affair with a commoner—how he killed the Woman to keep Sorena’s birth a secret—and she told them how the honorable Sir Ramsus was wrongfully imprisoned, tortured, and finally executed because he swore to reveal the king’s secret. Yes, Sorena told them everything, in her own fabricated version of the tale. And that was the truth that became the reality.”

“The one they tell in school today…” Kendira said.

“Other parts have been changed since. Men have always been made out to be the villains, but even the most bias versions of our history books cannot hide the devil that possessed Sorena. She was not a victim. Not at all. I do hope you understand, my young apprentice, that the entire foundation of our world rests on one girl’s manipulations. We’ve all been lied to.”

The light was close enough now that they could see the post the lantern was hanging from. Kendira kept her eyes on it, but her mind was drifting in the fog. How did this happen? How could the truth be kept secret for so long? If Men weren’t to blame, if history could be rewritten and retold the right way, then why… Why did Master Luna turn her back on them?

Was Sorena that powerful?

Were the stakes that high?

“…We’re almost there,” Master Luna said. “What I said before does not change once we enter Gravewater. You are to stay as close to me as possible and speak to no one. Your eyes will remain forward at all times. It is essential, Kendira, that you do not acknowledge anybody. As long as you keep to yourself, they’ll take us as passing spirits.” She lifted her hand to shield away the light. “But if you so much as make eye contact, they’ll know we’re of flesh and bone, and there is magic in this fog more powerful than me. We will not be safe for a moment.”

“Gravewater was the first city in Ellewyn to be destroyed by Sorena…” Kendira whispered. “It’s been abandoned ever since.”

“It’s been a ghost town ever since. The ships you see were destroyed some five hundred years ago. Most of the inhabitants have been dead at least that long. Those still alive are pirates and rogues and cutthroats. We are Mages of the Arcane Order. We are not welcome here.”

“Perhaps we should leave our clothes in the bushes…”

“Though our garbs mark us as Mages of the Elements, we still need to conceal as much of our flesh as possible. Most creatures of the undead are blind until you look into their eyes. They see with their noses. They smell the flesh of mortals and it drives their eternal hunger. It’s the curse of the dead. It’s the smell you can’t get out of your senses.”

“…I smell only ale and gold and death.”

Luna’s eyes were dark as she led her horse through the fog. “That’s all you’ll find here.”

By the time they reached the light, a dozen more had appeared in front of them. There was no sky here, so they only had the soft glow of the lanterns to guide them through the old cobblestone walkways of Gravewater. A certain stillness lingered in the air. There were buildings all around, but they were blackened in the windows and their gray wood exterior was peeling away as easily as dry skin. From the upper balconies of the town, the wind came together to form the pale outline of spirits, their faces melted and downcast, their eyes always watching. Dying blue shadows in the lantern light. Fog that could see.

“…They don’t see you,” Master Luna said, her voice little more than a murmur in Kendira’s ear. “Until you make contact with the spirits, they exist in a time unparallel to our own. What you’re seeing are ethereal threads of centuries gone by, spent trapped in this forsaken place. They’ll be here forever.”

“There must be a way to free to them…”

“Center your thoughts on the living. I have seen the other planes of this existence and they are not so accommodating.”

Kendira nodded, but she didn’t dare turn to the balconies. Even if she could hear their wails, even if she wanted to help. What was so wrong with wanting to…

“Kendira.”

She looked up. “Yes, Master?”

“Your eyes were wandering.”

“They were not, Master.”

“I sensed you take them from me. What did I tell you?”

“I’m sorry. I—”

“Get off your horse.”

Kendira obeyed. She quickly slid off her pinto and joined Master Luna on foot.

“This is where we want to be,” Luna said, walking up the steps of perhaps the oldest building around. They were near the shore now and Kendira watched the ghostly waves washing across the sand like ice. She shivered, for she felt that same ice making puddles in her blood.

“Kendira. Come.”

She shook off the feeling again and hurried up the steps to join her master. On the way, she happened to notice the sign hanging over the building—The Black Widow’s Walk—with a huge painted spider whose legs arched down the wall like fangs and came to a final rest at the doorway. Luna stepped through, motioning for Kendira, and they entered together.

Once inside, Kendira looked around and realized they were in a tavern of sorts. It was still very dark, but each table had a large candle in the center, whose wick was lit and whose flame danced like a ghost on all the walls. There were a handful of people hanging around the bar as well. They were all Women and looked to be human, but they were rough and scowling, wearing rags on their bodies and greasy hair down their cheeks. They were too busy gorging themselves with bread and ale to pay mind to the Mages, but Kendira couldn’t help but to notice how strong they were. Their biceps were like watermelons and their thighs made the tiny chairs they were sitting on crack. It was strange. Only Amazons were known to get that strong…

Suddenly, Kendira felt a cold hand seize her chin. It was Luna, turning her head away.

“Your eyes will get you killed here,” Luna hissed. “Keep them to yourself or I will be forced to take them away. Do you understand?”

The sharp fingers tightened around Kendira’s chin and, try as she might, she was unable to speak or move her head in any direction but a nod. So she nodded and Luna finally released her.

Before Kendira could apologize, a sudden shadow eclipsed the candlelight and the most hideous creature imaginable now stood before her.

“Well, well, well…” the shadow sneered. “I love it when food comes to me. It makes it so much easier than hunting it down.”