Evmor: The Calling

Chapter 6

New chapter is finally up! Hope you guys will enjoy the story even more now that Aviara is finally in Evmor :)

Chapter 6

We trudged through the forest, and Killian explained that somehow I had entered Evmor. During my wild sprint into the forest, I must have opened up a pathway to this world in my desperation, leaving my pursuers behind. That explained why the tracks I had left suddenly disappeared in the middle of the forest floor.

Now that I wasn't on a wild dash for my life, I started to look around and appreciate my surroundings. As I had noticed before, the trees here were impossibly thick and tall and as we ventured further in, it only seemed to grow taller. Its imposing height blocked almost all the light and it seemed Killian and I were trekking through the dark. Luckily, Killian had keen eyesight, even in the dark—another perk of his kind—and I relied wholly on him to lead me down the right path.

"So, where's our first stop?" I asked, following closely behind him.

"I have a friend who has a place in the forest here. We can spend a day or two there, get your arm patched up." He answered while warning me of a stray branch. It had become our routine now. We would walk along in silence then one of us would start a conversation, but after a while we would drop it and focus on making our way through the forest. Throughout the entire time, Killian would warn me of anything in my path as if it had become a natural instinct.

During the earlier part of our trek, I had explained to Killian in detail what had happened. His expression grew darker and darker, and he swore under his breath at the fact that the demons were daring enough to attack me in my own home. Normally, they wouldn't do anything to alert humans of their existence. Even Atramentos acknowledged the fact that their world should be kept a secret from the humans. The fact that they were ordered to attack a place so well occupied reflected how far they were willing to go to stop me. I shuddered at how determined they were to get rid of me, just because I posed a threat to them by finding a single ring.

Killian explained he had stationed seven of his men around the perimeter of my house, ensuring my family's safety. He had ordered for at least one guard to follow my siblings should they leave the protection of the house. This made me wonder what position Killian held in his kingdom.

"What was your job that you get to boss around so many people?" I voiced my curiosity.

"I was the captain of the guards." He replied, and I was saddened to hear him state it as a past event. This made me realize just how many people there are who would've lost their occupations and lives because Cimerias took over the kingdom.

"Tell me what happened to the people after the Atramentos took over." I asked cautiously. I wanted to know but I wasn't sure if Killian was willing to share. It took him some time to compose himself, and he searched for the right words to explain it to me.

"King Maurus Atramento is a merciless ruler. He does not tolerate any form of disobedience or insubordination." At this I snorted. Does not tolerate was a nice way to put it. "He is cruel to his own subjects, so just imagine how ruthless he was to my people. Especially with the demons under his control." I sobered up and reached out to touch his arm in a sign of comfort. "Almost everyone from Velduron was killed: soldiers who fought against him, servants who stayed loyal to the queen, and even unsuspecting children from villages. The king ordered everyone to be killed on sight and when the war was finally over, you could say there was nothing left. Only a handful survived, those who were quick or resourceful enough to escape while they could. I should thank Coralia in a way; I would never have left the kingdom if it wasn't to save her life." He finished with a bitter smile and the haunted look in his eyes was back again.