From Yesterday

The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he sensed the stranger enter the temple. Though his knelt figure showed no reaction all his senses were focused upon the slow, shuffling steps of the new arrival as they made their way up towards the altar.

“This is one place that I never expected to find you, Dante,” the stranger’s voice was strong although a faint tremor revealed that the speaker was no longer a young man.

Dante closed his eyes and lowered his head in respect to the stone figure at the head of the altar. Touching his fingers to his heart then his lips he gracefully rose and turned to face the stranger.

“This is the one place where the past no longer haunts me,” Dante replied as he walked towards the old man. “You’re a long way from home, Santos.” He indicated with his hand the small aisle leading to a side entrance out of the temple.

“It has taken a long time for me to find you. So many villages who have had your assistance in the past yet not knowing where you had moved on to. A goat herder told me about this place.”

Outside the temple, the midmorning sun was bright and dazzling, blinding them for a second. Dante waited until Santos’ vision had adjusted to the daylight before leading him over to a wooden bench in the corner of the gardens.

“Once I had done what needed to be done there seemed no reason to stay in the villages. I didn’t want to put anyone’s life in danger through my being there.” Dante looked out across the gardens, let their gentleness soothe his mind as memories stirred within his subconscious.

“Vaden stopped looking for you once his ascension to the throne had been completed. As far as he was concerned, you were no longer a threat to him once he became king.”

“My disappearance removed all the obstacles to his rule and condemned a country to a nightmare.” Dante closed his eyes at the pain that seared through him as he remembered those last days when he had decided that his survival was dependent upon him fleeing his home and the inheritance that was waiting for him.

Santos looked at the warrior seated before him, saw the pain and despair etched upon his face and knew that it was a decision that had haunted him every day since he had left. Righting wrongs in the villages that he had passed through had been his attempt to appease the wrong that he believed he can committed but they never went close enough to easing the guilt he felt.

“You did what you felt you had to do. You were only fourteen years old when your father was killed. Your uncle made it impossible for you to remain. If anyone should have regrets it should be me. I was your father’s advisor and your guardian yet I did nothing to stop Vaden in his quest for your father’s throne. I should have done more.” Santos’ voice was tinged with the guilt he had felt over his lack of action twenty years previous. Had he been a better man then everything would have turned out so much better.

“Do not blame yourself, Santos. You were as alone as I was back then. Vaden’s control of the Council and the Army ensured that there was nothing that we could have done to stop him.” He shook his head, clearing it of bitter memories before turning to the man who had been as much a father to him as his own had. “What are you doing here, Santos?”

“Vaden’s need for power and control has become dangerously out of control. As well as controlling his own kingdom he is now threatening those around him. He has sought out the Dark Masters to aid him in his quest to rule all around him. I feel that the evil within him has taken over and that he will destroy Arcadia. I have studied the stones and each time they show me you. You are our future and our saviour. Only you.”

Dante leapt to his feet and stood by a small fountain. He watched the water spray out of the dragon’s mouth into the pool below, his mind full of what Santos had just said to him. “I’m still only one man, Santos. One man against an army and the Dark Masters? Even I cannot win that battle.”

“Can’t you? You’re father was one the most powerful warlocks of his kind. You’re mother was a white witch with a depth of power that had never been tested fully. You yourself contain a power within that is far greater than anything I have ever sensed. That power may well be enough to defeat Vaden and his allies.” Santos walked over to Dante and looked into his swirling blue eyes. “The people need a leader to take them out of this darkness. Come back to us and they would follow you into the fires of Hell.”

“You make it sound easy, Santos, and I wish that it was as easy as it sounded. We both know that the power within me could destroy everything as well as defeating Vaden. I don’t know if I can control it.”

“You won’t be alone, Dante. I and the Council Elders will help you. I know that this is not easy for you but if we do not stop him now we will never stop him. Vaden will not stop until he has control of everything and that is when the darkness will rule.”

Dante took a deep breath and stared into the fountain. He had always tried to live without using his powers. He had made his sword arm solve the problems that he encountered rather than risk Vaden finding out just how powerful he was. The power within him came from generations of warlocks. Combined with his mother’s magic it was a force of unrivalled energy that could destroy as well as protect. What Santos was asking meant pushing the boundaries of his own control. Highly dangerous yet the only force that stood between Vaden and controlling the world.

He looked back at Santos, seeing how the years had aged him. His own power was not enough to challenge Vaden even though he had been a warlock almost as powerful as his father. “I’ll do it, but I cannot guarantee our victory. These powers within me have never been tested.”

“Thank you. All we can ask is that you try. We will follow you into this last battle and stand by your side as we should have done all those years ago.” He held out his hand to Dante and smiled as the younger man grasped his hand, feeling the power that flowed through him. With Dante leading them, Vaden’s days as king were numbered. All he could hope was that together they were strong enough to defeat the darkness.