Where Spirits Dwell

Just as Jiordano finished thinking his last thought, his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room. So swift and suddenly that it was almost not believable that his eyes had adjusted by normal means.

The room was bare of anything decorative, nothing to liven up the room or add its atmosphere other than the thick darkness that it contained. The walls were wooden, but not in a man-made fashion, it was almost as if the room had been carved out from a tree, and the tree still lived on around them. Breathing, the room seemed to have a life of its own, pulsing steadily around him. The only thing within the room that really stood out was a throne. It was simple and old, and it was unclear that someone sat upon it as the darkness seemed to magnify around it, as if attracted to whatever usually sat within its frame.

Jiordano leaned in closer, taking a few unsteady steps towards the ancient seat, curious as to what it was, and the mystery that shrouded it. But as he approached a face leaned out from the darkness, all teeth and the pointed features of a predator.

Jiordano stumbled back in fright, only barely keeping his balance and maintaining his upright position. It wasn’t just the shock factor but something about the face before him seemed… Wrong. Despite that however, one could help but notice his handsome features, despite the sharp predatory look he gave, or how his eyes constantly raked over the room, as if devouring it of all its details.

“It seems you have arrived Jiordano,” he muttered in a low voice, “Neira will be displeased,” The man seemed to pause for a moment, but his eyes never stopped searching, and somehow, Jiordano felt violated. He felt as if the deepest core of his being had been exposed, and this man was meticulously searching through its contents.

The man then looked off to the side and spoke again, “Dael, deal with him,” when he had finished speaking he returned to the darkness of his throne. Once completely enveloped, it was as if he had never been there.

However someone new snagged Jiordano’s attention because as if appearing out of the wood itself a man appeared. He could only assume this man was Dael, but there was something about him. He looked like an average man of the time, nothing sticking out about him, in fact, he was altogether too average, as your eye wanted to just slip on by him and look elsewhere. There was something in his eyes however, in the way he looked at you. It was unnerving, and Jiordano felt that he was on a scale, being balanced precariously, tipping over to one side, then the other. What he was being weighed for however, he didn’t know.

Dael’s voice was a rough gravelly sound, as if it weren’t particularly human, “I apologize for Hauke’s lack of social graces. We are the Amiad the inner circle of the guild Amrantos. We’ve been waiting for you, patiently biding our time until we could initiate you into our elite.”

It was odd, he decided, how Dael spoke. His inhuman voice was contrasted by the fact that he didn’t seem to realize the effect his words had on others, as if he himself believed that he was mortal, like all the rest. He fought a shudder that attempted to crawl its way up his spine; he didn’t trust this thing, no matter how gently it spoke.

Skylar, he whispered telepathically, still not knowing where she was, What should we do?

He waited a few moments, tuning out the human-like creature, but he was only greeted with silence. It seemed he had to make this decision alone. It was then, that Dael snagged his attention back to him with something he said.

“After all, the Child of Eden’s feather sent you here. This is where you need to be.”

That was when Jiordano realized something that he didn’t want to admit. This skin crawl inducing man was right. He was meant to be here, the feather took him to where he and Skylar were needed and this was it. He needed to become strong for both himself and Skylar, where better can he do it than here, in the heart of this strange guild?

Somehow without even speaking, Dael knew his answer, “Good, then I’ll introduce you to your partner. Every member of the Amiad works in pairs, it doubles our power and success rate,” he then began to move away but when he noticed Jiordano wasn’t following eh called over his shoulder, “Aren’t you coming? Your new life is waiting.”

With that the man was gone, leaving Jiordano stumbling over himself to catch up. He couldn’t quite place the feeling, but he knew that perhaps his choice to stay with these people wasn’t the right one.