Darkworld Saga - Intro

Dark shadows suppressed her vision, as if the world were trying to blindfold her, but the young woman instinctively knew where it was that she had to go and the primitive sense of her sight was not something that she needed for her current task anyway. Still, it appeared that there was movement – something swirling in front of her eyes rather than the still, deep black that a blindfold should have provided. She could not explain how darkness was anything but dark should she have attempted to describe what she was seeing to anyone else, but she had no doubt that there was some sort of – presence - in the darkness that danced in front of her eyes. Perhaps it was merely the chilling wind that ripped through her torso every so often, as if to remind her that what she was attempting to do was not only crazily dangerous, but also the most disturbing thing that she would ever have to do during her lifetime. It was not often that one faced the sum of one’s fears all within the same evening, but that’s exactly what she planned on doing in a time that was much sooner than it should have been. Well, it was too soon if she believed in the prophecy that guided her. The years had flown by, actually, and it seemed almost yesterday that she was completely ignorant of anything save her little world of friends and what other few things that brought her pleasure in life. She had so often traveled trails in the silent darkness that it had, at one time, been second nature. It had been for pleasure at that time, but now there was nothing within the dark that brought her pleasure. She smiled as she thought of how insane that it was that she was trying to move about in the darkness to something that was born of darkness in order to send the person (thing) back to the very darkness from which it came. She thought that it all made a very neat circle. The person (thing) at the top of the hill had no intention of leaving the circle neat, however, and in fact would put all its power towards breaking up any such attempts at order. She also smiled at how hokey it was that she was the representative of order and justice, while her counterpart represented chaos and selfishness. Did those who did evil really think that they were doing evil, or was evil only so from the point of view of those wronged? Such thoughts, such thoughts that came from one’s head...

Only because she had been here before did she realize that she was ascending a hill of legend and an important landmark in the battle that she found herself mixed up in. Only because she was now tuned into things that she had never before knew existed did she know that the ancient hill that she now trudged across boasted well-worn paths that she found herself pulled up and along. Although she couldn’t know because the darkness seemed as if it had ever been present, she would not have seen these old paths even if her sight were perfect and she were not being tested at the moment; although inside she knew that each step was bringing her closer and closer to the top, where her destiny awaited patiently for her to make her ascent. A part of her was amazed with the patience of her enemy. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to destroy her now, before the battle could even start? There was something to the rules of these games that she would never understand. If her counterpart believed in chaos, why was it that almost all rules were followed prior to the engagement of the battle? Still, she knew that she would not be attacked on her ascent. It would not be until she approached the crest that she needed to fear attack. And even then, she and her adversary would need to discuss the purpose of their contest prior to beginning actual combat. It was amazing that it was so, but she knew that it must follow this pattern in order for her enemy to take full advantage of any victory. There was a strange beauty to the combat that she would lock herself into shortly, and a macabre dance that she needed to know the steps to in order to make it finish in her favor.

The monotony of her purposeful trudges began to register in her head as she walked. Her mind actually cleared for a few moments, but it was soon filled with a sudden rush of emotions... as if there were a giant ball inside of her stomach that had burst open and seeped her darkest fears and feelings everywhere through her body. She was somewhat surprised that there were tears that formed at the inner corners of her eyes, but she dared not let them drop even as she felt them beginning to gather water and get heavy. There would be no satisfaction for the person (thing) at the top of this hill… no way that she would allow for this person (thing) to see her fear or to get pleasure from her pain. In fact, there had been enough pain that she had felt for the sake of her enemy. If this were to be an outcome that she could live with (she forgave herself the slight pun), she would feel no more pain for the sake of this creature.

It was funny to her how long it took to walk to places that one did not want to be. Between the dark and the walk, she allowed for her mind to begin reminiscing on the things that had come before her arrival here, at a place both where she started and not where she started. All at the same time, she thought to herself, I am in two places and in two worlds. Nothing completely made sense in her mind, but right now she didn’t figure that anything was truly supposed to make any sense. All of what she had experienced over the past few years (few months?) appeared to be a dream, but didn’t all life when you reflected on it appear to be a dream? And yet, if all of her experiences were a dream, the dreams had changed her. She was hardened now, beyond anything that she could have imagined herself to be. In a way, that made her sad. After all, nobody her age should have had to endure what she’d had to endure. The very idea that anyone else would have to do the things that she had been forced to do brought a shudder to her body. She knew, however, that every thing that she had done since leaving here had been to prepare her for the next hour or so of her life… if not the last hour or so of her life. She had been taught to do everything necessary and forced to practice everything necessary to defeat the thing that lurked at the top of this hill. She had been forced to fight, where she had not truly had to fight before. She had been forced to endure pain, where she had never truly been forced to feel intense physical pain in the past. She had been forced to outwit opponents and to anticipate not only the moves of her enemies, but of her allies. She had learned to use everything available to her in order to defeat those that would come against her. She had been taught to do everything necessary to defeat the enemies that sought to defeat her and also sought to destroy the things that she loved… even if she had to kill.
Had anyone told her that the last would be true of her in this short period of time, she would have told them that they were crazy. Killing was not in her nature, and anyone who knew her well would have attested to that. Nothing that she had done in her life had prepared her for the fact that she might have to kill, and nothing would really convince her even now that her enemy or anyone else deserved to die based upon who they were or upon past acts. Indeed, she knew that for her to cause death for another, it could not be based upon something as primitive as revenge, but instead upon the idea that the death would bring the protection of those that would be harmed. No other lesson had been drilled into her quite the same as this one during her time among the worlds. She knew that she could not wait longer to engage in this struggle, because the lives of others hung in the balance and could be taken at any moment. Even now, there was a possibility that murders were taking place because of her inaction… but she knew instinctively that this was not the case. No, her adversary had more respect for the rules than that and was waiting patiently for their conflict.

The higher she had gotten on the hill, the heavier her feet had become… but she made it and allowed herself a second of celebration. She was now where she needed to be: in sight of her enemy. She felt her opponent’s eyes catch sight of her and she sighed. It was time to move into position. She moved towards a spot that had been set for her years and years before. She did not see it physically, but was drawn towards it as if she were being led insistently by a leash. She knelt down and bowed low to the ground, allowing her hair to drape on either side of her head. Her enemy was doing the same. When she sat back up erect, her eyes began to see as if the darkness had suddenly been lifted and the sun had brightened the night sky. There would be no more light until their battle was finished, however.

The hairs on her arms stood as her enemy readied the first attack. She smiled, readying her defense in return. She heard a hiss from her assailant and she let herself whistle softly, mockingly, and with false jubilance as she prepared herself for the blow that would be coming in only a few seconds. Anyone tuned in to the plane on which the battle was being fought would have heard what sounded like a huge explosion. All others would have heard only the grunt of a person whose defense had worked, but who had felt the power of the attack. And thus, both silent and deafening at the same time, the first blow was struck in the unobserved battle for the survival of three worlds.