The Glass I Peer Through

Prologue *DRAFT*

A promise is a promise. Many moons and millennia ago, a foolish being attempted to make one. Cold was the night, a wintry breeze snaking down her back, taunting her, but Luri Surier, a much obeyed, and vastly feared goddess, would not turn back. Not now; not now, as he emerged from the shadows of the forest, clad in a black robe which enveloped him, protecting him from the outside world. Or was it the outside world from him? Who knew? His boots were made of pure leather, with steel buckles fastening them to his feet. A silver chain, the symbol of Sesemuun, hung from around his neck.

Luri herself wore an alabaster gown, stark in the darkness, which flowed from top to bottom. The loose fabric of her dress covered her stomach, and she wore a slender rope belt high above her waist. The delicate lace and silk of her gown seemed to be moulded to her shape and it was embroidered with gold, a delicate, intricate weaving of swirls and whorls unreadable to the human eye, but with endless meaning to another's. Luri's dark, crimson lips, resemblant to blood, curved into a pleasant smile, but behind that... would be the truth.

He admired what she had chosen to wear, for it complemented her impossibly perfect figure and created a contrast with her obsidian locks of hair, which billowed down to her waist in impossibly perfect waves.

He approached her carefully, warily, ever the cautious one, but the danger dancing in the abyss that was his eye suggested otherwise, "You look ravishing tonight, Luri."

As flattered as she was, Luri would not fall for his attempts to seduce her, as she would always call it. Instead, she would take the offensive, ever the risk-taker, but the fear inside of her told another tale. Her emerald eyes glittered in the darkness as she countered, "Now is not the time for compliments, Helfallow."

Zamen Helfallow, the fiend he was, brushed her words off as if they were a mere fly on his shoulder with that melodious, enticing laugh of his, "A little praise is harmless, Surier, and you for one are no stranger to it. Now, I suggest you play along, considering what must take place tonight."

She pursed her lips together, the only sign of discomfort she would deign to show him. As much as she hated this meeting, they both needed to be here, even if the strange, unsettling feeling that radiated from the darkness enshrouding Helfallow would make any passer-by want to turn and run.

He knew that tonight the fate of this world would be hanging on the edge of a cliff, and it put both of their species in danger, but her kind would most certainly fall if she did not agree with the conditions he was about to present to her. Luri was a puppet now, and Helfallow held the strings.

"Bring him. We have no time for games." Her gaze moved from his to the woods behind him, which was home to creatures that would make any grown man scream, and turn his hair a frosty white. The vegetation and foliage concealed any nightmares waiting to pounce, but Luri had constructed a mental shield around the clearing the two of them now stood in so that only things she allowed in would pass through the barrier.

Helfallow's grin vanished, and it was replaced with a scowl, clearly irked by her outright demand. He thrived on fun and games, but it seemed tonight would play out differently.

"The boy, Murdock, now." he jerked his chin in the direction of the woods behind him, and Luri made a small opening in the invisible shield surrounding them. As if on cue, two cloaked men, both with stocky builds emerged from the forest. Following was what looked like a floating corpse - no, boy. His eyes were closed, and his chest was slowly rising and falling. A faint blue glow encircled him, which kept him from having to be dragged along the ground. He wore a black jacket, which had gold buttons lining the middle, fastened up to his collar and was embellished with the royal coat of arms.

"You have stolen royalty to complete our task, Zamen? There are many other commoners out there who are much more capable." Luri hissed, doubts swarming her mind.