Amenzanil

[Zerith]

((Solo. Please note that for clarity, this thread takes place after 'Vows'. Also all bunnying of Jasmine in this thread has been approved by her creator.))

“I’m just saying I don’t understand why you feel the need to bring me along for the small walk. I mean didn’t you just grab a book the other day?” Zerith explained as he continued walking down one of the many hallways of the royal palace. Although his wedding happened only a month ago, the halberdier was dealing with life being married rather well. Sure, the honeymoon was enjoyable, a pleasant getaway from life and an opportunity to spend some time alone with his wife. However he was quite relieved to return to Moriah and the rest of his family.

Walking beside the warder with her arm linked in his, was a woman with long ebony hair tied in a single braid. Her sapphire coloured eyes nearly match the blue hue of the dress she wore. Two lockets hung delicately from her neck, the silver chains matching the trim of her dress. The colour looked good on her, the dress fit nice and snug. She smiled warmly at the halberdier before her lips began to move.

“I did, but I’ve already finished it,” she replied as she held up the book with her left arm and showed the warder the cover depicting a knight upon a chestnut stallion. Sitting on his lap was a woman dressed in a deep green gown, a delicate golden tiara carefully balanced on her head. Clearly it was another fantasy story, apparently a good one too considering how quickly the princess must have read it. “It was really good though, perhaps you should read it.”

Zerith gave a slight frown, “I don’t know. I’m not sure a story like that would interest me. I can just look at the cover and tell you that I already know the couple will live happily ever after,” he said in a rather disappointing tone.

Jasmine shook her head in response, “You’re silly. It’s not how the story ends that’s important, love. It’s the twists and turns it takes to get there that makes a story really interesting. Besides, I’m sure it won’t hurt you to come to the library with me. Who knows, you may just find something you will find interesting there.”

The halberdier doubted that, he wasn’t much of a reader lately. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it anymore. The truth was he actually used to love to read, the problem was just that he hadn’t really found anything interesting anymore. Yes, there was the time he read all he could about Morian law, but that was because he wanted to see if there was a legal way he could marry Jasmine, when her brother said the law forbade such a union. In the end though, he didn’t really need an answer from the book as his brother-in-law, King Eric, had the laws change so the warder and his mage could be married. Since then, the halberdier hadn’t picked up a single book.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath, Jasmine,” Zerith answered. He looked at his beautiful wife and gave her a smile, “But if it would like me to, I will try my best to see if something there interests me.”

The princess hugged her husband’s arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Good, that’s all I ask. I want you to know that I really do appreciate your willingness to come with me to see the palace library, even if you’re still a little hesitant about it. Still, I have a good feeling you will like it.”

The halberdier nodded as he unwrapped his arm from hers and instead wrapped it around her waist to give her a small hug, “Well, I hope your feeling turns out to be true. In the meantime though, why don’t you tell me about that book you’re holding? Was I right? Do they in fact end up living happily ever after?” he asked, his curiousity easily apparent in his tone of voice and the way his eyes looked at the novel held tightly in his wife’s hand.

As they continued through the palace, Jasmine began to summarize the entire story she had just finished. While Zerith listened carefully to the princess, he slowly began to forget all about his initial reluctance to accompany her to the library. Instead, he once again began to thoroughly enjoy her company and soon found himself caught up in her interpretation of the fantasy tale.

Maybe he wouldn't need to read afterall. Not when his wife gave such entertaining versions of the same story.

[Zerith]

The palace library was bigger than Zerith initially expected it to be. Five tall, narrow windows stood placed evenly along the wall opposite to where the two entered. Nearby, two sofas and two large armchairs sat next to the decorative mantle of a fireplace. Above the furniture proudly hung a portrait of a prior king and queen sitting on a sofa matching one of those before the warder. Zerith’s first thought was that the royal couple must have been the ones to make the addition of the library to their home, otherwise he didn’t understand why their picture would have such a place of honor in the room.

Beneath the furnishings a large, thick area carpet dominated the floor though surrounding by dark, hardwood flooring. This deep crimson colour of the carpet matched the cushions of the furniture, whereas the wood staining used on the floor seemed to be the same type used on the many large shelves that carried the weight of the numerous books that filled the room. What really surprised the halberdier was how well maintained the room appeared to me. He had expected to a large majority of the books covered in dust. Yet as his eyes looked around the room, he was pleasantly disappointed it. However was charged with the duty of taking care of this room was hopefully being paid well. Otherwise, Zerith was certain they weren’t getting paid what they were worth.

A smile formed on Jasmine’s face when she noticed the shocked expression on her husband. Holding her arms out to either side she spun around and laughed happily, gesturing to library they stood in. “So? What do you think? I told you it was beautiful room.”

“I never doubted you,” was the immediate reply. Entering the room further, the halberdier crossed his arms in front of his chest as his eyes went on with their examination. “I just didn’t expect it to be so big. There must be thousands of books here.”

“Well it is a library afterall, what else would you have expected to find here?” The princess asked as she left her warder and quickly placed the book she still held in her hand back its place. The movement was without any hesitation, as if she had the layout of the shelves memorized. Tracing her left hand along the row of books one shelf above, she went on, “Why don’t you check the history section? I know you would love to read about wars of the past.” She reached behind her and pointed to a section without even bothering to look.

Shrugging, the halberdier quietly went to the shelves she directed him to. On the way he kept his thoughts to himself, I don’t see why I should bother. I won’t find anything about the War of the Tap, and the Demon War happened like two thousand years ago. So the only thing I would probably find here would be about the war between Alerar and Raiaera, and that happened not too long ago.”

Either way Zerith didn’t want to upset Jasmine, so he decided to humor her by at least putting in the effort to try and find something. His left hand gently touched the spine of each book as he read their titles to himself. “History of the Demon War. The Battle of Valinatal in detail. Heroes of Althanas…”

“Yeah, right. I’ve already heard enough of Letho Ravenheart and Devon Starslayer. Last thing I really need to do each night is read about them shortly before I go to bed,” he thought. Shortly afterward dismissing that book in particular, his sapphire eyes lingered on a large, hardcover that looked quite old. “Weapons of Great Renown,” he quietly repeated to himself. Jasmine was right in the end, Zerith did find something interesting afterall.

Slowly, the warder slid the book out from its place beside the others and carefully opened to a random page. To him, this book was much more interesting than reading about the past heroes of Althanas. Instead, it appeared this little gem was about great accomplishments certain weapons achieved in the past and the legends that surrounded them. One section was devoted solely to the a sword the hero Radasanth used, another section being a testament to an axe said to be a instrumental part of the end of the Demon War.

As Zerith continued to casually flip through old tome, he suddenly stopped when he came across a picture that took up two whole pages. In it a knight clad in red armor clashed with a woman in black. In the woman’s hands a vicious, double bladed sword clashed against the knight’s weapon of choice. Violet coloured bolts of electricity leapt and arced along each of her blades. Behind her, flames were depicted threatening to engulf everything whereas behind the knight stood tall mountains and people seeking shelter. Yet there was one thing in particular about the picture that really caught the warder’s eye.

“Hey, did you find something interesting?” the gentle voice of Jasmine spoke up suddenly and caused Zerith to jump. He had been so distracted by the picture that he didn’t even notice his wife come up behind him. Interested in what he found so fascinating, the princess stood on her toes to look over her husband’s shoulder. A small, delicate finger of hers reached into the book and pointed out a single item. “Is that what I think it is?”

“I’m not really sure,” was the quiet reply. Jasmine had pointed out the same thing Zerith immediately noticed about the picture. As there, held tightly in the knights hands as he defended himself from the woman in back was a red halberd engulfed in fire. Numerous runes decorated the shaft of the polearm, runes that the couple had seen before and immediately recognized.

“It’s Amenzanil,” Zerith stated in disbelief. “But why on Althanas would it be illustrated in this book?”

[Zerith]

Although he never really expressed it to anyone, Zerith had always considered himself to be intellectual. While he certainly wasn’t some powerful mage that spent all of his time staring at ancient texts or a scholar that worked for Istien University, he had always loved the challenge of a good puzzle. Perhaps that’s what this strange circumstance really brought out in the halberdier. Suddenly he found himself staring at an old image of what he could swear was his halberd. What was even more surprising to him was the fact the book he found the picture in implied that it wasn’t just an ordinary polearm, but a weapon close to some sort of legendary status.

So it was that even after Jasmine left her behind warder in the library at his request, many questions began to take shape in his mind. Just what happened all those many years ago? Who were the warriors depicted in the piece of art? Exactly what was the red halberd in the picture said to have achieved? Could there really be a possibility that the featured weapon was in fact his Amenzanil? So many answers felt so far out of reach to the halberdier, and it irritated him. He wanted to know more, desired to have some sort of intimate knowledge of the story he held in his hands. So he did the only thing he could do given the circumstances. He read.


And so it was that just as the Black Calamity had believed she stood unchallenged in her dominance, a man in red appeared. Clutched tightly in his hands he wielded a halberd of unknown origin, and defiantly refused to allow the woman to shape the land in the flames of chaos. Snarling with rage, the woman raised her blade, dark lightning threatening to bring an abrupt end to the strangers life. Though as the keen edge of the blade descended, the warrior held fast and defended himself. The halberd in his hands came to life, fighting back with its own power. Fire came forth and threatened to consume the Calamity and even the winds answered to the call of the blade. For the first time in her life, the Black Calamity came to know fear. Not because of the man or the weapon that stood in her way, but because of two fought back as one…

“Fascinating…” Zerith whispered while his eyes remained glued to the pages before him. The story sounded incredible, like the climax of a popular screenplay performed by one of Althanas’ top theatre troupe. Even if he tried as hard as he could, the halberdier doubted he could close his eyes and recreated the battle in his imagination. Still, it must have been one that people retold down through the generations until someone finally decided to have it documented. Yet, now one more question took form in the halberdier’s mind.

Exactly why did the man decide to stand up against the woman?

Laying the book down in his lap, Zerith wondered how he would find all the answers he was looking for. Of course, it didn’t take very long for him to realize the answers were right in front of him, literally. He was sitting in a library afterall! There had to be another book or two with some further explanations of the story. Nearly leaping off the sofa he sat on, the halberdier rushed back to the section he found the book in and searched for another book.

“I have to find out if this halberd could possibly be Amenzanil!” he thought, “and I will find an answer even if it takes me all day to do it!”

[Zerith]

As the day was finally coming to an end the halberdier had yet to find any answers to the mystery he quickly began to obsess over. If anything, his fixation with finding answered escalated to a point where the books weren’t confined to library. Instead, he had taken the original tome he stumbled upon and five other books that also told the story back to his room when he felt like he couldn’t stay in the palace library any longer. Dinner had come and gone rather quickly, and somehow Zerith managed to not talk about the lack of progress he had made in his search to his brother-in-law and his wife. In fact, as far as the warder knew, the only person that had any idea what the halberdier was doing was Jasmine.

Late that night Zerith sat in his bed, his legs stretched out beneath the covers. He had decided to only wear a pair of dark green pyjama pants to bed that night. So while Jasmine slowly prepared to turn in for the night, the halberdier decided to retrieve one of the smaller books from the table next to him and spend a few more minutes in hopes of finding something. His wife saw this from mirror in the bathroom where she was busy brushing her incredibly long hair now that she had finally taken it out of the traditional braid she usually carried it in. Laughing softly, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease him, “You’re still trying to find answers, Zerith? I thought you would have found something by now.”

Sapphire eyes turned away from the open pages for just a brief moment. A slight smirk crossed the warder’s face. “So did I, Jasmine, but this story doesn’t really offer a lot of information. However, it’s still a very interesting read.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” was the reply as the princess finished brushing her hair stepped back into the large bedroom. The layout was entirely her design, rich blues accented by beautiful silver. The wooden furniture consisting of carved mahogany, the large four post canopy bed being the central focus of the room. The doors to the balcony were shut to deny the cool night breeze from entering the room. At the moment the only source of light emanated from the candles of varying heights on the tables that stood on either side of the bed. “I’m just concerned you’ve spent too much time with your nose stuck in those books today.”

The halberdier put his book down and gave his full attention to Jasmine. His head tilting to the right, his lips curved into a smile as he admired her. Standing barefoot on the thick blue carpet, she wore only an elegant, sleeveless, light blue nightgown that hung down to her knees. Her hair fell loosely behind her, the black color of it a large contrast from the cream color of her skin. She always dressed so conservatively, something the warder found quite strange when he had seen how many other women dressed around Althanas. Still, Zerith found Jasmine to be extremely attractive, yet he never quite understood why she didn’t really dress like the others. Personally, he believed it to be because she just had more confidence in herself than other women did. Yet some distinctively male part of him deep in his mind wondered if there was some sort of ‘wild side’ to the princess that she hid from everyone.

As if she could read his thoughts, a frown formed on Jasmine’s face before he looked over her attire. “What? Does this not look good on me or something?”

Her warder laughed loudly, “No, of course not.” He flashed her one of his traditional smiles, “I just couldn’t help but admire my wife. You really do look beautiful in that.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes and waved nonchalantly as she walked up to the bed and climbed into her side, “Oh hush. You’re just saying that.” Picking up the book that sat in Zerith’s lap, she casually flipped through its pages. “I don’t suppose you’ve found anything that can say for certain that it’s definitely Amenzanil mentioned here?”

Sighing in response, the halberdier shook his head, “Nothing yet. So far it’s just seems to be the same thing over and over again. Some guy appears with a red halberd that can do various things in order to fight against a woman in black. If I just knew a little more about the characters, I’m sure I could find something else.”

The pregnant princess shrugged casually before she turned to the table beside her, blew out the candles and plopped the book down on the wooden surface with an audible ‘Thud’. “Do you know what I think?” she began as she turned back around and wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist. “I think if you just take a break from the books for a bit, an answer might just come to you soon enough. So will you do me a favor and just call it a night right now?”

Zerith let out another audible sigh as he turned to look at the pile of books beside him. After a few seconds of debating if the request was a reasonable one, Jasmine was answered with a reluctant “Okay.”

Hugging her husband tightly, the princess of Moriah gave him a quick kiss before speaking, “Thank you, dear. Good night.” With the words now out of her mouth, Jasmine quickly adjusted her positioning and closed her eyes. “I love you,” she whispered as her mind slowly began the process of drifting off to sleep.

After waiting until Jasmine made herself more comfortable, Zerith finally followed through with the favor he agreed to. Like Jasmine, he quietly blew out the candles beside his side of the bed and adjusted himself so that he was finally lying down on his back. Staring at only the darkness around him, he took a deep breath before he rolled over onto his side and carefully slid one arm around his wife. “I love you too, good night,” Were the only words he could manage to speak before he felt that familiar heaviness in his eyes begin to get the best of him. Surprisingly, sleep came to the halberdier quite quickly.

[Zerith]

She could almost taste it. That sweet, delicious taste of holding absolute dominance of all of those she had come across. A wicked smile formed on her ebony lips as she realized that soon she would become legendary. She had always known she was better than the other dark elves that tired to fight against those others elves. Where they only experienced one crushing defeat after another, she had only known success and victory. Now, with her goals nearly within her reach, Raiaera would finally understand the truth behind what the dark elves told them. She was right! Her people were the one that knew the best way to deal with the Forgotten Ones. The rest of Raiaera would agree soon enough, or she would kill any who disagreed with her.

Closing her eyes, the woman relished in work she had done. So many had fallen, so many lives claimed by her skill and power. Each dying scream was but a single note on a beautiful aria she was slowly composing. Every life taken was nothing but a step in sorting out the weak from the strong. It felt nice to be the one in control of so much, to be the one that got to choose who lived and who died. It felt like being a goddess, or the harbinger of death.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice that somehow some opposition had finally gathered up the nerve to approach her. By the time she could feel someone’s gaze on her part of her already knew that this stranger was already standing before her. She chuckled, still refusing to open her eyes. To her it didn’t matter who dared oppose her now, all they could possibly hope to achieve would be to meet the same end as the others. Yet, when the yellow orbs of her iris’ finally reopened, she was pleasantly surprised to see a face she remembered. Someone she once considered a possibly equal. Though that was before she ascended the elven race to what she considered herself to be now.

“Kregan Riandur,” she purred as stared at the man before her. In his left hand a large, red halberd stood prominently at his side. Did the fool serious think he could stop her with an axe attacked to a stick? The whole idea of him believing this was a good idea was really amusing. Indeed, she would have a good laugh when was cleaning his blood off her. Then again, it was always those last attempts made by people with ‘hope’ that she looked back on fondly. Things like hope were for children, something that parents would regurgitate to their children in stories to make them feel good about the world. She knew better though, that only chaos really existed. Things such a hope or peace died long ago.

Her right hand dangled the spiked chain she held onto lazily, while violet streaks of lightning began to streak along the blade in her left. “I suppose you’re here to prove you’re the big hero you always dreamed you would be. I’m sorry, Kregan, but heroes don’t exist. So I will make this easy for you and not prolong this experience. That way, you can at least enjoy a long, eternal rest.’

In a sudden change as drastic as day is from night, the woman charged the warrior. Her voice was raised in wail similar to a banshee while her once stunning face shifted into once of pure rage and malice. Above her, the sky darkened and thunder boomed in the distance, as if heralding a great catastrophe about to happen...

***

“Zerith? Zerith!” it was the sweet, yet surprisingly urgent tone of Jasmine voice that woke Zerith up. She was shaking his shoulder fairly roughly and once the halberdier managed to see her clearly he couldn’t help but note a slight touch of concern in her eyes. “Are you alright? You were stirring in your sleep and I was beginning to think you were having a nightmare."

At first, Zerith couldn’t come up with the slightest idea as to why his wife would think such a thing. Then the dream sudden began to come back to the forefront of his mind. The woman in black, the man in read. They must have been the two he had read about. Yet now he saw them! He could recall their features with such clarity he could have sworn that he had reached out and touched their faces. Slowly, he began to smile at his wife when he could recall something else. Something that he believed would make solving his puzzle much, much more easier.

The princess looked at him with a quizzical expression on her face, “What are you smiling about? I just woke you up thinking you were having a nightmare!”

Laughing softly, the warder hugged his wife and kissed her, “I wasn’t having a nightmare. I was having a revelation about that story.” He ran his left hand through her hair in order to try and help reassure Jasmine that everything was alright.

“Well, if that’s true. What did you learn?”

“I think I learned the name of the original wielder of the halberd,” he answered as he laid his head back down on his pillow but continued to look up at the woman beside him. “It’s Kregan. Kregan Riandur.”

[Zerith]

The next few days dragged by at a slow pace. When he wasn’t occupied with running errands for Jasmine, whether it be picking something up for the baby or finding whatever type of food his wife was craving at the time, he spent most of his free time trying to learn more about Kregan Riandur. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really much information about the elf. However, the Warder did manage to discover that the man had been a member of the Tel Ranar’silma, the Wanderers in Starlight. The title certainly sounded like it had some sort of importance, but Zerith was unable to find any other information regarding the group or its history.

As each day passed, the more and more Zerith seemed to become fixated on this mythical figure and the halberd. He would recite the story over and over again to Jasmine and her family during meals, to the point where Melody would just state how the story ended and immediately change the subject. In turn this would anger the halberdier, misinterpreting what he saw for outright disrespect for both him and the legend. This would often lead to him confiding in his wife, who quickly began to feel like the love of was spending way too much time with his head in those books of his.

Eventually, the day came for the princess to have a doctor’s appointment in order to assess how the pregnancy was proceeding. It was the six month check-up, and while Jasmine things such as her weight and blood pressure checked and the baby had its position noted, the overall feeling was one of anxiety. Even Zerith himself was beginning to feel anxious as well, knowing full well that there wasn’t much time remaining until both he and his wife would officially become parents. As he tried to change his train of thought, he unintentionally brought up Kregan again. “So I went through the books again last night, and once again this morning. I still can’t find anything explaining the Tel Ranar’silma.”

Averting her eyes away from her husband, Jasmine frowned as she lay in bed while the doctor continued to work on her exposed belly. Her she was, feeling like she looked like she swallowed something the size of a basketball. Her stomach was itchy, the heartburn was beginning to become a nuisance and she constantly felt aches and cramps. Yet rather than be the pillar she had hoped she could lean on for support during this milestone, her husband had the nerve to bring up that stupid story. She sighed heavily before turning her face to his and spoke in a stern voice. “Zerith, will you please just pay attention? The books will still be there when we get back. Besides, that name sounds like it would come from somewhere like Raiaera.”

“Raiaera!” the Warder exclaimed, oblivious to fact his wife clearly wanted his mind directed to the right place. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he added as he brought one hand up and slapped himself in the forehead.

The familiar sensation of a hand grabbing hold of his immediately captured his attention. Moving his arm from in front of him, he looked down to once again see Jasmine, her blue eyes appearing to plead with his. “Can you please just put aside the stories? We’re both in the middle of crossing a very important bridge right now, and I would really like it if you were here with me during this. Okay?”

As the halberdier struggled to find some sort of response, Jasmine quietly moved his hand and gently placed it over her belly. For some reason beyond his understand, she smiled up at him tenderly. “Don’t say anything. Can you feel anything?”

After giving the princess a puzzled looked as if asking what she was referring to, Zerith took a deep breath and turned to give his full attention to his wife’s abdomen. The reality was that the only thing he could feel was just the smooth surface of her skin against his, nothing more. Yet just as he was about to open his mouth and disappoint the love of his life, a strange sensation stopped him. It was faint, to the point where he probably wouldn’t have been able to feel it if he hadn’t done as he was asked and said something, but he definitely felt something. It was strange, unable to really describe other than some form of movement. Eventually, awareness began to take form in the halberdier’s expression and his heart felt like it had skipped at beat or two. “Is that...what I think it is?

Beaming, Jasmine nodded before confirming what Zerith hoped it was. “That’s her. She’s moving.”

Amazement was the only word capable of coming anywhere close to describing how the Warder felt at the monumental instant. Over the months he had seen plenty of physical evidence that Jasmine’s pregnancy was real, to the point where now there was no denying that he had his wife had achieved something. Yet now he felt something entirely different than a mere awareness of his offspring’s existence. It was a sense of connection, of feeling like a bond unlike any other had been formed. It was true of course; the bond that Zerith felt really was unlike anything else prior, because it was that unique bond between a father and his little girl. One where Zerith instantly knew that without a doubt, he would do anything in his power for his little princess and that not even the great Letho Ravenheart could keep her away from him. Where all of a suddenly he couldn’t wait for that moment where he would get to hold his little girl for the first time and feel proud to be the one man on Althanas blessed to be her daddy.

Indeed, it definitely felt amazing.

His eyes moved once more to look at Jasmine and he suddenly realized just how much time he had probably wasted in those books. He felt ashamed to admit that he had come dangerously close to missing out on such a overwhelming experience, and even more disgusted with himself when realized he must have hurt his wife during the past few days by making her feel ignored. “Oh, Jasmine,” He began as he bent over to hug her tightly, “I am so sorry. I got so caught up with that story that it must have seemed I just pushed you and the baby aside in order to pour all of my attention into it. I feel terrible, but I promise that from now on I won’t let something like that distract me again. Hell, I’ll even burn the books when we get back if you would like.”

“Don’t be silly, Zerith.” Jasmine replied before she gave him a quick kiss. “Although I’m really happy to see that you’ve come to your senses, there’s no need to burn the books. Besides, you’re not the only one that is curious to see if that halberd in the story is Amenzanil or not. I just don’t think it’s worth obsessing over. So why don’t you just consider yourself forgiven, and we’ll put this whole thing behind us, okay?”

The halberdier nodded, “Sure, sounds like a deal.”

Smiling at her husband, the princess raised one of her hands and rubbed his cheek. “Don’t worry. You’ll get some answers to those questions eventually. Just be patient, and I’ll help you in any way I can.”

Nodding again, Zerith couldn’t help but feel a little surprised to see that Jasmine actually supported his desire to learn more about the story and its characters. Perhaps the issue wasn’t necessarily about searching for answers itself, but rather just the amount of time spent in the pursuit of it. Whatever the issue was, one thing was certain. The halberdier would eventually learn the truth sooner or later; it was only a matter of time.

There was no point in rushing things now anyways. Especially when solving the puzzle was part of the fun.

[Zerith]

Everything appeared to have gone back to normal after that appointment with the doctor. During the following days Zerith did in fact keep true to his word and no longer obsessed over the myth. Although he did spent small amount of time every day reading more texts or trying to make sense of how different translations were written, he spent more time with Jasmine and got more involved with the pregnancy. The princess had finally decided on the colours to paint the baby’s nursery, so the halberdier was looking forward to beginning the painting. He even managed to share his input into what kinds of clothing they would buy for the infant, though he eventually decided to just let his wife make those decisions.

Although they never did discover the name of the woman in the legend, Jasmine was just happy to see Zerith let go of his need to find answers. She kept her promise as well, helping as much as she could and trying to be a source of encouragement to her warder. There were a few times she had to remind him that they needed to be patient, that not all of the questions he had would be answered as quickly as he would have preferred and he seemed content to accept that truth. When Zerith slept, he did so peacefully and without and difficulty. When he laid his head down, he wasn’t constantly trying to look at the puzzle from another angle. Instead he just relaxed, enjoyed the comfort of his bed and let the rest of the world just fade away so he could enjoy the peace those few minutes before he fell asleep brought to him. He dreamt, but he couldn’t recall anything that happened in his dreams when he woke up the next day.

That was until one night he had a dream he would remember for awhile.


***


Standing in a cobblestone courtyard before a large house, Zerith shivered as the cold wind brushed past him and sent chills across his skin. Overhead, the sky was dark as black clouds towered over the estate and the rumble of thunder in the distance served as a bad omen The house that stood before the halberdier had definitely seen better days, yet those golden years must have been ages ago. Sapphire eyes instead stared at the battered remains of the building. Windows were boarded up and shutters that had either fallen off or were merely hanging by a single, rusty hinge. The light blue paint that had once been so bright and vibrant was now dull and faded and even peeled off at some places, revealing the warped, old, gray wooden boards that formed the outer wall. One door was all that remained out of the pair that once lead into the house, the other was laying in the just before the doorway on the patio. A flash of lightening lit up the abandoned home for just a second before the boom of thunder invaded Zerith’s ears. After that it didn’t just start raining, it poured.

Even after running as hard as he could to the shelter of the house, the warder was drenched from head to toe. Standing at the doorway, he only looked behind him once and noted how the rain darkened the cobblestone making all the faded colours appear even more dull and drab. Shivering, he pressed onwards and into the house and his boots thudded on the fallen door as he walked over it in order to get inside, hoping to find a fireplace or something so he could get warm again.

“I was once like you,” a voice seemed to whisper in his ear. It was a woman’s voice, one that definitely sounded like he couldn’t have been Jasmine’s. Yet he swore he had heard it somewhere before. He tried to ignore it for the time being, using the task of trying to find a place to dry off as a means of distraction. “At least until the Forgotten Ones showed me what the real truth was, showed me how the rest of the world deceived me.”

The halberdier slowly crept his way through the house, the floorboard creaking underneath every single step he made. His hands fumbled through the darkness until he found a wall and used it as a guide. When he entered a small sitting room, he was relieved to see a small lit lamp sitting on table and illuminating the area around it. The furniture around it were all covered in old, moth eaten, dusty covers and the one picture or two that hung on the walls were crooked. He picked up the lamp with such urgency it was like his life depended on it, and was finally able to take a small amount of comfort from the uneasiness that filled him with the simple realization that he could at least see around him now. Yet this small light wouldn’t be enough, he really needed to find a place to build a fire. It seemed like he wouldn’t feel safe until he could achieve that goal.

“I became their instrument,” the voice spoke again, “A blade for them to use against the world. After I was shown how the world lied to me, I was more than happy to take my anger back out on them. I slaughtered them, laughed at their pathetic pleas to either spare them or their families. Children cried for their parents for those few moments before I slit their throats and I slaughtered those few that dared to try and stop me with my newfound power. The Forgotten Ones blessed me, as I was no longer like the rest of you.”

As Zerith was crossing the threshold into a large living area, he finally realized where he remembered the voice he was hearing. It was that woman, the one in the dream with Kregan. She was the nameless figure in black that the halberdier had spent so many hours trying to identify and the one that supposedly came close to making her dominance absolute. Though that all changed when Kregan appeared and stopped her, or so the story was told. Yet here she was, apparently speaking to him from the shadows of this house. She was dead though! That war was thousands of years ago, there was no way she could have possibly been still alive!

Standing before the halberdier, a single large item was unlike all the other furnishings of the house. This one in particular was uncovered, and almost appeared to be brand new. It was just a large, wooden puppet theatre for children to play with a put on shows. It even came with a curtain that was closed and would have been able to separate the audience from the performers. As the prince approached it hesitantly, the curtain was pulled back and revealed three strung up, wooden puppets dangling from string that lead up into a black void of shadows. Suddenly the puppets seemed to move on their own, or at the whim of an invisible puppeteer that hid in the darkness high above them. As they danced about, the woman let out a sinister laugh that formed goose bumps on Zerith’s skin.

“A puppet,” the female voice exclaimed joyfully, “You’re all still nothing but little puppets. Even after all these years, things haven’t changed a bit. Kregan may have thought he stopped me and saved you all, but I’m afraid all he did was delay the evitable...”

A white little suddenly flashed before the warder’s eyes, blinding him for a few seconds and somehow caused his ears to start ringing. He didn’t know how long he stumbled there, rubbing his eyelids and trying to regain his sense of sight, but he would regret when he finally did after he made the mistake of opening them again. As there, hanging in the exact places the dolls were. Were small wooden puppets versions of Jasmine, Eric, and Zerith with only one thick string suspending each one, tied around their necks and resembling nooses. Each one engulfed in black fire.

“I’m coming back. Like a black phoenix I will be reborn from my ashes. Then I will burn all you pathetic puppets in the flames of my wings!”


***


Zerith woke up screaming, sitting upright as sweat dripped from his brow. Even though Jasmine insisted it was a dream and part of him understood the words that were coming of her mouth, the halberdier didn't stop screaming for a few more long, terrifying minutes as he tried to get the image of those puppets of his loved ones out of his mind. When he couldn't scream anymore, Zerith sobbed and trembled in his wife's arms. He tried again and again as hard as he could, but it seemed that the woman managed to sear the picture of those burning puppets into his mind