Shadow Part 1, Genesis

Chapter 2

Silence. That's all there was. The dune continued in a mountainous ring of sand, trapping Aeliana as darkness covered her sight. While she gazed around her to make sure what she was seeing was real, all she could do was stay still.

There were ten of them. Dressed in dark grey hooded robes with thin metal armor circulating around their forearms and stomach. Each held swords at their hips for weapons, while Aeliana, only clothed in her nightgown and without her lantern, became almost petrified. She was in the middle of nowhere, with no one to save her.

"You," said one of the men in a dark coarse voice.

She turned towards the man who spoke but was almost blinded by the darkness. She could hear him step forwards, drawing closer and closer. Taking a couple of paces back, Aeliana could barely breathe, until, "You dropped this", the man said as he pulled out her lantern from his robe with the flame still burning.

Aeliana saw the dark mysterious figure stand over her. "As a sign that I mean you no harm" he stated, while calmly returning the lantern to Aeliana.

Stretching out her right arm to receive it, the man slipped back his dark hooded cowl to reveal himself. He looked nothing like a robber, or a criminal, or a murderer. His rugged and chiselled appearance with a scar across the top of his right eye (which could only be from a sharp blade), resembled him as a soldier.

The man weaved his hand through his short dark brown hair and then proceeded to signal the rest of the men to reveal themselves also. Aeliana held up her lantern, glancing at the rest of the men circled around her who continued to bear a resemblance to warriors. Each one had dark brown hair and fierce eyes, but these were no warriors she had ever seen before. Something was different about these men. They had no crest on their robes to symbolise their leader or religion, and they appeared in some way non-human like. Each of them stood proudly and tall, never flinching or moving in any way.

"Wh-who are you all?" Aeliana asked.

The man with the scar moved closer towards her, bringing forth his deep green eyes to glisten in the light of the lantern's flame. Knowing he was the leader, she looked to him confidently to ensure she showed as little fear as possible. The man then began to slowly hold up his arm, while an uncertain and confused Aeliana stood motionless. He then waved to the two soldiers behind him to come forth.

As they started walking over, the man began to speak.

"It doesn't matter who we are" he said. "But it does matter who you are". Confused, she was utterly and completely bewildered.

"Aeliana." He paused for a moment, then continued. "You are the only one who is truly suited to help us".

"Wait. H-ow, how do you know my name?" she stuttered. "And suited to help what?!" she exclaimed.

The two men drew even closer to the flame given out by the lantern, until they were standing only two feet away from Aeliana when she screamed.

"What do you want with me?!"

"Nothing" the rugged man replied in a comforting tone. "We only want you to be who you're meant to be."

Aeliana, being utterly puzzled and perplexed, the two men immediately opened their robes and revealed two baby boys.

"Aeliana." The man brought his hands to her arms and gently held her. "These two have no family. We are not here to hurt you."

Looking to the baby boys with nothing but a gasp released from her throat, the man held her firmly and stated, "But where we come from these two cannot stay. There is nothing for them where we're from. Only death."

"Where you come from?" she replied while trying, but unable to calm herself down, "what place would only bring death?".

"Your world is yet to feel this pain, but one day it will. None-the-less, we are running out of time." Looking towards the moon, he exclaimed "The eclipse is ending and we need to go!" he ordered.

Aeliana was in complete confusion. She ultimately had no idea what was happening, as a short time ago she was in bed asleep. Everything happened so quickly and suddenly she had no idea what was going on.

"I don't understand!" she cried out.

Clicking his right fingers together, he walked away. Immediately the two men stepped forward, placing the babies in her arms.

"Wait!" she yelled, "I didn't say I would take them!"

Reaching the edge of the circle the man stopped, turned around and faced Aeliana. A smile appearing at the right side of his mouth made a dimple, while his face grew bright. He said one last thing.

"I love you Mum. And no matter what happens, stay strong". Pulling the cowl over his head as the other soldiers in the circle did the same, another storm rapidly began to brew.

"Wait! What?!" she shouted, while trying to hold onto both babies and the lantern. As the two men receded back to the circle besides their leader, the storm became more ferocious. Gale-force winds flew around the men and lightning started to strike from above as the clouds swirled into another vortex.

While the two men pulled their cowls over their heads, the flame suddenly vanished from the lantern as the storm began to blast thunder from beyond the vortex. Observing the enormous sand storm which encapsulated them, lightning travelled through and around the massive twister, as Aeliana almost became deaf from the noise pounding against her ear drums.

Quickly glancing at each soldier which circled her position, Aeliana stared back towards the man who called her "Mum". Keeping him within her sight and tightly holding onto each child in her arms, Aeliana looked down to realise that neither of the babies were awake or crying.

Worried for the two, she looked back at the man with the scar and noticed that the men next to him started to vanish. Their bodies swiftly drifted away as though they were shadows. One by one after lightning struck through the massive hurricane, each disappeared into the vortex above until only one stood watching.

Falling to the ground as the wind turned vicious, she kept her eye on the man with the scar for as long as possible until his body transformed into another shadow-like figure. Kneeling down in fear of uncertainty, she gazed in front of her and saw the man fade away as one last lightning bolt struck the ground ahead of her.

Dropping her lantern, Aeliana buried her head between the two children. Slowly the storm withered away and all of a sudden the lantern's flame gradually became lit, and as the flame produced a ring of light around her, she knew that they were alone.

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