High on the moon, the complex of the Dark Sect glowed eternally. With her focus just partly on the words, Yue's fingers slid over the aged pages of ancient literature. Her chamber served as a haven where she could flee the weight of her history and the approaching demands of her adopted father. Tonight, though, something seemed off. An uncomfortable quiet enveloped the estate, as if the earth itself was exhaling.
Then she noticed it—a small trail of blood drops on the stone floor outside her window. Her heart paused momentarily. The red road headed for the forest, and the sight set her in an unexplainable need. Yue grabbed her cloak without thinking twice and hurried out, her feet dragging quickly into the forest.
— — —
The jungle was filled with whispers. The wind whistled among the trees, and the distant hoot of an owl seemed like a warning. Her mind racing, Yue's keen eyes tracked the blood path. She discerned the patterns of movement; an injured individual was moving at a slow pace.
The path stopped suddenly in a little clearing. As Yue watched two figures—her adopted father, the healer—kneel next to a prone form, her breath stopped. Her pulse accelerated when she understood Arin, unconscious and pale, was the wounded person. The physician applied salves and bandages with trained accuracy, but Yue could see the anxiety on his face.
"Father!?" She rushed forward and answered a call. "What transpired?"
The healer looked up, his face a mixture of relief and weariness. You ought not to be here. It is hazardous.
She repeated, crouching next to him, "Dangerous." Her eyes ran over Arin's wounds, deep gashes and bruises suggesting a violent fight. "Who conducted this?"
The healer hesitated, his eyes darting towards the trees as though he expected an invisible menace to surface. "Discussing now is not safe. Come back to the house with me.
Yue nodded, her hands shaking just enough to assist Arin in lifting. Though she ignored them, her head spun with questions. Whatever had happened, it wasn't over.
— —
Deeper in the forest, Kael struggled across the underbrush while his body screamed in protest. The meeting with the Shadows had left him bruised and nearly devoid of strength. More than the scars, the black figure in the clearing weighed on him.
The memory flashed back in his mind: the searing eyes of the person, the cloak that appeared to swallow the light, the stifling force holding him in place. At the arrival of the stranger, the shadows had scattered, their allegiance lost to terror. Still, Kael had stayed riveted by the weight of the figure's stare.
"Kael," the man had said, his voice like the rumbling of far-off thunder. One cannot run from their fate.
Kael had escaped the grasp of the figure by means of his survival instincts. Still, the words stayed with him as he staggered over the woodland. That person was who? And how could they have known his name?
The trees seemed to close in about Kael as he pushed ahead, their limbs snatching at his garments and skin. His mind wandered to Arin and the healer. Had they run away? He could only hope his work hadn't been useless.
He abruptly came to a halt. He heard a sound, faint but clear—footsteps. He stiffened, his hand swinging to the hilt of his blade. The faint hum that accompanied the louder footfall pricked the hairs on his neck.
From the shadows, the lackey man reappeared, his smothering presence exactly as before. Although Kael knew it would be useless, his hold on his blade tightened.
"Why do you resist?" "Why do you resist?" the man asked, his voice void of emotion. "Kael, you were built for this road. Welcome it.
Kels' jaw tightened. "I decide my own road forward."
The figure turned its head, as if delighted. "Do you really think that?" The strings of fate bind you closer than you could ever know.
As the man neared, Kael's heart hammered. Ready to battle, he lifted his blade, but the figure just extended a hand. A tsunami of energy shot forward, knocking Kael to the ground. His body hurt as darkness crept towards the edges of his sight.
The last words of the figure repeated in his thoughts as consciousness faded:
"You cannot flee what you are."
— — —
Yue walked nervously back to the healer's house while her father laboured to steady Arin. The hush was stifling; Arin's occasional grunt broke the silence only with the healer's whispered directions.
Finally, with a shaky voice, "Father," Yue said. "Tell me what happened, please."
The healer stopped, hands still for a time. He gazed at Yue, his face weighted with unsaid facts.
The healer stopped, his hands quiet for a while as he chose his words deliberately. His voice low and steady, he said, "Yue, this is more than just a skirmish or a simple injury." Arin and Kael stumbled into a web of danger spun by powers far beyond our reach. What they encountered—what followed them—is not of this world.
Though her heart constricted, she did not flinch. "What does that mean?" These are forces? Who are they?
The healer looked at her with confidence mixed with concern. "I'm not sure." I can't pinpoint the exact moment. Whatever it is, though, it has already started to leak into our life and fate. Tonight is simply the first shadow.
The jaw was set by Yue; her fists tightened. "We then have to fight." If we fail, this darkness will swallow all we value.
With a gentle hand on her shoulder, the healer softened even as his determination became stronger. "There will come a moment to battle, Yue. Now, though, is the time to get ready and learn. The strength we will need is not born in a hurry. On this, I can promise you.
Though questions still whirled in her head, her rage gave way to resolve. She agreed, quietly pledging to do all it would take to find the truth.
The fists of Yue tightened. "Then we have to fight. Whatever the situation, we cannot simply stand by and wait for it to destroy us.
The physician gently but firmly laid his hand on her shoulder. "Patience, Yue," Yue said. One has time for preparation as well as for action. We must prepare ourselves for the impending arrival.
Yue nodded grudgingly, her will stiffening. She would squarely face whatever evil lay ahead. She had no idea, yet the gloom was already nearer than she could have imagined.