Shadow's Path

[Madel_H]

Black claws placed on wither side of the circular stone formation, hissing words issued forth like a dark mist. Ancient words creeped into the stone itself, taking the form of the runework along the edges, giving them a eerie blue glow. From the center of the structure, a flash of light as a a bright white portal spread from the middle to the outside. The bright whiteness disappeared and was replaced by a black mirror. Should one look into this reflection cast by the mirror, one would see not the blue sky and the large round sun, but rather a cloudy, dark sky with the black silhouette of a moon stuck in the middle. With an despicable grin the black shape wormed it's way through the hole, wings tucked tight against the scaly reptilian hide.

Stuck inside the throat of the creature, Madel was slowly fading into pain induced unconciousness. He could feel that one of his legs was broken, though the pain was so intense he wasn't sure if it was one, the other, or both. The gash along his back had reopened and was slowly, slowly oozing forth lifeblood. A cut across his arm let even more of the sticky substance trickle down to his wrist, causing his sword to slip from his grip. He kept his hold on it, for when he got out of here -and he would get out- he would need the sword. More fumes rushed up as Sine exhaled, blowing his hair up over his head. He had seen nothing since he had found himslef trapped within the throat of Sine, but when they passed through the shadow portal he could feel a change course through his body. His muscles tensed and loosened. He could no longer feel the weakness in his limbs. The blood stopped flowing, though the wound remained open. His beard was suddenly longer, but now it was almost sharp, angular. His hair was no longer brown, but black and his eyes were white, no color anywhere. Only his pupils showed through, and in them one could see the horror that couldn't be shown on his pale face, a face that though pale was strangely dark at the same time.

[Madel_H]

After worming his way through the portal, Sine wasted no time in making for his castle, if the black spires of rock that jutted up from the ground could be deemed a castle. Over dead lands he travelled, lands that though withered and smokey still resembled their true-world counterpart. Forests of dead trees and quaking limbs covered the lands that would have been Myrken, and in places, burnt farmhouses and withered crops mimicked their twins. In the distance, the black peaks of Sine's palace appeared over the horizon. With hastened beats of its wings, the creature sped towards its castle.

Still lodged uncomfortably within the creature's throat, Madel was growing restless. He became irritated at his position, and even started shouting at Sine. His fingers twitched impatiently and irritation grew into frustration. His hand tightened and relaxed, tightened and relaxed as he sat in the darkness. Frustration built, forming an anger that caused sweat to trickle out of the ranger's hair. His hand clenche into a fist once more and he used the little space he had to rear back and give Sine a good punch in the throat. His response was a deep rumble. Nothing else happened and he was forced to wait more. Again, his emotions intensified, turning impatient anger into beserk rage. With a deafening yell that resounded throughout Sine's cavities, Madel reared back and punched again. THis time, the rising of his gut told him that Sine was falling out of the sky.


THe first time, it had been a minor annoyance, a tickling in his throat. A growl had seemed to stop whatever his food was doing in there. THe second time was raw power, a blow that cut off his air and caused him to lurch wildly, claws wrapped around his throat as he gasped for breath. The black being plummeted from the sky, choking for air as the upturned hands of the trees loomed closer. He hacked and gagged as he tore through the trees, landing with a violent -whump- on the rocky ground. As he hit, the air trapped in his lungs was forcefully poushed out, taking the ranger with it.


He rolled along the ground, sharp rocks poking his back until he rolled into a tree. Pain burned in his body, but it only made him more and more angry. He jumped up from the ground, snapping his head back and forth, looking for Sine. That berserk rage wanted to take Sine in its two hands and crush him like an eggshell. He took a few steps around, finally catching sight of the black monstrosity wheezing on the ground a ways away. He started for it, weaving in and out of trees to get to Sine.
Ten feet from the creature, Madel leaped forward, the intensity of his hatred propelling him up and forward onto Sine's scaly back. Madel grabbed at his wings and clung to them, steadying himself as Sine rumbled beneath him. He punched the creature again, ignoring the blood and pain the came away with his fist. He punched again, and the hard scales on Sine's back cut deep; however, he also broke through.

[Madel_H]

More blood spewed over Sine and Madel, covering them in red and deep violet. The latter being, of course, Sine's. The ranger's fist was deep in Sine's back, having broken one of the scales and launching a blow to the blackbeast's exposed flesh. Said flesh was weak, easily torn. With a tug, Madel pulled his arm free, rearing back for another blow. Sine, however, was not sitting still. As pain seered through his reptilian body, his muscles tensed and he jerked back and forth, throwing the ranger to the ground. With a roar, he turned back to the fallen man and snapped his jaws. Madel easily stepped away, the sharp teeth of Sine closing with a rush of air just in front of him. That broken and bloodied hand put in another shot as the massive head was puled away. Blood poured from Sine's right nostril. More of that horrendous screaching filled the air, and only served to royally tick off the already pissed ranger.
He glanced at his surroundings, searching for something, something- he couldn't remember what he was searching for, but it was important. Something to throw? No, no. Something...something to eat? No, he was in a battle, why would he eat, why would he eat? Eat. Eat, eat. Eaten? Had he eaten. What was going through his head? Being eaten. He had been eaten? He was eaten, yes. And, and....the sword! That's right, he couldn't use his sword because he was eaten. Right?
He blinked away, just in time to notice Sine's maw striking forward at him. Still stuck on the sword-eating dilemna, he absent-mindedly placed one hand on Sine's lower jaw to stop the attack. Only a slight bump jarred him, but it brought him back to the fight at hand.
Madel looked down his arm to his hand to Sine's muzzle. THe giant beast was being held back by a single palm. The ranger cocked his head to one side, trying to make it add up. The beast was just as confused. He pulled his head back, roared, and snapped forward again. Madel stared at him for a second, then puled his hand back, balled it up, and delivered another punch to Sine's on-coming mandible. Sine ended up on his back. Madel ran toward the fallen creature, delivering a kick to the creatures black hide, sending him flying through the air to land fifty feet away. As the ranger ran at Sine again, the creature rolled oved and leaped into the air. With a hiss and a snap of his jaws, he wheeled away towards his castle.
Madel watched him fly away, then stared down at his hands. They didn't look different. Maybe, maybe a little darker. Scalier. Scales? Since when did he have scales? And why were they all of a sudden black? He couldn't make it make sense, but his mind was so clouded that he couldn't make anything make sense. Shaking his head, he trudged towards the treeline, picking up his dropped sword as he went. Now why did he have a sword?

[Madel_H]

After long hours that turned into days of wandering, Madel came upon a road. It cut through the twisted, dead trees in a straight line, no curves whatsoever. First one way, then another, the ranger gazed down the long path. To his right, he could barely make out two shapes moving towards him. They were far enough away that it would be a while before they reached him, so he set off in their direction.

As he neared meeting them in the middle, they slowed and stared hard at him. Nothing appeared strange about them, but he got the feeling that they weren't exactly right.
"Good day, gentlemen. Might you spare a moment?" he called to them. They glanced at each other before stepping forward, one of them nodding. "We might...for what do we spare it?" The ranger tried to shake the feeling that they gave him. Like a foot falling asleep, only it ran through his mind instead. "I need directions. I'm looking for something." The travellers looked at each other once more and the speaker nodded again. "Very well, we can talk. But not too long, the dead don't have -all- the time in the world." Madel opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. Working through his confusion, he managed "The dead?"

"Yes, yes, the dead. My friend, Entar, and I, Jorus- and every one esle you'll meet around here- are the dead. This" he waved his hand around to encompass the dead forest "is where we congregate."
His partner, Entar apparently, nodded in agreement. Madel stared for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed. "Right. This is the land of the dead, and you two are spirits. Sure, why not." Entar stepped forward, a strange smile splayed across his face. He leaned in close to Madel, who met his gaze with steely resolve. Before the ranger's eyes, Entar slwoly decomposed, skin fell from his face, his eyes withered and became dust, hair grew white and long before falling out. After it all, nothing remained but tatters and a skeleton. The ranger stepped back in disgust, held one hand up to ward off the creature, the other reached for his sword. Entar stood once more where the skeleton had been. Jorus spoke quickly, "Wait, we mean you no harm." As Madel lowered his sword, Jorus continued. "Where is it that you need directions to?"

"I- I don't know. I think, yes. Sine" The word was picked up and carried along the wind, echoing through the air as a hissing intake of breath. Jorus and Entar flitted into the forest like whisps of smoke, the former pulling Madel behind him. Crouched low in the ditch, he whispered in a shaky voice. "We don't speak that name any more. For the Lord Master's wrath would be upon us like a pack of dogs on a three-legged cat." Madel quirked a brow at him, before standing. "I do not fear Sine, nor his wrath." The name hung on the air like a mist. The spirits quivered, the trees seemed to shiver, and even the earth gave a slight tremor at Sine's name. Madel looked down at the hard packed road. That was no mere tremor. Small pebbles bounced along the road, jumping higher with every passing second until the sound of thunder accompanied them. At one end of the way, a cloud of dust rose up into the air. THe thundering grew louder, and the stoned uopn the road leaped into the air with the force of the pending presence. Jorus looked up at Madel. "We never should have stopped to talk with you. Now you'll have the whole army of Sine upon us!" Madel turned to stare at the cloud once more. His vision hazed over a bit. His eyes became yellow.

[Madel_H]

The dust rose to fill the sky, and the thunder roared on like a ravenous beast. Horses, thousands upon thousands of horses stormed over the horizon, each carrying a rider pale and thin. Every rider was adorned in plate, black as ebony, with a plumed helmet that left only their lower jaw exposed, and weilding a spear that seemed to touch the heavens themself. A hundred thousand riders surged towards the ranger, their horses' stomps causing the ground to rumble beneath him. Madel drew his sword, gave a shout, and charged forward to meet the horde. At any other time, he would have known to turn tail and hide, but under the influence of this strange and nocturnal world he seemed to have lost his wits. His steps carried him closer, yes, but the thundering hooves covered more distance in a few seconds, he supposed, than he could in a few minutes. The first horseman was near enough now to lower his spear, charging forward like a lanceman. The tip of the weapon caught the sun and glittered like a precious stone. Then it went clear through Madel.

Surprisingly, there was no pain. With most wounds, there was at least a detatched sort of burning, but the spear that he knew should have killed him was like a quiet itch. A tickling sort of feeling that made him only a little uncomfortable. But only for a second, for moments after being impaled, the rider was on top of him, looming above, filling his vision. The horse reared, its legs eat the air in front of the ranger's face.

The giant hooves came down right on top of Madel. Or they should have. They went through him; he felt that numbing sensation all over now. In a flash, he realized what had happened. They were spirits, ethereal, unable to harm him. Or so he assumed. The first horse and rider thundered on, more and more following behind. All passed by him, one right after another, each confined to their intangibility, able to do nothing but charge at him and ride on. He turned away from those coming forward to watch those that had already passed. A snicker at all the back facing sneers. Madel could see that they wanted to run him through so badly. More and more rushed by him, all turning back to point and shout obscenities as they rode on.

He laughed and mocked them, jeering back at them, all unable to do anything about it. The riders were getting sparser now; where they once were packed like sardines, now he could see space between them. He turned back again to watch as the last few riders thuindered towards him. He started to walk away to the side of the road when he was yanked along with a such intensity he could easily imagine it to be the force of every one of the riders that had passed him. His chest snapped forward quickly, leaving his head and lower body to pause an instant before rushing forward to join it. Pain coursed through his body, a tingling burn that pricked his skin with a million hot needles. Then everything went dark.

[Madel_H]

He awoke to the burning pain of iron cuffs clapped too tightly around his wrists, causing warm blood to trickle down to his fingers. Madel clenched his jaw tighter than he could ever remember being able to do, teeth ground against one another in response to the pain that bolted up his arms when he tried moving his hands. Eyes only slightly opened to the dark surroundings, the Ranger could not see the locks that held his arms in place, so he blinked twice to clear his vision a bit. Unfortunately, his arms were held doubled over his head with his elbows pointed upwards and his wrists brushing the back of his neck, so he couldn't see the fetters anyways. Vaguely, he was aware of pressure on his left side, and tilting his eyes that way, he could see a long, dusty wall. Once his head stopped spinning quite so quickly, he was able to discern that it was not truly a wall, but rather the floor that he was pushed against, which he realized made more sense. So the pressure was actually just him laying on his side on the ground. Settled as he was, he could not see much more than what was before him, so Madel tried to stand and get some sense of bearings. That was about the time he began to grasp the full scope of how bound he was. Both legs were shackled similarily to his hands, knees bent further than they were meant to go, heels mashed into the small of his back. Based on that, he assumed that there was something connecting the wrist-manacles and those on his ankles. He was right. When he tried moving his legs, the pressure increased on his shoulders, both of which already felt dislocated. That brought another thought to mind, and the Ranger tentatively moved his shoulders, testing them to see if they really were out of socket. To his relief, he found that they were still workable, if only barely. His legs proved to be in the same state: movable, but only with great pain. So, he reasoned, if he could get out of this predicament, he could begin working on an escape- from wherever he was. Madel remembered being told once how to extricate himself from this method of binding, and searched his brain for the movements he had been shown. He knew something about pulling his arms over one shoulder, and turning his body towards the chains; somehow that was supposed to bring both arms and legs to the front. Figuring that it was better than sitting there, he tried it.

Nothing happened. Nothing at all. The chains didn't even budge. Twisting his waist around and craning his neck to see behind him, Madel could just make out a large iron loop bolted into the floor. The chains ran right through it, making movement impossible. So much for that idea.

With this new information in mind, the Ranger began working on a new plan. Suddenly, the room- which had been lit by a single unseen candle- was flooded with light. Squinting against the brightness, he could see that it came from a tall arching doorway that had been opened. Soft, booted footsteps clicked along the marble-esque floor; a dark shape moved into the room towards Madel.

[Madel_H]

The figure walked past Madel, and just as the boots passed beyond vision, the soft sound of steps ceased. There was a sudden tightening of the chains, and Madel's arms and legs were free. With a groan, he worked his way into a sitting position and rolled his shoulders. Only after working them for a moment did he stop to wonder why he was being freed. The ranger turned his head to see who had released the chains.
Jorus rocked back and forth on his heels, dire impatience evident on his face. His eyes searched every inch of the room. The ghost twiddled his thumbs.
"Jo- Jorus? What are you doing here?" Madel inquired, a puzzled frown as his visage. He hadn't thought someone he had only just met would feel compelled to rescue him.
The ghost locked eyes with Madel, seeming to only just realize he was there. His jaw worked, and his voice barely more than a whisper of a whisper answered, "Getting you out of here. We must go." With a whisk as of fog in a breeze, he was floating towards the door.
Madel tried to stand, and with much difficulty and pain managed to hobble a few steps. Every inch was gained with immense difficulty. He could see the spirit waiting for him, hovering in the doorway. Impatience seemed branded upon Jorus.
"Why do you move so slowly?" he asked, head tilted to one side. His arms were folded across his chest, and one ethereal foot was tapping the marble floor.
"Because it hurts," Madel growled in response. His eyes flared yellow, and several veins bulged on his neck as he took another tentative step. "I'm sore."
The ghost frowned, and shook his head. "It cannot hurt. There is no pain in this place. There is apathy, and there is need, and there is anger, but not pain. Pain is a mortal concept."
Madel let a gutteral sound emerge from his throat once more, "I think I know pain when I feel it. And beleive me, I feel it." Another step was won in this intense struggle to move.
"Pain is a mortal concept," Jorus repeated, as if that were some great revelation. The ranger glared at him again, and the ghost seemed to sigh. "You are not in the mortal realm..."
Madel paused. Floating somewhere amidst the confused cluster of images was a thought. "Outside the mortal realm....mortal concepts...." The ranger straightened. He stretched his arms high over his head and took a large step across the room. There was only pain because he wanted there to be pain; his mind told him that there should be pain, and invented it. But now he knew, now he was aware. "Let's go, shall we?" and he was running out the doorway and down the gloomy black hall, Jorus' misty figure jogging and floating in front of him.