Page 111 of Within the Veil

"Is that why I'm here?" I ask, my lips curling slightly. "Do you need help with training?"

* * *

His laughter booms around the room as he shakes his head, "No, I don't think your death is needed at this time, despite your proficiency. I've never lost a battle I've chosen to wage. However, I recognize that you are much the same. I respect that there's much you still need to learn, and that is why you're here. I suspect, anyway." He paused, looking at me directly, "Isthat why you're here?

* * *

I ponder his question, getting at the idea that someone believed they could best me in battle. The only reason I don't protest was because the person saying it looked just like me.

"The Shadow Realm," he replied to my unasked question.

My eyes widened in shock, yet I had to admit it made sense. I'd heard about the Shadow Realm, stories anyway. It was usually considered, or had been considered, a mystical plane of existence that lied within the veil, within a realm parallel to the Mortal Realm. Since my childhood, I had heard tales of this realm, shrouded in darkness and inhabited by ethereal beings. A realm used in stories to discourage young Fae from roaming where they shouldn't, not that they ever succeeded in deterring me.

However, it was clear that the small Fae, the children - albeit few - would be hard-pressed to find themselves within the Shadow Realm. Beyond that, my knowledge was limited, I knew only that it was shrouded in darkness, a thing of nightmares.

The only darkness I could see were the swirling skies of darkness and the shadows pouring out from the being in front of me. "I've heard those stories," he chuckled. "I've told those stories. I've spread those stories, for a good reason. Those who enter this realm, my realm, often do so under the pretence of power - that they can seek it when it doesn't belong to them, or that they can control what is not theirs to control. I have been granted access to this realm. I have been given this realm; this realm is mine to do as I please, to invite whom I please. Those who fall into this realm without my consent will suffer the most painful and unimaginable death. And I have quite the imagination."

"But to satiate your curiosity, because I do feel you've dwelt upon here for a good reason. The reason being is that I allowed you to come here. You may have felt a call, you may have felt a desire to wander, but it's because you needed to be here. There's much potential in you. I see the merits in hard work and fearlessness in the face of death. I see the merit in your training protocol and in the way you believe that taking your soldiers to the brink of their own mortality is the only way to truly give them the power, or rather, let them understand the power of their immortality."

The rest of his words, about the power and potential of the Shadow Realm, and his warning about the risks of becoming lost in the darkness, echoed in my mind as I pondered my situation. I found myself nodding in agreement with him, intrigued by his tales and eager to learn more. And yet, I couldn't shake a nagging suspicion that there was something more, something he wasn't telling me.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" I asked, deciding to confront him directly.

He chuckled, "Yes," he admitted, but said no more.

I shrugged, accepting his silence. "That's good enough for me," I replied, "I, too, like to dwell in mysteries." And so, our conversation continued, late into the night.

* * *

Months Later

Access to the Shadow Realm grows increasingly easier for me; I no longer need to traverse the ley line to cross the veil. In fact, after some weeks, I have been given the ability to travel freely within this realm, a feat only the Dark Man, or Rudhuan of the Void, as he is known, can achieve. He finally offered me his name, and I admit, it was hard-earned.

But I'm not one to shy away from difficult training--I relish it. I delight in the bloodshed, the struggle, the flexing of new mental and physical muscles. This pushes me toward a point where my power might surpass anyone else's. It pains me to admit this, but the Rudhuan was correct.

While I am proficient in battle, the power at his disposal is incredible. It isn't his superior skill--though he might arguably be more skilled--but the unique abilities he possesses. The abilities at his fingertips are something no one else could use--except him and now me.

You can wield a sword, a knife, or any blade. You can harness all elemental magic, conjuring the power of every conceivable element. However, you cannot summon darkness or a shadow. But with access to the Shadow Realm, you can draw on the energy funneled through that realm. This is Shadow Magic, as he calls it, and I understand why he's always been reluctant about allowing others into his realm and sharing tales that might strike fear into the most curious of hearts.

The power that filled my body when I tapped into the Shadow Realm's energy was transcendent--electricity sparking from my fingertips, surging through my body, traveling to every nerve ending, strengthening every blood cell. It coiled within my belly, ready to unleash a strength and power that could potentially destroy the world, or at least many within it.

Shadow Magic grants you access to all the negative energy ever released into the universe. Yes, it's dangerous--I can see how that darkness could consume you. It's almost addictive, the force of the power and the sheer evil. It's something difficult to put into words. More negative energy creates not only power but also imbalance, making it dangerous. You must tread a fine line to avoid being consumed by all the hate, anger, dread, and despair.

I craved a certain type of darkness--the kind that comes from causing pain to others in battle, not inflicting pain on those who don't deserve it. I believe this distinction is what sets me apart from anyone else who might have ventured into the Shadow Realm seeking power. Still, the temptation lingers, a gentle buzz in my ear, in my spirit. I can almost taste it.

Standing in front of the Looking Glass, dressed in my warrior attire, in the dead of night while the Fae rest, I prepare to meet the Ruadhan for another bout of rigorous training in the Shadow Realm. I see the darkness swirling within my eyes, deepening their blue hue and hardening my expression. My people sense the dangerous energy radiating from me--it's contained. I have no desire to harm anyone, but they benefit from it. My warriors train harder because of it, not by choice, but because stronger training means a more painful process and, ultimately, a more rewarding outcome.

With the Void's approval, I managed to integrate a portion of our training into my own. While my warriors cannot access the Shadow Realm's power as I can, they benefit from the doses of power I draw from it. These small doses enhance their attack fervor. However, despite my warriors' surpassing abilities--even exceeding the strongest Fae soldiers--none are yet deserving of the full power. Not yet, anyway. I have yet to find a soldier who mirrors what the Void saw in me, and I'm not entirely sure what that is. But when I do, it will become apparent.

I sigh and straighten my back, blinking away the swirling shadows in my eyes, and fade into the Shadow Realm, where I meet Rudhan by a crystal-clear lake, as I do every night. But tonight, he no longer shares my face. And I distinctly remember his words: "Once the person who enters the shadows, who enters the Shadow Realm, no longer craves the knowledge of a darkness that is beyond understanding, they will see my true face."

I approach him, I walk closer, and if it weren't for the fact that I could sense his spirit, the unique imprint of his soul that is present in every being, I would have brandished my sword. I stare openly, and he looks at me, his now dark silver and purple gaze swirling but sparkling with mirth and pride as he quirks his lip. I continue, approaching an uncomfortable length in time, but the longer I stare, the more otherworldly he appears. His skin shimmers with the same silver, purple, and black hues in his eyes, his long black hair moving in a silent breeze. Within Tir ag Nog, there are various species of Fae, one grows accustomed to seeing diverse creatures. But Rudhan is nothing like them. His spirit is different, somethingelse-- not precisely Fae, not exactly otherwordly.

As he stands up from his cross-legged position, where he is channeling and filling himself with positive energy to combat the negativity within the realm, as we do before every training session, his body unfolds to twice the height it once was. I look up as I move closer. "When you said you were different," I start, "I didn't think you meant that you were a creature of nightmares come to life." I say it half-jokingly, considering that not only is he twice as tall, but he's also twice as wide. His muscles ripple beneath his skin, even as he stands still. His lips quirk into a smile, revealing sharp, dangerous teeth, and his skin takes on a modeled combination of blue and black. His features are sharp, yet handsome, but the power emanating from him now is distinctly different. Pure, almost, for lack of a better term.

"I didn't say much," he replies, "I only said that you'd see my true form when you were ready. And now you are. You have progressed at a speed I didn't anticipate, even though you've proven yourself time and again. Now," he pauses, his intense gaze piercing through me, as if dissecting every layer of my being, "ask yourself: Who am I?What,am I?"

He chuckles, his gaze wandering off to somewhere in the distance when I don't respond right away. Instead, I stretch and summon the shadows to my palm, watching the dark swirls dance within my hand in fascination, basking in the power within my grasp as I ponder his question. In a few weeks' time, I have mastered the use of shadows to where not only can I summon shadows to shroud myself within their protection, but I can alsousethem as a weapon. The implication of that power is frightening, but the actual practice of the ability is twice as so, for one cannot fight a blade that one cannot see, and one cannot defend against an attack that one's weapon cannot touch. But it just as surely cleaves one in two pieces, drinking your soul in its process. The Fae are immortal, but there are some things we cannot come back from; total annihilation of our body is one. Still, our souls would go to the spirit realm so that we may be reborn. Usually, however, a weapon of shadows will ensure that it cannot...and once your soul is gone, your body decimated beyond repair, there is only true death.

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