Curseborn Saga - Fade to Black (15 page)

She walked toward the Flare smiling evilly; her hair was short, jagged and black, her eyes were of red flame, and wrapped around her neck was a necklace of ivory sharp fangs. She was completely naked with the exception of a black fur wrapped around her upper legs like a skirt, and something of the same fashion for her breasts. Smaller fangs hung from dozens of bracelets around her wrists and ankles, and as she grinned at Storm, he saw two sharp fangs poke out from under her upper lip.

“Get away!” shouted Caim, “he’s dangerous!”

Storm could barely speak, “No … Caim, she’s …” He watched Kreitos turn around and stare at the girl as she walked toward him. Kreitos towered over the girl, but she was not afraid. She looked at him, still smiling wildly, then reached out and combed her fingers through his midnight fur. She whispered something Storm and Caim could not hear. At that she leapt into the air and landed on Kreitos’ back. Kreitos stood tall before the forest, glaring at the two brothers.

A soft voice entered the brother’s minds, and Storm knew it was the voice of the girl.
“The Spirit of the Forest aids you Silvers Fangless, and under the dark that eats the light, we will not draw blood in this time. The Cloaker is yours to take, though he soon enters the dark. The fire in the dark has already spoken of his passing. One day, you, Silvers Fangless, the one who wields the great fang in his hand, the one who has brought fear to the great Kreitos, and he who is raised by the Spirit of the Forest, shall be mine to keep.”
With that she cast Caim one last long look, and Kreitos roared fiercely into the night before he turned and disappeared into the realm of Neverend.

Caim took a deep breath and the aura faded from his body, leaving crystallized particles that rose up into the sky before shattering. Storm watched as the crystalline energy particles soared across the sky, over and into the lake and back toward the trees, as if they were reabsorbing them. Caim walked over to Storm and sheathed his sword.

“Can you believe that tree spirit!?” Caim put his hands on his hips, and his torrent of energy vanished. “Starting a fight and then running away! And who was that girl? I’m no one’s to keep.”

Storm inhaled slowly, “I could be wrong but, the old man once spoke of a young girl that lived among the Flares. He said that long ago, there was a village that was ravaged by them, and they killed and ate every single Sorian living in that village. But there was one little girl chained by the neck to a pillar; out-casted for having long sharp fangs and blood red eyes, and among the carnage she did not fear the Flares. She stood in the center of the village, surrounded by the slaughter, watching as everyone around her was eaten alive. When the biggest of the Flares finally came, he lowered his head and placed his nose before her face. In this moment she smiled, bearing her fangs to the Flare. It is said that since then she was taken in by the Flares, and has lived among them in Neverend ever since. I thought it was just another story … But I’m pretty sure that was Fang, Princess of the Flares. And I think she either just declared your death, or,” Storm grinned, “you as her prince, forever.”

“WHAT!?” cried Caim, “No, nononono, what if I don’t want to!?” He shook his Fallblade at the towering trees of Neverend, “You hear that, Fang, Princess of the Tree Spirits!? I’ll never be yours!” He pulled down the skin under his eye and stuck out his tongue.

Storm choked and laughed at the same time. “Anyways, what the hell was that, Caim? I’ve never seen you use that power before … and was she telling the truth? Was the Spirit of the Forest aiding you?” Before Caim could answer, the voice of the Chameleoth interrupted him.

“I was wondering where it was that I had felt your presences before. Forgive my lack of respect at forgetting who you are. You see, I have been away for quite a time now. You two are kin of the great Ronin, are you not?”

Storm raised an eyebrow.
“
The
great
Ronin?
”

“Yep,” said Caim, grinning. “I’m the great Caim, and this is my brother, the gem stealer, Storm.” Caim leaned close to the Chameleoth and whispered in his ear while pointing at Storm. “He’s a little weird, but you’ll get used to him.”

Storm’s eyebrow rose even higher.
“I’m
the weird one
?”

“
It is an honor to make your acquaintance under such circumstances,” said the Chameleoth.
“
I am known as Galfanon among the Cloakers of this world. The stories of you boys have reached many an ear of my kind. The Kushala Flare have had a great dislike of your family since even your earliest days … they are stubborn in their ways and do not well tolerate the idea of others living in the forest who can counter their strength. But it seems you have swayed the Kushala Princess. I thank you for what you have done today. I might have wished to live longer, but now I am content with my passing.”

“Wait!” said Caim, rushing to his side. “We just have to get you to the water and you’ll be fine!” He waved at Storm to help him but Storm shook his head. He already knew it was too late. The pools of blood around the great beast were so deep they would have reached up to his ankles. Storm turned his head away in shame. It was too late.

“Your kindness towards us of the forest is something that we will never forget. You have always respected the forest and for that we have aided you, without your knowledge, since you were young. I hope that your bravery and kindness will hold out, for a great darkness will soon threaten this land. Light fades within the star ocean … please, make use of what I bequeath you, for it is the greatest gift one of us can offer. And know that if you are ever in need, the Cloakers will always come.”

With that Galfanon spoke no more, and a strange feeling seemed to sweep across the land, powerful yet invisible, as if the great beast had spoken to not only them, but to all of Neverend.

Caim and Storm were quiet for a long while, mourning the passing of Galfanon in their own separate ways. At times, they thought they heard strange sounds from Neverend as if Kreitos hadn’t really left them and was waiting for them to fall asleep. Yet neither of them were remotely close to being tired.

Caim decided that the greatest gift Galfanon could offer them was the meat of his body, and that they would eat the creature and respect his wishes, for his strength would become one with their own. Storm was unsure if that was what Galfanon was implying, but decided that it was indeed one way to honor the fallen creature.

Soon after they made up their minds, Storm bathed in the cold water of Senyria, which had mysterious healing properties. It was said across their land that the Goddess of Life had created Senyria of her own tears and because of that, they could heal any wound that hadn’t already pushed one into the clutches of Death; for that was the only place her power grew faint. Storm watched as the wounds on his body faded little by little, and felt his strength return to him. Standing shirtless in the shallows of the lake, he stared up at the night sky.
What did he mean by ‘light fades in the star ocean’?

After a few minutes of resting in the water under the stars, Caim entered the forest in search of wood to fuel the fire. Storm knelt alongside Galfanon’s great body, ready to protect its gift from any that wished to taste its nourishment.

“I’m sorry,” said Storm. “I … wasn’t strong enough.” Storm clenched his fist. “I told you old man … heroes only exist in your fairy tales. The real world is cruel and unforgiving.”

It wasn’t long before Caim returned and they had a great fire crackling. The glowing embers lit up the night. They roasted giant chunks of meat on sharpened branches, and the mouthwatering smell seemed to lure hundreds of tiny creatures from the forest, though none of them ventured close enough to be seen. The parts of the Chameleoth they did not eat faded slowly, dissipating into crystal shards of energy that rose upwards like the ending of one of their aura bursts. They knew the energy of Galfanon was returning to Soria, for Ronin had told them many times that the cycle of Life and Death curved like a ring.
‘All must follow this cycle. It is the great law of the universe.
’ These were the old man’s words.

Storm bit a huge chunk of meat and looked to the sky, confused over the last words of Galfanon
.
I wonder what he meant by
‘a darkness will soon threaten this world’.
He pondered as he gazed upon the stars. He turned to see Caim devouring meat at his usually fast pace. He ate like a rabid beast.

After eating, they removed their weapons and laid the two sheathed swords on the ground. The fire was warm at their hands and the stars were bright in the sky above, glistening like pearly gems in a blanket of darkness.

Suddenly, Caim sprung upwards. “You cheated!” he said. “You used
Blood Aura
in the race!”

Storm grinned, “I cheated!? You were riding a Chameleoth!”

“His name was Galfungyon … and you never said I couldn’t.”

“What? That wasn’t even his name, it was Galfanon! And you never said I couldn’t use my Limit Seal,” answered Storm.

“But—”

“Go to sleep Caim,” said Storm, and Caim fell silent. It was quiet for a long time, yet Storm could not close his eyes for long, making it impossible to fall asleep. Every now and then his eyes gazed to Neverend, suspecting movement and the reappearance of the monster. He wondered all about the Soldier Games and what adventures they would find within it. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine the legendary warriors he wished to face, and wondered who the greatest swordsman of their world was now, or ever. Opening his eyes, he stared at the thousand celestial fires lighting up the darkness.

“Storm?”

Storm sighed. “Thought you’d be sleeping by now.”

“Can’t sleep … can’t stop thinking about all the things grandpa told us. About the world tournament and the Dragon King …” He paused and Storm could hear him breathing in the quiet.

“Do you think I could do it, Storm? Become the Dragon King?”

Storm couldn’t help but grin. “It’s a myth, Caim … not that you ever had a problem believing those anyways. You really want to ride on the backs of Night and Day don’t you? Do you even remember the story of Night and Day?”

“I can’t remember,” said Caim. “Grandpa told us so many stories… .”

Storm listened to his own breathing for a moment. “The story says that upon the birth of Lady Vale, the Goddess of Life, she came to be on the world Aeryx. This world, Caim. And it’s said that upon opening her eyes and gazing out over this world, she experienced her first emotion. Loneliness. And so she cried, and all in the universe were cast into a deep state of sorrow. All the worlds, the stars, and creatures wept as she wept. And so the two crystal moons of Aeryx each cried a single tear, and those tears fell to Aeryx as falling stars becoming the first race of the universe. The dragons. One was white like the stars and the other black as shadows. And when they opened their eyes they saw before anything else, the sky. And their hearts were captured by the freedom and beauty of it. And so they lifted their wings and took flight, flying to the very edges of our world, where they remained, chasing one another eternally … as Night and Day.”

“Grandpa has the coolest stories ever,” said Caim. “So Night is flying over us right now? She’s huge!”

“How’d you know Night was the girl?”

“I just know,” answered Caim. “I hope they’re real.”

“What?”

“Grandpa’s stories. One day, I’m going to become the Dragon King. That way we can prove that all the stories are true.”

“Caim … you’re something else.”

Storm closed his eyes. He felt sleepier after talking to Caim, his mind no longer racing. His anticipation was there, but fatigue was growing heavy like a blanket over his senses. He found himself grasping the silver chain around his neck, running his fingers over the runes carved into the old links.
This chain is the only thing I have left of my parents,
Storm thought.
The only thing they gave me was my name, engraved on this chain.
One day I’ll find out their truth. Why did they abandon me and Caim so long ago? Were we not good enough?
I just wish I knew what they looked like …
As he dozed off, Storm began to dream of who his parents might have been, and what could have happened to them. What seemed like a few minutes later, Storm felt a sudden presence at his side and jerked sideways—Caim was inspecting his pockets.

“What are you—hey—HEY!” Caim had stolen the emerald gem. Storm watched as it sparkled radiantly in the dim firelight. Quickly he was on his feet.

“Just let me look at it!” Caim said, pulling away.

“We don’t know what it is yet … so what’s the point in looking at it? Nothing but riddles exist around that thing. Let’s go to sleep already.”

Caim shook his head. “That’s not true, I figured out what this magic stone does.” He could hardly contain the grin on his face. He was anxious to be smarter than his brother for once.

“Hmph, I doubt it,” Storm said. However, after a second, Caim’s confidence struck a nerve of curiosity within Storm. Caim had an irritating habit of being right about the strangest of things. “What does it do then?” Storm asked suspiciously.