AN: Hello! This is my first story on here. If you like it then critique it. Critisim helps me become a better writer so I'm thankful for anything you can give me. This is my first shot at a fantasy story so I hope it's good. Thanks for reading!

Into the Fade

Chapter 1: Touch of the Eternal

A loud banging against a wooden door echoed within the dimly lit home. It continued in rapid succession for several moments before someone spoke up. "Hey open the door! We know you're in there!"

Within the main corridor of the house a female figure lied upon the floor face down. It began to shift around as the banging continued. She had long black hair that was sprawled across the floor. She wore a dark blue dress that hung off the shoulders with tight black sleeves. The woman grumbled and finally sat up, catching a sliver of sunlight in her eye. She had tan skin and dark brown eyes that at the moment were squinting from the harsh light.

"Get the hell out here! Don't make me brake this door down!" The woman turned and glared at the door through her hair. She huffed and blew the hair from her eyes. "Hold on! Be patient asshole!" The noise stopped almost immediately after.

"Finally I can get some quiet." She turned to the floor in front of her and gazed upon several small bones. She gathered them in her hands and shook them vigorously. Soon after the bones dropped from her hands and scattered across the wooden floor. She stared at then for several seconds before nodding. "That makes sense I guess. Better get to it then." She rose off the ground and wiped the dust off her dress. Slowly she walked over to the door, clearly taking her time. She popped open the creaky door and sunlight blasted through.

Outside stood three men, two of which were clad in guardsmen armor. The man in the middle was in regular townsfolk clothes and looked like just about everyone else. Except the fact he had a insanely shiny bald head. He stood there with his arms crossed and a stern look upon his grungy face. "Hey! Where's my money Lillian? You haven't paid your rent for quite some time and I'm sick and tired of having to come back here." Lillian smirked at him and leaned in closer to get a better look at them. She gave the group a once over and chuckled softly. "So you brought two armed guards with you just to extort money out of little old me? I feel awfully flattered dear. Alas I must be off. Business calls elsewhere."

He gritted his teeth at her sarcastic words and walked behind the guards. "I've had enough of your shit Lillian. It's about time you paid in full and it looks like we're going to have to do it the hard way." Both the guards grabbed her aggressively and held onto both of her arms each. Although the situation was seemingly not in her favor she continued to smile. "What are you smiling at? I'll beat the living shit outta you if necessary. I got no problem with that." Lillian reared her head back and laughed heartily. All the men stared at her in confusion. "Oh how stupid you are Clarence. Did you ever think for a second I'd ever let you get the upper hand? Only a fool would fall for such a trick." As he stared at her in confusion she snapped her fingers. In a flash both guards let her go and grabbed him instead.

As the guards were holding on to him she stood there in front of him smiling arrogantly as always. When he tried to get away the guards held on tight. "What the hell did you do? What type of black magic did you do you damn witch! Get these fucking guys off of me!" Lillian patted him on the head and laughed to herself. "Mind control is a bitch ain't it? Though that spell was more of a parlor trick than anything else. The only thing to do now is figure out what to do with your sorry ass..." She trailed her finger across her lips as she thought to herself. When she thought up something she lit up with excitement and snapped her finger. "Got it! Take this guy to the Inquisitors. Tell them he was performing black magic on a poor defenseless damsel, trying to seduce her into acts of sodomy. That's all they need to hear and they'll make quick work of him. Oh and one more thing. When you take him remember to stuff his mouth so he can't scream."

The man shouted for help as the guards dragged him towards the daunting castle in the distance. Lillian however, was pretty excited. Today was going to be fun, or at least interesting to say the least. All that was needed now was the ingredients. "Well I might as well go to the market. It's not like I've got anything else better to do anyways." Lillian walked through the busy village, watching all the people at work. The village butcher was chopping up seemingly fresh fish for his customers. The merchant was selling used things as if they were new exotic items. The somewhat irritating children at play screamed out with laughter in the busy market. Though there was copious amounts of noise and bustle her focus was somewhere else. Where her true interests lied, however, was the group of surly looking old women huddled into a circle.

When she approached them the ladies stopped their conversations abruptly. They hesitated before one of them got up in excitement. She beamed with joy at the sight of Lillian. She wrapped her wrinkled body around her in a hug. Lillian leaned away uncomfortably and tried to wrench the ancient woman away. "Yeah, yeah it's nice to see you too or whatever. I need some special ingredients. Something along the lines off... Once living things. Got any?" The grey haired woman beamed up in excitement and pulled her towards tarp covered cart.

She quickly torn off the top, revealing all sorts of strange jars and artifacts. "Hmm... What a lovely assortment of knickknacks and doodads. However, I'm looking for something else of a particular taste. Something for "that ritual". If you catch my drift." The elderly women glanced at each other, then back at Lillian. They continued to stare but said absolutely nothing. And after several minutes of silence Lillian rolled her eyes and groaned out of shear frustration.

"Seriously? Come on ladies! I came here last week for the same shit and you give me the same look. I seriously just want a goddamn dead plant. Is that really that hard to get it for me? It's not like I'm doing anything heinous. I'm just summoning a de-" Before Lillian could finish her rant one of the women put her wrinkled hand on her mouth and hushed her. "Please miss Lillian! You mustn't speak of it. They'll have our hides if the Inquisitors find out about our... dealings. We'll get you you're root real quick dearie."

And sure enough the wrinkled woman shuffled away and back as fast as her creaky legs would take her. She shakily held out a dirty jar with a sad looking dried up flower at the bottom. Lillian snatched it away swiftly and examined it like a hawk. When her judging eyes finished the inspection she casually stuck her hand into her cleavage. She fished around her breasts until she whipped out a gold coin. "Wow, I had no clue that was even in there. I was just adjusting. Works out for me I suppose." The grey haired woman held her hands out, waiting to receive her payment. Instead of giving her the coin she turned around and started to walk away.

She flipped the coin back behind her, causing the woman to lunge forward to catch it. She fumbled with it before actually catching it a moment latter. "Pleasure doing business with you old coot." The old woman scowled at her, her eyes burning into her back. Sure enough, Lillian payed no heed and kept her pace. There was no way anyone was getting in her way today.

After walking several block she arrived at her destination. An old, unkempt cemetery. Which for some odd reason was somehow darker than the rest of the town. Doom and gloom were not new to this place, but to Lillian this was more of a playground. It was the best place to find exactly what was next on her list. As she strode up to the gate, she noticed vines growing across the bars. "Looks like no one's been here for quite some time. That's... unusual." As she began tearing away the invasive vines she heard someone behind her. She defensively swung around, ready to fight whatever was coming her way. However, unlike the horrific monster she imagined, it was someone she knew.

Before her stood a man in white and red robes adorned with shining silver armor. He bore a symbol of the Inquisitors on his chest plate. A downward pointed sword in the form of a cross. He himself was fairly young. He had short blonde hair and striking emerald eyes. "Oh! Uh, hey Lillian. I was just wanting to say hi but I see you're occupied." He nervously looked away from her intense gaze. Lillian of course rolled her eyes at him. This guy was more of a pain in her ass than a mountain troll. And those things seriously don't know when to die. "Yeeeeaaaah... I kinda am. So yeah... go away Andy."

Andy's gaze quickly shot back to her then away again. "U-Uh... look I know you don't really like doing... things... with people. But could you just hear me out just this once?" Lillian groaned and smacked her palm to her face. "Whatever! Just fucking tell me already." Andy fiddled with his hands nervously before finally speaking up again. "O-Okay. So there's this um... get together tonight. And um... people at these get togethers tend to take another person with then. And it's considered customary for one of it's patrons to ask another to accompany them to this... get together. And I was wondering if you's accompany me tonight? Maybe?" She stared back at his completly deadpan before pointing at him and bursting out laughter.

She laughed heartily for several minutes before she could calm herself down. She was still chuckling slightly as she wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to compose herself. "Okay! So what you're trying to say is you want me to go with you to some stupid town dance tonight right? Because if that's the case then you my friend are quite the jester. Because there is no way in hell I would be caught dead or alive at one of those things." Andy of course didn't take her soul crushing ridicule very well. He looked as if he was about to crumbling in on his own weight any minute.

"I thought that was the case. I know you hate my guts, but I figured I'd give it a chance anyway. Well I didn't really have a chance to begin with anyway it seems. Thanks for listening at least Lillian." As he started to slink away she grabbed his shoulder and swung him back around. She couldn't believe what she was doing. "Look. Don't get so bent out of shape. I'll... try and consider it." The last couple of words left a bitter taste in her mouth. Being considerate was definitely not her cup of tea.

"What?! Really? You're not joking right? Of course you're not! Oh I'm so happy! Thank you so much!" Andy was overflowing with an insurmountable amount of joy. So much so he tried to hug his possible soon to be date. Which was a bad idea. As he closed in for the kill she reacted violently with a swift punch to the face. Sure enough she cleaned his clock and he went down like a sack of potatoes. It took her a few moments to finally realize what she had done.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! It's just you got too close and you're dressed in Inquisitor gear. It was totally reactionary. I promise!" She quickly helped him to his feet from the dirt and brushed him off. He looked a little dazed as he tried getting his balance back. "W-What the... hell... was... that about?" His hand slowly made it's way to the left side of his face and felt his swelling eye. "Oh no! My eye! I'm going to look terrible for the dance! I can't possibly go now! I'm hideous!" Lillian rolled her eyes at her melodramatic companion. Well at least he had his priorities straight.

"You look fine! Why don't you just make something up. Like tell people you got in a fight with a mage or something. Like it was an epic battle between you and a deranged necromage. And the battle ended in your holy favor or some stupid shit like that." As ridiculous as the story sounded he contemplated it. "Are you sure they'll believe it? It sounds a little out there, you know? I does make me sound valiant though." Lillian couldn't help but let out a grumble. She seriously didn't have time for this. "Okay! If you shut the hell up and leave me alone I'll promise to go with you tonight. Got it?"

Andy beamed with joy and nodded excitedly. He almost tried to hug her again, but stopped midway after remembering what just happened. "Yes! It's a deal! I'll be out of your face right now! But before I go, what's with that crusty flower? And why are you at the cemetery?" She looked down at the jar for a moment and then back up to him again. "Well... I'm here to pay my respects by putting this flower on a dead relative's grave. And just so you know, this flower isn't crusty, it's dried. Two totally different things."

He seemed a slight but suspicious but the thought quickly left his mind. There's no way he would ever doubt her. He's just not that kind of guy. "Oh! Okay then. Well I hope it makes you feel better. I know how much you miss your family." A slight twinge of anger shot through her veins. An Inquisitor pitying her about her deceased family, when they were the ones that caused it. The audacity of this idiot. But she wasn't going to waste her time explaining things to this fool. She'd wasted enough time here already. "Yeah whatever. See ya around." She forced her way through the gates rather violently before he could even protest. She was not in the mood for further conversation. She need to speak to "him" right away.

Not long after walking through the dank and bleak graveyard she found what she was looking for. It was an ancient mausoleum with stone gargoyles guarding the entrance. She grabbed the unnecessarily large brass door knocker and smashed it several times against the chipped away stone door. After several moments without a response she huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Hey crypt keeper! I know you're in there! Don't try and act like your not!" Not long after someone responded back rather bleakly. "I know miss Lillian. You may come in, but don't expect to find what you're looking for." She smirked with triumph when the door was forced open.

When she was inside she could barely make out anything. It was dark as dark could get. "This isn't normal darkness. This is advanced darkness. How the hell can you work in here? You seriously need to stop being a cheapskate and buy a fucking candle or something." She waited for a response but was only received with a raspy cackle. She couldn't locate where the laugh came from because of the echo in the room.

As she looked around. A flame ignited right next to her head. She immediately jumped back out of surprise. It was the crypt keeper with a candle aflame in his hand. He was wearing a plague doctor's bird mask and a worn out leather jacket that dragged the floor. The creepiest part was how the light illuminated his yellow eyes. No one she had ever know has yellow eyes but he did. Nor had she ever seen his face before. With that sort of combination most people avoided him. However, Lillian got along with him just fine. He was the closest thing to a friend she had.

"Hello miss Lillian. I'm glad to see you again. But I'm guessing you're not here for my company are you?" His words were drawn out and coarse. It almost sounded like someone playing the cello backwards. "Sadly no. I'm actually here for a body. One that's fresh as possible and hopefully one no one will miss." He cackled joyfully and tapped his gloved fingers together. "I'll see what I can dig up. I haven't been doing very much business lately since the Inquisitors have been taking the mage bodies with them." She looked at him perplexed at his off handed comment. Obviously he noticed her confusion and continued to explain.

"Well it seems that the Inquisitors believe that if they take away the bodies mages will have a harder time doing devious magic. Like summoning the dead or divination. Which divination is hardly devious but who am I to question? But it is bad for business I'll tell you." Lillian shook her head in frustration. The Inquisitors just keep making her life harder, but soon that was all going to end. All she need was the keys to Pandor's Box and she wouldn't hesitate to open it. The Inquisitors would fall and it would be by her hand. As she ranted on in her head the crypt keeper slithered away. It took her a moment to notice he was gone. He did, however, leave his candle behind on one of the cadaver tables.

She watched the slowly melting candle almost hypnoticaly. Before to long she felt a skeletal hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see the crypt keeper with a corpse on the adjacent cadaver table. "Oh! Well that was quick. Is this one good and ready to go? No one will miss him right?" The crypt keeper cackled again and nodded. "He died yesterday. I do believe he was homeless. I just found him lying there in the street. And you know me, I couldn't resist a free corpse. I hope you don't mind that I did a bit of harvesting. I couldn't help myself." She laughed and wagged her finger at him jokingly. "I noticed your handiwork. I think it'll be okay. Plus I'm not all that picky about my dead bodies." He cackled again before slinking away out of the light.

She gave the body a once over before again to make sure everything was in place. It was just a bald guy with a scruffy looking face. Nothing really unusual. "Yeah I'm definitely going to need help hauling this thing home." The crypt keeper's notorious cackle echoed in the dark room again before he reappeared behind her. "Don't worry. I'll have it there before you get even get back. I'll even wrap it up all pretty with a bow." He slithered away again, only to appear on the other side of the table instantly. "You remember our deal don't you?" Lillian smirked and nodded at him. "Yeah, yeah. I'll open up a small tear into the veil and let you see whatever lies beyond the curtain." The crypt keeper cackled joyfully and awaited his reward.

Several minutes later after his appetite for unspeakable horror was satisfied she closed the portal. Lillian of course covered her eyes. There was no way she was going down that rabbit hole. "Oh my. What wonderful things to see. I feel a bit weak in the knees though." He propped himself up on the table to keep himself steady. "So am I good to go?" He nodded and waved her off as he tried to regain his composure. "Yes, yes. It's all good. Now run along. Time is of the essence." And like before he disappeared into the shadows and the candle blew out. Lillian wasn't in the dark long before the crypt door opened. She didn't hesitate to scurry along. As much as she enjoyed his creepiness, she needed to hurry home.

When she left the cemetery she noticed that the sky had gotten dark. It seemed that nighttime had already come. She always lost time being in that place. As she made her way back to her little shack she noticed a group of Inquisitors patrolling the street. She swiftly hid in an alleyway to avoid detection. The Inquisitors put a curfew on the town to make sure the "troublemakers" would stay out of trouble late at night. As if that was really going to stop anyone. She thought about taking the group on but decided against it. Lucky for them she didn't have even time to play with them tonight. It was full moon tonight and wouldn't be another one like this for quite some time after tonight. So she decided on taking a shortcut across the rooftops. Fortunately for the sleeping people inside she was quiet.

Before she knew it she was home, or as close to something you could call home. She jumped down into a hay stay and landed on her back. It wasn't the most pleasant landing but it worked. She plucked the hay stalks off her dress as she unlocked her door. When she got inside low and behold, there was her corpse in the middle of her living room with a bow on his head. The keeper was such an awesome guy, or whatever he was. She excitedly began to set everything up for the ritual.

The body was placed within a large chalk drawn triangle with candles at each end. The dried flower was crumbled across the body sparingly. She breathed in deeply before she started. "Consurget daemonium profundis! Surgere et dare super me notitia tua! Ostende mihi teipsum!" After her chant nothing seemed to happen. She glared at the corpse and smacked it angrily. "Hey bitch! I know you can hear me!" A few seconds later the throat twitched. It began stretching and shifting around. Slowly the foreign object moved through the throat to the mouth. The mouth quickly filled up and was forced open.

A head of a red eyed crow popped out and stared at her blankly. It cawed before forcing it's way out. It flicked the excess saliva off it's wings before staring at her again. "So nice to see you in person Count Raum. Though I imagined you a bit taller." The crow cocked it's head and cawed again. The middle of it's forehead split open and revealed a third red eye. It spoke in a disembodied voice that came from seemingly nowhere. "Hello Lillian. Lovely to see you. Thank you for summoning me. I'm assuming you want me to take you there." She smiled ear to ear and leaned in closer. "First I need a few questions answered. Then we can have fun. And if you don't mind, would you show me your true form?"

The crow squawked loud and flapped it's wings. The stomach of the corpse began to shift around and convulse. Soon several beaks stabbed through and dozens of crows erupted from the stomach. They flew towards the ceiling in a circle. After a few moments flying in a circle they began flying into each other and dropping to the ground dead. As more and more birds fell to the ground they began to melt and congeal together into a black blob. A clawed hand slowly slid from the sludge and began pulling itself out. A dark figure slowly rose from the black sludge. As the goo seeped away the figure's true form was shown.

It was a man clan in black and gold armor. He wore a black feather cape that covered a third of his figure. On his head instead of hair there were black feathers. He bore a golden crown around his forehead with a closed golden horizontal eye instead of the usual jewelry. His belt also bore another closed golden eye like his crown. His irises were an intense red that bore deep into your soul. His overall figure was hunched over and gave the appearance of an elderly man. Raum gave her a sharp toothed grin as he present his true form to his summoner.

"Those who seek appearances are often disappointed. Now what is it you wished to ask me?" Lillian for once looked fairly impressed and clapped her hands. "Wow, just wow. I give you 9.5 for the entrance. The dead crows could have stuck the landing better though." Raum smiled fiendishly and held his hands together. "Humorous as always Lillian, but if you don't mind will you hurry it along. We only have so much time before the gate closes." Lillian just waved him off casually and thought to herself.

"Okay! So if I seek out this man, what guarantees he'll help me?" The man smiled another toothy grin and tapped his fingers together. "There isn't one. You're just going to have to hope for the best when you free him. I can imaging though he'd want vengeance after being locked up for so many years. He's been gone so long, people believe him to be a myth. If you free him I'm sure he'll have some sort of gratitude." Lillian rubbed her chin as she thought to herself again. "Okay. So if I free him, then what? Is he going to grant me powers or just go crazy and kill everyone?" To this Raum laughed to himself before responding back. "Who knows. He is powerful though, I can guarantee that. He's probably the greatest ally you could find between here and the afterlife. Regardless he'll most likely destroy the Inquisitors. Whether that's merely on a whim or for pure vengeance is all up in the air. You'll just have to chance it I suppose." Lillian stood there for a minute contemplating the consequences of her actions. Was this really the best choice?

As she was thinking Raum suddenly appeared behind her with his hand on her shoulder. "Listen Lillian. It's either you do it or you don't. There's no backing out once your choice has been made." Lillian took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could feel the world closing in around her like a vortex. She took in one last deep breath before she opened her eyes again.

When she opened them she was no longer in her living room but rather a completely dark abyss. In her hand was a a lit lantern. It was the only light source around her. There seemed to be a dirt ground beneath her feet but nothing beyond the light. As she took her first few steps the light illuminated new ground that seemed to appear from nothing. She stopped for a moment and looked around. There was absolutely nothing. Where in the hell was she? Before she wandered too far she hear a familiar voice. It was Raum's smooth yet eerie disembodied voice.

"Lillian you are in the dark realm. It is a place in between worlds that does and doesn't exist. You must stay in the light. Without it you'd be consumed by darkness and cease to exist. This is where he lies. If you concentrated hard enough he'll appear to you. Then and only then will you be able to free him." Lillian nodded silently before thinking of him. She thought hard about how she wished to see him so that he could put an end to the Inquisitors and finally avenge her family. She thought about how much she hated them, and how she wanted them to be torn apart piece by piece by the infamous monster in the legends. She thought so hard that she had closed her eyes tightly without thinking. She slowly opened her eyes and what she saw surprised her.

In front of her lied a charred skeleton wrapped in numerous light emitting chains. The chains were wrapped around three sets of rocks covered in unknown symbols, forming a triangle. The skeleton sat there on it's knees leaning forward with it's arms pulled to the sides. She hesitated for a moment before walking a bit closer. It didn't seem alive in any way. How could this possibly be the infamous boogyman in the legends spoken of. It was just a dirty tied up skeleton. Who in the hell would be afraid of that.

"Hey! Yeah, I'm taking to you skeleton guy! You alive or what?" The skeleton didn't so much as move. Lillian groaned and smacked her palm to her face. "Well great! I found a stupid burned up dead skeleton. Like that's going to fix any of my problems. Yeah, the Inquisitor's are really going to flee at the sight of this thing. At the least it'll get a good laugh." As she grumbled to herself she heard a faint sound. She looked around to see what it was but there was seemingly nothing. After giving up she heard it again. "Who's there? Is it you Raum?" As she looked around she noticed the skeleton shift slightly. When she directly looked at it. It seemed to be completely still.

"Hey skeleton guy was that you? Or am I just crazy?" This time the skeleton shifted slightly and spoke in a whispered voice. "... Inquisitors..." She leaned down to hear it more clearly. "... free... me..." She smirked triumphantly. Finally she got what she wanted. This had better be worth it. She chanted an incantation and flicked her wrist. A purple light emanated from her hand and wrapped around the illuminated chains. She clenched her fist and the tendrils of purple light tightened around the chains. Soon they cracked and finally gave way and shatter into nothing. The skeleton collapsed to the ground without movement. She was about to check it before it erupted in flames.

The skeleton rose up laughing boisterously as the flames engulfed it. It spoke in a booming voice like none she had heard before. "Yes! I'm finally free of those damned chains! I'll make them pay for what they have done to me! I'll make them burn!" For once she felt frightened by this being's presence. She could tell it was truly something to be feared. There was a reason he was chained up in another dimension for over a hundred years. After he was done with his triumphant speach he turned and stared her down with his eyeless skull.

"And whom might you be? You must have been the one who freed me I'm guessing. So the real question is why did you?" Lillian smirked at him and held her ground. "I'm here because I want you to help me kill off the Inquisitors." The flaming skeleton stared at her motionless until it began laughing again. "The audacity of this little mageling is truly something to be admired! To think you came all the way here to free an ancient being just to kill a bunch of pathetic humans! This is truly something to be marveled at!" Lillian didn't take kindly to the skeleton's insults. She didn't care if he was some infamous ancient evil, there was no way he'd insult her this way.

"Hey listen up! I freed your sorry ass so you could help me! I figured you be grateful you stupid flaming asshole!" The skeleton stopped it's laughter and stared back at her. It tapped it's fingers across it's mouth until it spoke up again. "Alright. I'll cut you a deal. You help me acquire certain... artifacts... and I'll help you destroy whom ever you want. Do we have a deal?" Lillian smiled and put her hand on her hip. "What type of "artifacts" are we talking here?" The skeleton cackled and crossed it's arms. "What does it matter? I'm giving you the deal of a lifetime. I'm giving you revenge on a silver platter. What is that revenge worth to you?" Lillian glared at him before easing up again. He was right. She didn't care about what she had to do. All that matter now was vengeance. She get her vengeance or die trying.

"Alright skeleton guy you've got a deal. I help you then you help me. Got it?" The skeleton laughed and clapped it's hands. "Good choice! And the right one at that." The skeleton then whipped it's hand across it's body, and was engulfed in a swirl of smoke that eventually settled down into a tattered hooded cloak. The fire around it's hands shaped itself into pale flesh hands. "Finally my power returns to me. It feels good to finally have a physical form again." He turned back to Lillian and began walking over to her. For a moment she almost wanted to flee but stood her ground. As he approached her she could feel his power wash over her. His spiritual presence was so powerful it almost made her faint. Maybe it was because this seemed to be a manaless dimension, or that he was so powerful his physical body couldn't contain all his power.

"Don't be afraid. I promise not to kill you. You're better use for me alive anyway. Which is why I want to ask you how you got here. I don't know of many people who could possess the ability to come here. How were you able to tear open the veil and waltz on through?" Lillian merely shrugged at him. "I dunno. I've always been able to open up the veil. Up until recently have I been able to go through it myself. It doesn't seem all that great to me." He laughed to himself again and tapped his fingers against his lips. "You do realize that an ability like that happens once, maybe twice, in a millennium? The ability to break the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead is monumental. Such an ability could grant it's user an infinite amount of power if used correctly. If only you had a teacher. Someone who could teach you to use it to it's full capacity. Someone... like me."

Under his cloak she could see his lips curl up fiendishly. He definitely wasn't beating around the bush. "And why would I want you to do that?" He gave her a devilish grin that could chill anyone to the bone. He grabbed the sides of his hood and pulled it back, revealing his face. His eyes burned with bright unnatural fire. "Because I'm the most powerful mage to be born in a thousand years."

2: Chapter 2: Beck and Call

AN: Hey! Welcome to chapter two! If you've read this far I thank you. Hope you enjoy.

Into the Fade

Chapter 2: Beck and Call

The black void around Lillian and the fire mage was empty and quiet. The only discernible thing was the light emitted from her lantern and from him. The fire mage pushed his jet black hair away from his face as they spoke. "So what's first "teacher"? Are you going to teach me to raise the dead?" Her mocking tone was only bested by her arrogant demeanor. Even in the face of monstrous power she was snide. He only smirked and pulled his hood back up over his head.

"Sure. It's easy enough." She actually felt somewhat surprised. She was joking but what the hell. It was always good to have another trick up your sleeve. "Now first off why don't you sit down." He snapped his fingers and a fire popped up behind her and a chair appeared where the flames were. She shrugged and sat down. It could be a trap but whatever. Her feet were killing her anyway.

"So since you have the power to tear away the veil and go through temporarily, then that means you also have the power to pull things out temporarily. Of course many things live in the veil, not all of which will be friendly. However, the souls of the dead drift around in it. If the you could pull the soul out of the fade then you could insert it into a vessel. Which effectively brings the deceased back to the physical world. However, there are limits to this. A soul requires a vessel to stay within the physical world for a prolonged period of time. Usually a body. Now if that vessel is not the decease's own body then the soul has a limited amount of time within that body. But if that vessel is the decease's original body than it is possible to keep it in this world indefinitely. The biggest problem with this is that finding a specific soul within the fade is like finding a needle in a haystack. And if the deceased is dead for a prolonged time the soul drifts away and can't come back. You getting all this?"

Lillian yawned obnoxiously and stretched. "Yeah, yeah I got it. If a person is recently dead then it's easier to pull the soul's tether back to the body. I used to be a healer back in the day. I've learned that trick long ago, but I've never been able to bring someone back who's gone too far." He smirked at her, feeling intrigued. "You're fairly talented I have to say. You'll make quite the protege." She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Whatever old man. Just get on with your story." This made him chuckle to himself. This woman was really quite interesting.

"As I was saying, there is a way around the chaos of the veil. If you have part of the person's body in some form you can reverse summon them and create an artificial tether. You can pull the soul back to the vessel and tether them together again. Now if the bond between your soul and tether is strong enough you can control the vessel yourself. Now doing this isn't easy. It requires concentration and mana manipulation skills of a high level to achieve it. As hard as it is the payoff is worth it."

She leaned on her elbow and thought hard to herself. Such an ability would definitely get her places. Places she hadn't even imagined yet. She was definitely interested in his teachings now. "Okay now you're speaking my language. An army of undead soldiers bent to my will. Now those are my kind of people. So why don't you show me an example. I'd like to see such a technique at work." The fire mage clasped his hands in excitement and grin fiendishly. "I'd thought you'd never ask my young protégé. But before we begin I must explain my abilities to you first. Then you can truly understand my true power."

She got up and walked over to him so that they were face to face. "Alright then. Strut your stuff peacock." The fire mage held out his hand and powerful red flame burst forth from his palm. The light it emitted illuminated a large area around them that hadn't been there recently. It looked like a gladiator pit, except it was completely run down and falling apart. Poles around the arena burst aflame to keep the arena illuminated. "Not bad, but I was hoping more for fireworks and women dancing in cages." The fire mage laughed at her sarcasm but continued to light the arena.

When he was done he turned back to her. He held up his index finger and a small ball of flame lit up above it. Without even looking he pointed his finger at a cracked column and shot the ball at it. The column instantly was engulfed with a massive explosion that obliterated it completely. Lillian shielded herself from the flaming bits of shrapnel flying around. "Well holy shit! That was dramatic." He smirked and blew away the smoke from his finger. "My abilities don't come from manipulating my mana and forming it into a physical form. They actually are a direct product of my soul." She cocked her head feeling confused at his words. "That doesn't make sense. You mean your soul is made of fire?" He nodded and held out his burning hand. The flesh melted away and his burning skeleton remained.

"Many years ago I was able to bind my soul and the eternal flames of the fade. This fire is eternal and cannot be extinguished. And since the flames and my soul are one then that means I cannot die either. A milestone in my search for eternal power. However, my body was destroyed in the process. What you see here is just a facade. This body is completely made of ashes and dirt. Just a mere vessel for my soul." The flames engulfed his skeletal hand and reformed his faux hand. Another ball of fire started in his hand, except this time it was different. This one had a face that was entwined with agony and despair. It was a soul. "So since I have the power to ignite and ensnare my own soul, then that also means I can do it to others as well. This soul here belongs to an old friend I slayed long ago. I ignited his soul and bonded it to my flame. I now control his soul completely. Which leads us to our first lesson. I'll show you how to create an artificial vessel and bond a tethered soul to it."

He twirled around his other hand in a circle while he chanted an ancient sounding spell. This was a type of old magic even she hadn't heard of, and she did do her research. "In prima caloris radiorum solis in falsis pastor sentit! Triceps draco consumit anima sicut aurora tandem lunam moritur! Educ de peccato et poena corporis caelestis!" With his incantation a gust of smoke formed in front of him. It twirled together with dirt from the ground and began form a human form from the feet up. When it was complete a cast of ash and dirt stood in front on them motionless. It had a basic human form with nothing else.

"Now here's the fun part. I'll insert the soul into the vessel and bond them together. After the bonding is complete the body will resemble the soul's original physical form. This is very critical moment once this has happened. You'll want to make sure that the tether between you and them doesn't falter at any time. If it does then you lose control and if they're not so friendly they can attack you. But enough talking for now. Let's watch the show."

He put the flaming soul in front on it's chest right where the heart would be and pressed against it. His hand slid into the body with the soul and the body pulsed with an unholy light. Once he pulled his hand out the body pulse with fire. The vessel contorted in what appeared to be agony as the fire shaped it. Slowly a human form began to emerge from the fire. It was a blonde haired man with his hair combed back. He wore white fur on his shoulders with a long sleeved brown jacket and a silver chest plate. He also had a tattered red sash tied around his waist. Finally he wore metal boots that went up to his knees. They were clearly made for battle. He must be a mage.

After the flames subsided and the molten cracks on his body closed he opened his eyes for the first time. His eyes were purely orange, resembling the fire that created him. He blinked his eyes several time before looking down at his hands in awe. "I'm... alive? But Walter just fatally wounded me. I couldn't possi-" The blonde man stopped mid sentence and turned his attention to the fire mage. His face contorted in rage and he flew towards his creator, his fist ready to crush his head. His fist stopped several inches in front of the fire mage's face. The blonde man seemed to be surprised at himself. He looked like he was trying to move his body but it wasn't responding like it was suppose to.

"What the hell did you do to me Walter?! You basturd! Why am I still alive? And where are we?" Walter laughed and rubbed his hands together fiendishly. He was clearly enjoy this. "Oh Sebastian, how foolish you are. You're still dead and you're in the dark dimension. And I control you now. Are we all full of understand now?" Sebastian glared at him but could do nothing. Walter flicked his wrist and Sebastian moved against his will and held his arms to his sides.

"See Lillian. It can be done. I fused my mana with both his soul and his vessel. I can completely control both remotely. You'll have to learn a way to bond souls with yourself to create a strong enough tether to keep them under your control. I think you'll have it down in no time my protégé." Sebastian shot a glare at Lillian and then back at Walter. "Why would you teach this woman such dark arts? This type of magic is nothing more than destruction. It is wrong to twist magic into something so violent and evil. Souls are not playthings Walter! You can't just play God!" Walter scoffed at him and wiggled his finger in front of Sebastian's nose.

"Why Sebastian my dear, I already have." He gritted his teeth and shot another glare back at Lillian. "Why are you listening to this monster? Why don't you try and stop him?" Lillian shrugged and turned away from Sebastian's intense glare. "We've got a deal going on. I scratch his back, he'll scratch mine. I'm not aiming to cut that deal anytime soon. And I'm definitely not siding with a pompous dumbass like you." Sebastian looked as if he was about to explode before Walter snapped his fingers and his face became blank.

"Well that's enough out if you. Your just my little experiment." He waved his hand and Sebastian was engulfed in fire and disappeared without a trace. The remaining fire on Walter's hand was extinguished as he closed his hand. "Well he's talkative as always. Our lessons will continue later. I'll contact you when I need your help for your end of the bargain. See you around my protégé." He held his hands together and blew fire at Lillian. She shielded herself but the fire didn't burn. Interestingly it felt cold instead.

When she opened her eyes she was back in her living room with the corpse. The candles were completely melted and burnt out. She must have been gone for quite awhile. She suddenly remembered that she had a previous engagement with a certain Inquisitor. "Oh shit! I totally forgot! This shit always happens when I go into the fade." She quickly composed herself and ran out of the house.

It didn't take long for her to find the brightly lit up party venue. It was a tented off area with many dressed up people dancing with each other. When she got to the entrance she immediately noticed a familiar face at the front. It was Andy all dressed up for their so called date. However he didn't look too excited when she ran up to him.

"Where the hell have you been Lillian? I've been waiting for hours! If you didn't want to go with me then why didn't you just say so? You didn't need to lie." Lillian trying to touch his shoulder for comfort but he just pushed it away. "I don't need you pity Lillian! Just leave me alone!" Andy ran off before she could protest. Which left her feeling less than perfect.

She groaned and plopped down on the grass. She pulled the grass out of the ground out of frustration. She wallowed in self pity for a minute before she heard the squawking of a crow. It was standing on the edge of the tent with it's head cocked to one side staring at her. "Is that you Raum?" The crow stared at her for a moment before squawking and flying away. Lillian huffed again and leaned on her elbows. "Guess not."

The next morning the daylight shined through her cobweb covered window, blasting her in the eyes. She groaned and rolled over onto her face. After a few minutes at her failed attempt to reclaim sleep she rolled out of bed. She fell to the floor with her blankets as she rolled over, obviously misjudging the distance between her and the edge. She slammed her fist against the bed frame and mumbled a "son of a bitch" into the floorboards.

Every time she came back from the fade her head felt like it was going to explode the next day. It the was like a spiritual hangover. Not to mention her worries about practically making a deal with the devil. What was he going to have her do first? Probably something cliché like going through some deadly dungeon filled with poisonous snakes and deadly traps. Though what concerned her the most were these artifacts he requested. Just what could they be? She sighed before she slowly shuffled over to her closet.

She threw on her corset style open shoulder purple dress with tight black sleeves. As she finished tying up her knee length boots she was suddenly engulfed in fire. After the fire faded away she noticed she was in a familiar place. She was back in the dark realm within a circle of light. In that circle sat Walter with his back facing her. "So nice of you to stop by Lillian. I've got a lead on the first of the artifacts. We should head there soon." Lillian put her hands on her hips and spoke up in unusually stern tone.

"Hey! I was in the middle of getting ready! What if you brought me here naked asshole?" Much to her annoyance, Walter merely laughed at her complaints and brushed it off. "Whatever you say. I could honestly care less." She glared at the back of his head hoping it would burn right through. "Just so you know, I've been watching you. What's with you fraternizing with the so-called enemy?" This seemed to catch her off guard as she was at a loss of words to defend herself. She felt her cheeks fluster slightly. After a few moments of not responding Walter laughed at her again and stood up. "Well I guess it's not something you want to discuss. Shall we be off then?"

He brushed himself off and turned around to face her with an obvious grin on his face. She returned his grin with her finest scowl. "Oh, did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed? I hope you know it's tiresome to work with someone so dreary. You're almost as bad as Sebastian. You should smile more often my dear protégé. Oh! I know! Why don't we light someone on fire? That always brings a smile to my face." Lillian couldn't help but rolled her eyes at him. This guy was a serious weirdo. Somewhat interesting, but still weird. "Okay whatever. Where are we going anyway? You just kind of summoned me back to the dark dimension to hunt for some mystical object and it's not even breakfast yet!" Walter chuckled at her and snapped his fingers.

A circle of flame appeared next to him in the air and showed a bustling town inside. "To the town of Mistgrove. There's a particular person I need to speak with there to help me track down what I seek." Lillian mulled it over in her head for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "So why do you need me? You've clearly got this handled." Walter wiggled his finger and smiled at her, obviously noting she was clearly wrong in her assumption. "No, no my dear protégé. That's where you're wrong. When we find the object I'll need you're abilities to get it. Without you it'll be a real pain in the ass." She thought about it for a second and finally agreed to it. What did she really have to lose? Besides her life.

He clapped his hands in excitement at her agreement. Finally the quest would begin. He snapped his fingers once more and they were both engulfed in flames. Before she knew it she was somewhere else. This new place seemed to be that same town Walter had shown her. It seemed much brighter and happier than where she was from. And much cleaner to say the least. "So what do you think? I'm quite enjoying stretching these old bones. It's quite stifling to sit around in an alternate dimension entirely encompassed with darkness all the time." Lillian giggled at him before turning her attention to the surrounding market place.

There seemed to be so many shopping options to choose from. It almost made her head spin. And of course she couldn't help but notice the wonderful aromas of the freshly baked goods all around. The town seemed much more spry than her dreary old town. The massive clock tower in the middle of town chimmed loudly as it struck ten. "I can see you're enticed by all of this. Feel free to look around and get something to eat. I'll go and look for my informant. I'll come back when I'm finished. Toodle-ooo!" And with that he promptly turned around and left her to her vices.

It didn't take Walter long to find what he was looking for though. He had done his research thoroughly of course. It was a Bright red and gold building in the middle of town. It was adorned with and abundance of flowers to the point it seemed gaudy. This place certainly stuck out which, of course, was it's purpose. When he got to golden double doors in the front they seemingly open by themselves. Inside the building was a lavish open space filled with ornate furniture and plants. Pink flower petals fell from the ceiling everywhere. As he gazed upon the scenery a bright red headed woman quickly approached him without hesitation.

She wore copious amounts of make-up accompanied by an overly ornated golden dress. "Hello sir! How may I help you today?" Her fake smile made him feel sick. Fake nice people were almost just as sickening as real nice people. And her strange accent wasn't helping either. "I'm looking for a... specific person." She winked him and smiled a little flirtatiously. "Oh I know what you mean. No need to be shy. My ladies are here to please." For a moment she lost her smile and clapped her hands aggressively. She shouted out to the women sitting around casually in the waiting lounge. They quickly rose and stood in a line in front of him. They all wore revealing clothing to show off the "merchandise".

"My ladies are the finest. Pick which one you would like to entertain you tonight." He looked them over for a moment then shook his head. The red headed woman looked confused then quickly came to a realization. "Oh I get it. This isn't your type of fun. I'm guessing you have a... different taste." Walter couldn't help but smirk at her. It was pretty interesting to watch someone so naïve. He wasn't really looking for a prostitute, but he was looking for one of them to give him information. All he knew was that the informant had slave tattoos. These women clearly didn't have any. The red headed woman quickly shooed the women away and grabbed Walter by the wrist. She rather forcefully dragged him off into another part of the building.

What she took him to was a very large and dimly lit smoking lounge with a massive stage in front. On stage were several women dancing provocatively to loud music. However, in the middle of the stage was a male elf. He had long black hair the made it's way down the entire length of his back. He had a slim physique other elves, but what caught his eye was the many tattoos etched upon his body. Many of the symbols were tribal but were also slave marks across both his arms. Though several of the marks looked like branding scars rather than tattoos. He must be a slave here. This definitely was the man he was looking for.

"I notice you seem interested in our male dancer. I don't have many males in my service but he is one of them. He's mostly a dancer but he does get quite a bit of business. If you you've got an elf fetish like others seem to have then you'll enjoy him. That is, if you don't mind the tattoos. I can also show you the other male escorts if you're not interested." Walter nodded and pulled out his coin bag. "How much for the elf?" The woman smiled at him and tapped her dainty finger to her lips. "How about three gold coins? Sounds fair enough to me." Fair enough my ass. Who pays that much for a used up whore elf? Either way he needed some one on one time with him so he had no choice but to pay up.

He unwillingly gave her the gold coins and quickly stashed the bag away before she could ask for more. He wasn't a miser, he just didn't like paying for something he wasn't going to use. "He'll be done dancing in a moment. I'll send him up to his room to prepare for you. Here's the key to his room in case you want some privacy. Be up there in ten minutes." She held the key out to him but pulled it away at the last minute before he could grab it. "Just remember to not rough up my elf. He's the only one I've got. You break it, you bought it. You got that?" He couldn't help but smirk at that one. He nodded and snatched the key away. He wouldn't have to do much to get what he wanted. Elves can be impossibly stuck up, so if all else fails torture is always an option.

After several minutes of waiting among the drunkards in the bar he decided to pay his new friend a visit. The room he arrived at had large double doors that were elaborate and ornate, yet gaudy like the rest of the building. Pink doors with gold trim is not a color scheme he much enjoyed. He was about to put the key in the shiny golden lock when a soft voice rang up inside. "It's unlocked dear. Come on inside." When he opened the doors he saw a large extravagant red silk bed inside with the elf lying on the bed waiting for him. He wore long black leggings and a crimson silk robe draped loosely around his body. "Hey there honey. The name's Tolimer. Like what you see?" Walter couldn't help but smile. This situation was a little odd even for him.

"Could I actually ask you something first? It's highly important." The elf smiled and bit his lip provocatively as he pushed his long hair away from his face. "How about you come into bed with me and you can discuss to your heart's content." Walter folded his arm and frowned. This was getting nowhere fast. After a few moments of no response, Tolimer rose out of bed and waltz over to him. He held onto Walter's shoulders and got close to his face. "Oh, is someone a little shy? I promise I won't bite. Unless that is, if you want me to." The elf stroked his finger gently across Walter's chin, trying to entice him. He tried pulling back Walter's hood but was met with a rather aggressive push. After stumbling back a few feet he glared at him.

"Look, either we start fucking soon or you get the hell out. I don't deal with this aggressive bullshit anymore." Walter shook his head and sighed. He pulled his hood back to reveal his face to Tolimer. He seemed slightly shocked at his unnaturally colored eyes but seemed to calm down fairly quickly. "So you're some kind of fire mage huh? I kind of feel you're not here for my services. What do you really want from me?" Walter smirked and stepped forward slightly. The elf took a careful step away, clearly feeling somewhat unsafe. "Look I'm not here to hurt you. If I wanted to I would have already painted this hideously decorated room red with you already." Tolimer clearly wasn't amused at his crack at a morbid joke.

"Alright. Down to business then. I came here because I wanted you to tell me everything you can about that artifact you found and where it's currently located." Tolimer looked visibly shocked. He would have collapsed to the ground if it hadn't fallen to the bed. "How the hell do you know about that?! Who sent you?!" The elf quickly pulled out a knife from in between the mattresses and pointed it towards Walter. At this Walter couldn't help but laugh. How much more feeble could this get? He touched the end of his index finder to the blade and it melt away in an instant. He was clearly shocked at such a display and dropped the remainder of the knife.

"Like I said, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want information. I'll compensate you if you're worried about that." Tolimer's shock wore down and was replaced by pained saddened as he held his head to his knees. "I hate that thing and everything it's done to me. I thought I could escape it but it's my curse to have it haunt me. If I tell you everything do you promise to destroy it? That's all I ask you to do." Walter sat down on the bed across from him silently. "I can't guarantee anything but I will tell you this. If I find it then you won't have to worry about it again. So if you'd kindly, tell me everything you know about it."

The elf sighed deeply and grabbed his hair tie off his night stand. He tied up his luxurious long black hair into a pony tail, leaving pieces of hair hanging in front of his ears. As he spoke he completely avoided eye contact with Walter. The pain was apparent in his eyes. Whatever had happened to him left a deep scar on his soul. "Where to begin. I guess it all started several years ago in the Vesuvian Forest..."

3: Chapter 3: Nameless Inversion

Chapter 3: Nameless Inversion

    The birds chirped as the sun shone brightly through the dense canopy of the lush forest. Laughter of children could be heard at the base of the gigantic trees below. In the enormous above ground roots two young elven boys played with one another. The older one would chase the little one around and he would scream in faux terror. Once caught he would do the same to the other. After some time both were tired and out of breath so they plopped down on the grass to relax. The older boy pushed his long black hair out of his face to wipe the sweat from his brow with his worn brown tunic.

    "Aren’t you glad I convinced you to come out here Tolimer?” Tolimer smiled at him and nodded his head vigorously. “I sure am! These trees are so cool! But now I’m kinda bored. What should we do now Farkas?” Farkas closed his eyes and entranced himself in thought. Though before he could even get a chance to think a familiar voice range out in the distance. Both boys recognized it as their mother’s voice. “Boys! Where are you? I told you not to go running off! Hurry up and come back for dinner!” They both looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Even though they still wanted to play they knew that they were starving. So they both got up and casually walked down the dirt trail towards home.

     Not before long Tolimer spotted something on the side of the road up ahead. He tapped his brother’s shoulder and pointed at the foreign black blob. When Farkas noticed it he walked over closer to get a better look. Tolimer grabbed onto his brother’s tunic and urged him to not go closer. “Please don’t go over there! What if it’s a monster? I don’t want you to get eaten!” Much to his little brother’s protests he continued to get closer and knocked his brother’s hands away. “Quit being a crybaby! You’re a Wolfbane so act like it!” After that he zipped his mouth shut and didn’t say a word as they got closer.

    It wasn’t until they were a few feet away did they notice what the mysterious object was. It was no object but a brunette woman lying face down on the ground. Her long hair was sprawled across the ground in every which way. She wore a tattered dark blue robe and nothing else. Her skin was fair and almost porcelain like under the sun.

    "What do we do Farkas? Maybe she's hurt." Farkas took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly. He kneeled down and cautiously reached out to touch her hand. As soon as he made contact her hand quickly reeled away. Both boys fell back onto the ground out of surprise. They were frozen in fear as they watched her slowly rise up. She sat there for a moment with her hair still draped across her face. After several moments she pushed the hair aside and revealed her face.

    Her face was radiantly beautiful which seemed to stun the boys. She gave them a genuine looking smile which seemed to calm them with its soothing nature. "Hello boys. Where do you live?" They looked at each other nervously before looking back at her. She shocked them when they began laughing and then abruptly stopping. Tolimer could tell there was something off about her. "Don't worry. I'm not a monster. I'm actually the Queen of this land. I seem to be lost. Where do you live?"

    Farkas cleared his throat and spoke in a much quieter tone than normal. "W-We live um... j-just up the road." The woman gave another one of her smiles and pushed herself off the ground. She continued to stare at them and smile as she brushed herself off, never breaking eye contact. "Well why don't you show me the way then. I would be grateful." Tolimer held his older brother's hand tight out of fear. He didn't trust her one bit. So unwillingly the brothers let the woman follow them home.

    Soon they arrived at a clearing with a small cabin in the center. Next to the cabin was an elven woman chopping wood with a worn out axe. Her dark black hair was pulled back into a braid with stray hair sticking out. Her dress was tattered and worn just like the boys were. She leaned against the axe handle as she tried to catch her breath. As she wicked the sweat from her brow she noticed her children running towards her. She smiled and held her arms open. Both of the crashed into her and held on for dear life. She let out a groan from having the wind nearly knocked out of her, but she hugged them back and giggled anyway.

"What did you boys do this time? You look like you did something bad." Before she could get an answer she noticed someone else walking towards her. It was the brunette woman who casually walked over with the same smile on her face. "Uh, who are you? And why were you with my children?" The woman giggled in reply. "It's nice to finally meet you. You must be their mother." Their mother stood there with her hand on her hip analyzing the woman from head to toe. "You still didn't answer my question. Who are you?" The woman laughed again and then stopped with a serious face. "You see these boys here helped me. I got lost in the forest for quite some time. I got famished and fell to the ground in exhaustion. And they found me and brought me here. I'm very grateful." Their mother continued to give her a suspicious look. Something wasn't adding up. "Well my name is Anuriel. You may come inside if you like. My husband is making food. There should be plenty for you to eat." The woman gave Anuriel another smile and a nod.

    Once they were inside the smell of a meaty stew washed over them. The inside of the cabin was small. There seemed to be only two bedrooms and a kitchen. By the boiling pot of stew hanging over the fire was the boy’s father. His black hair was pulled back into a long ponytail that extended down his back. His face had clear and distinct laugh lines. His tunic also looked tattered and worn like the rest of his family’s. After taking a sip of his soup from the large wooden spoon he turned to his family. “I was just about to call you guys in. Also stew tastes perfect with those spices I found! You could damn near put that into anything and make it taste like a king’s meal!” He looked like he was about to explode with excitement until he noticed the woman standing in front of him wasn’t his wife. It was enough to startle him and make him drop his spoon.

    “Oh! I don’t believe we’ve met! The name’s Enthir! What’s yours?” The woman just giggled again and completely ignore his question. “Well aren’t you a good cook. That smells delicious.” Enthir gave her a half smile not knowing what to do this situation. Clearly this woman was a bit peculiar. He looked at his wife for guidance but she just shrugged not knowing what to do either. “Well uh… why don’t we sit down then?” His family sat in their usual spots around the table. Anuriel sat on one side, the boys sat across from her, and Enthir sat at the head of the table. The mysterious woman sat at the opposite end of Enthir and stared into space. He passed out utensils for everyone and each got a large bowl of boiling hot soup.

    “Be careful now. It’s hot so blow on it before you…” Enthir trailed of as he stared at the woman watching her reflection in the soup. She’d touch her face and looked surprised at her reflection doing the same. They all stared at her stare at her soup until Anuriel broke the silence. “So! Um… I forgot to tell you that the boys rescued this woman in the forest. It seems she got lost and um… and passed out.” Enthir nodded and smiled at his boys. “Well good! You should always help someone in need! That’s the Wolfbane way. I’m proud of you.” He ruffled Tolimer’s hair which made him giggle. When he turned to his wife he noticed her staring at the woman gain. So they all turned to look at her once again.

    She looked at her finger then at the soup. So she stuck her finger in the boiling hot soup. Everyone else’s eyes grew wide and they all held their breath. Just what in the world was that woman doing? After several moments she pulled her finger out and gazed upon her now red burned finger. Immediately the burns seemed to go away and her finger returned to normal. This time Enthir was the one to break the silence. “Oookay then… well um… I forgot to tell everyone I found something very peculiar when I went out hunting for spices this morning. It looks like a strange amulet.” He reached down into his satchel that was leaning against his chair. He pulled out what looked like a triangular amulet with an ornate eye carved into the center.

    Everyone was awestruck by its strange nature. The only one who didn’t make a sound was the mysterious woman. Her eyes were transfixed on the amulet like daggers. Out of nowhere she smacked her bowl away, sending it crashing into the wall. The sudden act of violence shocked everyone else who all turned to look at her. Anuriel was the first to break the silent tension. "What is the meaning of this? I think you've over stayed your welcome. I want you to leave this house right now." She stood up and put her hand on her hip and pointed to the door. Her face was stern and unrelenting.

    The mysterious woman continued to stare at the amulet, completely ignoring Anuriel. Her fingers began to dig into the wooden table and carved deep crevices into the wood. Suddenly she grabbed her head in pain and shook it violently. "T-That is mine! I-It's t-t-the queen's! I am the Queen! No! I'm not the Queen! Why did you do this to me?! I-I want to become whole! I m-m-must become whole!" She continued to yell at herself and thrash around. Anuriel hesitantly touched her shoulder to see what was wrong.

    The woman smacked her hand away and threw back her hair wildly. Which gave everyone a good chance to get a look at what she looked like. Her face became melted looking with her eyes and nose completely gone. Her mouth was melting away leaving only a gaping hole with strings of flesh sealing the sides shut. They were all visibly horrified and began backing away. She cocked her head like a animal and crawled upon the table on all fours. Her body made sounds of breaking bones as she crawled across the table. Enthir was frozen in fear in his chair as her eyeless face stared him down. Her eyeless face trailed down to the amulet in his hands. She tore it from his hands ferociously and threw him back in the process.

    The woman didn’t hesitate to put the amulet around her neck as soon as she took it away. She acted like starved animal that couldn’t wait to engorge itself. As soon as the necklace was around her neck she began to howl and screech in an unholy way. The family huddled together in a corner with the parents covering the children. When the woman finally spoke again her voice sounded like multiple voices layered on top each other. “It’s mine! We are finally together again! Oh how I’ve missed you!” Her neck made a loud cracking sound as her featureless face turned to them once again. “You though you could take this power away from me! You can’t! You never could! It’s mine!” She pointed at Enthir accusatorily and screeched like a dying banshee. Their ears rang from the deafening high pitched sound she was making. “Now you suffer as I have suffered! Feel the emptiness of the Ghost Flame!” In a flash of white light everything Farkas and Tolimer had ever known was gone.

    Bright light stung Tolimer’s eyes as he awoke. All he saw was the bright sky and a dark figure on the horizon. When he lifted himself up halfway he could feel his entire body ache. He could barely make out his older brother next to him passed out. When his vision started to clear he saw the woman again standing in the middle of the rubble of their home. His mother and father were nowhere to be seen. Hot tears began to stream down his face and off his chin. The woman turned to look at him with her fully repaired face like it was when they met. She gave him a smile and kneeled down to his level. “I feel much better now. Thank you for inviting me to your wonderful home.” With the last of her words Tolimer fell into unconscious once again as he watched the mysterious woman walk towards the horizon.