Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (rough draft)

Chapter XXXI: Embrace the Darkness

Lady Samantha stands in complete awe at the sight of the Dark Lord. Xivaac had been slain by her brother, she had seen it firsthand. She thinks back to what Leon told her once, that there is a fine line between life and death. If she didn't believe it before, she definitely does now. After another moment, Lady Samantha walks into the room with Lord Xivaac and Bahemyth.

"You must have so many questions," Lord Xivaac snickers.

"I thought my destiny was to be so much more...." Lady Samantha pauses, "Even Leon-"

"Bah!" Lord Xivaac interrupts, "I don't care what Leon ever told you. He has been nothing but a nuisance since he was born."

"Did you know about Lady Parocaav?"

"To be honest, it doesn't really matter whether I did know or not. You're wasting your time. You know what you truly want to ask me."

"Why me?"

"There is no reason Lady Samantha. You were always meant to rise to power, to help bring the world to chaos. I never imagined that you'd gain my essence, but I knew darkness is your true destiny."

"I don't want this."

"That is irrelevant Lady Samantha," Bahemyth finally speaks in a soft tone, "All that happens has been predetermined. No one can change history, or the future. Embrace the darkness."

"What about you Lord Bahemyth?" Lady Samantha asks him immediately.

"I am the Keeper of Time. I am time. I have seen this existence from start to finish, from before and millennia after," Bahemyth replies with a stern voice, "Nothing can be changed. The timeline is sealed."

Lady Samantha turns away from them and leans against the wall. She lets her own thoughts drown them out. Once again she can feel herself being lost to the darkness. It's almost as if it is eating her alive from the inside out, consuming her entirely. Her memories remain firm, but the way they are perceived have changed. She no longer looks at her past in a certain familiar light. Anger. Hatred. Darkness. Lady Samantha turns to face the Gods once more. A smirk spreads across her face as she steps toward them. The look of innocence has completely faded from her.

"The real reason I came here, was to seek advice Lord Bahemyth," Lady Samantha simply says.

"I know child, but you needed to confront the darkness within you first. I know that you have had doubt of your true potential Lady Samantha," Bahemyth explains, "Now that you have finally accepted who you are, we can now look into why you came to me. Again I say child, embrace the darkness."

"I'm not finished here Bahemyth," Xivaac states.

"But you are," Bahemyth says.

Before Xivaac can respond, Bahemyth snaps his fingers and the Dark Lord disappears. His aura returns to Lady Samantha, rejoining her once more. The darkness almost feels cold, sending a chill down her spine.

"Lord Bahemyth, I need to know a way to end the Bringers of Hope. They are a nuisance to Lady Parocaav and they need to be destroyed," Lady Samantha says.

"Are you worried they will interfere," Bahemyth pauses, "Or do you fear your brother?"

"I do not fear anyone."

"You will get your chance to face them again, but if you want an edge on them.... find the remainder of the Resistance Army and destroy them."

"Are they even still around? I thought they were either slain or converted to the Elite Forces."

"You would be amazed to learn how many are left. Granted, your army heavily outnumbers them, but they are all very powerful mages in their respective elements. Your biggest problem will be the three Ragnarok Mages."

"The Bringers and that Tao guy. Who is he anyway? The Reaper and Lady Parocaav are very secretive about him."

"They don't really know who he is, although virtually no one does. He is an extremely powerful Ragnarok Mage and an expert alchemist. The very first pupil by the almighty Leon."

"What harm does it do to reveal who Tao really is? Is the the truth really so bad?"

"Patience. If there is one thing I have learned in my time in existence, it's this: patience. Nothing is more important."

"That actually helps, in an unrelated matter. Thank you Lord Bahemyth. I should be going now. I need to make another stop before I return to the Northern Reach."

Lady Samantha begins to walk out of the room, followed by Bahemyth. They make their way down the corridor and back to the staircase. Once at the top, Lady Samantha steps out into the normal world once more. Fresh memories of Lord Xivaac stand out in her thoughts. She had been anxious to leave since she saw him. Lady Samantha wanted questions about him answered, not see into his eyes again. The sound of the door shutting behind her echoes in the silent valley. Locks clicking are soon to follow as she disappears in a shroud of darkness.

Meanwhile ~

Out in a far off valley, nestled and hidden high up in a rocky mountain range, sits a small cottage along a river. A gentle, yet steady flow of smoke pours from a chimney on its side. Birds chirp away happily in this virtually untouched place. A young boy runs out to the river with a smile on his face as he splashes into it. Not too far behind, steps out an old man with long white hair and a black goatee.

He stops suddenly and looks out into the surrounding hills. A familiar, yet different presence strikes the old man. For unknown reasons, fear hits him hard as he calls for his grandson to go back inside the house. The boy runs back in and the man shuts the front door behind the child. Carefully, he steps away from his home, toward the river. A dark cloud appears a few feet away from him. From within it, steps Lady Samantha with a crooked smirk on her face.

"Why do you wreak of the God of Darkness?" The man asks.

"Good to see you again too," Lady Samantha says sarcastically, "I have replaced him. Xivaac was weak. I am Lady Samantha, Futureseer and the Mistress of Darkness."

"I did not welcome him here, nor are you!"

"You are a very powerful Storm Mage, and you need to be destroyed. Xivaac's attempts were futile, but mine will not!"

"I don't care if you're more powerful than Lord Xivaac! You will not take me or my family!"

Lady Samantha moves her hands in small circles in front of herself. Black flames begin to dance around her. At the flick of her wrist, the flames engulf the man completely. The fire burns so hot it distorts the air around it. Plants below him catch fire and the ground itself starts to melt. Lightning shoots out from within, striking in all directions. The fire explodes with sparks and the old man jumps away. He drops down to the ground once he lands.

His skin is charred from the flames and his hair has been burnt away. The man looks up into Lady Samantha's cold, black eyes, almost surprised. The Dark Lord never had any elemental abilities, only the control of darkness. It's then that the man realizes she was not created by Lady Parocaav as Xivaac had been. She is but a fire mage that's been lost to the darkness, consumed.

"Who are you child?" the man asks, "What happened to you? Why did you submit to the darkness?"

"No questions!" Lady Samantha screams as she raises her arms above her head, "Arise!"

A roar echoes out from a distance. Shortly after, a ball of fire appears above the valley. The chimera bursts out from the flames. This beast has changed since it was vanquished by Lady Samantha in the Labyrinth of Time. The eyes of all of its heads have turned solid black, as did its scales and fur. It now looks more or less like its own shadow.

"Is that?" the man begins to ask, but cannot find the words to finish.

"Yes! I'd like you to meet Pyroxe, Chimera of Flames!" Lady Samantha exclaims.