Arrival

Chapter 26: Kysael- Shock And Awe

November, 1102 A.D.

I was curious. Mafrien had shoved me into a cell in the dungeon, surprisingly. He seemed.... frustrated.

It was odd behavior for him, and I could feel that his spirit was at war inside his soul. Something was happening. He had obviously been struggling with something for quite a while.

And I was awed when I saw tears of blood run down his handsome face as he locked me in the cell, and rushed to escape from the room as quickly as possible. He acted as if I were some disease, or some distasteful thing that he simply couldn't wait to get away from.

Once the door was shut, I sat down, sighing. I wondered how long I would be in here. When would he release me? When would he return to use me?

I was startled at a rustling sound in the cell across from mine, and peered into it to see someone sitting there, his body in tattered shreds of clothing that looked ancient.

His hair was silver, and I could see wing stubs rustling on his back.

I was startled again. "You...."

"You are new," he said softly.

"You are.... you're a Skyelf!" I said.

He laughed. "Yes. I am Manwen."

"You....you're the Skyelf king?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I was. I have not been the king in centuries."

"I'm sorry, I just...I never expected to meet you."

"I was beginning to wonder if I would ever have a chance to meet you," he said softly, though I didn't understand what he meant. "I have been waiting a very long time for you."

"I don't understand..."

"Of course not. Not yet. But you will in the near future. It is not my place to tell you what lies ahead for you at this moment in time..... just know that it will change the future forever."

I shook my head. "I still can't believe that I am actually talking to the former King of the Skyelves!" I said, my heart thumping wildly.

He smiled. "You seem to be a nice girl." His eyes got serious. "You are important to the future, young one."

I scoffed. "I'm not so sure."

He nodded. "You have lived a hard life. I can see it in your eyes, your body. For that, I am sure you have become very strong."

I met his gaze. I didn't understand what he was talking about. He wasn't making any sense.

"You will be respected and admired for the first time in your life," he said softly.

And I had a vision of a great battle through my eyes, facing a Darkelf that I didn't recognize.

And I screamed as I threw my head back, grabbing the sides of my face.

*

June, 1103 A.D.

"Kysael!" I heard a voice over me, shaking me to wake up.

I opened my eyes finally, my thrashing coming to a stop, as I saw Dragon over me, concern etched onto his face.

I shook my head as he helped me sit up. "What....what happened?" I asked softly.

"You had a vision," Dragon said. "A true vision, and not just a dream."

I nodded. "Yes, I did. It was.... I don't even understand it."

"What did you see?"

I shook my head, clearing it, pushing back the bile threatening to come up my throat. "I....I was watching a battle through my eyes, fighting someone I didn't know with a Skyelf....my entire body burns, my eyes burn the worst." I sighed. "I....I saw myself talking to Manwen, the Skyelf king, trying to keep him from dying, and I....I....Mafrien...." I couldn't even speak clearly. My body burned.

Dragon placed his healing, lavender hands over my temples, shushing me, trying to soothe me.

The burning pain began to ease off a bit, and I could see the vision a bit more clearly. "Its coming. Something that I have to fight. I have to fight some Darkelf man that I don't know. But that doesn't make sense. Why would I have to do that?"

"Is there anything else, Kysael? Anything that you can tell me?"

I shook my head. "No....the vision isn't clear. I just.... I know that something is going to happen, something that will shape the future. But it doesn't make any sense.. I'm burning."

He nodded. "I understand." He held out his arm for me. "Are you thirsty?"

I nodded, and gently bit into the flesh. He watched me with thoughtful, fearful eyes. I had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time that I had this type of situation occur.

My mind felt foggy. I just couldn't make sense of what I had seen. It was the same imposing Darkelf man that Mafrien had been hiding from in the palace. But who...?

Was it the King? I knew that Mafrien was the Prince. If he was the prince, then there had to be a king, or else Mafrien would be the king himself, right?

It made sense to me that Mafrien would be afraid of his father, but why hide from him?

And why on earth would I need to fight the Darkelf king?

None of this made any sense at all.

Several days passed seemingly normal, uneventful in fact. About two weeks later, we were outside of the city, getting some fresh air. All seemed well.

"So," he said softly. "What do you-"

Before he could finish, he startled and went into a defensive stance, his eyes and his body glowing with a bright lavender energy with wisps of swirling green.

I had never seen him in such a state before, and my eyes whirled around to see what was happening when Coal, still in his humanoid form, pulled his webbed wyvern wings into his body and landed in the forest clearing with us, a grave expression on his face.

He eyed Dragon with a mixed expression, both intrigue and anger in his face and a strange emotion swirling in his eyes.

I could still sense the energy overflowing from Dragon.

I was startled with the realization.

Dragon was named "Dragon" for a reason!

Drakul was the great Dragon Hunter, afterall. He was widely known for the skill, and it must be an actual energy set in his body!

Dragon had told me that it was in his very blood to hunt dragons, and as it were, dragons were part of the Drake family, as were Wyverns.

And Coal could sense the energy, so his own aura was reacting to it!

I startled as I remembered my escape from the cage in the edge of Barrenwilds not all that long ago, and I remembered seeing a drake coming toward me, the drop and force applied to the cage that I had been in....and suddenly, it made sense to me now, why I'd seen the glowing light below and how Dragon had gotten to me in the first place.

He had summoned Coal with his powers, and Coal had helped him rescue me.

But Coal did not like to be controlled, and he knew that Dragon could do it.

I had to stop them before a battle ensued.

"Wait, wait!" I shouted at him as Dragon poised himself to defend me, trying to push his way to shield me. "Dragon, it's alright. Coal is my friend; he would never harm me. Coal, please stand down!" When both of them looked at me with wary expressions but stood down their postures nonetheless and Coal took his hand away from his sword. I turned my attention to Coal. "Coal, what are you doing here? What is going on?" I asked.

Coal came to stand before me, his head bowing to me. "My lady," he shocked me with the honorific. "Something is happening to the Prince."

"Mafrien? Something is... happening to him? What do you mean?"

"Something is happening to the Prince. He is.... not himself. His skin has been burning. He is tortured with visions. He is having tingling sensations all over his body, and claims that he feels as if he has been lit aflame."

I startled.

He had been burning?

He had seemed different the last that I had seen him, as I recalled.

But one thing stuck out to me. "Visions?"

"Yes, my lady. He told me that he thinks that you had something to do with it, and that he felt your presence with him in each of the visions. He feels that you are involved. I came to see that you were alright."

"I had a vision just nights ago," I said to him softly. "I woke up screaming...."

"Then it is not he alone who senses it, then," he said. "What did you see?"

"What has Mafrien seen?" I countered.

"He has been seeing a great battle, through his eyes.... with his father, and with you."

I dropped my arms from being crossed over my chest. "Then....then the Skyelf in my vision, that was fighting with me against the Darkelf that I didn't recognize-"

"It must have been Mafrien," Dragon said. "If you two are having the same vision, it can't be a coincidence. But how is that possible? Darkelves can't go back to being Skyelves, can they?"

Coal's growl rumbled in his chest. "Mafrien was born as a Darkelf. He was not transformed into one. It could be possible that the physical reaction his body is going through is his body preparing to go through the transformation into a Skyelf."

I shivered. "Then...what does that mean, that Mafrien is just...no longer evil?"

He met my eyes evenly. "Before he saw you, my lady, Mafrien was vicious. He slayed men, women, children, it didn't matter. He destroyed for his pleasure. Yet, since he has met you, destruction no longer pleases him. You have changed the prince, drastically so. So drastically that his body is being pushed into a transformation that will change the future for this world."

Dragon glanced at me, shifting uncomfortably.

He had always said that I had a very important place in the world, that I was a very important part of the future.

It seemed that now, his predictions were coming true. It must be important if I were supposed to fight the Darkelf King.

My body was shaking. "I....I thought-"

"I know that what he has put you through is vile, and has hurt you greatly. But please know, Kysael, that he is not himself lately. I have known the prince for many, many years, and I can assure you, that something is happening to him."

I nodded. "I see."

"What does this mean?" Dragon asked softly.

"It means that Kysael and Mafrien will face off against Kellerok," Coal said softly.

The revelation made me feel queasy, sick to my stomach.

The earth spun around me, and I couldn't hang on anymore.

It was unbearable, and my entire mind seemed to implode upon itself.

My body fell, unconscious.

As darkness took me, so did dreams.

I was plagued with visions of the battle, of things that would take place.

I saw several faces. Kelose among them.

How would he come into play?

How could he hope to stand a chance against the Darkelf king?

But then, I hadn't seen him fight in a very long time, and therefore I wasn't entirely sure how powerful that Kelose had become.

I knew that he had to be strong, to be one of the elven race's most powerful assassins.

He was deadly and efficient in his trade, for certain.

And what of Dragon?

He was a healer, though he did have the knowledge and skill to fight...but I had saved him from a lower class Darkelf on the battlefield on our wedding day.

So how could he even be brave enough to be there?

Manwen...He was locked away in a dungeon, for goodness sake. He had been for centuries. How could he help?

If Mafrien was so afraid of Kellerok, there had to be good reason...right?

I was so afraid.

How could I do this?

How could fate expect this of me?

*

When I awoke again, I was on Coal's back....

He had transformed back into his wyvern form so that I could ride him. It came to my attention that we were moving, and we were hundreds of feet in the air.

I startled, sitting upright on his back.

He glanced back at me, his eyes apologetic, as they should be.

I could see that we were already almost to Barrenwilds, and I felt sick.

So, I was coming here once more, then. Every time that I came here, I left with awful injuries, horrible memories and mixed feelings.

I feared that this would have the same outcome.

"You are awake," he said. "I told him that I was going to take you to the dungeon, and he said that he was going to get help and meet us there. Then we will see Manwen, and then Mafrien. We need to find out what is happening quickly."

I nodded. "I understand," I said. My body burned.

"Are you alright?"

"To be honest with you, I don't think so."

He chuckled. "I am sure that you will be."

I sighed. "I'm glad that one of us is...."

"You have a touch of fate, about you girl. You will not die. I know that you will be fine."

I shivered. "I don't know how you can be so certain."

"You have been through much. You have even died and returned from the dead, Kysael. You are powerful. You will not meet your end during this battle. You will rise to meet your destiny, and you will restore peace to the world. I believe that Kellerok will be easier to defeat than you may think him to be. He is a decrepit old fool. He is not in his prime, any longer."

I patted the scales of his neck. "Thank you, Coal."

He simply rumbled out a chuckle.

"You know, I had nearly forgotten that the same healer that saved you from death was also the same Dragon Hunter who summoned me to come and help to free you."

I smiled.

"Oh, yes. He has quite formidable energy," he said. "He is so young, but to already be more powerful than his father, that is quite a feat. He is the son of Drakul the Dragon Conqueror. I've seen his father in action, and he was a powerful foe, but this boy is even more skilled and proficient with the Dragon Soul than his father."

"Dragon Soul?" I asked, confused.

He nodded. "The Dragon Hunters have traces of Dragon Soul in their bloodline, because the original member of that clan mated with a Dragon in their humanoid form. It has been passed down ever since. Strange, the power usually only grows when it is used regularly, yet I have never heard of Dragon out on the field hunting. Perhaps he's just that naturally gifted. It seems to be even stronger inside of Dragon than his predecessors. He could be a fine hunter."

"Yes," I said.

"I will repeat my sentiment from before; I can certainly see the appeal," he rumbled out the laugh. "We're here," he said softly.

I looked up, and I could see the desolate desert city out ahead. Fear speared through every corner of my mind, every inch of my soul.

I felt as if I were on fire, while my blood was frozen like ice.

I felt cold heat throughout my core.

This was it. This was going to be the fate of the world then, was it?

And what should happen if I failed?

What would happen if Mafrien and I died? Would Kellerok simply take over the rest of the world as soon as the last real threats were out of the way?

He had been destroying nations one by one, sending his assassins out to hunt people down for centuries.

Torturing, causing destruction, causing pain for many generations.

It was time for it to come to an end. He had sent Mafrien to destroy Havengrove over a rumor, something that wasn't even proven to be fact.

He was a loose cannon, and he couldn't be allowed to continue.

I had to put an end to this tyranny.

I had to put an end to the evil. The madness.

I had to stop this.

I had to succeed.

I could not fail, no matter what the cost. There was a reason that I was the one who was being given these visions, and if this was something that I had to do, then I would see it through.

"It seems that you have prepared yourself," Coal said at the change of my posture in the saddle.

I nodded. "Yes. I must not fail."

"I will see you through this."

I smiled. "We will succeed."

As we landed outside of the dungeon in the desert, we waited for Dragon and help to arrive. It took less time than I would have expected.

But then, they arrived on something that I had not expected, either.

They were riding on the backs of wyverns, and I was surprised to see them arrive in such a way.

"I summoned some of my kin. We didn't have time to lose on waiting for them for days simply because they didn't have faster transportation," Coal explained.

I simply stared in awe. Kelose had joined them, and several of Moserre's soldiers as well.

*

"I see. It is time, then," Manwen said to us.

Moserre, Kelose, Dragon and I stood before Manwen in his cell. Dragon had arrived with Kelose as backup, and then Coal had brought us to the dungeon first, which was on the far outskirts of Barrenwilds, so no one knew that we were here.

"Time for what, my lord?" Dragon asked.

"Time for Kysael to fulfill her destiny," he said softly. He met my eyes. "You will bring balance to the world, Kysael. You will forever change the future."

Dragon nodded. "I have sensed that since the day that she was born."

"You are a sensory type," Manwen told him. "And I can see in your eyes that you have pledged your life to her protection and service since the day that she was born, haven't you?"

Dragon smiled. "I shouldn't expect anything less from the King of the most superior elven race," he said, laughing.

Manwen looked to Kelose. "And you shall both be by her side through the rest of time, forever in a dance of fates," Manwen said.

Kelose nodded softly. "Yes." "Mafrien is, indeed, going through a change. He was here the other day, his skin burning, asking me what was happening to him. He told me that he wasn't happy with his ways anymore, that he couldn't understand what was happening to him, that he was having visions."

"Coal told us about that," I said. "Mafrien's ice wyvern."

"I see. So, you know, then." He met my eyes. "You need to meet Mafrien. I think that seeing you again could push him into the change."

"So....seeing me could make him turn into a Skyelf?" I asked.

"It is quite plausible."

"I see. Well, then," I said. "I guess that I need to find him."

"Come and have him release me before you do anything more after meeting him," he told me. "I have a gift for you."

I nodded. "I will." And then we rushed out of the dungeon, and send Coal to go and get Mafrien.

I told Moserre, Dragon and Kelose that it would be better if they stayed out of sight while he was here with me. I didn't need him to be distracted.

If I could push him into becoming a Skyelf, that would change the entire course of mine and Kirinae's futures, along with the worlds. Mafrien was, afterall, the next in line to ascend the throne of Barrenwilds.

Coal brought him out to the desert a while later, the sky getting closer to dusk.

Mafrien looked angry to see me. "What are you doing here?" He asked me, coming to stand before me. "Why have you brought me here to meet her?" He asked Coal, his voice upset.

"Coal brought me here. He told me that something was happening to you, that I needed to come for you," I said softly.

He shook his head. "I don't understand. Why would you come to me on your own, to help me, no less?" He sighed. "After all that I have done to you.... you should hate me!" He shouted. "Can't you see that I don't want you here? Go. Go back to your Soul Bonded and your Blood Bonded. Leave me!" He snarled.

"No..."

"Girl--!"

"Mafrien, please," I said softly. "Let me in."

"How could you not hate me?"

I could feel the holes being burned into the back of my head by Dragon and Kelose as they stared at us from their hiding places when I reached for Mafrien's face. I couldn't sense anything from Moserre, though.

Mafrien's shocked face tensed when I held his face in my hands.

"Because I could never hate anyone," I said softly.

"You....you don't hate me?" He asked quietly, blood tears pooling in his eyes.

I shook my head. "No. Why do you think that I would come here to help you?" I asked softly.

He shook his head in my hands. "Don't say it, Kysael..." His body shook, his eyes afraid. His cheeks were too warm. His skin was burning.

"Because I....I care for you," I whispered. "I know that you love me, and that has made me care for you in return."

His eyes widened, and blood tears ran down his face. "You can't," he said. I simply nodded my head, confirming what I had said. He looked angry and conflicted for a moment, before he reached one of his large hands up to touch my face. Then he did something that I didn't expect; he brought my face up to kiss him.

His lips were hot, and I could feel the shimmering tingles on my own lips as he cried into my mouth, his hands squeezing my shoulders.

And then he screamed as he fell to the desert sand beneath our feet, gripping his head and thrashing his body around on the ground.

He screamed. "What have you done?!" He asked, nothing but blood in his eyes. There was no white, and his eyes poured blood down his cheeks as he cried blood tears, screaming.

I watched in shocked fascination as his skin began to change. It started changing shades, going from a deep, dull gray, to a dark, rich tan.