Graham sat back in horror as he looked upon a massive abyss. Before him, there was a pit of darkness. It was an endless void that tore through the very fabric of the world. Winds whipped and swallowed every bit of air from the old man’s lungs.
He struggled against the swirling power and tried to get his breath back. A legion of dark mages chanted terrible, harsh words to figure the power forth. The hole expanded and began to draw in everything around it. Everything was soon being devoured. Soon, it would take Graham, then the kingdom of Hailgalad, then the whole world. Surely, nothing would be able to stand against it.
Quickly after, an image of Hailgalad, the shining jewel of his kingdom that he loved so dearly, fell into nothingness. He heard the shouts of innocent people rise up, then silenced into darkness.
At the center of this destruction, he saw her. It was a woman staring at him with her devilishly confident smile. She looked out upon her new empire with delight. Graham cowered from her as the darkness reached out. He looked over to see a shadowy hand reaching out of the abyss. The colossal hand developed her and dragged her into the nothingness.
In her last moments, Graham could see Astrid’s face. That confident smile was gone. He could see that she regretted her path in that instant. In a flash, she was gone.
“No,” Graham yelled as he shook awake.
He found himself once again in the darkness of the cave before him. Farnuk’s body, still laid before him, motionless. Large, rugged torches around him flickered and danced light across the walls. He tried to steady his breath and leaned back against the cold stone. The old man focused on the consistent drops of water from the cave as he came back to his senses.
The serene quietness was broken when he could hear the scampering of a great number of feet. In short order, goblins ran through the tunnel on the far end of his small cavern. They had crude daggers and bright torches that illuminated their terrible grayish-green faces.
“Heya, mister mage,” one of the goblins said. “It is time for you to see what we have been working on down here.”
Two goblins took binders that glowed a faint red and strapped them to his wrists. Then, they took off the chains that had tied him up and kept him to the wall. After, the two goblins threw him face-first into the ground. The sharp rocks stung his hands as he caught himself. The old man grunted as he rolled to his side.
“You’ve been sittin’ long enough there. Why don’t you get up and walk,” one of the goblins called out to him and tapped the butt of his crude spear into his back.
Graham staggered to his feet and began to walk towards the dark tunnel. As he walked through it, he noticed that it was perfectly carved in a circle. He stared at it curiously as it did not seem natural. He ran his hand along it as the old man studied the paths.
“Eh, keep it movin’ I will not say it again,” one of the goblins said as he gave the mage a shove with his spear once more.
The path twisted and turned through the underground. There were no torches in the tunnel, only the light of the goblins that were in front, and behind him lit the way. He could hear screams at different outlets of the tunnel. They were the kind that made his blood run cold. He shook off the thoughts of what terrors might be in these caverns.
There were endless forks in the road. Some of the ways were lit, and others were as black as a starless night. They walked onward until they heard the clinking, smashing, and groaning of machines. The sounds grew and grew until they came out to a wide open space. It was an immense cave that had glittering stones. Some of these stones had lights of themselves that glowed various shades of blue, purple, and red. As far as he could see, this wide cavern stretched in the distance. As he peered out, he noticed something strange.
The floor of the cavern almost looked to be ancient ruins. It was a vast underground city that looked to rival even some of the cities of Hailgalad. He tried to think of all the years of knowledge he possessed, but he could recall nothing of a place such as this.
“Where are we?” He asked as he squinted his eyes and looked around. “I do not know this place.”
“Well, it will be the last place you ever know,” the goblin yelled as they shoved the old man's back. “We haven’t got all day, get moving.”
Graham was led down a set of jagged stairs into the ruined city. Most of it was dark. There was no life, no light, no sound coming from the ancient marketplaces and ruined buildings. Many of the structures were razed to the ground. Others were broken and crumbled as if from the wearing of time. The group went on as they came closer to the center, which rose to a high altar. Graham looked at the steep stairs that rose high into the cavern. At its top was a red light.
“Keep moving, keep moving,” a goblin yelled at him.
Reluctantly, he started to climb the stairs step by step. The old man felt weak from everything he had been through over the past days; his legs shook, and his breathing was labored as he continued upwards. At last, he came to the top of the altar, which was a wide and flat circle.
Graham saw Astrid, who stood there, smiling at him. She was again flanked by the two guards that had the skull heads. This time, their hoods were down, and the old man could see clearly that they were not human at all. What these creatures were, he did not know, but their skulls were bare and empty, except for two red lights in them. They seemed to stare with an unceasing vigilance as they mirrored Astrid's every move. The artifact atop her staff hummed with power, and she strode toward him.
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“Welcome to Nihal,” Astrid said with her arms wide.
“The ancient realm of the goblins,” Graham said as he looked around curiously. “I thought this place was only a legend.”
“Oh, it is a legend,” Astrid said. “A legend from a long forgotten time that did exist back an age ago. The goblins worked together to bring their god and ruler, Dyurkan, to a place of reverence. They made him a high seat that he has so long deserved.”
“The way I heard it,” Graham said. “Goblins slew thousands of innocent lives in reverence to this god. Even more, they did not have dominion over themselves. A cult of dark mages enslaved the goblins, leading to a terrible war and their ultimate downfall. When things turned bad for this coalition, the mages went into hiding and abandoned the goblins. After that, they were broken, never again having a realm of their own. That was the thanks they got for all the work they did to create a world of their own.”
Graham gave a smile to Astrid. She sent a scowl his way. The old man heard a few of the goblins whisper to one another in nervous tones.
“Silence,” she said. “You do not know what you speak of, old man. In the ancient days, far before Hailgalad was thought, this city stood strong and proud. It was filled with a civilization of goblins, but the so-called high powers of the world deemed that their existence was blasphemy against the divine order. They felt that these creatures were not worthy of living amongst them in this world, and so they invaded these underground labyrinths. They destroyed every bit of the great goblin nation. After, they came for my people.”
“They took our riches and our dignity!” a goblin shouted in anger. “Those damned Kaboutians took our lands and built their own cities on top of ‘em! Mined all our gold and treasure."
“Silence!” Astrid yelled and slammed her staff into the ground.
A crack of thunder and a flash of red light exploded. The goblins staggered backward and hid their faces.
“Your people? The kuinan?” Graham asked.
“No,” Astrid said, “My race has long been in the shadows, but we have thrived. I am speaking of my religion. I am speaking of the followers of Dyurkan, the dark mages, as you call them. The high powers came for them and wiped them off the face of this world. Now, we are reunited, and we have our ancient artifacts handed down from generations. Your Defenders of Sol and the White Hand are to thank for that. We now have the power to channel the energy of our god and bring order to this chaotic world.”
“Order?” Graham scoffed. “You think you will bring order to this world? You are sorely misguided if you think that.”
“Border wars between Hailgalad and Vaelor, Northfolk raiders attacking innocent villages, the Kaboutian and Goblin wars that are ever raging. All of these conflicts that plague our world shall be brought into order. When we show the true power, we shall unite all nations under one, and we shall have peace.”
“And you believe all will be made right, just like that? Under your thumb?” Grandma asked.
“Under the embrace of Dyurkan,” Astrid replied.
Graham looked at the woman in astonishment. He thought that a part of her could still be saved, but she was so disillusioned about her mission. She could only shake his head as he stared at her.
“Now I have brought you here to be a witness,” Astrid said as she walked away to the center of the altar.
“A witness to what?” Graham said as he looked at the two skull figures and stood, unmoving.
“Witness to the power that we hold,” she said with a smile.
Two goblins forced Graham to his knees as Astrid placed her staff into a slot in the center of the altar. She bowed her head and gripped the staff with both hands.
Lord Dyurkan, god of all that is dark,
Lend me your power, please, hark.
Grant me strength to serve you well,
And I will help your kingdom swell.
Graham looked around as spirits started to appear. They were the same type of spirits that he had seen in the forest. It felt like that had been a year ago as he thought about being with his defenders. A tear fell from the old man’s eye as he bowed his head.
The spirits began to swirl around the altar. They came from every dark corner of that cavern and lit it up like a thousand stars. They came forward and hissed as Astrid raised her hands and continued her chant louder and louder. Deep vibrations and a hum of power radiated from the artifact. It grew and seemed to shake the very soul of every living thing in that cavern. Graham squatted his eyes and raised his hands to his face. Just as he thought the vibrations were too much to bear, it went out.
The quiet tension that blanketed the altar laid thickly on them. Then, from far above their heads, high on the cavern ceiling, there was a crack of stone. Graham looked up in the darkness as all the light from the spirits, stones, and torches went out simultaneously.
Pebbles fell from the ceiling. Afterward, more cracks came, and Graham by the sound of it, he thought they were all going to be caved in. The ground started to shake, and suddenly, there was a burst of energy, and a circular portal of darkness exploded out above their heads. An oppressive power weighed down on all of them as the wind started to swirl all around.
The portal glowed and shimmered with a mysterious aura, although it was completely black. It let off a faint gray illumination that faintly lit the space around them. Graham covered his face, and the goblins cowered before the portal. Some even started to run in terror. The other mages hid themselves, but Astrid stepped forward and raised her hands to it.
She smiled as she looked upon the incredible scene before her as she said, "Lord Dyurkan, we call you forth to this world. We call you to bring order to a disordered land. Please, give us your power, the power to destroy and to create a new world in your image.”
There was a deep guttural sound that came from the portal. It spoke in some unknown language and shook Graham's chest as he tried to force himself to look at the scene. A long shadow descended down to Astrid. It moved to form a shadowy figure that had two gray glowing eyes. They shone with a cold brightness. After it was fully formed, the wind and vibrations ceased. The figure stared at her first in silence. Then, it grabbed the staff from Astrid.
Astrid got onto one knee and said, “What is your command, my lord?”
The shadow spoke in its terrible voice as it said, “You have done well in summoning me and finding my staff of old, but I am not here to grant you power. I am here to dominate you and all life in this world.”
Graham stared at Astrid, who looked upon the shadow with both fear and confusion. The two skull creatures grabbed Astrid by either arm and held her in place. He knew that she was only just beginning to realize the power she thought she was harnessing was never hers to wield. She was being used this whole time by a force that never cared for her at all. Now, it was too late for her to turn back.