Thousands of years ago, when the sun and the moon were not yet born, when the stars were cold and distant, demons and other spirits roamed in the uncouth darkness of the earth, leaderless and benighted. For years they have wandered and fought each other, filled with hatred and corruption, wretched by the dullness of their lives. They craved a breeze of change, a murmur of a better life. They prayed the dark motionless skies, the far cold light of stars, they prayed to the mountains and the freezing winds. They prayed to a deity they have betrayed, they begged for redemption and mercy, and when their prayers weren't answered, they wept and regretted, they chanted and death seemed warmer. Little they knew, their misery was near its end. The sun was born, and with it came the moon. Rain filled the dry earth and oceans were alive. The trees reached the skies and earth breathed again.
The curse upon them ended with the rising of the sun, the first lights were greeted with euphoric celebrations, it was indeed salvation. A new beginning, a rebirth, a delight.
But they were all deceived, for none of that change was made for them nor meant for them. They couldn't feel the warmth of the sun, the moon was nothing more to them than the cold stars that shone above them. Fruits tasted like ash and air was heavy, oh so heavy. It took them time to realise that although change came, it didn't affect their world. A whole new one was made and with it came the first children of earth, the Valkai. They emerged from sand and mud, ate what trees gave birth to, hunted what walked on four legs and swam under water. They were clueless of what surrounded them, for they never knew of the Doomed world. The Veer were the most wicked of the shadow creatures, their hearts darkened with greed and envy, they grew to hate the newcomers, they only saw them as privileged and wanted to make them live through the same curse the deity have cast upon them.
Veer were the overlords of the spirit world, smarter and stronger than demons. With magic and soul-craft, the veer wanted to corrupt the Valkai. Meanwhile, the Valkai spread across the earth and established great cities and lived in harmony. Their primitive ways were improved, they've learned many things from the earth itself and from other creatures. They grew into a big and more sophisticated civilization. They built great castles and forts, their population increased in number and their lives were peaceful and prosperous. They split the land equally into three kingdoms, the people followed and swore their allegiance to each king they deemed worthy. King Reynar the Magnificent was the wisest and the fairest, he ruled over the eastern continent. King Edward the Titan, who was later named The Cruel, was strong and fierce and he ruled over the western continent. King Xenos the Kind, was gentle and caring and he ruled the northern continent. The three kingdoms were in good terms and to be true, the world has never again seen such transcendent peace as the one that reigned at that time.
In his deathbed, Xenos named his son Burdock king after him. He was too young to rule, and too weak to prevail, or so said the whispers in the wind. Seeds of doubt were planted in the hearts of the Valkai. The veers were at work. Ever since the Valkai came to life, all the demons ever wanted was to corrupt their innocent hearts, and soil their peace. They have waited for a wound to infest, and the death of Xenos was their chance. Greed and envy dry the heart and blind the eye. A veer named Marid, one of the few veers that mastered shape-shifting better than any other veer, took the opportunity and approached King Edward. When he gained the king's trust enough to become his loyal chief advisor, his enchanting and poisonous words planted rapacity into Edward's heart, a feeling the king nor his kin never experienced before.
King Edward raised an army against Burdock, who was unaware of the raging war that was walking to his gates. Led by the king's most trusted lieutenant Syphax the first, they overthrew the new king Burdock and took his kingdom. When the news reached Reynar, he knew his kingdom was next on Edward's greedy mind. He needed to strengthen his defences but also his forces, if he was going to face a war, he wanted to face it armed and ready for it.
Here comes where I stepped in. I am a veer, just like Marid. Although I was nothing but an observer ever since the valkai came, they were of little interest to me, but king Reynar and his people roused my curiosity. He ordered his smiths to make the finest armours, shields, swords, axes, spears and arrow heads. He put his men into intensive training, day and night, barely giving them any moment of rest. Yet, he would go out late at night, with only three of his guards to a close oasis they call Tala. Reynar always sat near the spring and wept. Begging the deity, begging the waters and the sand, asking for help while his guards stood still and silent. The chance or fate made sure that I was present one night, and heard him cry and I just decided to make a move.
Veers were nothing like the valkai. We were mightier and taller. Our skin had silvery scales like those of fish with bright red veins all over our body, and our spines had short black spikes like those of dragons that ran from our nape to between the hips. We had two short horns, but since they were short, most of us -especially after the coming of the valkai- choose to hide them with hair in the style of the children of the earth. The longer the horns were, the stronger the veer was. A veer only gets stronger by magic battles, which we choose to forget about. Our eyes were just like theirs only stronger, we did not blink and we sleep eyes open. We had a forked tongue, which we used to sense fear and danger. You probably thought we had long fangs like snakes, you are partially right, what we exactly had are adjustable teeth, in other words, we could make not only our fangs but our entire teeth as long as we wanted them to be. Showing in front of the king the way I looked, might have frightened him to death or worse, madness. I wasn't as skilled as Marid in shape-shifting but I was good nonetheless. The trick with shape-shifting is that, we cannot shift into something from our own imagination, we can only replicate what we saw, and only, from our immediate memory. Which meant I had to either shift into the king himself who was two feet away from me, or one of his guards, who had their backs turned. Only the most brilliant of shape-shifters can outmaster this trick and I wasn't one. I did as I could, and changed myself into one of his guards and approached him.
"Heavens above! Lord of all! O master! Hear my prayers, don't let us all die in vain! Help us! King of all kings, I beg you! Take Edward back to the light. Thrust him off the shadow of greed." He begged and begged and cried. The king was wearing a long blue dress of three layers with heavily embroidered large long sleeves, his golden cloak matched the blue jewel on the pin holding it on his right shoulder. He wore a golden belt where his golden empty scabbard hanged along with golden chains. His long dark silky hair was worn in a tail with a golden engraved cuff. His skin was tanned and his eyes were green. He also wore a lot of jewellery, all of gold, golden rings, golden necklaces, golden bracelets and a single golden earing on his left ear.
"He heard you." I said kneeling next to him. "That is why he sent me to you."
He tilted his head in confusion, which was natural.
"God must have sent me to you. I am the answer to your prayers." I insisted.
The king smiled and put his hand on my knee. "You're brave Elf, I am sorry. Your king should be your strength and here I am crying in front of you. You must think that I am weak. Thank you for being strong when I can't. This kingdom needs men like you to defend it."
"I am not Elf." I chuckled. "I am not your guard. I know this might sound unbelievable but, turn around and count your guards."
He did as I told him and believe me, it took him a while to count three people, but you have to forgive him, he was troubled. When he realized there was one too many guards he looked at me in terror and asked "Who are you?" his hand reaching for his golden dagger.
"I thought you would never ask. I am Mahavhar, a veer." I gushed proudly, my tongue came out of my mouth in excitement.
The king crawled backwards a little. "You're not valkai!" He managed to mutter under all the shock.
"I am not" I confirmed as I gave him my hand to lift him up. He hesitated but he end up accepting the help. His hands were moist.
"What are you?" He asked flabbergasted.
"I just told you. I am a veer. A creature just like you, we lived here thousands of years ago, way before you came." I answered calmly.
"You lived in the oasis all this time?" He enquired, his eyes were bigger than an owl's. His voice was quivering.
"No! Not here here! I meant the whole earth!" I sent my palm crushing on my face. "We lived on this earth before you." I asserted, again.
He stared at me with the same confused face but this time with a bit of grasp in it. He turned around and looked at his guards. Reynar then, reached for my arm and walked away from the guards, dragging me with him further left, behind three palm trees. His face was so close to mine, I felt his breath.
"Are you an angel?" The king asked me.
My patience was wearing thin. "Listen!" My hands clutching his shoulders. "I am a veer. Not a valkai, not an angel, not God, a Veer! A spirit invisible to your mortal eyes, I turned myself into one of your guards so you can see me without losing your mind! This is what I actually look like!" I switched to my real body and there it was, the terrified gaze I wanted to avoid. Strangely, he did not ran away as expected, he might have been shocked, but he was more curious than scared.
"I see..." He finally declared. "Why did you make yourself visible to me?" He inquired.
"I can help you win the war." I proclaimed.
"How? And, why?" Reynar asked.
Before I could answer one of the guards noticed the absence of their king and shouted his name.
"YOUR HIGHNESS! KING REYNAR!" Cried one of the guards.
"Go now, I will follow you to your castle and then we can talk in private." I disappeared and he jumped away in surprise.
"Oh here you are your majesty, you gave us a fright." Elf rushed to see his mute king. "Is everything alright your grace? You look pale! Are you ill?"
"No..." He mumbled, still confused. "No no I am fine! Let's go back to the castle. I have things to do!" He then commanded snapping out of his reveries.
They mounted their Mar, an old species of very large goats. Their wide and majestic wood brown horns had tough curves, their coat was long and light and as white as snow in this dry desert. The mar can withstand the harsh and hot weather, they can also carry twice their weight, and they were very large animals. I followed them to the fortress, the clay walls were very high, with multiple watchtowers, the huge wooden gates opened on the city market. The lanterns shone like the stars above them, loud laughter and quarrels filled the air along with all sorts of perfumes, spices and cooking smells. When the two guardians opened the gates to their king, a herald shouted to make way to Reynar. Old and young moved away immediately from the road, praising the greatness and kindness of their lord. Never have I ever seen in the world of veers such loyalty and love to a ruler, I walked among them invisibly, and was amazed. Something inside me wanted to preserve that, a small part of me wanted to protect what I have witnessed, it would be a shame if war destroyed these people and their lives. I followed the king and his guards, taking the royal passage, diverging from the town and its tumult. The path went all along the left wall of the fortress and rising up and around the town, the houses and buildings seemed small from there and they looked even smaller as we got closer to the gates of the castle. Two watchmen saw us (or them at least) coming and opened the gates. The king's guard dismounted from their mar, Elf took the rein of the Reynar's mar, leading it to a mounting block where the king's servants awaited him. The castle's garden was green and refreshing, he was fond of plants and roses. They helped him dismount, I believe it was nothing but royal formalities, since Reynar seemed like a strong fellow and can dismount his mar without any help or box, except for that night, he was still agitated from our little meeting and a little help was acceptable. He then dismissed everyone and rushed to his chambers, where I followed him.
"Your people love you." I said under another appearance. "That is a good thing."
"Dear god you are real. I thought I lost my mind." He was pouring wine in his glass, his hands were shaking. "Do you drink?" He asked.
"I do, but Valkai beverage will not suit me. I am here to discuss war with you. I want to help you." I sat on a round patchworked pouf beside the bed. Our shadows danced in the room with flickering sallow candle lights.
"Again I will ask how and why?" The king sat on his desk, his glass of wine in his hand.
"Magic. I will teach your soldiers magic. As for why, I am not doing this for free as you might have guessed. I want something in return. I want to be king, when we defeat Edward, and we will, I want his throne." I remember declaring, and how I wish I never did.
"Magic? I have heard of odd people using it and never believed a word I heard. So it was true, they learned it from spirits. It was your kin. I also heard that many of those people died or are now demented." He said, hesitating to sip on his beverage.
"That is also true. Perhaps their teachers weren't as good as I am. However, I still can't guarantee you safety. Come to think of it, you can't guarantee your own safety. Would you rather learn magic and sacrifice the life of few soldiers but save your country or don't and die anyway, you and all your people?" I proposed firmly. The king's eyes were filled with grief, he knew he had no choice.
"So... Tell me... Tell me about your magic..." He finally agreed, he finished his drink and poured another.
"Well you see, for that you need to strip your mind of doubt and unbound your spirit of rationality. You need to let go of your defences and drink fear like you do with wine, for I will reveal to you the story of my kin and the way of our lives. Who we are and why are we the way we are."
Reynar nodded, sat on his chair next to a round table where a big plate of fresh fruits awaited his drink, and I carried on.
"In the shadows your eyes refuse to see, there lives the Doomed. My kin and the others, demons and spirits you don't want to know about. We lived and wandered this earth thousands of years before your coming. Unlike you, we lived in darkness and we didn't mind it because we didn't know about the sun. Our bodies were shaped in order to survive in the world as it was created by the deity we worshipped, the same one we betrayed. And to be frank, I do not think you were supposed to be, I believe you were the fruit of our misdeeds and the deity's punishment. And for that, the Doomed hate you. Our minds and hearts always wanted more than what we already had, nothing seemed to soothe our hunger and curiosity, the deity was generous, we, on the other hand, were never grateful. We killed each other for power, we sinned and hurt the world. But nothing seemed wrong to us, or at least that's what we told to each other and to ourselves. We forgot what joy and peace were, we craved tragedy and war was all we mastered. A single Doomed soul was a walking chaos. But soon we began to grow tired. The blessing of immortality was our curse, each day seemed longer than the one before it, and everything we once enjoyed had become vapid. It was only then when we turned ourselves to the deity, we remembered where we first came from, who made us and what were the rules set by the lord ruler we had to follow for a better and decent life. Guilt grew inside us and burned every piece of our souls. We prayed, day and night for redemption, we prayed for an end, immortality and freedom combined should have never been handed to us. I like to believe it was the deity testing us, and we failed."
The king sat silent, strangely grieving for us. Valkai were odd folk.
"Now, concerning magic, or as we like to call it, falak, is something we were all born with. It is as innate and instinctive as breathing or hearing. Although it is the only sense we can push forward and develop to make stronger, only few of us truly understands it. Almost all of the rumours you might have heard of, concerning falak are false. We do not bring back the dead, not really, when they're back they're nothing but moving corpses, we cannot resuscitate a soul the deity took away. We can move objects, like this" I looked at his half empty wine glass, and by a simple thought, I moved it from the table to my hand. Reynar's eyes widened, he looked at me, waiting for explanations. I took a sip, it tasted like rotten sour fruits. I then moved the glass from my hand back to the table. "We can heal some wounds, just as we can also inflict some. We can sway and manipulate thoughts and feelings, just as we can prevent it."
The king looked at me in distrust.
"I did not use magic on you, king, I didn't have to. You are desperate and I am your last and only hope. I know you need me, and so do you. Now, I am all ears if you want to know anything, we have all night"
"How are we going to defeat Edward?" He asked.
"I will need your strongest warriors of body and soul. Unbreakable valkai who can embrace the uncontainable power of magic without going mad or dying. It will be hard. And we can't promise them safety. They need to know that their lives will be at stake, they also need to know that it already is, with or without my teaching. War is at your gates."
The king nodded, and he seemed more confident and fearless for a moment. Valkai are indeed an odd folk. Even with demise knocking on the door, Reynar - although afraid - was ready to fight.
"I will give word first thing in the morning, to gather my strongest brigade. They are our mightiest fighters. Their leader is none but my own son, Grigori. Skilled with the sword and the axe. No living Valkai can be of match to him. He is also very young. You must meet him." He stood up, opened the door and called a guard inside. "Prepare the aquatic halls for my friend here, he will be staying in the castle for a while. Make sure he has guards and servants..." He stopped for a moment and came closer, leaned to my ears and with a very hesitating voice he asked me. "Do you... fornicate with... Valkai?"
"Don't worry your highness, I will be leaving for now. Expect my return in two days. I have some things to look after before we start."
"Leaving? At this late hour?" He asked.
I smiled and didn't need to say a word back for him to understand that whether it is night or day, it is all the same for us.
I left the stronghold on my way to my own home. It wasn't very far from where the great walls of the Valkai kingdom. In fact, you can say we were neighbours.
She is here. I thought to myself when I walked inside my small house. I can smell her skin from miles.
"I see that you are still persistent with you silly game." She sighed.
"Orora. Good seeing you." Orora was my lover. She was the only living soul I didn't despise. The only living soul who dared speak her mind to me without any fear. I was once one of the strongest Veers and I was seen as evil by my own folk. Ironic.
"It is a bad idea. The Deity will never allow this. It is wicked." She insisted. "It is not for nothing they cannot see us. They may look weak and stupid but they aren't. I can feel it."
I looked at her, smiling but angry. She knew.
"I love you Mahavhar. I do not want you to suffer."
"Are you sure it is me you're worried about?" I asked. "Sweet Orora, this is necessary. The Deity knows about this. The Deity knows. Always. He will do nothing to stop me for He knows it is a necessity. In fact, it is the Deity's will. He wants me to be the reason behind this folly."
"The Deity? He asked you to do this?" Orora loved me but she also doubted me.
"The Deity never asks. The Deity commands." I answered.
"Why? This is madness. Why would the Deity order chaos?"
"Indeed why... I am not fit to answer for I don't have any answers. I couldn't ask him why."
"Are you saying you spoke to the Deity? You spoke to God Almighty?" She was nervous and skeptical.
"I am God Almighty" I remember answering. I also remember the look on her face. Blasphemy, she must have thought, and madness.
She held my hands. "Listen, I am the last person to care for you and love you. They all think you are mad and evil. I do not, and I beg you, madness I can stand but not lies."
"You are free to walk away whenever you want Orora. You are not chained nor threatened. I will never do you harm. I need to rest now, I have work to do on the morrow. Goodbye sweet Orora."
She left and never again came back.
The first few Valkai that I taught were a failure, ten died and twenty went mad, the rest started to fall back in fear. When I started to doubt myself and their resistance, I noticed that only nine of the first hundred I taught were as strong as the first day, maybe even stronger. They learned every spell without any intricacies. I had to know what made them special, I did my research, as fast as I could. We were running out of time. Turned out that there are vaalkai who are born with two hearts instead of one, they live far longer than their kin. The Valkai called them Sahr. They thought they were gifted by the Deity and blessed with a long life. Little they knew, the Sahr were the one who will later be known as wizards, and the rest of the Valkai will form what will later be men. I urged the king to call upon all the Sahr in his kingdom. Their training was intensif. After teaching a hundred, those of them who excelled in spellworking helped training the novices. They crafted numerous magical stones and trained with them, and to my surprise, they even learned and created spells I ignored myself. Reynar's confidence grew stronger everyday, and while they were preparing to win their war, I had to insure my position as a new king.
"I have your word your highness, I will be king after you defeat Edward as promised, right?" I remember asking him the day before the great battle.
"On my honor as a king, the northern continent will be yours once we win this war." He promised me. "May I ask why? Why do you want to be king over Vaalkai?" He asked.
"I don't want to live a pointless life any longer. Veer lives are miserable and hopeless." I stopped and he was eyeing me, frowning, not believing a word I just spoke. "In other words, I am simply bored." I added smiling. I could not tell him the truth.
On the other side of the great seas, Edward the Titan was also preparing for the anticipated war. Although Marid was his advisor, he knew nothing about magic, besides what everyone already knew about it. He had no proof of its existence and Marid never spoke a word of it to Edward.
Marid was a distant cousin, we all were cousins in a way. His Valkai form was tall and of slender build. Not too young and not too old for the king's court. His face was clean shaven and his features as sharp as any Veer blade.
"What of those rumors Luthar?" Edward was sitting on his chair, biting on his meat and drinking wine. Luthar was standing three feet away next to Syphax and Marid. "Is it true? Reynar is preparing to fight us?" He asked while chewing, not lifting his head up.
"Resist us would be more appropriate. He cannot fight your highness." Answered Luthar.
"Oh but he will." Objected Marid.
"He doesn't have the forces to. He wouldn't dare." Implored Luthar, frowning at Marid.
"I thought you were the greatest of informers." Said Syphax. "My lord, Reynar will not only resist us but fight back." He added stepping towards the king.
Edward sucked clean his fingers and laid back on his chair and stretched his arms. "I do not care." He reached for his ale. "Reynar is not a warrior, no more than Xenos. We will meet him in the battlefield if that's what he wants. We shall see how would the wise king face the cruel one." The king waved for the servant standing behind him to clear the table. "Luthar, learn more concerning these troublesome rumors. Syphax, you do not need me chaperoning your work. I want an army worthy of our kingdom. You can dismiss. Except for you Marid, I need a word with you in private." The two Valkai bowed obediently and left.
"Sit my friend." The king pointed to the empty chair in front of him. Marid did as Edward bid him to do, pulled the chair back and seated himself. He had a delicate and royal posture, you would have thought he was born knowing he would be a king advisor one day.
"Tell me, is it true that Reynar is making use of magic?" Inquired Edward.
"Such a fell and vile thing does not exist my friend."
"Spare me the rationality. I have ears and eyes over the four continents. I know it exists and I know Reynar will be using it against us." Insisted king Edward.
Marid kept his knowledge and sat silent eying the king.
"Alright. If you don't wish to speak of it maybe this will help you change your mind. Guards! Bring the beast."