Eternal Forest: Eternal Forest Saga - Prequel

Chapter 24

When the flames finally dissipated, Shimmer found herself standing upon a world she neither recognized nor could have ever imagined. The cone of fire was gone, but the heat and the violent wind remained. There were no trees in this world, or shrubs, or any other living thing that she could see. It was a flat, dry land of large stones, with a range of jagged mountain peaks in the distance. Several of these far-off mountains erupted with orange molten rock that ran down their slopes in wide streams.

The sky here was dark but held no moon or stars. Instead, thick, black, churning clouds covered everything between the horizons. With no sun, the world was illuminated by a fiery red glow emitting from the rivers of lava crisscrossing the barren landscape.

Stumbling around aimlessly, Shimmer gazed up at the dark sky as large bolts of lightning danced across the murky clouds. The hot wind seemed to come from all directions at once, battering her body like opposing storms clashing in the same forsaken place. Wyndelle had told her that the Vehlrock could transform the Void into whatever he wished, but she never imagined anything as awful as this.

Still dazed, Shimmer fumbled around awkwardly from one large boulder to another. The air was full of soot and ash that cut at her skin as the driving winds blew them past her. No stone could give her shelter from the force of the storm, making it impossible to calm herself and focus.

"Who are you, mortal?" boomed a terrible voice. It seemed to have no direction, no point of origin, as though the thunder itself had been given a voice. "How have you brought me here?"

Shimmer braced herself against a tall stone and looked up into the sky once more. A narrow funnel in the clouds descended, striking the barren ground roughly thirty feet from where she stood and sending even more particles of debris into the churning air. Shimmer threw up her hands, shielding her eyes from the onslaught while the vortex continued to spin.

When the cyclone finally ceased and dispersed into the air, there it stood. The Vehlrock appeared as it always had to her. Its black skin was darker than the clouds above and its curled horns sat atop its head like a crown. Its shoulders were nearly as broad as she was tall. A pair of glowing red eyes shone brightly from its face as they gazed down menacingly upon the trembling elf.

The Vehlrock took a step forward towards his unlikely captor. His steps didn't shake the ground like a quake, but she could feel each impact below her. "Answer me!" it demanded.

Shimmer swallowed her fear and lifted herself up off the stone. Standing tall she threw back her shoulders and stuck out her chest. The Vehlrock may have been terrifying and in control of the Void, but she was the one that trapped it here like a small animal. That alone was reason enough to feel mighty, even in the presence of a dark god.

"I am Shimmer," she stated boldly, "an elf of Moon-hollow."

"Foolish mortal," the Vehlrock bellowed. "You will release me at once."

Shimmer shook her head, determined not to let her fear show. "I will not," she snapped back. "The Lady has given me the power to imprison you here, away from her forest."

"Release me!" the beast demanded with a terrifying roar.

Shimmer shook her head. "You'll have to kill me."

Full of rage, the Vehlrock lifted one of its massive fists and slammed it down into the rocky terrain. The impact shook the ground, causing Shimmer to fall backward. Lying on her back, Shimmer popped up onto her elbows and leaned her head forward, trying to keep the Vehlrock in sight. The demon's fist was submerged beneath the surface and it seemed to be trying to tug it back out. When it finally succeeded, the ground erupted as a massive black sword arose in the Vehlrock's hand. The weapon was twice as tall as the beast himself. It was as wide and as tall as the mightiest of oak trees, yet the Vehlrock swung it as though it were as light at a twig.