Legend Reborn

Chapter 3: Our Roles

I'm not sure what I should do in this situation. I would most likely start rolling on the ground or something to get the fire out, but the weird thing is this fire doesn't hurt. I still feel heat radiating off of it, and the smell of burning feathers clogs my nose, but I don't feel any pain. I lift my hand up to my face. It hasn't been touched by the fire at all, and neither has the spear I've been holding.

The crowd is screaming suggestions at the elders. Some say to get some water, others want them to save the spear, and a few are shouting that I'm some kind of demon and should be killed. The elders whisper to each other before nodding. It looks like they've decided what they should do with me. They make their way down from the platform and stand in front of me, but they do not approach any further. The crowd goes silent in anticipation.

The flames don't give any sign of dying down, which is strange because they don't seem to be burning anything. I begin to feel an odd sensation on my upper left chest, right over my heart. It's not exactly pain, but it's not comfortable either. I slowly pull my wings out and give them a few good flaps. This clears away all of the flames in an instant.

Everyone gasps but me. I look around at all the people staring transfixed at me, but then I realize they aren't looking at me at all. They're looking at my extended wings. I glance behind me to see what all the fuss is about and gasp myself. They're gold. Each feather glistens and shines in the torchlight and makes my wings appear as if they've been covered in a fine layer of gold dust.

I turn back to the elders with the spear still in my hands. "What's happening to me?"

"I think I can...help explain..." the same eerie voice calls. It makes my neck prickle nervously, and I can tell the others in the crowd are made uneasy by it too. They can hear it this time. 

A figure appears out of the shadows of the platform and walks into the center of the circle. His appearance is that of a shadow, his skin the color of charcoal. He looks more like a ghost or an apparition than a being with physical substance, and, sure enough, he walks through a torch as he moves closer to me.

"You see...a long...long time ago...I had a fight with...that pesky goddess of yours," he says with a sneer. I can't see his face under the hood of his black cloak, but I can see his mouth as he talks to me. "She beat me...and sent me back...to the underworld...but I'm back now...and she knew...that I would be...so she prepared...five champions...and a hero...to fight me in her place."

I stare at him in disbelief. "You're the shadow that threatened all of Elarium?"

The shadowy figure takes a bow. "The one...and only...and now I'm here...to get rid of you...before you can complete...your quest...and then...nothing can stop me!" He raises a hand and chants some nonsense words.

Several shadowy figures emerge from the ground. They look like people, but they don't have faces or wings. The shadow figure points at me and shouts some more nonsense that the things he summoned seem to understand. They come running at me.

I tighten my hold on the spear and try to come up with some kind of strategy. I'm not even sure how to properly wield this thing. As soon as I think that, a memory flashes in my mind of expertly spinning and slashing with the spear. I brace myself as the shadows approach. The first one gets impaled straight in the chest, and dissolves into nothingness. The second and third receive a large slash down their fronts. I jump over the last shadow and stick the spear right through its back. There's no trace of any of the shadow creatures as I turn to face the shadow figure. Everything went down in a matter of seconds. 

"You're better...than I expected...I hope...you train while you can...because the next time...we meet...I'll be stronger," the shadow figure growls. He takes a few steps back and melts into the shadow of a torch.