Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians Read online

  Pulling the blankets back, she turned herself to sit on the edge of the bed, pondering her next move. Decidedly, she readied herself the best she was able with what she could find. Without a look back, she slipped from the room soundlessly.

  Reign was full of more questions than answers. He seemed to want to know everything about her. He’d taken Aryaunna deep into the cave, which was as vast as the mountain itself. Aryaunna was so in wonder she could hardly find the focus to answer his many queries as precisely as he wanted. Constantly he nudged her to elaborate as they wandered deeper into its magnificence.

  The inside of the walls glittered and glistened from either the natural beauty of the pure white stone or the trickle of pure spring water along the walls. The first spring she came across fountained into a natural small basin before seeping back into the rock wall that surely fed another hidden spring elsewhere. Eagerly she began to drink, soaking her hands and gloves entirely in her haste of thirst.

  Reign had stopped to watch, quite fascinated by the display. A thickly scaled brow arched in silent question when she finally looked up from the water. They stared for a long moment as she realized she must seem like a fool for her behavior. “Are you hungry?” he asked before she could defend her desperate actions.

  His question caught her by surprise, and relaxed her. “Very.”

  “Then come. As we walk, you shall tell me of your magic.”

  Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she returned to his side. They moved together at a leisurely place. “I fear there is little to tell. My mother died when I was a very young girl. She’d not had time to teach me much.” He asked how old she’d been when her mother had died. Aryaunna told him the painful story of what had happened. Though she was prepared to, she did not have to elaborate on why.

  Reign knew all too well the darkness that had swept through the world, bringing grief and tragedy to those far and wide. “What else do you remember about her?”

  “Sometimes, nothing,” she spoke quietly as if the truth were too horrible of her to say aloud. It felt awful to say, shameful. “Elizabeth looks like her. There are times I dream of my mother, but Elizabeth is who I see. I know it is her though, because my mother had dark hair like mine. My sister’s hair is the red of the Blood moon.

  “That and her beautiful stones. She let me play with them. I’d had them in my pocket when the knights came for us. I’ve had them since.”

  Reign stopped, raising his front leg like a barrier before her. Though he walked using all four, his front forelegs functioned nearly arm-like. “Keep behind me. The path grows narrow.” Narrow for a Dragon perhaps. He was more wide than she was tall, and from head to tail he was by far longer than Aryaunna could easily estimate. His wings must’ve had the same span as the length of his body, although she couldn’t be certain.

  Rays of sun had danced off the white walls radiantly all throughout the winding cave, but the deeper they went, the more the walls seemed to grey for lack of light. They were clearly moving down a slope now, which was considerably steep. Steep enough that to keep her balance she had to keep a hand out stretched against the stone wall.

  Her fingerless gloves, soaked from the spring, cooled her flesh as the icy stone of the mountain soaked up what heat was left in her hand. A chill was creeping up through her body that the growing dark seemed to accentuate.

  “Tell me what you know of these mountains, Aryaunna,” Reign’s voice resonated even more deeply the further into the cavern they ventured.

  “Dia is the tallest of her earthen towers. It is said the Guardians themselves carved her crevices.”

  Before she could continue with the common knowledge of Dia, he stopped her. “Yes, everyone has heard the stories. Can you tell me nothing more? Look around you, Aryaunna. Open your eyes, your mind, use your spirit. Tell me what you see.” His great form turned on her as he spoke.

  “It’s dark,” she returned briskly, sucking in a sharp breath at the start of his sudden movement. She’d no idea such a large creature could move with such speed and grace.

  “Close your eyes,” he ordered. Letting her breath even and slow, Aryaunna’s eyes closed without question. She did not doubt her safety, despite his fortitude. “Your hand on the wall, use it. Open your mind and see it for its truth.”

  Her focus became her intent. “Your mother’s voice. It is inside of you. Find it, Aryaunna, daughter of Annalee Luvea.” The sound of her mother’s name, her true name, lit a fire inside of her. Aryaunna had been stripped of her mother’s name the day she had died. She had not heard it even in whisper, not even from her sister’s lips since that day. Aryaunna had even told herself she’d forgotten it.

  Women in her family had carried the name Luvea for centuries. No man could take a Luvea woman from her name. The name carried great power. That power awoke within her. She could see the mountainside, as it had not been seen in a millennia. Black. Black as night itself. The mountains were raw and wild, peaked and jagged. From the great Dragons’ fire, molten rock spout forth from deep crevices.

  Her eyes opened. She looked at the wall, running her fingers up it slowly. “Crystal… This entire range is forged of crystal from Dragon fire, Guardian fire.”

  His eyes seemed to light up brilliant blue, as radiant as the rarest moon. He was so close to her that she could see the Guardian’s flame that shown so keenly within him. “Very good. Now, look around you.” His head nodded out past the carved path they stood upon.

  Following his sight, she turned her chin to the cavern. It was alight with blue stars. Her mouth parted, falling agape. The stars twinkled, reflecting off every surface. The light of the sun may have been hidden this deep within the cavern, but the stars shown its magnificence. Stalagmites shot up from far below, nearly reaching the stalactites from above. The cavern was so vast that Reign could have flown, if he’d been able, throughout the space freely. Not just Reign, but other Dragons as well.

  “How is this possible? Stars inside of the earth?” She couldn’t pull her eyes away to look at Reign.

  A low rumbled chortle coughed out of his throat. It seemed to be a sound he’d not made in decades if not longer. “They’re Luciola. They’re quite beautiful for grubs, are they not?” She’d never pondered the possibility if Dragons could smile, but it seemed that they indeed could.

  “You see, Aryaunna, you are never truly in the dark.” Though she liked the way it sounded, it was a rather unbelievable statement. Turning once more, his long tail, tapered in feather like whiskers, carefully avoided her. Still in awe, she followed Reign through the mass cavern. It was the first time in as many hours that he’d stopped drilling her with a surplus of questions. Perhaps he understood her awe because he’d felt it himself.

  Deep inside of the cavern Reign slowed to a stop. Aryaunna had not found replenished warmth though she’d not faltered or ailed for the chill. “This cavern, as are these mountains, carved by Dragon kind. The way is not made for human step.”

  Aryaunna came to stand at his side, looking out over the chasm. “I can climb it,” she spoke with assured confidence.

  “Your fingers are nearly numb, if not completely. You’ve not yet eaten this day. I can only wonder the last you had a decent meal. You couldn’t hold a proper sword, let alone traverse this chamber.” Her eyes narrowed at the accurate note of her state. It stilted her. “You must climb to my back.” He didn’t seem thrilled by this idea, though not entirely against.

  She laughed out at the suggestion. “Don’t underestimate me, Reign. The Guardians wouldn’t have accepted the offering from someone so weak.” Rolling her knuckles so that they would pop and her fingers would flex. Not waiting for him to react, she slithered her body along the impossibly narrow slope, finding foot holes that even goats would bock at.

  Taken aback, and yet amused, Reign watched this display. Waiting to follow until she’d made enough distance that he could move with ease. “Slowly, Ary. The stone is like glass in many places.” Despite her focus, her li
ps twitched with a smile as he called her Ary. “No, move to the left.” Her right foot had been searching for a foothold where there was none. Balancing the toe of her boots on the same divot, she inched herself to the left and discovered the most modest cliff.

  In time they made it down the vast chamber to the grotto. The water was rich jade green. Reign had caught them a arapaima to share, a fish that dwelled deep in the pool inside the mountain. Aryaunna watched the magnificence of Reign’s flaming breath that roasted her fish from life to death. They ate together in silence by a fire of driftwood Reign had gathered and lit. The aged wood burned hot but slow.

  She picked at the last bit of meat held in her hand. “Reign?” He looked up, the tail of a fish hanging from his maw. A smirk twisted her mouth. He’d had four of the great fish, and the last of hers. “Do you know why I was sent here?”

  He slurped the last of the fin down his throat as he spoke. “Isn’t that obvious? They sent you here to find me.”

  “Yes, to validate my claim as Emissary.” It was no surprise that she sounded just slightly bitter.

  Considering her words for a moment, Reign pondered. “Did you think some grand event would take place? Sorry to disappoint you, but you would be wrong. You made it here, and by doing so you found the power of your bloodline and much more.”

  “So have I been validated?” Standing, she tossed the scarce bones into the fire.

  “If that means do I believe you’re capable of fulfilling your role as Emissary, then yes.” He sat on his hind legs as he watched her.

  Aryaunna frowned, unamused with his toying answer. “Not that I want to dispute that, but how is it you’re so certain? I have been given no tests.”

  He balked. “No tests? You made it through the Dark Wood. You overcame its trickery, its deadly treachery, and demonic spirits that would seek nothing more than to poison your mind and body. You stood before me, with not a single ounce of fear in your eyes. More than I can say for any other creature I’ve come across that did not share my kinship. I offered you aid for an easy passage through the cavern. You turned that down, despite your suffering and made it to the grotto on your own accord.

  “I find it peculiar that you never once assumed all of this was your test. These, however minor, actions proved enough to me that you are the rightful Emissary. Is that not enough? Or shall I produce for you an additional challenge?”

  “No, it just seems like it was too… Not simple, certainly. Perhaps I expected something more direct, identifiable.” With a heavy lift of her shoulders, she stepped closer to the fire, warming the palms of her hands. “Something I would approach as a challenge knowingly.”

  Not acknowledging her statements directly he asked, “Have you had your fill of food and water?” She nodded agreeably. “Your clothes are dry, and you have warmed yourself?”

  “Thanks to you, all of the above.” To hear a Dragon laugh was probably the most unexpected thing about all of this to Aryaunna. It rumbled through his body out his long serpentine neck. “Something is funny to you, Reign?”

  Despite his size, Reign was incredibly agile, graceful even. His muscles rippled as he moved, rolling throughout his body with every step towards her. “You truly have absolutely no idea what you’ve gotten into.” His head lowered to be level with hers so that he might look her in the eyes.

  “You assume you were sent through the Dark Wood to find me as some validation that you are in fact the Emissary, but there is far greater purpose to you coming here than just that, young Ary.”

  “By all means, please explain.”

  “Walk with me, Aryaunna.” He turned without wait knowing she would follow, which she did. “In becoming the Emissary you accept a position of leadership. You will be taught the art of battle. You will develop your magic, among many, many other things. You will lead people, thousands in the end. Many, you will lead to their death. The Guardians will speak to you, guide you in all things; even the sword in your hand when you come to trust in it.”

  “Would you like to know how I swore myself?” Aryaunna reached up to brace her hand against the stone wall as the incline became steeper.

  His talons reached out and took hold of her left arm, keeping her steady. “Well?” he inquired as they continued on.

  “I prayed to the Guardians, casting a spell with my mother’s stones. That night they came to me and granted me release of my pain, my scars given to me by the Church. I felt them come to me. They walked upon my flesh. I could feel them tear away my pain, devouring it, scar by scar.” Her hand took hold of his outstretched hand, avoiding his deadly talons as if holding a Dragon’s claw was nothing new. Clutching onto him she pulled herself up the slick slope. It felt like she was climbing a slide of ice.

  His clawed feet dug in and allowed him purchase far better than she’d been able on her own. “That’s how I knew they’d accepted me. It was all I needed to know myself capable of what challenges they would present me with. I know there will be many, Reign. Despite my age, I am no fool. I have seen my share of pain and hardship, and it will aid me in what is to come. I know better than anyone, when you have nothing left but your pain you hold onto it as if it is your very thread of life.”

  Skittering up through the small hole, they climbed out of the cave and out to the low side of the mountain. The opposite side of which she’d climbed just the day before.

  “I have no doubt in your convictions, Ary. None at all.” He stepped aside once she had cleared the small opening to Dia. “You were sent to find me not just by your Drow friends, but by the Guardians themselves. You were sent to me so that I would be your advocate. So that I would be your champion.”

  “My champion…” she seemed to walk a line of bewilderment and confusion. She looked away from the white Dragon, scales gleaming in the rays of the sun, out over the valley. The valley was vast, golden with grass, untouched by winter’s hand. It rolled gently in the belly Dia’s mountain range.

  Never had Aryaunna seen such a place. Mystical even. Surrounded by mountains, Dia was still clearly the largest but it was not what held her eye. Acres away through the lush field was a stone arch, bridging between two great peaks. It was a place fortified with magic.

  Throughout the valley the rumble of thunder could be heard. Aryaunna looked up to the heavens. An automated habit for years of watching the skies and counting the time between thunder and lightning.

  The sky was bright blue, clear as the air was crisp on her cheeks. Looking back to the valley she saw the tall grass waver in the wind. The thunder had not ceased. Sweeping her gaze she saw its source. A heard of wild horses ran through the valley freely. It was the most incredible sight she’d ever witnessed. Their hooves, pounding the field, echoed throughout the entire valley for there were so many of them.

  “Your champion in spirit, but eternally your advocate. I will teach you what I can. I will guide you however it is that I may. I would have even fought for you… But I am hindered for my wings, as you have clearly seen, have been taken. Left with nothing but a shadow of what I once was…” She could hear the pain and anger in his words.

  “A Dragon would choose freely to serve a mortal?” it was hard to question him, but she found herself without choice in doing so.

  “Loyally, for as long as I walk this earth,” he spoke with pride and conviction in every word. “You are not the only one who has suffered at the hand of greed. You are the Emissary, Aryaunna. That is of no doubt. It will be at the Emissary’s hand that the enemy falls. As will many more evils of this earth.”

  She absorbed this with a moment of silence as she watched the horses race through the great field. There must have been a hundred, at least. “You spoke of a test, a challenge of sorts. We are here for that now, Ary.” With these words she’d looked upon Reign. “It is not I that will test you.” His head nodded to the valley where she followed his gaze. “One of these beasts is meant to be your companion. The test is theirs.”

  She looked back with an arched brow. �
�Go,” He instructed, as he sat back on his haunches to wait. Without question she knew he would wait as long as it took.

  Andalusian horses ran through the field of golden grain freely. Aryaunna walked slowly, careful to keep her movements steady and nonthreatening. They were all beautiful. Pure white, black, brown, cream, and every shade and brindle mix in between.

  Upon seeing her, some of the horses, the younger ones mostly, ran away. A few seemed interested in her presence. Most of them had slowed from their gallop and had returned to grazing a safe distance from her.

  There was one though that chose to watch her. She was a glorious mare. Her body was gradient, black hooves faded to grey up the legs until her back was a pure white. Her rear haunches were brindled strangely, almost making star like patterns in her fine hair. The mare rippled with muscles as she walked proudly, her head tall. Keeping some distance between them, the horse walked around Aryaunna cautiously.

  Her mane was dark grey and silver, hanging just past her elegant neck. The long hair curled back in a natural twist. Her muzzle was black, mottling into the white of her forehead. Her soft grey nose huffed at Aryaunna who stepped closer slowly. She knew. This was her horse. Without question she called out to the mare with a soothing voice, “Sita. Your name is Sita.”

  The mare’s head bobbed as if to agree with Aryaunna’s statement. The horse had stopped circling and stood still now, waiting for Aryaunna to approach. One leisure step at a time brought her closer to the mare. Sita snorted through her black rimmed nostrils. “Be easy, Sita. I am Aryaunna. I believe we are meant to be friends,” she spoke softly as she a came to stand before the mare. Another soft snort.