Centuries ago, Angor rot traveled across the ocean, stopping only at the shores of a forsaken island. An island that was known to be the prison for a terrible dark power. The young troll-assassin held his torch high in the air to illuminate the shadowy darkness that blanketed the stretch of land before him. Jagged rocks jutted from the earth almost like teeth around the mouth of the cave that gaped in front of his eyes.
He began chanting in ancient draconian as he produced a small sparrow from the confines of his satchel. He let it go, letting it soar into the open mouth of the cave.
"I call you forth!" He beckoned to whatever evil lay waiting in the darkness, "Argante..." He began to list off names, aliases that had grown plentiful over the years.
"Pale Lady..."
"Baba Yaga..."
"Eldritch Queen..."
A low ominous chuckle resounded from the depths of the cave and a feminine voice spoke, "I have many names..."
"I've come to trade..." The young Angor Rot tried desperately not to stutter out of fear, but his eyes betrayed his emotions, "Gunmar's war for the surface lands has ravaged my village... I need the power to protect my people."
"You seek magic?" The woman's voice questioned, "But what do you bring me in return?"
He drew his blade; the same blade that in the present was poisoned with creeper's sun, but back then he took the blade and carved out a stone from his own flesh, "Here." he implored the entity, "My offering, carved from my own living stone."
The piece of his flesh began to glow a bright, pulsating blue as he reached it into the inky blackness of the cave. A hand, decorated with long golden fingernails, like armor reached out and snatched the stone. The mysterious woman clenched her hand into a fist and the stone shifted into a ring.
Three glowing, yellow balls of light appeared from it and drifted towards the waiting Angor rot. He held out his hand and they flew into it, being absorbed almost instantly.
His body convulsed slightly at the intake of such powerful magic, "Yes!" He breathed, "I can feel it! It's so-" He stopped short as the bright yellow glow that had overtaken him died out and he dropped to his knees, groaning in pain.
The lights pushed their way through his mouth, pulsing with new energy. They fluttered away and into the ring, the strange effigy was holding.
"My soul!" Angor cried, clutching his chest and reaching out towards the escaped energy, "You lied to me!"
The woman only laughed, a cruel laugh, "You fool. Your flesh is worth nothing."
"What have you done to me!" He wailed, "inside... I am so... so...empty."
"I gave you what you wanted, assassin." The woman's voice grew menacing, "Now, your soul is mine! You will seek Merlin's champions, and bring death to his Trollhunters!"
_
In the present, Jim and I approached the looming face of Gatto within his keep once again. Both of us were unarmed, without our armor, and even more daring; without our friends as backup... or so they could see.
"The Trollhunters," Gatto looked down at us as the other lava trolls essentially forced us towards him, "You have returned... and without your amulets."
"We need the Kairosect." I got straight to the point.
Gatto raised an eyebrow at us, "The Kairosect? Hmm, dangerous magic. After what you and your friends did to me, why should I let you live?"
"Because this time," Jim glanced at me and smirked, "We have a riddle for you."
YOU ARE READING
The Two Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia Book One: Just the Beginning
FantasyJim and his best friends have been dragged headfirst into a world that is not their own. He and Raelynn have been chosen as this other world's protectors. But Raelynn and her sister have secrets, secrets that will have to be revealed if the team is...
