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

Chapter XXXIX: Eclipse

Deep within the Labyrinth of Time, Lord Bahemyth sits in front of a small fireplace. The light it emits is all that is lighting the room. In the chair next to father time, sits Leon. He is sipping some tea from a white ceramic mug. The two of them are not saying a word, rather they are enjoying the quiet and the crackle of the fire.

"It's nice to just relax once in awhile," Leon says, finally breaking the silence.

"It always is, especially having someone who doesn't just want to seek guidance," Bahemyth agrees, "I have learned just as much from you as I have taught you. That is different for me."

"I thank you for your kind words Bahemyth."

"No, I thank you for staying after the Bringers of Hope left. People come and go, not many stay awhile to visit."

"Well, you are a good friend. Besides that, you did teach me how to live beyond my mortal body."

"Even after death, your role to the balance is too important. You don't understand Leon. The Bringers might be the ones who are the ones fighting for peace, but they are young and naive. They still need direction."

"That's where you're wrong. They are plenty strong enough in every way imaginable."

"Do you really believe that they have what it takes to defeat Lady Parocaav. Her alone could not stand against the almighty Gaia. Do you think her power split can be any better? Once Lady Parocaav has Gaia's power, she will be unstoppable."

"The Bringers of Hope are stronger than Lady Parocaav ever was. They adapted to her power better than she ever did. Besides that, the goddess has never truly known the light."

"How can you hold such a high confidence in them?"

"Well. I do know that they are the most powerful mages I know, even if they don't know it themselves yet. That, and they have Tao with them as well. Remember that his power almost matched that of Lady Parocaav during the war. He is the reason the Ragnarok Wars ended."

"That is true Leon, but you have to remember, the actions of that war set forth all of this into motion."

"That's true enough I suppose. You know, I've been thinking about Lady Samantha. Think she will be able to face her brother?"

"Honestly, the better question is vice versa. Will Drayk be able to stand against his kid sister?"

"She hasn't been attempting to engage in combat with them. I don't think she wants to face him."

"You're wrong Leon. She desperately wants to confront the Bringers of Hope. What she was, who she was, is gone. She is but another puppet of Lady Parocaav, she is Xivaac's living embodiment after all."

"I don't think she's that far gone. She will always be his sister."

"Think what you will Leon. I cannot say either way. Besides that, she has yet to release Eclipse into this world."

"Eclipse?! The Shadow Dragon?"

Meanwhile ~

Lady Samantha bursts through two large wooden doors leading to a throne room enshrined with gold. The throne on the far end of the room is quite tall and gold in color. It has dark purple cushions in the seat and as a backrest. She walks up to it and sits down, facing out to the golden room. Next to the throne, sits a smaller chair, dull and grey in color. Lady Samantha snaps her fingers while getting comfortable.

A moment later, a miniature black dragon enters the room. Fire shoots from its nostrils as it dashes over to sit in the chair next to her. This dragon is a full grown Shadow Dragon although it is only the size of a house cat. It has a full wingspan that's able to provide the creature flight. Dark yellow feathers run down its back and it has one horn on the end of its nose. At the end of its tail is a tiny bulb with sharp spikes around it.

"Good boy, Eclipse," Lady Samantha says with a smile on her paled face.

Lady Samantha closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath. It has been awhile since she attempted, but now is the time: futuresight. She focuses her mind on her original power from Lord Xivaac. Images flash through her thoughts, but she cannot quite make them out.

~~~~~~~

The world has been drained completely, no color left at all. The entire planet is now grey all around, no life left about. All the plants has crumbled away to ash and the riverbeds run dry. Even the sun seems to hold no color, nor the sky. Up in the Northern Lands of Ragnarok, Lady Parocaav has finished drawing her strength from Gaia. The power she so desperately sought out is now hers to control.

Standing before her, is Roku, all by herself. Drayk and Tao are nowhere to be seen. Roku is speaking to the goddess, but her words cannot be made out. After a moment, the goddess grows tired of her and strikes her with a shard of Ice Magic. It pierces Roku completely, but she heals herself as soon as it happens.

~~~~~~~

Lady Samantha realizes she is back in her throne room. Her head is spinning and she is totally dazed. What did she just see? Roku had gone to Lady Parocaav by herself. This thought has her baffled, she cannot think of any reason why Drayk or Tao would not be with her.

"Very odd. What did I just see?" Lady Samantha asks herself as she stands up.

Meanwhile ~

Drayk sits at the far end, by himself, at the bar. He has a rum with soda in his hand that is periodically sipping from as he reads through an old book. On the cover, 'Shadows' is the only word written with a golden shine. He has always found comfort in reading when he is stressed or upset. There is so much history to this place that he never realized.

Book after book, drink after drink, Drayk reads. So many new alchemic symbols that he has never seen before lay in these books. He studies them closely, since he is unable to learn the magic. The alchemy he has come across is unlike any other he's encountered. They are much more complex in design.

"These must have been used mostly for setting traps and stealth," Drayk thinks out loud, "Fascinating. I need to remember these."

With that in mind, Drayk stands up and grabs the books. He waves to the barkeep while walking outside. The sun has set below the clouds, making them glow. This, in its own way, is the most remarkable sunset Drayk has ever seen. The inn is not far up the street so it doesn't take long for him to get back to the room he has been staying in. Once inside, he sighs to see Roku isn't back yet from her first training session. Drayk sets the books down onto a small desk in the far corner of the room. He sits down with a piece of paper and a pen. His eyes glance over the symbols while he practices sketching them.

Suddenly, a name on the last page of the book catches his focus. Drayk looks carefully at the page and is amazed to see the name 'Eclipse' at the bottom. A chill runs down his spine. For some reason, that name instantly causes uneasiness in him. He reads the passage above the name: 'The Guardian of Shadows'. Drayk has no idea why, but he feels as if this guardian has some association with him. Almost like a sense of deja vu, or familiarity. Drayk knows this is impossible, he has never personally encountered it. Then it clicks in his mind, somehow, he can sense his sister's relation to whoever or whatever Elipse is.