Elfborn

A Shadow's Flame

The room was one of the smaller ones in this, a Bishop's palace here, in the middle of the Holy City, in the heart of the Golden Seat of the Romis Empire. From here one of the twelve Masters of the Ristusian Church strode to the Vestican to sit in council with his or her brothers and sisters. Sit in council over the largest church left in all of Evindel.

Small it may be, but it was still larger than any room any ordinary citizen down in the city had, an ornate chamber filled with symbols of power, statues of gold and walls of gilt. A window in the far wall opened to an outdoor courtyard, now filled with night and the constant hiss of the falling rain hitting the cobblestones below. Yet a fire in the great hearth that dominated the front wall drove the chill of the night and the rain away, filling the room with warmth.

A warmth, strangely enough, that didn't reach the far corner where a massive globe of polished crystal sat, silently reflecting the dancing flames, flipping them upside down in its bending interior. The globe seemed to absorb the heat of the nearby flames, sucking them in to exude a sense of cold. One that bit deeply through cloth and leather.

So massive was the globe that it sat on a heavy iron frame, ornately shaped, with fanciful figures of people and animals, dancing and frolicking in seeming carefree happiness. But, if one were to look close, they would see that the expressions on the faces of the people weren't those of happiness and joy. No, they were expressions of fear and terror, a feeling reflected in the contorted bodies of the animals that didn't run towards the people with welcome. Instead they ran away, as quickly as their legs could carry them.

Not from the people; the people were joining them in flight. No, the animals and people both were running from a symbol. A symbol of a stylized flame.

Without warning a door in the near wall swung open and the flames in the hearth danced briefly as the air swirled uncontrollably in the room, torn between the door and the open window. And then a dark cloaked figure was stepping through and the door was closed behind them with a soft 'click' of a lock being shut.

Quickly the figure gathered its cloak about its body and stepped through the room, liberally strewn with statues on pedestals, fine workmanship from all over Evindel, both past and present. Yet the figure didn't pause to admire the fine artistry. Nor did it look up at the many paintings and tapestries that adorned the walls.

Instead it stepped directly to the corner where the globe sat in its chill place, the figure visible within, turned on its head in grotesque mockery of reality. Without a pause, it pulled a chair close to the globe and, drawing off a heavy leather glove, ran a hand over the globe.

As the hand touched the polished crystal, a strange symbol etched into the back of the hand came to fiery life. It glowed with a bright red, revealing itself as the same symbol twisted into the frame that supported the globe. The symbol that everyone seemed to be running from.

The curtains near the window flapped without warning, as if a breeze disturbed them. The figure turned towards the window. And found itself looking at the black on black cloaked figure of a Mist man.

"You're late," the figure sitting beside the globe hissed in a tight voice, showing none of the normal fear of such a nightmare creature as a Mist man.

"Do not presume to have power over me, lackey," the Mist man returned in its grating voice, enough to make even this person's skin crawl. "Our lord has not yet forgiven you for your failure to prevent the Invigilators from learning the Words of Power they found in the Shae ruins."

"I was outvoted on the council," the figure returned quickly, standing to pace rapidly in front of the globe. "I can only exert so much pressure in a place such as this. The Pade decided to go ahead with the project despite many of the objections." The cowled face turned towards the black on black figure of the Mist man, who hadn't moved from its place near the window.