The Arwain Chronicles Book I

Chapter One

Prologue…

It swirled slowly as it had always done. The four of them -or three depending on how you looked at it- had argued over it for centuries. They couldn't decide whether it was shimmering mist or simply light that appeared foggy. This shimmering substance made up the whole landscape of their holding. Shimmering mist, foggy light and more shimmering mist as they like to describe it. They were all at the moment suspended in midair, if this place even had air that is. This was pretty much all they had ever been whenever they were brought back to this place. There wasn't a single solid object on this side.

All four -or three- of them were silent. Silence was something they had learnt to exist with. After all one does run out of things to say to one another after two and a half millennia of being in the same depressing unchanging place. The fact that this wasn't the first time they had been brought to this place didn't make matters any better. They were all glad in their own way that the place had only been designed to hold them as they waited, not to drive them crazy. All four -or three- knew perfectly well they would have lost their minds long before present time if it had been. From time to time they did talk, but mostly they just stayed silent.

A gasp was heard bringing to an end the current five century long bout of silence. "I felt it," it was the voice of the one with long straight jet black hair. Her hair turned the vibrant yellowish-orange of flames at the last two inches of it. This matched the exact colour of her eyes which also seemed to be ablaze with a fire that spoke of wisdom, strength wit and at close study, warm humor.

A disinterested sigh slipped forth from one whose tail swayed lazily from side to side behind her. She rolled her eyes at these words, "Here we go again," she murmured the tone of her voice reflecting the disinterest apparent in her expression.

"I felt it too," one of the other remaining two spoke up. Her smile clearly showing that she dared to be hopeful. The last one said nothing. Her expression barely showed any recognition to what the others were going on about. The last one was the exact mirror image of the third. So much so that except for one quirk in their natures, it was absolutely impossible to distinguish between the two of them.

The truth of the situation was that all four of them had felt it. The significance of this, was not lost to any of them. Normally it was the flame haired one who could sense them. The fact that all four could feel his presence this clearly meant he was powerful, really powerful!
The fact that they could sense his presence however, did not necessarily mean that he would find them and free them. In the last two thousand five hundred years other four just as powerful as whoever it was they were sensing had come along. All four had either gone away or met their end before they had ever had the chance to free them. They all knew it would only be temporary freedom, they would once again end up here after a time… as they always did. They all however, so badly wanted this illusion of freedom, even if  just for a decade or so.

The disappointment of this hope being once again dashed as it had been a number of times before was what the one whose tail still moved languidly and the one who feigned unawareness felt they wouldn't be able to take. Especially since this was the longest they had ever been stuck in this place at a time.
The flame haired one was the only one who had the ability to sense them all even the not so powerful ones. She had over the millennia she had spent in this side, learnt to deal with the disappointment of not being freed whenever one of them came along.

The one who had a hopeful smile on her face, only did so because her nature compelled her to do so. A deep sense of both dread and hope however engulfed all four of them. In spite their different dispositions, they all so badly wanted for this to be the time they were finally brought back to the world of mortals. For whatever span of time they would be allowed.

Despite the fact that they had all been just been silent for the past five hundred years, the silence that followed the small exchange bore heavily down upon them. And in spite of them trying to hide it, they all were studying the shimmering mist around them. It had all the tell-tale signs. It was shining brighter, moving a bit faster in more distinct patterns rather than the slow random movements it exhibited most of the time. It was undeniable, he was close!

"What do you think it will be this time?" the one feigning unawareness finally spoke up when at last the silence became too uncomfortable. "Death, or will he simply never know we exist and go on with his life. Leaving us to rot here for another two thousand five hundred years?" She asked her voice deceptively indifferent. None answered, they all knew what she was doing. It was a defense mechanism. She was preparing herself for the worst so that if indeed it did come to pass, it wouldn't hurt as much.

"No. This time, he'll find us," the flame haired one spoke up her voice firm with conviction.

"Don't make promises you can't keep" the one who had feigned unawareness spoke silently, her voice now a bit less indifferent.

"I never do," the flame haired one replied closing her eyes. A look of concentration crept onto her face.

The other three were silent for a moment at her words. A glance was shared between them as it dawned on them what she meant and what she planned to do.
"What do you think you are doing," her voice was fierce as her tail stopped mid motion.

"Keeping my promise," the flame haired girl spoke calmly not breaking her concentration.

"Stop it! Right now!" she demanded, "You know what happens when you influence events," she hissed. The fact that the flame haired girl was ignoring her, only served to agitate the tailed one further.

A small smile crept onto the face of the flame haired girl, "Is that actual concern I hear in your voice?" she teased still maintaining her concentration.

"The backlash is going to weaken you, making you a liability. So yes I am concerned, for myself," she said her voice cold. None of the others actually believed a word of it.

A sudden gasp from the flame haired girl caught everyone else's attention. Her eyes were now wide open. Emerging from them, was a bright orange yellow glow. They all knew she was seeing some place else totally different from where they were.

"Impossible!" came the shocked whisper from the girl...


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"ROZZANE LANE, ARKWOOD AVENUE," came the strangled cry of the little old Asian man as he sat bolt upright in his bed. Despite the fact that his whole body had been in horrific pain, his mind had been quick and sharp enough to sift through it all and listen to the words that he'd spoken. Or more precisely, had been spoken to him.

He remained seated up stiffly as the last vestiges of the pain slowly ebbed away. Finally with a sigh he arose out of bed, muttering to himself as had become his habit of late. With a flick of his hand, he set off the spell that he had done so many times that it came so naturally and easily to him as blinking did.

He knew that to most it would seem odd to start packing in the middle of the night. If he had his way, he too wouldn't have started packing right away. But he knew that if he didn't start moving right away, the revelation would once again come to him. The next time however, even more painful than the first time. The pain of receiving messages from the universe always became worse with subsequent revelations.

He came out from the back of the store which had also served as his home for much longer than he wished to remember. He surveyed the many seemingly innocent and worthless looking boxes and books. They carried more secrets and knowledge of the universe than he cared to actually know of.
When he'd started this work he had found it so frustrating to be the keeper of secrets and yet not be allowed to know them. More than once he had succumbed to the gnawing curiosity and desire to know. He had on occasion tried to find out what at least one or two of these secrets were. The punishment had been severe. With the passage of time however, he had lost all interest in what it actually was that he guarded.

"One of you may be leaving soon," he spoke softly as he watched them jump off the shelves and fly into the packing boxes that he’d conjured from thin air. With another tired sigh he turned away from the items that were packing themselves, and walked over to the counter.
Reaching beneath it he pulled out a crystal orb the size of a basketball and placed it on the counter top. Focusing his mind on the emerald fog that slowly swirled within it, he spoke in a voice much stronger and clearer than one would expect of someone his age. "Rozzane lane, Arkwood Avenue."
Though he knew that the address could mean any of a number of places around the world, the orb would know where exactly he needed to go. He watched the swirling fog clear up and an image of his destination form on the orb. He studied it keenly burning every detail into his mind.
Once he was sure he had every detail right he stepped away from the orb letting the image fade back into emerald fog. How the orb always managed to send him to the right place he had never come to know. For the past thirty five thousand years however, it had never once been wrong.

Once everything was packed in their designated boxes, he stood stock still focusing all his magic on the image in his mind. For a few seconds nothing happened then all of a sudden he vanished into thin air. He together with everything else except for the store itself…

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A satisfied smile crossed his features as he stood in the shadows across the street from where store was, or more accurately had previously been. For the past forty years he had watched the old man under the orders of his master. For the past forty years he had found out nothing worth his master's attention. Not up until now. At last he had something to report back. "A new one has come into being!" he murmured to himself excitedly.

Finally he would once again have a chance to prove himself to his master. He now had a chance at redemption. The smile on his face widened at this thought. Maybe he'll even let me be the one to kill him he thought to himself. He turned away from the store he too vanishing into thin air...