Act I: Harsh Reality
“Twilight Kingdoms of Thanonal" Book 3: "Reforged!”
Oliver noticed that she was concentrating very hard, and he noticed sweat beads forming on her forehead. His heart sank into his chest, that voice, he recalled it from his dreams, it was unmistakable. Oliver. Do you remember the first time we met? He had not recognized her with all the blood and filth on her body. The black rams horns or the scorpion's barbed tail. She was still wearing the blue ceremonial dress from the sacrifice.
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Credits
Cover Art: by Timidon Nodimit (and Images supplied by Shutterstock and elsewhere)
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Rating: 18+ Mature, some themes maybe offensive to sensitive readers.
Written by Timidon Nodimit
Cover by Timidon Nodimit
As with all of my works, please comment, and leave reviews. I like comments more, and I love the feedback.
Previous in the series, TKoT Book 2, “Katalina, Goddess of the Pit.”
Contents
[01-13] Act I - Harsh Reality
[14-30] Act II - The Hidden Occult
[31-42] Act III - Deeper into Darkness
[43-49] Act IV - The Vault
[50-54] Act V - Hand of God
[55-59] Act VI - Resonance of Chains
[60-67] Act VII - Chains of the Heart
PLEASE Comment, Like, and Review! Feed the Beast! - Thank you, and now onto the story!
Blackthorn Forest
Andrea continued to walk in her mind full of fog. Her world was like walking in a tunnel, focused on step at a time. As the sun-sphere set, her mind cleared enough to put more than a simple desire to run away. Her bare feet were sore, surprisingly not blistered or wounded. She glanced down at her blood-splattered body, the blood had dried and coated the blue ceremonial dress she was wearing. The ceremonial dress had a particularly pungent odor, that of dried blood. The light blue dress had several small gashes in it, and some gashes were small tears others were slices as if they had been slashed by a sword.
In her right hand, she carried the golden ceremonial dagger that… had been plunged into her heart! She put her hand where the wound was, a she could feel a scar. She ran her index finger the length of the scar, it was the length of the blade. She looked down at her chest, where the scar was. A red tattoo could be seen. The tattoo was that of a hand inside a circle. She looked at her wrists and her feet. The elegant silver shackles were still attached, though most of the chains had been cut off, only leaving a few links left on each shackle. The wounds on her wrists and ankles had healed but, like the scar on the heart, left scars as well.
The dagger had a clear gem in it’s hilt when she had first seen the golden blade in the hands of the priests, now that gem had turned blood red. Red runes burned with an unnatural red light on its blade. She dropped the blade, and it made a strange echoey sound as the blade changed its orientation to land blade first into the ground.
That was this morning, she thinks. She could not remember what had happened, and her heart was racing. I will be okay, oh-oh, I got to go back, I got to get mom and Alexander.
She reached up with her hand to wipe some of the dirt and grit off her forehead and to adjust her seeing aspects by force of habit. Her face was dried, she knew she had been crying, and her eyes were dry.
Her seeing aspects were not on her head, she must have dropped them someplace, but her hand hit something hard and long. She traced this thing to the side of her skull. It was a horn, like that of a ram twisting out of the side of her head. She felt the other side, and one was there too.
What did they do to me? Did Bhuul curse me? He has been known to turn those that displeased them into an infernal and send his hunters after them.
She looked down and spotted the metal frame of the seeing specs. When she put them on, she noticed that she could see very well. She could focus and make details out more than she ever could before.
She remembers that sometimes sorcerer’s entered a pact with other world spirits to gain more power. Am I possessed? Did something enter… she then remembers the eyes, the red eyes in the darkness, and the calm, commanding voice, “Do you wish to die?" Terror... fear… the realization.
I made a pact with something otherworldly at the moment of my death… I remember the woman's voice. She was so comforting. the words echo, “Just say my name." Andrea weakly repeated the name forbidden aloud.
For a moment, there is nothing, then things begin to glow red, and the jewel in the dagger's hilt brightens. She feels the warmth behind her eyes, and her blue eyes disappear into a crimson glow. A tingly sensation goes up and down in her back and lower spine. Her body feels hot, and she lets out a soft moan and drops to her knees as large red leathery demon wings erupt and spread out from her lower back. She feels pressure on her lower spine as the fleshy tail twice as long as her arms push out her tailbone, revealing a scorpion barb stinger. This transformation sends waves of pleasure up and down her body. A wave of red energy blasts outward from her core, knocking over nearby trees and tossing debris for hundreds of feet in all directions.
Oh, what have I gotten into? This is worse than the potion mess up. I have become some sort of infernal!
The momentary pleasure was replaced with searing pain. Small ember-like glowing red fissures open up on her arms and legs, and blood slowly seeps out of the wounds, dripping to the ground. Then she sees the eyes appear before her, which are the same hue as she saw on the altar table while she was being sacrificed.
In a booming and commanding voice, she hears the voice from before. “I am known as Katalina, and you are now a Hand of a God. You are the newest and greatest incarnation of my Ka’Azalin, often known as the Demon Lord Ka’Azalin."
Ohh crap, my schooling told of the Demon Lord’s. The gods defeated them and banished the ones they could not kill to the Gods Death Desert. Ka’Azalin… murder… death… pain suffering, God of lies, the Mother of Monsters…the destroyer of the world. What have I done…
Andrea's heart raced, and panic began to set in.
Noooo… this can’t be happening.
“Calm down, Ka’Azalin,.. this level of grace is very taxing on our body. Sharing this level of existence is taxing."
Ohh crap... I am going to be a god’s flesh puppet...
“Flesh puppet? You are more than that, Ka'Azalin.”
Ahhh, she can read my mind! Why do you call me Ka'Azalin?
"Andrea Wellington died on my son's altar. You have been reforged into a new form, and your new name is Ka'Azalin. I name all my Hands Ka'Azalin.
“And yes, I can hear your thoughts. You are my vessel. Let me dial this back a little. Your uncontrolled outburst of grace is going to tear you apart. Ka'Azalin... slow your breathing and heart rate; think about this. A waterfall, cascading into a valley, a hundred feet down crashing into a large river.”
Imagines flood her mind, and Andrea begins to see these images unfurl; what shocks her the most is the night sky, all the white twinkly dots, and the large white disk in the sky. The scene was calming for some unknown reason, and she had expected to see images of horror in her mind, twisted perversion, and torment.
“I have seen something like this before, the pictures in the old books." She felt her anxiety lesson. The bleeding cracked flesh on her limbs began to seal, and the bleeding stopped.
“It is where I like to go when I need a moment of serenity. You are stable for a bit. We have a few more minutes before I go.”
“Go, go where!”
"My resurrection has been, without a doubt, problematic. I have a new Celestial Body and you as my new Hand."
"As you grow in power, you will remember more and more, and these are the memories of my time in the old world. These are the memories of my former avatars before you and my personal experiences. I am fine with the choices you make, and this is your world. Be it a hero or villain, I am more of an agent of chaos, one who disrupts the status quo, and more than likely, some higher power beyond myself wants us here, wants me here, at this time, and in this place.
"Just remember you can still die; you are not immoral. Your body is still growing, and it is not yet ready to accept my full grace. You will have already experienced some of the powers, faster healing, tougher skin, improved eyesight, and maybe mental changes. Expect some physical transformations such as the elegant horns on your head, for example.”
Andrea asked, “Why me?”
Katalina’s voice penetrated her mind, “You said yes, you spoke my true name, and you are one of my descendants, part of the family line I created ages ago. When I was at the height of my power and worlds trembled under the fear of my name.
"You are unique, for it has been ages since I have been able to form a connection to a vessel capable of containing enough of my grace. You are a worthy vessel, with you being my Hand of God, my avatar. My line was passed down from your father’s bloodline to you and your brother, and I exist because you exist.
“The gods will come for us, and you must learn how to move mountains and defeat the other avatars. I will teach you how I will aid you with unique equipment. I will educate you on your new body as you change. You will grow in your power, and there is a price to pay. We have already attracted much attention, and the younger gods will have noticed two calls of my grace in a single day and a similar area.
"You will need to grow stronger, and you must if you want to survive. Find yourself a cause, and fight for it, either in the front lines or from the shadows. We have a destiny, you and I. We both have been chosen for a role to play. You will not be able to walk away or avoid this duty. We will talk later; it is good to meet you, my Ka'Azalin. I am looking forward to shaping you into a new goddess. When I think you’re ready, I will inform you of your duties for now. You will learn my favorite way of teaching, trials by fire.
"There will be a day when my chains unshackle, and you will challenge Bhuul himself. Celestia will come to fear you."
"I am no god, and only gods can fight gods."
"You are more than that, Ka'Azalin. You are what I used to be. I have to go now. My attention is called elsewhere. Go experiment with your new body, and you are no longer human."
The area light begins to fade back to the darkness of night. The demon's wings and tail retract, in a painful cracking sound, not as good as the pleasurable feeling when they came out. Andreas’ eyes return to their natural blue color, and the red light fades. She feels exhausted, very fatigued, and sore again; she could likely catch a nap.
"No kidding, what a messed up day. What does she mean? What was the demon goddess before? Why did she also call me a goddess?"
Andrea let out a very loud yawn. I don’t think this is a good place to sleep.
Andrea's eyes got heavier and heavier; moving to a nearby shade tree and, leaning against the trunk, she closed her eyes and let the fatigue wash over her.
