The Guardian Chronicles: The Shadow Alliance

A Departure in the Dark and The Necro Pool

In the Dark Places,

The Wicked Ones plot and plan,

They imagine they do it in secret,

But nothing is hidden from my eyes,

Their desires unravel,

Their schemes are uncovered before me,

They dream of blood and death,

Destruction and Wretched Lust drives them,

Their plots and plans are mighty,

Their victory nearly sure,

But it shall not be,

For I will bring Light out of their Darkness,

By their own hand,

They shall make their greatest foe,

From among them I will raise him up,

As I have done before,

As is My Way…

Chapter One: A Departure in the Dark

   Inside a tiny stone room with a solitary window, a young man with brown hair and eyes tossed and turned in his bed. He rubbed his forehead and sighed, he could not figure out what was bothering him. It hovered, at the corners of his mind, a vague but horrendous threat. He threw his covers off and sat up in bed. He wore thick, long sleeved undergarments because the clouds had come from the north, winter rode in their wake.

   He stood and walked to the window, looking out through the bars that were behind the thick glass. The full moon hung high overhead and cast the entire compound in its silvery light. There was not much to look at inside the compound, just the huge stone building where he was and the peculiar stone wall. He looked down and saw the wall; it was almost twenty feet tall and had no openings, no doors or windows.

    He always wondered whether the wall was to keep someone out or whether it was to keep them in. Beyond the wall he saw the small bay that was just south of the compound and the three green peaks that framed it. He had always wondered what it would be like to walk on the white beach there. But, none of the six students here could leave the compound without being accompanied by their Master and he would have never given permission for something as frivolous as walking on a beach.

    He had known no other home than that compound, but sometimes he felt like a stranger in an even stranger land. He had never gotten along well with the other students, except for Marie. He laughed bitterly to himself; he did not even know the names of the other students, Marie was the only friend he had. Sometimes he felt like this was not his home or his family. Rellik told him when he was a child that theChosenwere his family, their crusade was his life and the Guardians, Lenorans and any who were their allies were his sworn enemies. He closed his eyes; he had always wondered if that was the right…his thoughts were cut short when he heard his door slowly open. His room was suddenly aglow with bright red light and he turned to see who it was. It was his Master…Rellik.

    Rellik was tall and thin. His hair was a mixture of red and gray; his green eyes were cruel and could cut like a sword. He was dressed in a dark purple cloak that completely covered him, except for a thin slit that was where his sword arm was, under his cloak he wore dark purple robes cut in theChosenfashion with a slit down the middle, on the front and back, just below the waist. Under his robes he wore dark gray pants; his light brown boots came up to just below his knees. On his dark gray belt he wore a slightly curved long sword. With one hand he held the hilt of his sword; with the other hand he held a torch. He narrowed his eyes and then said, “Come, Noxx. You have been selected for special training. Get dressed; I will meet you in the hallway.” Rellik then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.