Prologue
Darkness…
Darkness all around me. No light, no sound. Absolutely nothing. Stuck
in an eternal abyss. It feels nice. No obligations, no responsibilities just… peace.
A sound… . it feels distant, far away…. It’s still dark. What even is this place? Is this my inner soul, my
thoughts? Or is this, something else? Something even darker. Something…
unknown.
That sound again…. What could it be? Is it safe in here? Whatever this might be.
I see a light, faint but clearly visible. “Is… someone there?” I said knowing no one would answer. Maybe I should investigate, find out what it is. But that would mean
leaving this place, this peace. Would I give all that up? Is it worth giving up
a certainty over a feeling? I don’t know what might be there. For all I know it could be
dangerous… but maybe not… “who is
there?” I tried again, but with no
success.
My curiosity won. I stood up wondering how I even got here. Every bone
in my body hurt but I tried to ignore it and started walking towards the light. Is this how it feels to die, walking towards the light?
The closer I got the brighter the light became.
Is this even the right choice? Maybe I should just go back, back to
the absolute darkness, the peacefulness. No, I made my decision. I’m going through
to the end.
When I got close enough to the light I realized it was a torch hanging
on a wall. Is this a dungeon of some sort, a labyrinth? I decided to pick up
the torch and continued my way into a small hallway. The air was damp and it seemed that no one has come here in a long
time, and this darkness… it wasn’t natural. It felt thick and pressing.
That sound again… but now clear enough to hear it was certainly not a
human sound, maybe a creature of some sort? Is it dangerous? Is it safe
progressing on this path?
The further I got the less sure I felt about my choice. I felt like I was being watched by someone… or something. But who, or
what, could be down here, and for what reason. Suddenly I saw two yellow eyes staring
at me, emotionless, like they were observing me, anticipating my moves. I
stopped. The thing got closer and closer. It was pitch black, like a shadow.
Was this the creature that made that sound? I questioned myself, the shadow
still getting closer. I had to get away from this thing but I couldn’t move my
feet, the yellow eyes stared at me, looking into my mind, my soul…
It leaped, trying to get me.
Is this the end? Why did I get up from that place, left the safety I had?
It was all for nothing, I’ll die never knowing what this place is and what my
role is in all of this.
A bright light…
When I opened my eyes I saw another creature. Another shadow? No, this
one was different and came just above my knees. Did it… save me? It looked at
me with its purple eyes, not like the shadow, it looked… friendly.
That sound again…
“Was… was it you who made that sound?” I asked. Did it lead me all the way here?
The creature turned around and walked further into the hallway. I guessed it
wanted me to follow it so that’s what I did. “Can you… understand me?” I asked. It didn’t respond and kept walking.
All these things happening to fast one after another, does it all have
meaning, a purpose?
The path widened and we entered a big circular room with a high
ceiling, as far as I could tell from the light given off by the torch. In the
middle of the room the creature stopped. When I got close the ground started
glowing. The light quickly spread to the walls and ceiling till the whole room
was lit with a purple light. The creature turned around like it was expecting
me to do something. As by instinct I raised my hand.
What was happening? “Accept this bond of partnership, promising to
help when thy art required. If thy accept I shall promise to keep thy safe and
take thy under my wing. This is a bond of mutual benefit, a pact for life.” the
words came out naturally, why did I know all of this?
The creature accepted… the pact was made.
A male voice spoke to me in my mind, “I am
Zyra…”
“Can, you speak?” I whispered.
“Yes, we made the pact just now. Have forgotten it already?” he said with a sarcastic tone, “your memory
isn’t that great is it?” “The pact? What pact? I don’t even know what just
happened.”. “You really have no idea what is happening do you?” Zyra said, looking at me like I was a dumb
child who just got a new toy but has no idea how to use it. Frankly, that was
just how felt. He spoke again, “you are a summoner, a person who can make
pacts with creatures”. “A pact with creatures?” I asked. “A kind of contract, a bond that links the souls of the
summoner and the summoned” he said. “That’s
what you did just now.”
It was getting all a bit too much for me, shadows, talking creatures, summoners… I had to overthink it all, get it all strait. A minute passed and something popped into my mind, “Do you know where we are, what this place is? what I’m doing here?”. “I’d love to answer all of your questions” he said “but first we have to get out of here. It’s not safe down here”. And just as he said that a dozen of yellow eyes appeared behind me. “They’re earlier than I expected” Zyra muttered into himself “We have to get out NOW. Follow me, quickly.”
We started running out of the room into another hallway. The shadows
got closer and closer. “Don’t fall behind” Zyra said as if it wasn’t obvious.
“Easy for you to say, you have four legs!” We kept running. It felt like an
eternity. Was there even an end to this hallway? I was at the point of giving up when I saw a light in the distance.
The exit maybe? When we got closer I started smelling fresh air. So it really
is the exit! I gave everything I had.
…
Sunlight…
Fresh air…
“That was a close one. Luckily I found you in time…” my four legged friend said.
I turned to him “Now… the answers.”
To be continued…
