Fate *Timekeeper Chronicles #1*

Chapter Six

        Nalka looked upon the army, a low chatter buzzing throughout the crowd. It had been like this for days, and Nalka wanted desperately to strike at the Timekeepers, but they were all locked up somewhere, and Nalka didn't bother.

        Azrael and Lockheed were sharing her pain, sighing painfully at her side, sometimes flitting away to play a small game with a daemon that was alone in a shadowy corner. Bes had begun to tinker with the scraps of metal that lay on the hallway floor.

        The doors began to rumble ominously, before a red energy filled the room. Terror filled Nalka as she thought at first that Aisa had escaped her prison in Hell. Her fears were quickly calmed, when Sutinfer stood glowering in the door.

        His red skin had an orange tinge to it, his beady black eyes sunk in his head, lines that he called eyebrows arched evilly, crooked yellow teeth in a grin, all pointy as a knife. The hall immediately grew quiet, and The Army of Darkness knelt on the floor.

        Nalka stood up, her frilly robes flowing behind her. A large grin opened on her face, her eyes danced, skin glowing slightly red. "Sutinfer" Nalka breathed, a large breath escaping her mouth, in a excited sigh.

        "Shadow is rising my apprentice!" Sutinfer said, his voice low and sharp. Shadow was the King of Darkness. It was never a necessarily good thing when he arose, yet he was still an evil person, which made Nalka excited that he was rising.

        Shadow would surely go after the Timekeepers when he arose, and put an end to the deeds that they did, cursing Nalka left and right. Nalka knew that she was only a pawn in a large game. The Timekeepers had trouble keeping her at bay? 

        Shadow, was the big picture. A million times more powerful that Nalka herself. Nalka grinned at Sutinfer. The Timekeepers would never suspect a thing.

§§§§§

        I looked out over the barren landscape. The sky was an ominous grey, clouds rumbling low over the landscape. There was no moisture in the air, and it was cold. Not too cold, but enough to send shivers down my back once in a while.

        Stubby blackened trees dotted the landscape. Twigs would crumble into ash once in a while, and only a single tall tree glared up out of the landscape. I had promised myself that I would reach it, yet however long I walked, the tree seemed to refuse to get closer, and my breath was running out.

        A thin, hunched figure stuck up out of the landscape, and looked rather like a very old human, that had been there for thousands upon thousands of years. I had ignored it before, but now it nagged me, and made me want to see what it was.

        Black birds growled in the sky. Orange fire sometimes spurting from their mouths. I had decided that they were dragons. They seemed to hover above me, as if waiting for me to do something special. I wasn't going to do anything special.

        Once in a while, fire would flicker in my hands, but I would quickly extinguish it, as it seemed to suck even more moisture out of the air. I sighed, my breath rattling scarily. My eyes drooped low, and I could feel wet dirt beginning to cake in my hair, all dry.

        One black dragon from the sky suddenly arched in the air, and descended from above, landing before me, causing the ground to crack unpleasantly. The dragon growled which I understood as Need a ride? I desperately did.

        I tried to communicate that to the dragon, but being the arrogant beast that he was, simply assumed that I desired a ride. He lowered his back legs, so I could clamber on his back. A ripple of whitish black scales flashed across his hide.

        I decided I would call him Ash. The ride was much less comfortable than I thought it would be. His scales scratched at my clothes and skin, causing large scrapes to open in certain places. I was very glad when he lowered me near the figure that was haunched in the blackness.

        Ash took off without another words. A took a step and wobbled, tottering on my legs, groping around for something to hold my balance, as I kept my eyes on the person. Of course there was nothing, so I decided to keep going, and take my chances.

        I shuffled awkwardly over to the man, who began to sit down, propping himself against the large black tree that stuck up out of the ground. "Eehh-daaaaaa" he warbled out. Edda. That must be his wife's name. "Hello" I said quietly.

        "Edda?" he said hopefully scanning the plains, but his face fell when he noticed me. "What do you want." he grumbled. I actually wasn't sure what I wanted, but I thought up something quickly as I could.

        "What is this place and who are you" I blurted, trying hard to sound like I had been holding it in for forever, and desperately wanted to get it out. The old senile man glared at me, as if he detected something in my voice, before answering my question.

        "I'm Elder, the first Elder, and this is the Baron Moor, where the Battle of Baron took place a few millenia ago" he said, his voice gruff and grumbly. The Baron Moor. It seemed lesser than a moor, more like a cursed land, or a version of Hell, just where nothing happened.

        I bit my lip, and felt a bit awkward standing there, for I was completely oblivious as to what an Elder was, and apparently Elders had been around for a long time, because this Elder seemed extremely old.

        "Um, what is an Elder...I mean, I've heard of Timekeepers and Daemons, but never Elders" I said, shifting from foot to foot. I wiped a chunk of dry dirt off of my face, and combed through my hair with my fingers, trying to look as clean as I could.

        "And Elder is an immortal person, who has limitless magic. There are only three Elders left, me, my wife Edda, and an Evil Elder named Bes". He said plainly, laying against the tree again, and closing his eyes.