The Sword of Darkness

13 Lost loves

The great hall was lit only by fire, giving an orange glow on the sotch wood walls. The room was spacious with a long table meant to entertain many guests for dinner. It permeated with aromatic scents by the candles. Lavender oil with frankincense and peppermint, the scents were meant to calm Oreana but it only made her tense. There was a red velvet cloth that spread the length of the twelve foot table. It had a candelabrum in the center and one at each end of the table. There were torches that ran along the wall on metal posts. It was tranquil and the lightning made it easy to fall asleep if one was drowsy. The room had barely any furnishings except a couch at one side of the room. It didn't have a back like traditional couches only two arm-rests. It was made for laying down more than sitting. There were no windows and only a single steel door.

Oreana sat at one end. She wore a red laced dress. It didn't have shoulder sleeves like the traditional dresses of Ethereal. It was a low top and it revealed too much of her back for her to feel comfortable. She felt naked wearing this thing but a small part of her was in love with the way it looked on her. It fitted her torso perfectly then flared out from the hips. It made all her natural curves flow even more sensually. Chishiro had given it to her, ordering that she wear it for dinner tonight. The last few days Oreana had been kept locked in her room. She wasn't in a jail cell anymore  pleasant chamber with an extremely comfortable bed where she spent most of her time in then a desk with makeup. There was a window that she would look out through every day. Waiting for her hero to rescue her, but he hadn't come yet.

This morning Karatsu, still with bandages on one side his face, had come to Oreana telling her of tonight's plans with Chishiro. She sat at the table alone, again she found herself waiting for another man, Typical.

Chishiro sat with one leg dangling off the edge of the balcony. He gazed at Ethereal city. The city was five hundred miles north just outside of the Shalmar desert. He could see as far as he wanted. He turned off the ability, if left on for too long though, he would go blind. But his irises still had a black outlined triangle inside a black ring. He let that recede too, returning the color of his eyes to his natural color, a vibrant green. He didn't like having his green eyes. He hated it even more so to see their reflection. It only reminded him of his mother's green eyes. Then that reminded him of Itazuki and why he hated him.

There wasn't any wind in this place. It seemed unnatural being in a cool lake within a scalding desert and there not even being a breeze. Maybe the wind hadn't found Chishiro's spire in the water. He turned away and looked to the west, the brilliant red sun beginning to set at the horizon. The sky began to fill with more hues from the sun, becoming reddish, purple and pink. It reminded him of his mother, a mangled corpse without a face with red circling her. Pink entrails like worms beside her and purple bruises. He looked down. His sleeve had fallen covering below his wrist. The dark robe he wore was meant to conceal him, they hid many secrets. The robe was made from the material his mother had used to make her children's clothing years ago. But he had Ethereal's finest tailors make adjusts to have this simple cloak into something durable and easy to move in, he tested out its functionality on the tailors who made it. He looked down at his hand and thought how useless he was then.

A deep voice called out from behind. "My lord." Chishiro turned to look at Karatsu. Chishiro never felt like lord was a suitable title. He was only the lord of this planet. But he would allow his influence to diminish in the outer reaches of the planet where the people had a decent measure of security. He could let them live for a while, if the voice wouldn't tell him otherwise. Chishiro heard many voices but that came with the things he did to himself. The voice was different.

"What, Karatsu?"

"The girl." Karatsu said. His muscles seemed to get bigger every time Chishiro saw him. "She is all dressed and ready for dinner."