The Lost one's journey

Part 34: The daughter of shadows

The day quickly turns to evening and then to night as they return to a black palace. "I must thank you. I've had a wonderful time here in Kruhabelt." Ikati bows her head. "Thank you. I'm glad to have been able to deliver an enjoyable experience." Galdur grins, and he picks up her head by the chin. "Now, aren't you a princess? You shouldn't be bowing your head to a human now, should you?" Galdur says with a laugh. "Oh... sorry." She quietly says with a slight blush. "It's nothing. Now then I must go speak to your father." Galdur bows his head to her as he enters the palace, with Ikati following after him. Ikati is escorted by servants back to her room, while Galdur is escorted to Voda's room.

Galdur enters the room with a smile and can easily see Voda awaiting him on a chair with another in front of him. Voda motions for him to sit on the chair, and Galdur does. "I hope your experience was up to standards." Voda says this as his deep purple eyes look down on Galdur. "Oh, it was much more than simply meeting my standards; I'd say it was very easily surpassed!" "I'm glad to hear that. I wish to continue the conversation we're having earlier today." Galdur claps his hands, and a cup of tea appears before him. He takes a sip of it before speaking. "Right to business? Lord Voda I expected more. Hadn't you heard the term pleasure before business?" Voda continues to look down on Galdur as they speak. "The term is business before pleasure, Galdur. I would've thought a man of your caliber would've known that." "Haha. No, no, Lord Voda. Those who speak of that simply don't understand what it means to enjoy life. They only see life as a means to an end." "I would argue the opposite of what you say. Business is a necessity in life. It can help you gain the pleasure you so desire. As well as to argue with your second point, life, of course, is a means to an end. Everyone, no matter what race or what world they are from, all die eventually no? I'm sure even you have a goal you wish to have by the end of your life. However, we didn't come to debate philosophy's." Galdur sighs. "If we truly must, I'll leave it with this statement. Death is not an ending, but a start. Now then, where did we leave off?" Galdur says with a grin as he looks into Voda's eyes, which continue to look down upon him. "Your gift. You told me of its power. You called it knowledge, correct?" "It is. You want to use it to your own benefit, I assume?" Voda nods his head. "Knowledge is something so many people look over; even the elf king doesn't know how powerful it is." Voda extends his hand to Galdur. "I want to bring change to this world for the better." "How would you do that?" Galdur asks with a hint of skepticism in his voice. "You should know. You have the gift of knowledge." Galdur sighs disappointedly. "Lord Voda, in my world, some people have this same idea, but they all failed. It's an endless cycle of failure. What makes you different?" Voda stands up and goes to a window. "Kruhabelt didn't exist before I came here. All that was here in Kruha were small huts of stone, much fewer tribes of Beastkins, and more packs of wild animals. All of them fighting each other for the mere scrapes of food and water that existed here in Kruha." As Voda speaks, he looks out from the window, seeing the kingdom below him disappear into an empty desert. "When I was born, I saw the horrid nature of Beastkins. I saw war, Galdur. Do you even know the very nature of war? Does it even exist in your world? I've heard from other humans that your world is a paradise. Having technology and knowledge that far surpasses our merger minds and that we could never imagine... but we don't have that here. No, we don't. Beasts fight beasts, animals fight animals, and creature fights creature." Voda sees large groups of Beastkins killing each other on the empty desert. Clawing each other down and biting their throats. While a small panther beastkin stands far in the back, watching the horrid violence. "These are the very laws that reigned over these lands before I came. I took those laws and burned them away. I created new laws from the ashes of the old." Voda sees the young panther grow eyes of rage as the shadows build up around him. The shadow covers the land, killing the violent Beastkins, and then the shadows build up Kruhabelt. "I destroyed those packs of creatures that called themselves beastkin. I forged them into tribes, and from tribes, I turned them into a kingdom!" His voice raises as he swings the curtains away from the window to show off Kruhabelt to Galdur. "I was able to reform these savage lands into what they are now! A prosperous nation, where no one goes hungry, where no one gets thirsty, where... where no one is lost." Vodas voice softens as he speaks. Seeing a small, lone beastkin being hugged by the shadows of the dead. "I have done all of these things by myself. You ask, What makes me believe I'm different? This is why Galdur." Voda turns to Galdur with his kingdom at his back. Galdur looks disappointed at Voda as he stands. "Lord Voda. You disappoint me." Galdur stoutly says this as he leaves his room. Voda clicks his tongue. "Tsk. I don't need him. I fixed Kruha so I can fix all the other worlds, right?" Voda asks as he turns to a woman who looks the exact same as the portrait earlier in the day, but she has a gaping hole in her chest with her white dress stained with blood.

As Galdur leaves Voda's room, Ikati stands outside of her room. She bows her head to him. "It was a pleasure to be your guide." Galdur approaches her and leans down to her face with a smile. "You aren't happy here are you?" Ikati looks at him in surprise. "H- wha- I-" She stumbles over he words but Galdur smiles in respond as he straightens his back up. "Daughter of shadows this and daughter of shadows that, having your soul gem engraved with something isn't something any parent should do, hell it's not something anyone should do. Voda that bastard has horrid plans for the future and I'm sure you'll be forced to partake in it." As Galdur speaks many servants and Ikati look at him in shock for his rude and disrespectful tone about Voda. "He's nothing but a man who sees himself as above all people. He'll certainly fall due to his own hubris." One of the servants walk up to Galdur with a disgusted look on his face. "Lord Galdur you have no place to speak of our lord in such a manner! Especially after he showed you such kindness!" Galdur rolls his eyes and turns to the servant. "By the gods does it look like I care?" He says annoyed as he turns back to Ikati. "If you wanna leave just go. What're they gonna do? Stop you? Just use that power you have." Galdur says with a laugh as he claps his hands and he seems to disappear. "Lady Ikati ignore what that man said. You have a duty to this country." The servant says before he walks off. Ikati returns to her room and sits on her bed with her mind racing with thoughts. 'I'm happy here. I- I am. I can live here." Ikati reassured herself while having a hand to her scar. "Oh by the gods." She can hear Galdur's annoyed voice from the window and she snaps her head around. "Sir Galdur!? What are you doing!?" She says in shock as she goes up to the window to open it. "I just wanted to be able to talk to you in a private way. After all you can't speak your mind when others are listening huh?" Galdur asks with a grin as he claps his hands causing a yellow wave to expand from him. Ikati grunts in pain and clinches at her heart then collapsing to the ground in pain. "Oh my goodness. He put a spell on your soul gem!?" Galdur says in utter disbelief. "W- what!?" Ikati asks between grunts of pain. Galdur doesn't respond for a second as he claps his hand once again. A blue light expands from his hands and surround Ikati in a healing aura. After a bit more of pain it goes away and she stands up. "W- why? What did he do!" She shouts at Galdur as tears form in her eyes. Galdur lets out a sigh.  "So this is just a guess but the spell I casted first was to block out a communication from this room so no one can hear our conversation just as a precaution. So my guess is that in your soul gem itself he planted a spell that allowed him to listen to everything. I just halted that spell but it's not gone. I'll ask you again. Are you happy here?"