A Song of Darkness

Chapter 1 Part 1

As a child, I always had thirst for blood and adventure. That's mainly why I never played well with my sisters. While would run around picking flowers and playing with dolls, I would be helping my brother hunt or slaughter the animals. I saw the strength and authority that he held over others in the village. Most especially with my parents. For them, my lust of danger was never a welcome trait for them. The prize of selling me off for marriage was their priority. When they realized I would never settle, I became more of a burden than an asset to them. My brother was becoming the only thrill for my days.

When they sold me to the Mistress, that was when my life truly began. I can still remember looking back from the cart to take one final glimpse at my family. Yet, they hadn't given my soiled chubby body a second glance. Priamos wasn't there. He had left for a hunting trip with his betrothed's family. I don't remember our last memory. I don't remember what any of them look like anymore. I do remember their names. The names of those who loved me once upon a time.

My reminiscing was snatched away when Sleipnir jolted to a halt outside the city gates of Vaughn. The black stone radiating darkness while simultaneously welcoming me home. I could barely hear the shouts of the exhausted scouts that were bound for a shift change soon. "Who goes there?"

Only a single word escaped my throat with a booming sense of authority, "Rhiannon."

It was enough to send them scrambling to get the gates up to allow me to make my way to the busy streets. Vaughn wasn't like the other cities of Eon; it was made of mistakes and outcasts. Those from around the continent that were deemed unworthy. Not thugs and liars, but the innocent people who were used and abused by the laws of the countries. It was a new beginning for everyone who stepped through those thick walls.

We bounded through the streets of market stalls and children running. For its many gloomy days, the citizens of Vaughn never seem to allow it to dampen their moods. I watched as we passed, my cloak shading my face until we made it to the walls of the campus. Sleipnir trotted along in circles till the metal gates shrieked to open. Allowing him to lead us to the stables, most specifically his stall that he was able to navigate to from anywhere on the continent.

Sliding off before he came to a full stop, I pulled him the rest of the way, only stopping to grab an apple from a pack on the wall. Sweat and dirt clung to both our bodies. I removed all the tack just in time for the stable boy to place hay and water in the basin. Sleipnir reared his front hoof scaring the boy away. I nudged him, "You did that on purpose you grouchy cow." He was always a little nasty brat to other people. They had me pick him from a lot of foals that the collection had brought that year. As part of our training, we were instructed to take care of an animal and live with them. I had chosen a horse as my companion, the other boys would choose a dog, bird, or wild cats. It was sad the Sleipnir was one of my only best friends... he is a horse.

The buzzing of the training yard seemed to grow as the day went on. I slammed the door to the stall, gods I missed this stinky place. Being away for too long set my nerves on edge. Always making me antsy when I went too far on a mission. My muscles ached from the amount of riding I had done the past month.

Before the trails begin, I was tasked by the council to kill a Careith from the nether region of Eon. It is a snake the size of a human with bat-like wings. The fangs were the hardest part to drain. The venom is a key part of the ritual. Any regular man could die ten times over from one bite. And how was I supposed to survive it? Every one of my people before me was tasked with killing and draining the venom, to test our physical strength of surviving a mission but also surviving the darkness that thrives in the nether region. A place of total darkness and full of dangers. Well, it used to be full of monsters. Now it was a barren waste that creatures would roam in dwindling numbers. Somehow when I rode through that endless night, I felt a sense of peace of ... home.