Page 5 of Shadowbound

I wander through the room, which is dark, for there are no windows. But each artifact has its own glass case lit from within by a single luminous moon crystal. The white, milky light coming from so many cases—for as I said, my collection is extensive—makes the room quite bright enough to see where I am going.

Not that I need much light. I, among the other High Born of my kind, have eyes which glow, allowing me to see in near pitch darkness if I need to. This is necessary here in Nocturna where a spell laid by a very distant ancestor ensures that we are a Kingdom of Night. Lest you should wonder about the practicality of such an arrangement, our plants and animals have all been magically modified to thrive in the moonlight. Our farmers grow abundant crops and so we do not suffer—in fact, we thrive.

Which is something our neighbors to the West in Solaris cannot abide. That’s where the Paladin who seeks me is coming from. They are a barbaric nation—a people who worship the burning sun in the sky first and their beloved GodKing second. They think we’re evil simply because we prefer the darkness.

Well, to be fair, that’s not the only reason they think we’re evil. I run my tongue over the tips of my fangs which are located where a human’s canine teeth would be. They give me the ability to drink blood, but I don’t need more than a small sip now and then—usually for magical purposes.

Magic is not free—it must be paid for. Blood is one way to pay. Hence, my fangs…which have been dry these many months while I have been without either a Blood-partner or a Blood-servant. I have been alone ever since I left my last Blood-partner, Kraven.

My mind shies away from the memory. I thought he loved me but in truth, he sought to Drain me. I barely escaped with my life and my magic intact. I prefer not to think of the details.

I know I’ll need either a new partner or a new servant soon, but who can I trust? No one in the City, that’s for certain. Likewise, I’m reluctant to take a servant. Who knows if the person I choose might be infected by Kraven’s dark magic? I don’t feel that I can trust anyone now—not after the man I called “Beloved” tried to take my life and drain my magic.

At the moment, though, I have other matters to worry about. The Mirror of Far-Seeing has revealed the Paladin is coming to do battle with me. Why? I don’t know yet. But I soon will.

I find the Jewel of Knowing in a glass case near the back of the room. It is a flat, oval-shaped gem with many facets about as big as my thumb. To wear it, I need only press it to my temple, where it will adhere and begin drawing knowledge for me. It will allow me to hear some of the thoughts and see into the memories of the one I focus on.

I don’t press it to my temple yet—each magic artifact has its drawbacks. I must be careful not to use any of them too long or too often, lest I lose pieces of my soul and mind. Overexposure to Shadow Magic can cause madness.

Sadly, this is how my mother died. She would have lived many more years if only she had not become addicted to the Mask of Many Faces. I stop to look at it now, resting in its glass case.

It appears to be a simple porcelain mask—the right half smiling and joyful and the left half crying with misery. It allows the wearer to “become” anyone they have ever met or seen—including their voice and memories. However, each use frays the user’s own identity, making it harder and harder to remember who they truly are.

My mother loved to wear the mask to the City of Night, where most of the High Born of my kind dwell. It amused her to listen to gossip and sow discord among her enemies—of which she had many. But she became addicted to her pastime and wore the mask more and more. By the end she was many people—none of them herself. Ranting and raving, she threw herself from the top of our tower before I could stop her.

The memory is ten years old, but it still saddens me. And the Mask of Many Faces is one artifact I will never use, no matter how dire my need. I will not risk the magical addiction that leads to madness and death. It consumed my mother but it will not consume me.

Indeed, I’m very careful with all my magical artifacts but the greatest one—The Heart of the Eclipse which is the jewel of my collection—is not even on display here in my tower. That is because it is being held in the Queen’s Royal Collection in the City. She is the ruler of all Nocturna, though lately she does little but sit on her throne and stare into the Glass of Distraction all day. It tells her stories of far-off lands and distant worlds—stories of people she has never seen and will never see in real life—stories so engaging she cannot look away.

I believe our Queen to be as addicted as my mother was, but at least the artifact she chose is less harmful than the Mask of Many Faces. It won’t cause her to go mad—it will simply draw her focus away from the necessary duties of running her kingdom. Which is why Kraven gave it to her, I believe.

Yes, my ex-Blood-Partner—the one who tried to kill me—is the Queen’s most trusted councilor. I doubt he would be if she knew the truth about him, but I cannot risk telling her. She probably wouldn’t hear me anyway—she is too caught up in the various dramas the Glass of Distraction shows her.

At some point, I must go and take The Heart of the Eclipse back. It is too dangerous and powerful an artifact to be left where Kraven might access it. I pray he does not yet know that I left it in the Queen’s collection. I had meant only to loan it to her—she was curious to see it and learn its properties. But that was before she became distracted and addicted. I hope it is still on the pedestal where I left it. For if it falls into the wrong hands…

I don’t want to think what might happen and to be honest, I don’t really know. There is a rather cryptic prophecy which lends itself to various interpretations. Some claim that The Heart will bring ruin to us all. Some say it will cause rebirth and regeneration. And some scholars think it might even hold the key to ending the endless war between ourselves and our barbarian neighbors in Solaris.

I don’t know the answer—Queen Valenna was going to try and find it. But now I know she never will. I should go back to the City and recover it and keep it safe. I look at the empty case where it once sat on a velvet pillow. I never should have risked taking it out in the first place. Now, I feel responsible, knowing that something so dangerous is out where unscrupulous hands might put it to deadly use.

But I can’t go back alone—I need support. I need someone to guard my back and watch for Kraven and his allies, who would be happy to finish the job he started. He knows if he could Drain me completely, he would have access to my tower and my collection—I cannot allow that.

For now, though, I must put aside these worries and go out to meet the Paladin who has taken such great pains to find me. My spies, the ravens, brought me word that he was searching for my tower—which he must not find. Instead, I will meet him at the ruined temple of the Old Gods. There I will lay my trap. Once I snare him, I can use the Jewel of Knowing to find out why he’s seeking me.

Then I shall decide if I should kill him or not.

2

Alaric

I am not surprised that the Sorceress finds me before I reach her tower. When I entered the borders of Nocturna, I felt myself being watched. The sound of wings and the harsh cawing of the spy birds she uses to patrol her lands were ever in my ears.

It is jarring to ride from blinding daylight into blackest night all in the space of a single horse’s stride, but I crossed the border a while ago. I have been riding through what feels like endless night for ages now.

Though I confess, the darkness of Nocturna is different from that of the nighttime in Solaris. The plants here all glow with unholy magic. It is not uncommon to ride through a forest lit with softly glowing green, blue, pink, and yellow lights. It makes me think of a fairy village and it is quite beautiful—in an evil way, of course.

The animals often have glowing eyes, the better I suppose, to help them see in the endless darkness. They scamper away from my horse well before his hooves might find them. And always the full moon rides above me, pouring silver luminescence that is, thankfully, enough to find my way by.

I had to ask the villagers who live on the edge of the Demarcation—the line between Solaris and Nocturna—where the tower of the Sorceress lies. Some were reluctant to speak—apparently they trade with the NightBorn, though such commerce has been outlawed by the GodKing—and they did not wish to offend their Nocturna neighbors. However, gold on their palms loosened some lips and now I am sure of my path.

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