Despite the dangerous conditions, the filthy alleyways of the City of Skiye were never quiet or empty. Therefore few people paid heed to the four hooded men walking through the streets, darting in and out of the dark passages and alleys.
"We have to enter the Citadel from the back," whispered Mandigal. "We do not know if word from Duathnin has reached the King yet."
"Would he not take your word over that of the Council?" asked Vrill, looking around to make sure no one was following them or eavesdropping in on their conversation.
Mandigal lead the three into yet another stinking alley and picked up the pace. "King Dieter will not protect Christill, I know him well enough. On top of this, Perephine will do everything in his power to keep the Elders happy. A conflict with Karmena is the last thing anyone wants."
"Even if it means handing Christill's life over?" asked Friedrich in a doubtful tone.
"You do not know how little Perephine values his subjects, loyal or un-loyal," responded Mandigal.
As they left the shadows of the alley and moved into one of the larger streets, the Citadel came into view. Friedrich and Vrill paused for a moment to take in the sight.
"At least the Feldonians know how to do one thing right," said Vrill, not wishing to give too much of a compliment.
"Keep moving!" scolded Mandigal and the two Dargonians hurried to catch up.
The minutes dragged by and the four exhausted men trudged on. Finally a garden came into view in the pale light. It was surrounded by a tall iron fence, broken by a single closed gate in its centre.
"This garden will take us into the lower southern wing of the citadel. We will be able to make it to Errollan's chambers from there," pointed out Mandigal.
"No!" Christill cut in. "I want to see Elephtheria. She will be able to help me."
"Errollan needs to know of this. He will know exactly what to do," argued Mandigal.
Christill's eyes tightened. "I will go to see Thee whether you wish it or not. I asked for your help in getting me here and I thank you for that, but you will not tell me what to do."
Mandigal's expression did little to hide his surprise. Friedrich turned to Vrill after the unexpected outburst and the skinny Dargonian simply shrugged his shoulders.
Christill then lowered his head as he realised how unnecessarily harsh his words were. Where had they come from? He turned once more to Mandigal. "Forgive me. I should not have been so inconsiderate."
"Something is changing you, Christill," mentioned Mandigal. "I sensed it as soon as you left the ruins of the Academy."
Mandigal's words were true. The foreign presence inside of him had made itself more apparent with each passing hour. It moved throughout his body and spoke to him in ways he could not explain. Everything that he had learnt in the Academy had suggested that there would be no change to his body after the second test. But his meeting with Nyrune had been anything but ordinary. The transition from student to disciple should not have felt so tainted, as though he had somehow been violated.
"Christill!" Friedrich called out, nudging him on the shoulder.
"What?" he replied, almost too loudly.
"You were drifting off," replied Friedrich, a frustrated edge to his tone.
"Let us move into the Citadel," suggested Mandigal.
"And how do you plan on doing this?" wondered Vrill.
"Walk through the gate," answered Mandigal plainly. The Honour Guard removed his cloak and began stepping towards the garden as though nothing was out of the ordinary. The others followed suit and within moments they found themselves at the iron gateway.
The guards at gate moved into defensive positions at the first sight of the four men and then cast each other unsure looks once they recognised Mandigal. The largest of the guards stepped forward and raised his spear across his chest.
"My lord," he greeted. "We were not aware that you had returned to the city."
Mandigal came up to within inches of the guard and used his most menacing gaze. "And what business is it of yours where I am and what I do. I was not aware that a guard needed to know the exact movements of the court."
Christill could see the guards resolve melt away. He stepped aside and began to apologise hastily. The other guards stepped aside, despite their confusion as to why the Honour Guard was choosing to enter through one of the least used sections of the Citadel.
As they passed into the lush garden, Christill became aware of many other people around them. Hidden in the garden he sensed soldiers, as well as the distinct feeling of magic, which he judged to be disciples. "We are being watched," he announced to the others.
Friedrich and Vrill began to look around but could not spot anyone. Mandigal nodded to acknowledge the claim. "You can sense them."
"I can't see a thing," complained Vrill, peering about nervously.
"You do not think that we would leave an entrance to the Citadel unguarded," said Mandigal. "This is probably on of the most heavily guarded entryways."
The lower end of the Citadel was no less lavish than the front, with wide stone steps leading up to the mahogany doors. A sculptured archway almost three times the height of a man loomed over the double doors, with the imagery of running steeds etched throughout the grey stone. A feeling of uncertainty washed over Friedrich as they passed under it and he felt a cold shiver pass over him.
The room they moved into functioned as a joining point for seven different sections of the Citadel. They passed statues of people long forgotten and drapes that hid the cracks in the ancient walls from peeping eyes. As Christill followed Mandigal towards the far left door, he looked at the guards standing at each doorway and could feel their presence in the air. The power that he had been given was not only changing his body, it was slowly changing his senses and perception. His mind was gradually attuning itself to this new state of being and it frightened him.
Vrill and Friedrich were feeling a different sense of fear as they trailed Christill. It had not passed them by that every guard in the room had kept their eyes glued to them since entering the building.
"Somehow I get the feeling we are a little unwelcome here," Vrill said softly to Friedrich.
"We are at war with these people, Cousin," Friedrich replied. "Did you expect a hug and kiss followed by a warm evening meal?"
"A smile would be nice," Vrill answered with an unfazed look.
The four unlikely companions continued through the door into a lengthy corridor that led them deeper into the Citadel and its many sleeping chambers. Slowly Christill began to recognise his surroundings and knew that they were not far from Elephtheria's room. What would he say? He had come this far knowing that he needed her help, but now that it came to it he was not sure how he was going to explain this all to her.
"This is it," called Mandigal from ahead. He stopped in front of her room. Christill moved up and knocked lightly.
After long moments a tired call came from with. "Who is it?"
"Christill," he replied. "I need to speak with you."
The sound of hurried footsteps followed from inside and the door swung open to reveal Elephtheria, still pulling her night robes around her. She stared at Christill in disbelief then blurted, "What are you doing here?"
Christill felt relief at seeing her again. "May we come in?" he asked softly.
She moved up to Christill and hugged him tightly, then pulled back fearfully as she felt the change in Christill for the first time. Her eyes widened with astonishment as she sensed the tremendous power in his body. She motioned for them to quickly move into the room and, after Friedrich and Vrill had moved in, she shut the door and stared at the group. Her expression did not hide her suspicions, so Mandigal moved to the door and turned the lock.
"We came to you because I thought that you would be the only one who would truly listen to my needs," said Christill.
"I do not understand. Is something wrong?" she asked apprehensively. Staring at Vrill and Friedrich she added, "Are these Dargonian spies?"
"Typica
l Feldonian prejudice!" spat Vrill in outrage. "And you wonder why we are at constant war."
"Hold your tongue!" yelled Mandigal, causing Vrill to almost jump out of his shoes.
Christill stepped up to Elephtheria and grabbed her hands in his own. "Please sit down Thee. I have something to explain to you."
Elephtheria took her seat cautiously and nodded, trusting in Christill's suddenly calm tone.
Christill moved towards Elephtheria's bed and sat down, taking in a deep breath before starting his story. "I have written to you many times since I left. It has not been long, but I advanced through the Academy in a very short time. In my last letter I spoke of taking my final steps on the path to becoming a disciple of Nyrune."
"Christill," Mandigal interrupted. "We do not have time to go through every detail. They could arrive at any moment. Keep it simple."
Christill nodded and saw Elephtheria shift uncertainly in her seat.
"I know that you are frightened and think that we may be placing you in danger," Christill continued. "But you have to understand the importance of my being here. When I travelled back to the Third Plane something terrible happened. I believe that I was witness to an attack on the Goddess Nyrune."
Elephtheria gasped. "What do you mean?"
"I arrived in her domain, damaged from a horrendous journey through the planes. What I found there was even worse. An unnatural force was tearing apart the world around me. And in that place I felt a presence that I can only describe as evil." Christill shuddered as he forced himself to recall the events. "Whatever it was made me more fearful than anything that I could have ever imagined.
"It was then that she appeared before me. Nyrune was standing in front of me, but not as it should have been. She was weak and frail. I saw in her the very same fear that had gripped my own heart. She spoke to me of things ordained and the end of her time. I did not know what was happening and the pain that I was forced to endure was too much to bear."
The others in the room waited whilst Christill paused to compose himself. They saw the sorrow in his expression and when he continued his voice was broken and soft.
"I wanted to help her. That presence took her and in her last moments she cried out to me in pain. I would have done anything." He swore, lowering his gaze. "But I was too weak to even move."
"I do not think there would have been anything that you could have done to stop this Christill," Mandigal said. "You should be glad that your life was spared."
Christill looked up. "I was not spared. I was sent back by Nyrune. To find out what it was that destroyed her and warn the other gods."
Elephtheria sat silently, her mind awash with this news.
"She told me things that I could not make sense of at the time. I was told that there was hope with one who was a child of both Skiye and herself." The comment caused Elephtheria to shift in her seat once more. "Then she asked me to warn Skiye," he continued.
"Of what?" Elephtheria asked.
"Whatever it was that attacked her, I imagine," replied Christill, at a loss. "I really have no idea what I am supposed to do."
"Others should be warned about this," Elephtheria said, rising from her seat.
Christill motioned for her to sit back down. "I have not finished yet. Just before I was brought back to our world I saw some visions. Some of them I can identify vividly and others are confusing and alien to me."
"You have not told me of this," Mandigal interrupted.
"Forgive me, but I felt the need to get here was too urgent to risk you abandoning me," replied Christill.
"Then you must have seen something terrible," said Mandigal.
"I saw the City of Skiye utterly destroyed and being consumed by a great fire," explained Christill.
Elephtheria brought her hand to her mouth.
"I thought you may have considered me to be the cause of something like this after what happened at the Academy. I feared you would not allow me to enter the city," Christill said.
Mandigal managed a smile, a rare thing for the stern Honour Guard. "I doubt that you alone have the power to tear apart the City of Skiye."
Christill turned back to Elephtheria. "This was not the only vision that I saw. There was also an eerie room, strangely lit with a statue in the middle of it. There were carvings on a great shield, the symbols of the guardian gods." Christill closed his eyes, trying to remember the details. "And a blood stained altar, black as coal."
"I have never heard of such a place," Elephtheria commented. Friedrich and Vrill shook their heads as well.
"Your mind may have just been conjuring up random images, Christill," Mandigal suggested.
"No!" Christill assured the Honour Guard. "I know that there was something about these images. They felt more real than anything I have come across."
"Were there any other visions?" Mandigal asked.
"Yes, there was one other. It was of a coastline, dotted with a vast fleet of ships. Each ship was covered with soldiers, an endless sea of them. Most terrifying of all was a great beast of a man, larger than any I have seen. He was wearing a suit of black and golden armour and wore a golden helmet, fashioned in the form of a snarling bear."
"Luschia!" Mandigal exclaimed.
"I thought that he was dead," Friedrich cut in.
"No," replied Mandigal. "There are few things on this plane that could kill that monster."
"Who is he?" asked Christill.
"He was once Zephra's right hand. His servant, you could say, but even the all powerful King of Dargon could not hold onto that leash for long. I lost track of his whereabouts some time ago."
"I don't understand what these visions mean," Christill said in frustration.
"Nyrune must have meant for you to see these things," Mandigal reasoned.
"Maybe that is what you are supposed to tell Skiye," Friedrich suggested.
"How can I tell her something that I do not understand?" Christill protested.
Elephtheria cleared her throat. "What you have told me is something of great importance, Christill. Why have you not gone straight to the King and the other counsellors? Everyone must know of this."
"No!" Christill was quick to say. "I have not finished telling you why we are here. When I came back to Fellarrnur something happened to the Karmanian people. At once they were all struck by a tremendous pain. Thereafter the Academy of Nyrune began to fall apart."
Elephtheria closed her eyes, overcome by all this news.
"I found myself leaving the Academy just as the final pieces were toppling over," Christill added.
"We were all outside of the Academy as it came down. It was utter chaos," said Friedrich.
"As I came out of the rubble of that building and saw everything around me I knew that I was going to be blamed for what had happened. The Elders that were present were not going to listen to me and I realised that if I was to get a chance to speak with Skiye, I would have to leave quickly."
"Speak with Skiye!" Elephtheria struggled for breath.
"Yes," Christill replied resolutely. "So you understand why I could not go straight to the King or the other counsellors."
"This is madness," she replied jumping to her feat. "You have come to me to ask me to bring you into the Shrine of Skiye."
"I must speak with her," Christill demanded.
"You do not even know what to say," Elephtheria argued. She turned to Mandigal. "Surely you cannot agree with all of this."
"There is something about this which is beyond my own knowledge. There are things happening in Kovi for which we have no explanation. Christill's resolution in the matter gives me belief that he must speak with Skiye. If Nyrune felt that Skiye needed to be warned, then it is vital that this happens."
"Then why come to me?" she asked, her words flustered.
"I cannot take him into that room. Only one of her disciples can initiate the transition into the shrine," Mandigal replied. "He has come to you in desperation Elephtheria. Will you help him or not?"
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The mixed feelings inside of Elephtheria's mind brought her stomach to cramp and she looked away from the others, finding herself weak.
After a long pause Christill's soft voice brought Elephtheria out of her thoughts. "Please, Thee," he begged.
Christill watched her intently. He hated to ask this of her. This woman, who he had come to cherish as he had Siri in Hamal, was now being pushed to the limits of her conscience.
Elephtheria turned and looked into the young man's eyes. Christill's saw that she had come to her decision.