The Forgotten Valourith

The Killing

Prologue

THE night was dark and cold. It wasn’t the monsoon season, yet the sky roared. It thundered like a wild beast who wanted to be set free. It was pitch black. The atmosphere had dropped down several degrees. The surroundings were enveloped in mist and fog. It was no normal fog. The wind that blew westward was possessed with evil powers.

That cool dark labyrinth might have been soothing at any other time, but not at that moment. The forest was playing tricks on its travelers. The woods were proving to be deceptive to their eyes and ears. They might just lose themselves in those woods.

The pack stopped right in the middle of that dark and scary forest. The moon, using her stolen light, illuminated the surroundings in her crooked, sadistic way. But none took notice. The whistling sound of the wind was a mockery.

The travelers willed themselves to be strong. They tried to act oblivious to the signs of nature. Everything was a warning. The nature was telling them to escape or everything would be doomed, soon.

“We cannot go further,” said one of the travelers.

“Why can’t we?” asked his companion.

“It is too dangerous. Nothing looks familiar; it is all twisted horribly, convoluted and changed,” he said calmly. But it was said in a low voice, almost like a whisper.

Chills of fear ran down their spines. All of them looked at each other. Their fear changed the aura around them. The creatures nearby could smell the anxiety of the travelers. “I think, we should get going,” one of the women ushered.

Part of the group agreed with her while the rest looked at her like she had lost her mind. She spoke again while adjusting the baby in her arms, “We need to reach the royal castle soon. Our delay would cause a bedlam. We cannot risk it.”

All eyes fell on the infant who was sleeping in the woman’s arms. Fear and loyalty flashed in their eyes. All of them encircled the baby and held each other’s hands. They chanted something as the air around them turned chilly and pricked their skin.

That drop in temperature awakened the sleeping baby who was covered in a velvet blanket. She cried at the top of her lungs. The creature was pulled out from their deep slumber. Now the creatures of the forest were on high alert and they began moving in the direction of the baby’s cry.

The travelers were now scared and they did the only thing they could do.

They ran.

All of them ran in different directions and made sure to create a diversion. The travelers chanted spells to throw off and conceal the infant’s scent. That way the creatures would be unable to follow.

The woman who was carrying the baby, held the little girl close to her chest. The wicked moon and her deceiving light was laughing at her and her worrying state. It was a way of nature telling them that – ‘You should have listened to me. You are now losing yourself in these woods.’

A flash of lighting appeared in the sky above. The wickedness of the moon was subtle in comparison to what was going to happen. Even the moon bid goodbye to that night.

The woman ran faster with twigs cracking beneath her feet. She casted protective spells on the little bundle in her arms. But that night, the odds weren’t in her favor. She yelped at the sight in front of her.

Lay before her was a pack of dead wizards and witches. “This is impossible…” she whispered with disbelief. A drop of sweat broke out on her forehead as she looked between the dead coven members and the little baby. What do I do now?

‘Submit the girl to us,’ said a voice that the wind had brought along. It was low and it sent chills down the spine of the lady. Gulping loudly she held the bundle of velvet tighter. She wasn’t going to give up on the baby so easily. She would guard her with all her strength until her own last breath. Turning away from a promise that she had made wasn’t in her blood. That would make her a traitor and taint her coven.

Suddenly a bite on the forearm made her yelp in pain. She let out strangled ugly voices as she fought the shooting pain. Her knees gave out and she felt onto the ground. Unconsciously the lady’s hold on the baby had loosened and it was then that the enemies chose to attack. Her vulnerability was their power.

She tried to fight back, but in vain. In the end, she pleaded and begged. Nobody listened. They only laughed at her. She couldn’t see them, but she could most definitely feel their evil presence. This woman had been given one task and she had failed to complete it.

The baby was gone. The heir to the Royal Throne was taken away that night. What had become of her, no one knew. But the scrolls mentioned her return. The witches and the masses prayed for that day to come soon.