The Elf King (12 page)

Minutes slipped by slowly.
Red light spilled down upon him now in waves, so much so that he
barely even saw the dark figures without. They were working hard,
he knew. They were tired of him. If he withdrew his shield now to
attack, he would perish. He was going to have to wait.

Shadox!

Suddenly a white light lit
the corridor, completely consuming everything. The surprise allowed
for his footing to fail and he toppled onto his back. As he
scrambled to his feet, he saw another white explosion from the end
of the corridor. Seconds later it was in smoke. Ankar held his
ground. He struggled to keep his breathing steady. He waited for
his eyes to adjust to the dimness once again. Then he saw it. From
within the raining ash strode a lone figure.

“
Ankar!” Shadox called to
him, his voice demanding, the falling ash clouding his sight. “Are
you all right?”

The smile on Ankar’s face
could only be matched by that of his relief. He withdrew his shield
at once. “Shadox!”

Shadox reached the entrance
to the Keep and peered in cautiously. As Ankar reached for him, his
head went dizzy. The room spun. Seconds later he fell into Shadox’s
arms.

“
We’re under attack,” he
gasped. His wet body began convulsing.

“
You’re safe now, Ankar.”
Shadox lifted him, cradling him into his arms. He continued with a
calmer tone, allowing his concern to show. “You’ve spent too much
energy. I must get you upstairs. Illken Dor is empty
now.”

Ankar struggled to speak,
having so much to say, but the words failed him. “Shadox...they
attacked...”

“
Sh. Save your energy,
Ankar. Rest.”

Ankar did as he was told,
feeling his body being carried away. Through the long blinks he
could make out blood on Shadox’s hands. He looked up to the
sorcerer for an explanation, but his body was shutting down too
quickly. As Ankar traced the speckles of blood from Shadox’s chin
to his nose, his eyes closed and remained so.

Shadox passed through the
narrow corridor, through the piles of smoking ash, through the
memories of what he had to do to reach his young friend, to the
winding stairwell and ascended without pause. Black stains charred
the grey stone blocks circling the stairs. Some of them were still
smoking. Ash piles littered the steps in heaps, serving as a
reminder of the nightmares that had stormed the castle. There had
been so many, he thought bleakly. They would have overrun Illken
Dor and destroyed Ankar Rie.

He carried Ankar to the top
of the stairs and turned, walking down a long corridor. He turned
again, moving through a grey brick hall, past several smashed
doors, passing rooms that were now in shambles. Illken Dor was a
mess from one end to the other. As they reached the end of the
hall, he stepped into a small eating room. Shadox laid Ankar on the
sitting bench next to a large wooden table and prepared food and
drink. Torches lit the room, hung high against the grey walls
giving the only light.

Shadox poured some red ale
into a glass and helped Ankar Rie drink it down. He did so,
spitting it back up only once, coughing as though he had not drank
in days. In the same fashion, Shadox fed him a small chunk of
cheese. After a few moments, Ankar was feeding himself, sitting
without help.

“
Thank you,” Ankar said
softly. “You saved my life.”

Shadox sat across the table
from Ankar Rie and chewed on a chunk of bread. He nodded in
response. “I only wish that I had arrived sooner,
Ankar.”

“
I’m lucky enough to be
sitting here with you now, I think. So I do not see your lateness.”
Ankar finished his cheese and drank his ale down, pouring another
glass and drinking that down as well. “What were those
things?”

Shadox’s face was hard, as
though he was still fighting, his eyes still intense, his fist in
white knuckles. “They are called
Takers
. They were created to
eliminate the Elves, then the rest of the Races.”

Ankar stopped eating. “Why
were they here? We are nowhere near the Ailia Court.”

Shadox thought about it for
a moment. “They are possessed with the lust for power. They can
sense it; maybe even smell it. Illken Dor possess magic that would
draw their attention. I think they came here to see what they could
find.”

“
Who would create such
things? You wouldn’t think it possible.”

Shadox sighed.
“Elves.”

“
Why? How?”

“
Let me tell you of why I
was coming back to Illken Dor and you’ll see a larger
picture.”

Ankar listened eagerly.
“Tell me everything you know, Shadox.”

The sorcerer paused briefly
to gather his thoughts, and then began. “King Andelline is dead. So
is his son. It was made to seem that the Forest Elves are to blame
for both. War will break out between the kingdom of Cillitran and
the Forest Elves. And an army of those demons advances and will
annihilate them all if we cannot find a way to stop
them.”

Ankar exhaled slowly. He
remained quiet, taking in all that he had learned.

Shadox chewed on a piece of
cheese then swallowed. “One thing more: Dren, whom I left in the
Ailia, has become our worst enemy. He is part of a living power
that the ancient elves dubbed a
Mrenx
Ku
.”

Ankar Rie asked after a
moment of silence, “What is that?”

Shadox spoke of the
unleashing of their greatest threat. He described the transforming
of the two Dark Elves and Dren, the unison of the magic with the
user, and the poison that it created, feeding off of other magic,
making it its own. When Shadox was through, they were quiet. Ankar
stared blankly at the table. Shadox clasped his hands together
across the table and did the same.

“
How can we defeat a magic
that will absorb other magic?” Ankar’s eyebrows slanted, his mind
already working on a solution.

But before he could figure
it out, Shadox replied, “We can’t.”

Ankar’s head lifted
abruptly to stare at the other, his face flush with question. But
before he could speak, Shadox was answering. “I mean to say that it
is a magic that has evolved into something else and will consume
what we would use to counter it. It literally feeds on magic, and
its users. It is born of another time, Ankar. The solution must
also come from that time.”

“
What if it does not
exist?”

“
It must.”

Shadox drank the last of
his ale, and then rose. “I’m going to the Well to search for an
answer.” He raised a hand to stop Ankar from standing. “You my
friend, must regain your strength. The road ahead will not be an
easy one. Go. Rest what you can. I will come to you when I have
found something.”

Ankar did not want to
argue. “You will call if you need me?” Ankar watched his mentor
nod, already knowing Shadox would not need him. “I will rest
then.”

Shadox gave Ankar a
reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder. “It is nice to be home,
Ankar Rie. I have missed you.” With that, he turned and left the
room.

Ankar watched him go,
feeling his eyelids grow heavy. He did need to rest, and was
grateful for the chance to do so. He poured a large glass of ale
and drank it down. Before he rose, he ripped a hefty chunk of bread
off and stuffed it into his mouth, then walked to his
room.

S
hadox
was in the lower chambers,
standing in the corridor where he had found Ankar upon arriving. He
stood in reflection. He knew how close he had come to losing his
friend. And with time slipping away, he wanted to make sure that he
lost no other to the hands of the Dark Elves creation. He entered
the room and walked for a narrow door in the far corner. Opening
the door, he descended down a flight of stone steps in the dark.
They ran a great length, bending and twisting deep below Illken
Dor. Finally coming to an end, Shadox reached a small landing.
Steps were carved into the granite rock, turning away, leading into
a dark cavern.

Shadox did not hesitate.
Walking into the center of the chamber, he motioned to the walls
and several dim torches lit. The room was a hollow portion of the
granite slab surrounded by Night Well. At its center stood a small
table holding a pool of dark liquid. It was centuries old, made of
Night Well water and magic. Sorcerers had created a tool, pouring
all of their knowledge and wisdom into the water, allowing them to
seek what others had to offer by releasing their energy into it and
letting their thoughts drift with their questions. Shadox walked
over to it, pressing his chest against the hard wood, and sinking
his hands into the cool fluid. His eyes closed. His mind focused,
clearing his thoughts on everything but one.

He began to initiate
contact then, spilling a small amount of his magic into the fluid,
calling for it to wake and aid him. He said his troubles through
his mind, his thoughts focused on the
Mrenx Ku
and the power needed to
destroy it. After a few moments, the water began to turn hazy and a
thin mist dissipated over its surface. When it cleared, Shadox
stood looking at a map. The water was showing him his
answer.

Shadox stared at the
tropical formation, the waterfall and the brilliant blue lagoon.
The water flashed views several times, showing Shadox pin point
locations.
LifeWaters
, whispered back to him. Then the waters honed in on a
waterfall, panning up high enough for him to see the Shard Peaks
far to the west and the Upper Krune to the east.

Shadox withdrew his hands.
The magic needed lived somewhere within the Pikes. He left the room
at once, hastily ascending the steps up into Illken Dor once again.
The torches blew out on their own, leaving the Well to settle back
into the darkness.

Ankar Rie’s nightmare had
taken root almost as soon as his blonde hair hit the pillow. He was
trapped in Illken Dor fighting
Takers
. He was yelling for help, but
his voice carried no sound. He thrust forth his hands to call upon
his magic, but failed.
Takers
attacked him as one, holding him fast to the stone
wall, while the biggest of them crept forth, appearing only as a
large shadow, but feeling more powerful than Illken Dor itself. He
struggled to break free, watching the
Taker
begin to ease its fingers into
his skin, further and further, deeper and deeper. Ankar could feel
a wave of nausea wash over him. He fought it for as long as he
could, but he knew he couldn’t win. It was killing him.

Ankar was so deep into his
dream that he never felt the hand brush his shoulder.

“
Ankar,” Shadox spoke
softly, nudging him again. “It is time.”

Ankar’s eyes opened, still
clutching a terrified look. “What?”

“
Ankar, you’re
safe.”

Ankar swallowed hard,
looking around the room, expecting to find something attacking. But
there was only Shadox. He sat upright on his bed, Shadox sitting
next to him.

“
What time is it?” Ankar
used his palms to rub the sleep from his face.

“
Dawn will break soon.”
Shadox slowly turned to face him. In the corner of the room a small
lantern was lit, offering little light, casting dark shadows across
the sorcerer’s face. “I have found something of value.”

Ankar Rie nodded. “What is
it?”

“
Our answer lies deep
within the Pikes. A place called the
LifeWaters
.”

Ankar shook his head. “I’ve
never heard—”

“
Few have and lived to tell
of it. It’s found across the Spira, buried in the Pikes, lost in
another age altogether, kept locked away and forgotten, but very
much alive, and very powerful.”

“
I’ll pack some food.”
Ankar Rie began to stand, but was stopped by the other’s large
hand. “What’s wrong?”

Shadox stared into Ankar’s
eyes with a hard look that sent the young man’s confidence
shriveling. His voice was stern. “Our journey lies south. We must
return the Prince to Cillitran and prepare for the war. Others will
have to make the journey to the
LifeWaters
and retrieve the talisman
necessary and carry it forth to the
Mrenx
Ku
.”

Ankar Rie was confused.
“Why are we not going?”

“
Remember what I said about
the power of the
Mrenx
Ku
? It will absorb all other magics into
itself. It would destroy us, Ankar.”

Ankar was worried. “Who
will go?”

Shadox’s face was nearly
expressionless. His dark eyes held firm as he calmly replied,
“Those whose path is already laid out before them.”

Ankar Rie wanted to ask
more question, but knew better of it. If the sorcerer he trusted
completely was confident, then he would let it be. For now, at
least.

“
Ready your things, Ankar.
We leave now.”

Ankar rose when Shadox did
and followed him out of the room. His mind wandered with questions.
He could not see who would be better suited than they to retrieve
the magic needed to destroy the
Mrenx
Ku
. He kept trying to reason it out: if
their magic wouldn’t work, how would another? Who would wield it,
if not them? Shadox had kept his answers to himself. Eventually all
things would be in the open. Ankar Rie was just going to have to
wait. He decided he would be fine with that.