The Dawn of Darkness

Winnrey awoke in Deyna’s arms feeling safe and warm. She looked up at his angelic face and gasped, heat crawled up her neck. He long dark lashes fluttered as he opened his sky blue eyes. A sheepish grin spread across his face.

“Y-y-you were h-having a n-n-nightmare.” was his sole reply. He began to slowly withdraw his arms from around her. She quickly wound her arms around him and squeezed.

“It was you singing in my dreams, wasn’t it? You’re the best friend a runaway princess could have!” Deyna remained silent but his face glowed pink and a tiny smile touched his full lips. Zeek walked in and stopped abruptly.

“Am I interrupting your share fest?” he joked, grinning.

“Oh, shut up, Zeek. You know nothing happened.” Winnrey retorted and jumped off the bed. Her white nightdress bloomed around her.

“Yes, but I couldn’t help myself, My Lady.” He gave a mocking bow. “Come, Sir Tristan, give the lady her privacy.” Deyna slid out of bed and grabbed a set of clothes. “Good going, I knew you could make the move.” Zeek stage whispered as they walked out.

“Get out!” Winnrey screamed and threw a vase. Zeek snagged it out of the air and chuckled before exiting. Winnrey blew out an angry huff of air and smiled wistfully before turning her attention to the strange puzzle box in her bag. There seemed to be no way in, no button to push, no part to slide. It was a six sided box; the six sides of the box each had a different elemental symbol: fire, water, air, earth, metal, and wood. Frustrated, she put it back safely in her bag.

Deyna and Zeek sat at the bar scarfing down scrambled eggs and bacon. The inn keeper was wiping down the counter, but stopped and leaned towards them.

“Where ya headed to?” the man asked with curious written on his face.

“We travel for Mount of Attonitus, to acquire the healing waters for the Lady Elaine’s ailing father.” Zeek answered with surprising eloquence.

“M-m-mount of At-t-t-tonit-t-tus?” the poor man spluttered and looked ready to have a heart attack. “What about the storms? How will you penetrate them?”

“We are working that problem out, but it is our only chance for her father.” Winnrey swept down the stairs with all the grace of a trained princess and blows past Zeek like a cold wind on his shoulder. Time alone hadn’t seemed to improve her temper. The inn keeper gives her a sympathetic look, and then moves on to clean up the dining hall tables.

"I’ll pack.” Zeek said with his usual abruptness during a meal. He slinked upstairs with the fluid movement of a cat. Old habits die hard. Winnrey looked after him curiously.

Adura scoured the high country of her homeland for her sister on her winged horse, White Knight. The ability to live on clouds was no secret of the Aerans, it was ancient magic. Everything below the clouds was to windblown to grow or build anything. Many had tried but ended up dead or had given up. The only thing that grew below the clouds was a tree as old as time. It guarded the magic that brought life to grow on the clouds. Se kept her noticeable face under a low worn cap. She checked many of the cloud supported towns for a girl named Atra, probably fifteen by now. Beautiful. Light tan. Golden brown hair. Doe brown eyes. The total opposite of her. That’s all she knew of her. How pitiful. She didn’t know her own sister. No one else did either. At the same time Winnrey, Zeek, and now Deyna had gone from Deyna’s home and farm in the forest, Adura had flown half of the air realm, Aero. How am I supposed to find my sister? The world is too big a place to search for a sister I have never known. Diabolus will not wait for her. Adura stopped White Knight and jumped off. She fell to her knees and prayed to Egosum in defeat. Unlike her countrymen who worshipped Divum, their god of weather and many others, she worshipped one god, Egosum. She thought of the palace records during her silent plea. With a quiet prayer of thanks she galloped off for the Aeran palace in Wishnalare. There had to be a record of Atra there. Everything was written down in the palace records.

Nicole was interrupted in her meditating by the sounds of somebody dragging something down the stairs then tossing it or someone into the cell next to hers. She furiously scrabbled at the wall tearing up her nails to find a loose stone or soft spot to dig a hole. A hole began to form under the onslaught of her hands on the crumbling mortar and rock. That really needed to get fixed. Prisoners could escape. Peeking through the hole she spied a small boy curled up in the fetal position, trembling with eyes flickering fearfully. She shuddered at the possible horrors he could have witnessed. He had the delicate features of an Aeran. They were a tan, small boned people who tended to live in areas or even in the sky.

Three people riding horse back left a land newly clawed by winter for the dangerous trek through Mortuusvir Desert. One turned to look one last time at the quaint town, Fala. The search was on. Mount of Attonitus wouldn’t be hard to find but entering it would. And Mother Milla could be anywhere in it or on it with who knows what living on that mountain of myths. The sweltering sun eyed them hungrily with a hot glare. Its rays scorched the dry shifting land. Winnrey, Zeek, and Deyna wore light colored, light weight, loosely fit clothes that wrapped around their faces and protected them from the attack of the sun. Small packs clung to their shoulders. The horses galloped on never seeming to tire until noon started to roll around. They only stopped for a short time to eat and feed and water the horses with the decreasing supply.

“How are we doing?” Winnrey asks while she gnawed on half an apple. Deyna absentmindedly crunched up the other half while his eyes scoured the map. Then they quickly flitted to the position of the sun, a compass lying flat on the sand, and the roasting terrain around him.

“Not sure. It’s hard to own an accurate map of the desert. The land changes too much and there are few lasting landmarks.” He murmured and glanced up at Winnrey’s visage and blushed. Zeek takes the map from Deyna and takes a look at it. Ditto skitters from under the shade of Zeek’s coat to perch on Winnrey’s shoulder.

“Not so good over here.” He whispers weakly into her ear.

“I know, Ditto, and I’m sorry. Lizards aren’t meant to be in the desert. Well, except those brown wimps hiding under rocks.

“Not me, Zeek. Look at him. It’s almost like he is affected the same as me.” He croaks and looks anxiously at his friend and owner. Pale as always, a sickly sheen of sweat shined on his parched lips and his face began to look sunken around the eyes and cheeks. He took a swig of water before stowing it in the pack he carried on his back. Winnrey’s breath caught in her throat at the site of his condition. Zeek looked up sharply and she looked away, faking a cough. He arose with his unusual grace and leaped onto his horse with energy unbefitting of a sick man. Yes, man, his age being anonymous, any boyish looks the street orphanage left him had melted away to masculine beauty even in sickness. Unlike Deyna’s angelic boyish looks, his were... unearthly even in sickness.

“Come on. Hawk said that if we keep west we will reach the mountains by noon tomorrow at this pace, they follow the whole western border.”

“Right!” Winnrey and Deyna say together and laugh. Ditto climbs down his perch and quickly hops back to Zeek, climbing up the horse laboriously.

“Yah!” They dug their heels into their mounts’ sides and followed Zeek’s lead.

The arid wind began to speed up, picking up sand in its claws to throw at the travelers.

“No! Get off you two. It’s a sand storm!” Zeek shouted. Ditto hissed at the horse and it laid down with its legs tucked under its belly. He appeared next to Winnrey yanking her off her mount and then appeared near Deyna frozen with shock and yanked him down too. Zeek pushed them to lay fly on the sand and he struggled to open his pack. The wind howled and tore at their clothes. Winnrey began to tremble fearfully, her breath speeding up. Dark energy emanated from her like wisps of black smoke charged with lightning.

“Winnrey! Calm down! We’re going to be ok.” Zeek hissed in her ear. She continued to tremble as the wisps flowed into a torrent. “Forgive me, Winn.” Zeek breathed in her ear before placing a palm on the back of her head and whispering, “Somnus.” Winnrey laid still and her breathing slowed to that of a sleeper. The storm whirled around them dangerously close to tearing them to pieces. The horses screamed and fear, their eyes rolling back. Against their instincts they remained on the ground.

“Egosum! Give me the strength to protect them!” Zeek implored to Aura before passing out prostrate over his friends protectively.