Chapter Twelve – Trinity and the Black Mage
Draygor flew steadily throughout the silent night as the pair of youngsters slept peacefully, nestled deep within his thick scales. The morning’s rays splashed blissfully over the peaks of the barren mountain range ahead as William slowly stirred from his deep slumber. Gradually, his eyes opened to see that the sky around him was set alight with beautiful crimsons as the newborn sun rose higher into the wakening maternal sky. Through silence he watched, as the mountains got slowly closer, before he gave back in to his heavy eyes and closed them once again.
He gently awoke as the heat of the sun lovingly warmed his little face through the large, curtain clad window beside him. Slowly, he sat up on the small, little bed that he had found himself upon and gazed through the window to the pasture below. A strange young woman with long flowing locks of dark red hair, stood cheek to cheek with Draygor, as she gently held his head lovingly in her arms. Thick green grass and wild countryside surrounded them for as far as William could see, whilst the Mountain range; that he now remembered in the crimson sky, stood proudly in the background. He gazed at the peculiar sight before him for a long while until the woman suddenly looked directly at him and smiled warmly.
“Good morning, William,” he heard in his head as he watched her - almost as if he had simply thought it. Quickly, and slightly disturbed, he got off of the little bed and left the small, light filled room that he had been carried into. A long corridor met him, furnished with a warm, thick carpet that held a red and black floral design and that perfectly matched the old wallpaper that surrounded him. A long flight of carpeted stairs flew swiftly down to the belly of the strange little house as he began to walk toward them.
Trinity waited patiently as she continued to cradle Draygor’s mighty head within her gentle arms. Eventually, William stepped out of the old house and walked quietly through the dancing grass to where they were peacefully stood.
Draygor slowly raised his head back up to its majestic height as Trinity turned around with a welcoming smile, “I said; good Morning, William,” she laughed.
“Then that was you.” William uttered as he stared.
“My name is Trinity,” she chuckled, “I am a Theriomancer.”
A slight frown appeared upon his brow.
“It means that I can communicate with any animal that I choose to,” she smiled, “and control them - when I need to.” William smiled in response as a little glint appeared in his eye once again, “I am a friend William,” she added, “you must be hungry … come,” she smiled as she offered her extended arm.
They began to walk back toward the huge, old house as Draygor launched himself - with a few mighty beats of his wings - high into the air once more.
“Where is he going?” William shouted as he flung himself around.
Trinity smiled as she extended her arm once again, “I’m sure he’ll be back soon … come,” she gently reassured.
William - after a few moments - turned back around with uncertainty upon his face and stared at the house before him. Its walls were vast and white - dotted with a network of dark framed windows of various sizes, whilst the whole thing topped itself off with a grey slated roof that rose swiftly from each side of the house and peaked almost as high as the mountains before it. It stood among its own little ecosystem, with brilliantly coloured flowers that occupied almost every inch of space and supported an abundance of little creatures that lived out their lives within them.
Trinity smiled to herself as she watched William study her creation, “Well, do you like it?” She asked in anticipation.
“It’s … nice,” William smiled.
Gently, she ushered him along, as they walked slowly along the little path that led to the front door before disappearing inside.
Inside was light and airy, with vast shelves of ancient books that covered almost every wall before them.
“Where’s Gwen?” He asked cautiously.
“She’s still asleep,” Trinity said softly, “with the amount of food that she ate this morning, I’m not surprised,” she chuckled, “are you hungry, William?”
“Why are we here?” William slowly asked, “We are meant to be headed for Feliisha.”
“Feliisha is less than a day’s flight from here,” she reassured, as she led him to one of the mighty bookshelves before him, “besides … going there now would do you no good.”
“Oh?” William uttered in surprise, “Why is that?”
Trinity pulled a rather large book - with a very tatty cover - off of the shelf and placed it onto a huge table before them, “Only under the gaze of the King, will the mighty gates of Galgamire open,” she said slowly as she sat on one of the huge chairs and slowly opened the book.
William pulled another of the chairs out from underneath the table and sat beside her, “What does that mean?” He asked blankly.
Trinity turned gently through the golden-edged pages of miniscule text and brilliantly coloured illustrations as William watched silently. She turned to a page that depicted a mighty, golden statue of a King - with huge crystal eyes and a mighty golden crown. Quietly, she smiled to herself, “Here he is,” she said softly, “this is the great King Lomax,” William gazed at the luxurious painting upon its ancient page, “he stands tall over the gates of Galgamire. Look at the eyes, William,” she whispered. William looked closely at the pink crystal hexagons, “It is said,” she continued, “that when the King died, his soul went into those crystals so that he can forever watch over his Kingdom,” William sat quietly and listened carefully as he watched the painting; “those crystals were stolen over a hundred years ago … nobody can enter Galgamire without them,” she quietly added.
William’s face dropped; “Then, that’s it,” he said glumly.
Trinity smiled excitedly; “Not exactly,” she said slowly, “I know where they are,” William’s smile instantly returned and his eyes lit back up; “the witch that now wears the cross,” she began, “has a brother - Dessicanta. He is a mage of the blackest arts and not to be taken lightly,” she said as she closed the mighty book before her, “he has a castle, not too far from here. The crystals are there.”
Slowly she got up from the table and pushed the mighty book back into its space upon the shelf, “now, how about that breakfast?” She asked.
William thought for a moment, “I am … a little hungry,” he finally admitted.
“What would you like?” She asked with a smile as she turned to face him.
“Try the pancakes!” Gwen shouted as she came into the room.
“Ah! Good morning Gwen,” Trinity smiled.
“Good Morning!” Gwen beamed as she sat beside William;
“My mother used to make …” William began,
“Honey porridge!” Trinity quickly interrupted as two steaming bowls of honey porridge and two silver spoons appeared on the table before them.
“How …?” William smiled in amazement.
Trinity laughed, “Enjoy!” She squealed as she headed back toward the front door and out into the flowers.
William dove straight in as Gwen picked up her spoon and smelt the aroma that rose slowly up from her bowl – like the mist that rose up to Feliisha from the darkest depths of Galgamire.
“It’s really nice!” William assured as porridge hung from around his mouth.
“It does smell nice,” Gwen smiled as she slowly filled her spoon and tried a little, “It is nice!” She beamed with surprise as she eagerly dunked her spoon back in.
William emptied his bowl in next to no time before sitting quietly in thought as Gwen slowly finished. Before long, Trinity re-entered the house as she clutched a thick bunch of long, green sprigs tightly in her hand, “It looks like Draygor's back,” she smiled. William’s face lit up once more as he sprung eagerly from the table and bolted out of the old house. He ran quickly through the wild flowers as he watched Draygor swoop majestically down to the pasture and land - with a few more mighty wafts o
f his enormous wings - just a couple of feet from him.
Slowly, William approached as his monstrous pet lowered himself down to the ground once more and spread his enormous scaly wing over the thick, green grass below it. Slowly, William began to climb up and after a short while - as he passed Draygor’s immense shoulder a small, soft, yellow chair, quickly wove itself out of pure, brilliant light just before his eyes whilst another wove itself behind the first and a third wove itself behind the second. Each one wove larger than the one before it until three comfortable chairs sat harnessed and ready - all in a row - as their light died down to a dim glow. In splendid awe, William looked around with wonder clearly visible upon his little face to see Gwen and Trinity giggling away below him. He sat into the smallest chair - that was not too far from the back of Draygor’s mighty head - and made himself comfortable, as Gwen, followed by Trinity, began to climb up. Before long, Gwen was sat just behind William - with Trinity sat just behind her - as slowly, Draygor rose up and jumped powerfully into the air with a few gusting flaps of his mighty wings.
“Be unafraid,” William vividly heard in his thoughts as they headed for the unknown, “you are not alone.”
William smiled quietly to himself as he sat deeply into his chair and looked ahead across the wondrous sky as a sense of relaxation overcame him. They raced, with staggering speed, high over the endless hills that rolled majestically across the landscape and the pastures that sat peacefully dotted throughout them - and the woods and the forests and the carefree creatures of the land that lived out their little lives oblivious to the threats of the world around them.
“Dessicanta’s castle sits upon a rocky outcrop,” spoke the gentle voice inside William’s head, “just off the coast of North Bakata - we should be there by dusk.”
William’s mind wandered around aimlessly as he thought of his mother - and for no reason at all - remembered a shopping trip from one sunny Saturday morning as a few random objects that were purchased on that morning flashed quickly through his mind. Almost without notice, his remembrance turned to the point where he had left his bedroom and then flashed instantly to when he met his sister for the first time in that long red coat. As he thought longer about his sister, she turned in his mind, from that pretty young woman with the long, dark, glistening hair, to that foul creature that glared at him so intensely through those blood-red eyes and that roared so horrifically through the gloominess.
As the day slowly progressed and the sun hung a little lower in the sky, Gwen, too, began to remember. She thought hard about how she had hid underneath her bed - quaking in fear - as her father lay dying upon the cold cobblestones of the village square along with the rest of the villagers who had fought, so bravely, against the monsters. She remembered her skin crawl, with every fibre of her being and the sickening feeling deep within her, as they breached the house and came looking for her.
“It was not your fault,” a gentle voice within her generously interrupted, “you had to stay alive to avenge them … for you know what you are,”
Trinity lent forward - her mouth within whisper distance of Gwen’s ear - as she gently placed a hand upon her small shoulder, “Do you not?” She whispered before she sat back deeply into her seat once again. Gwen remained silent – deep in thought as they continued to race into the dawn of the evening around them.
As the light began to fade slowly away, a slither of water casually appeared upon the horizon as it stretched effortlessly across its entire length and widened astronomically as they continued to speed toward it.
“The coast of North Bakata!” Shouted Trinity excitedly, “and there’s the castle!”
William watched intensely, as the silhouette of a ruined castle stood tall upon solid rock surrounded by the sea that thrashed and battered it, “Do you imagine that I am unaware of your presence?” Came an outraged voice that suddenly thundered terrifyingly upon the wind. An apparition of a withered face filled the sky around them, “I’ve been expecting you!” It said gently as it smiled, before it disintegrated into thousands of tiny screeching creatures that flew in a wild frenzy as they bit and bombarded the monstrous beast among them and the passengers upon it.
Draygor roared loudly - with much more ferocity than William had ever heard him roar before - as swiftly he battled through them all with his magnificent armoury of tooth and claw. Calmly, Trinity raised her arms high above her head and gently closed her eyes as - in groups of huge numbers - the creatures exploded with spectacular effect as the sky furiously lit up all around them.
“Very good!” Laughed the evil voice once all of the creatures had exploded and the light level came back down; “Let’s see what else you can do!”
In a single, blinding flash, all three friends found themselves stood upon the side of a colossal sand dune without a single trace of Draygor anywhere to be seen. Both Gwen and William looked instantly to Trinity with a mixture of concern and a fear of the unknown upon their little faces; “It’s OK,” Trinity quietly reassured as she scrutinised the landscape around her with real uncertainty within her. The sky was orange and crimson and the heat of the sun that blasted down was sweltering. The sea of sand looked as though it would stretch on forever in all directions whilst massive waves of dunes stood statically frozen in time. Dessicanta slowly materialised - out of a haze of thick black mist that quickly dissipated around him - as he smiled and glared at his captives from afar.
Suddenly, the sky thundered loudly and the ground trembled. The sand raced uncontrollably underneath them and they tumbled quickly down the dune as Dessicanta began to run toward them. Quickly he built up speed and instantly transformed into a terrifying creature - that hurtled upon wings - toward them at the speed of the Gods themselves, as it snarled and screeched like a starved rabid animal. Completely black, like the souls of Haidreal and with eyes as red as freshly drawn blood, it raced savagely - blind with rage - as it flew inches from the ground with its battery of razor-sharp teeth begging madly for flesh. Its wings - like long, torn sails - swiftly trailed behind it and whipped the ground ferociously that they raced above, sending sand blasting high into the air.
In near hysteria, the three friends tried madly to scramble to their feet as Trinity quickly flung her hands far out before her - fumbling her words in terror. She shook uncontrollably with fear as she quickly recited her spell - over and over again - louder and louder each time, until, Instinctively, William flung out his clenched fist and - as he looked quickly away - an immense light that outshone all that had shone before it, escaped his little ring and quickly took the creature - as it screeched and writhed with all the fury of the underworld - deep within it. Slowly, the light faded once more and the sky above them silenced, as the three of them - still panic-stricken - looked intensely all around as they lay in the sand and caught back their breath.
After a few moments, another blinding light quickly flashed before it died back down leaving the three friends covering their eyes as they lay upon the cold concrete roof of the castle’s keep. Slowly - and one by one - they rose to their feet as two, large, hexagonal crystals, floated in mid-air before them. Draygor roared fiercely as he towered over and stood magnificently behind them as he displayed his might. Huge parapets surrounded them and beyond them, stood mighty turrets with great, overhung, spires that threatened to pierce the very fabric of Mythica.
“Look!” Gwen suddenly whispered in amazement as the crystals shined brightly with a delicate pink hue swirling within them. Trinity slowly approached in admiration as she raised a gentle hand and allowed her fingers to delicately fall upon the face of the crystal before her. Instantly, the areas around her fingertips rippled - as though she had placed them upon an undisturbed body of water. After a few quickened heartbeats and a gradual deep breath, she relaxed her hand - allowing it to fully rest upon the smooth, cold surface, as huge ripples emanated all across it. Slowly and all around her gentle touch, the crystal darkened to a powerful fuchsia, allowing its extremities to turn almost white.<
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Blissfully, she smiled and closed her eyes in ecstasy, “I … can feel Lomax,” she whispered with an uneven breath before she slowly opened her eyes once more. In amazement, she held her touch as all of the powers and knowledge of the ancient king flowed effortlessly throughout her. Finally - and after having her fill - she lowered her arm as the dark fuchsia dissipated back into the rest of the crystal, until the delicate hue was fully restored, “Let’s get them back to where they belong,” she said quietly as she looked to William and her heartbeat began to return to normal. William slowly raised his clenched fist and the now familiar bright light - that he had become so accustomed to - once again escaped his little ring as the crystals raced quickly toward him before they suddenly disappeared and the light quickly faded away.